cover reveal – Everything Is Better With Dragons

Cover Reveal: Stop Dead, by Katrín Júlíusdóttir

Pub date: 21 May 2026
ISBN 13: 978-1-916788-96-1
EPUB: 978-1-916788-97-8
Price: £9.99

Buy Link:

THE BOOK

Icelandic detective-in-training Sigurdís is studying criminal psychology in the US, but her plans are thrown into disarray when she discovers that her boss and mentor, Garðar, has been fired from Reykjavík CID over his investigation into Sigurdís’s father’s death.

Returning to Iceland to deal with the fallout, Sigurdís finds herself pulled into a disturbing case: controversial TV personality Olga Einars has been stabbed to death during the Reykjavík Marathon. Struggling to locate a runner waring the number 1407, who was seen near the murdered woman during the race, the police soon discover that several masked runners were wearing the same number.

As the mystery deepens, Sigurdís and her fellow detective Unnar soon learn exactly how unpopular Olga was – not just with the interviewees she humiliated on live TV, but with her own son, her business partner, a widower who insists that she had a hand in his wife’s death, and her ex-husband, who died in suspicious circumstances thirty years ago…

As her exploration into Olga’s past becomes ever darker and more harrowing, Sigurdís must also face the truth about her own father, while searching for an attacker who will go to any lengths to cover up their crimes…

THE AUTHOR

Katrín Júlíusdóttir is a former Icelandic politician, elected in 2003 and serving as Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, Minister of Finance and Economy and Social Democratic Alliance’s vice-chair until she retired from politics in 2016. Before she was elected to parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the managing director of a student union at
Reykjavík University, where she studied anthropology and received an MBA. She is now managing director of Finance Iceland. Katrín won the Blackbird Award for best Icelandic crime debut for her first novel, Dead Sweet, in 2020, and it received immense critical acclaim, hitting the bestseller lists shortly after publication. In the UK, it was a Booksellers Circle Book of the Month and longlisted for the Waterstones Debut Novel Prize, debuting
at No. 15 on the Sunday Times bestseller list. Katrín was raised in Kópavogur, about fifteen minutes’ drive from downtown Reykjavík, and she now lives in the neighbouring town of Garðabær with her family. She is married to author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing, and they have four sons.

Cover Reveal: Under the Blazing Sun, by Jenny Lund Madsen

PUBLICATION DATE: 21 MAY 2026
HARDBACK ORIGINAL | £ 16. 99 | ORENDA BOOKS

Book Description

Hannah is miserable. Her love life is in ruins, her contract demands a sequel to her bestselling crime debut – and she’s out of ideas. After a mortifying TV interview, her agent ships her off to a sun-drenched Sicilian villa with a simple order: finish the book. No distractions. No excuses.

But inspiration doesn’t strike – murder does.

When a night out ends in murder, Hannah finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation … again. The police want her out of the way, and the only person who seems to believe her is a young but charming Italian police officer. That is, until she doesn’t.

Soon Hannah is chasing suspects, fleeing crime scenes, and doing whatever it takes to avoid becoming the next victim. She came to write a crime novel. Now she’s trapped inside one.

ABOUT JENNY LUND MADSEN

Jenny Lund Madsen is one of Denmark’s most acclaimed scriptwriters (including the international hits Rita and Follow the Money) and is known as an advocate for better representation for sexual and ethnic minorities in Danish TV and film. She made her debut as a playwright with the critically acclaimed Audition (Aarhus Teater) and her debut literary thriller,
Thirty Days of Darkness, first in an addictive new series, won the Harald Mogensen Prize for Best Danish Crime Novel of the year, was shortlisted for the coveted Glass Key Award, longlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger, and won the Crime Fiction Lover Award for Best Crime Book in Translation. She lives in Denmark with her wife and young family.

Cover Reveal: The Bone Mother, by Suzy Aspley

PUBLICATION DATE: 7th MAY 2026
PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £ 9. 99 | ORENDA BOOKS

Get your copy here: https://geni.us/6CRyhn6

Description

Martha Strangeways has settled into a quiet life in Strathbran, after the horrific events that traumatised the village a year earlier. But all this is
turned upside down when her friend at Glasgow CID, DI Derek Summers,
calls on her to help with a disturbing case: a human ear, with an unusual Celtic earring, has been found next to a railway line in the Highlands.

