10 New Books Coming Out This Week — CrimeReads

Another week, another batch of books for your TBR pile. Happy reading, folks. * Josh Weiss, Sunset Empire (Grand Central) “In Weiss’s superb sequel… Imaginative worldbuilding enhances the page-turning mystery plot. Fans of Robert Harris’s Fatherland will be enthralled.” –Publishers Weekly Victor LaValle, Lone Women (One World) “A counter to the typical homesteading narrative, this…

10 New Books Coming Out This Week — CrimeReads

What could be better: A Treasury of Tales for Five-Year-Olds

40 stories recommended by literary experts

by Gabby Dawnay

#ATreasuryofTalesforFiveYearOlds #NetGalley

One of the best things about being a parent (or spending time with a child you know) is taking a moment to read a story together. This time is wonderful for closeness and sharing.

Here is a terrific collection of stories to read with a child who is around five years old. Enjoy the words and also the illustrations. With forty stories here, there are sure to be many that will be enjoyed, read and reread.

A few suggestions include Please Do Not Eat the Books, Rap-unzel, Pam and the Peas, Get Up, Little Bear, The Impatient Cookie and so many more. Each entry is short and many rhyme, making them perfect for reading aloud.

I definitely recommend this one. Adults and kids will enjoy it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 16 May 2023

Would you dare to play: The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

The Christmas Murder Game gives readers the chance to enjoy a variant on a locked room mystery with the added bonus of both the Christmas season and some side puzzles for solving. These extra puzzles are things like anagrams.

Lily is in her thirties and is a designer of corsets, many of which she reproduces from historical sources. She spent a great deal of time at Endgame House when she was young but has not wanted to return there since her mother’s death…was that a murder?

When Lily’s aunt dies, she wants Lily and her cousins to come to the manor over the festive season. While there, they are set a series of tasks which will require their solving skills with a lot at stake; the winner will become the new owner of the house. Oh, by the say, there will be a number of deaths over the twelve days of Christmas.

Whodunnit? Why? This was a fun read as I waited for answers. I also enjoyed Ms. Benedict’s images. For example, Lily talks about wanting to make a briefcase shaped corset for lawyer, Isabelle. She describes a housekeeper as something like a candy cane without the sweetness.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to those who would simply like to be entertained.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

This title was published in 2022.

Now out: The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

My Recommendation

I am a huge fan of this author and have read every title in her Maisie Dobbs series. Here she has written a standalone about Elinor White, a character who has had a life of loss, service, action and contemplation.

Winspear’s authorial voice comes through and felt very familiar to me from having read her other works. That said, it took a little while for me to become fully immersed in this title. Once that happened, however, I loved the book and rate it most highly (as does Publishers Weekly which gave this one a starred review.)

The novel covers a wide time period; it starts before WWI and extends to the post WWII period. As the book opens, young Linni lives with her parents and sister in Belgium. The war brings enormous changes to the family. Linni and her sister become saboteurs and they and their mother must subsequently leave the country quickly.

The book then moves to England and follows Linni’s life there. She has many experiences before being recruited to the SOE in WWII. In the post war period, for complex reasons, our protagonist becomes involved in trying to extricate a couple and their daughter from the clutch of their criminal family. Throughout the book, the time moves back and forth as readers experience Linni’s actions and feelings about the things that she has done.

Readers will be interested to see how Linni fares in each of her tasks and time frames. They will also enjoy getting to know the many characters in this story, some of whom, they really should keep an eye on.

All in all, I highly recommend this novel. Bravo Ms. Winspear.

Many thanks to Allison & Busby for this title. All opinions are my own.

From my back list: Any Dream Will Do by Debbie Macomber

Years ago, I got to know Debbie Macomber’s fiction when I read her series that began with 16 Lighthouse Road. I enjoyed spending time with those who lived in Cedar Cove and, from that point on, kept a look out for this author’s novels. She writes easy to read books with characters who are nice.

This title is not part of that series. It is about Shy who has been released from prison after doing something that she felt that she had to do. Now she is starting again and has met a young pastor. The two seem to be hitting it off, even though Drew’s congregation has doubts. Will love triumph? (Hint: it usually does in Macomber’s books.)

In addition to getting to know Shay and Drew, other characters and a community come to life. Spend time here if you are looking for a not too stressful and enjoyable read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title.

This title was published in 2017.