| We have a number of publication days to celebrate this week and first up, is the paperback for The Summer Birdcage, the eighth in L. C. Tyler's John Grey mystery series. Duke's Company actress Kitty Burgess has a stunning future before her - until she vanishes after the opening performance of Aminta Grey's new play, The Summer Birdcage. One of her fellow actors swears he saw her being bundled into a black coach driven by six black horses outside the theatre. Then no more is heard of her - until the body of a young woman is found dead beside the road in Hertfordshire. It appears to be Kitty, so Aminta |  |
and her husband Sir John Grey, travel to Bishop's Stortford to identify her. The girl has been so badly beaten it is impossible to tell who she is, but there are three clues - the dress she is wearing, a ring and a copy of the script of Aminta's play, left (perhaps a little too conveniently) in the victim's hands.
Back in London Aminta catches sight of a young woman who looks exactly like Kitty but before she can do anything, the woman runs off and is lost in the crowd. Meanwhile, rumours abound at court that Kitty was about to become the king's new mistress and all fingers are being pointed at Lady Castlemaine for having arranged for her rival to be spirited away and killed. And now John Grey finds that is no longer just his wife who is determined to prove Kitty Burgess is alive. It would seem her disappearance - and possible reappearance - is part of some much wider conspiracy, and that Kitty may be about to play the most dangerous, and possibly deadly, role of her life. A role from which there may be no escape...
Back in London Aminta catches sight of a young woman who looks exactly like Kitty but before she can do anything, the woman runs off and is lost in the crowd. Meanwhile, rumours abound at court that Kitty was about to become the king's new mistress and all fingers are being pointed at Lady Castlemaine for having arranged for her rival to be spirited away and killed. And now John Grey finds that is no longer just his wife who is determined to prove Kitty Burgess is alive. It would seem her disappearance - and possible reappearance - is part of some much wider conspiracy, and that Kitty may be about to play the most dangerous, and possibly deadly, role of her life. A role from which there may be no escape...
 | Also published last week was the hardback for Anna Jacobs' Golden Dreams. This gorgeous, gripping and heartbreaking tale is set in 1890s Lancashire and is the second in the multi-million-copy bestselling author's Jubilee Lake series. Lancashire, 1895. Lillian Hesketh has taken a new name, and a brave step towards a happier life. Suddenly widowed after an unhappy marriage, and pursued by her unscrupulous in-laws, Lillian finds a fresh start in the beautiful Ollindale valley. Thanks to the kindness of her new neighbours, Walter Crossley and his family, she finally has a home to call her own - but the threat of discovery by her husband's family still casts a shadow over her new life. |
Meanwhile, Edward Ollerton has returned to the valley to rebuild his ancestral home. Hoping to one day to marry and start a family, Edward finds himself drawn to the shy, attractive widow - but not everyone is happy to see him reclaim his estate . . .
Will their dreams fade to dust, or can a golden future blossom on the shores of Jubilee Lake?
Will their dreams fade to dust, or can a golden future blossom on the shores of Jubilee Lake?
Congratulations to M. W. Craven; The Botanist has been shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award 2023.
This particular Dagger is awarded to the best espionage, psychological or thriller adventure novel.
The Botanist is the fifth in Craven's Washington Poe series, with the highly-anticipated sixth, The Mercy Chair, out March 2024.
The Botanist is the fifth in Craven's Washington Poe series, with the highly-anticipated sixth, The Mercy Chair, out March 2024.
| Out next publication day celebration came in the form of Paul Fraser Collard's Diamond Hunter, the eleventh Jack Lark book, published in paperback. South Africa, 1871. Jack Lark no longer walks alone. With the worldly Anna Baker by his side, he travels to the Cape Colony diamond fields determined to seek their fortune - and an adventurous new life together. The journey north soon turns violent as tensions erupt between other hopeful diggers and a gang of Boer men. Everyone has their eye on the same elusive prize - and some will stop at nothing to get it. |  |
For Jack and Anna, unearthing a diamond is only half the battle. Getting out of the mines alive will prove far more difficult - and dangerous. And when the worst happens, Jack finds himself tested as no enemy, no man and no war has ever before.
 | The final book published last week was the paperback for Sean Lusk's astounding debut, The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley (a BBC 2 Between the Covers pick). In 1754, renowned maker of clocks and automata Abel Cloudesley must raise his new-born son Zachary when his wife dies in childbirth. Growing up amongst the cogs and springs of his father's workshop, Zachary is intensely curious, ferociously intelligent, unwittingly funny and always honest - perhaps too honest. But when a fateful accident leaves six-year-old Zachary nearly blinded, Abel is convinced that the safest place for his son is in the care of his eccentric Aunt Frances and her menagerie of weird and wonderful animals. |
So when a precarious job in Constantinople is offered to him, Abel has no reason to say no. A job presented to him by a politician with dubious intentions, Abel leaves his son, his workshop and London behind. The decision will change the course of his life forever.
Since his accident, Zachary is plagued by visions that reveal the hearts and minds of those around him. A gift at times and a curse at others, it is nonetheless these visions that will help him complete a journey that he was always destined to make - to travel across Europe to Constantinople and find out what happened to his father all those years ago.
Since his accident, Zachary is plagued by visions that reveal the hearts and minds of those around him. A gift at times and a curse at others, it is nonetheless these visions that will help him complete a journey that he was always destined to make - to travel across Europe to Constantinople and find out what happened to his father all those years ago.
| Lastly, we are delighted to announce both the acquisition and cover reveal for The Grief House by Rebecca Thorne. Before her departure, Sara-Helen Binney bought UK & Commonwealth rights from Emily Glenister to the deeply atmospheric mystery, with a shocking twist. To find more out about the book, click here. The Grief House will be published in eBook in December 2023 and hardback in January 2024. |  |
Rebecca Thorne is the pen-name for author Rebecca Tinnelly, previously published by Hodder & Stoughton.
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