And when the body of a young woman wearing matching jewellery turns up
at a landmark church shortly after, the mystery deepens. Why has she been
laid out in a ritualistic fashion? Does her trek along the little-known
Cailleach Way have anything to do with her death? And who is running the
Facebook Group where she posted details of her journey to the shrine of
the Bone Mother goddess?

As Martha tries to unpick the threads, she finds herself entwined with a
ghost from her own past, and in conflict with the owner of a project that
threatens to destroy the goddess’s sacred land.

With Halloween approaching, and someone determined to protect the
goddess at all costs, can Martha and Summers catch the killer before they
strike again – and this time much closer to home…?

About the author

Originally from the north-east of England, former journalist Suzy Aspley has lived in Scotland for almost thirty years. She writes crime and short stories, often inspired by the strange things she sees in the landscape around her. She won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect in 2019 with the original idea for her debut novel and was shortlisted for the Capital Crime New Voices Award. In 2020, she was mentored by Jo Dickinson as part of the Hachette future bookshelf initiative. Crow Moon was longlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award, and shortlisted for the Val McDermid Debut Award and the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize.

When she’s not writing, she’s either got her nose buried in a book, or is outside with her dogs dreaming up more dark stories. She lives in Stirlingshire with her family.

Dragon’s Comments

I really like the sound of this one, might have to get myself a copy for the book hoard.

Cover Reveal: First Contact, Second Chances, by Fey Abernethy

First Contact, Second Chances

Everyone deserves a second chance. Even humanity.

Ex-British Army officer Joe Llewellyn is captain of the Shantivira, the alien space station secretly protecting the Earth from invasion. After Joe reveals the Shantivira’s existence to the UN, everyone wants a piece of him. Except his mother. They’re no longer speaking.

But it’s not only Joe’s relationship with his mam which is in jeopardy. His alien bosses have given him an ultimatum: either he persuades Earth’s authorities to completely restructure the global economic system – to distribute resources fairly without exceeding ecological boundaries – or the space station will be reallocated to another, more deserving planet.

With vicious, cannibalistic space pirates prowling the galaxy, brutally stripping and enslaving entire worlds for profit, Joe can’t afford to fail.

This third instalment of The Shantivira fantasy solarpunk series is a must-read for fans of Becky Chambers, Ben Aaronovitch, Ursula Le Guin, Doctor Who and anyone who enjoys supernatural sci-fi.

Book will be available for purchase on 4^th May at these places

Amazon series page: https://mybook.to/shantivira

Author website: fayabernethy.com

Author Bio –

Fay Abernethy left the UK twenty-five years ago, seeking adventure.

When not diving with sharks or falling off horses, she worked as an engineer in the automotive industry. Later, she started her own translating business and settled down in Germany with the man of her dreams.

Pre-children, they explored the Alps together – on foot in summer and on skis or snowshoes in winter. She now lives the life of a respectable citizen, having discovered that being a parent is the greatest adventure of them all.

Social Media Links –

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fayabernethybooks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fayabernethybooks/

Amazon author profile: https://www.amazon.com/Fay-Abernethy/e/B09966L52C

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21656346.Fay_Abernethy

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/fay-abernethy

The Storygraph:

https://app.thestorygraph.com/authors/add296b4-04aa-4782-a3f2-20dea238f900

Cover Reveal: THE WAY UP IS DEATH, by Dan Hanks

When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.

As a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity children’s author lead the others in trying to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone… is up.

And so begins a race to the top, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares, as the group fights to hold onto its humanity, while the twisted horror of why they’re here grows ever more apparent – and death stalks their every move.

THE WAY UP IS DEATH will be published on the 28th January 2025, in Paperback and eBook.

Cover Reveal: Key Lime Sky, by Al Hess

Denver Bryant’s passion for pie has sent him across Wyoming in search of the best slices. Though he dutifully posts reviews on his blog, he’s never been able to recreate his brief moment of viral popularity, and its trickling income isn’t enough to pay his rent next month.

Driving home from a roadside diner, Denver witnesses a UFO explode directly over his tiny town of Muddy Gap. When he questions his neighbors, it appears that Denver is the only person to have seen anything – or to care that the residents’ strange behavior, as well as a shower of seashell hail, might be evidence of something extraterrestrial. Being both non-binary and autistic, he’s convinced his reputation as the town eccentric is impeding his quest for answers. Frustrated, he documents the bizarre incidents on his failing pie blog, and his online popularity skyrockets. His readers want the truth, spurring him to get to the bottom of things.

The only person in town who takes him seriously is handsome bartender, Ezra. As the two investigate over pie and the possibility of romance, the alien presence does more than change the weather. People start disappearing. When Denver and Ezra make a run for it, the town refuses to let them leave. Reality is folding in on itself. It’s suddenly a race against time to find the extraterrestrial source and destroy it before it consumes not only Muddy Gap but everything beyond. Denver’s always been more outsider than hero, but he’s determined to ensure that a world with Ezra – and with pie – still exists tomorrow.

Key Lime Sky is the second book from AL Hess at Angry Robot – check out his previous work, World Running Down.

Al Hess is also a fantastic artist – check out his instagram!

Cover Reveal: SuSTYLEability, by Lexi Rees and Eveyjoan

SuSTYLEability

suSTYLEability (noun)
The art of making small changes to the way we dress in order to make big changes in the world.

If you love fashion and want to live more sustainably, this activity book will help you create a wardrobe which reflects your personal style AND is mindful of the impact the fashion industry has on the environment and human welfare.

Learn the shocking facts about fashion
Make better choices when shopping
Develop your own unique style
Have fun with friends and family
Discover unique ways to upstyle and upcycle your wardrobe
Give old clothes a second life with creative crafts

Cover Reveal and Publication Day Blitz: Fake News, by Caroline Dunford

Blurb

Four teenagers, and one dog, suffer at the hands of online media and come up with a plan to show people they should never trust what they read on the internet. They launch their own news site detailing amazing, shocking, utterly believable but totally untrue stories. They always

intend to come clean, but success goes to their heads and before long they are enmeshed in a world of spies and aliens. How will they get out of this unscathed? What happens next will change all of their lives forever.

Cover Reveal: Secrets of Windwood, by Jack Reese

Blurb

Simon Lord has it all—the beautiful fiancé, the loving family, the sprawling mansion, and the famous last name. Little does he know that what is supposed to be the happiest day of his life will become his last. The little town of Solomon’s Wake has managed to keeps its secrets hidden for nearly a century, but no darkness can lie dormant forever. It only takes one fateful night, one storm, one wedding, for a vampire to rise, a werewolf to escape, and a witch’s age-old curse to rise again.

Decades later, the Lord family is a shadow of its former self. Windwood, the Lord family ancestral home, sits in near ruin as Simon Lord lies in a coma, but life goes on. That is until Joshua Lord makes the fateful decision to return to Windwood with his young family. Curses, as young Jenna Lord finds out, do not have an expiration date. The Lords and their friends find themselves battling vicious werewolves, homicidal grandmothers, the unrelenting spirit of a vengeful witch, and their own dark pasts. The only question is, who will make it out of Windwood alive this time?

Buy Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Windwood-Jack-Reese-ebook/dp/B093B4G5S9/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=secrets+of+windwood&qid=1619357195&s=digital-text&sr=1-1Amazon –

https://amzn.to/3aDvWVU

Cover Reveal: A Chance Encounter, by Rae Shaw

A Chance Encounter

Julianna Baptiste, a feisty bodyguard, finds her new job tedious, that is until her boss, the evasive Jackson Haynes, spikes her curiosity. Who is behind the vicious threats to his beautiful wife and why is he interested in two estranged siblings?

Mark works for Haynes’s vast company. He’s hiding from ruthless money launderers.

His teenage sister Ellen has an online friend whom she has never met. Ellen guards a terrible secret.

For eight years their duplicitous father has languished in prison, claiming he is innocent of murder. The evidence against him is overwhelming, so why does Mark persist with an appeal?

Keen to prove her potential as an investigator, Julianna forces Mark to confront his mistakes. The consequences will put all their lives in danger.

Pre-order Link

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08X1PN4VH

US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X1PN4VH