When this book was described as a cross between Kate Morton’s Homecoming and Rachel Hawkins’ The Heiress, I knew that I wanted to read it. Although Rimmer has written a number of novels, this is the first book that I have read by her.
Here is a story within a story. Fiona has had a rough time of it. Readers will find out why she has left the city to return to her recently deceased uncle’s home. The house has a reputation for being haunted and this story most definitely has Gothic elements in it.
Readers will follow Fiona’s life. They will get to meet the people who are part of her world.
Fiona discovers that her uncle left behind twelve copies of a novel. She begins to read this and it is quite a tale. Will Fiona’s own story and family intersect with the contents of this novel? If so, how, and will our protagonist survive her experiences? Read this one to find out.
I must give content warnings for the novel within the novel. There is domestic violence and coercive behavior. Some readers may not want to read the novel for this reason.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Post first published on 31 July 2026
Description:
from the publisher
AN INDIE NEXT PICK • A LIBRARY READS #1 TOP PICK
A limited edition paperback featuring foil and embossing, with gorgeous custom designed edges.
“Kelly Rimmer is at her most skillful here… An emotional, haunting tale.” —Julia Kelly, internationally bestselling author of The Dressmakers of London
In the aftermath of a tumultuous year, Fiona Winslow finds solace in the decaying grandeur of Wurimbirra, the rambling family estate she once called home. Intent on restoring it, she discovers the keys to more than just the dilapidated mansion—beneath the crumbling plaster and dust are secrets that have been buried for a generation.
When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle’s library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own—a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?
Told in a dual narrative and set against the Gothic backdrop of Wurimbirra, Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say, weaves an intricate and compelling tale, inviting readers into the heart of a family’s deepest secrets with an absorbing book-within-a-book mystery.
“Kelly Rimmer always delivers a poignant story with real characters who lodge themselves in your heart.” —New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin
For more by Kelly Rimmer, look for
The Paris Agent
Before I Let You Go
The Things We Cannot Say
Truths I Never Told You
The Warsaw Orphan
The German Wife
From People Magazine:
The cover of ‘The Story Keeper;’ Kelly Rimmer. Credit : MIRA; Kirsten Cunningham Photography
Kelly Rimmer is unraveling another twisty story.
PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the author’s latest novel, The Story Keeper, out next summer via MIRA, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
The novel follows Fiona Winslow who escapes to her family’s gothic estate, Wurimbirra, after a difficult year. The once-prosperous home is now deteriorating, and Fiona intends to restore it to its former grandeur.
But when Fiona uncovers an old book that belonged to her late uncle entitled The Midnight Estate, she learns that the volume eerily mirrors her own life. Soon, fiction begins to mix with reality, and Fiona is forced to confront the true mysteries of the book and Wurimbirra.
“This story is so special to me,” Rimmer, the bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say and The German Wife, tells PEOPLE. “It’s a book-within-a-book family mystery, a love song to all things books and an ode to small towns like the place I called home as a kid. I can’t wait to share it with readers!”
The cover of ‘The Story Keeper’ by Kelly Rimmer. MIRA
Uncle Tad was a storyteller by nature as well as profession and he loved to tell elaborate stories about the “ghosts” he supposedly shared Wurimbirra with. So many ghosts. Not a menacing one among the crowd of them, at least in the stories Tad told me. I was possibly the first child in history to grow up believing she lived in a haunted house and thrilled about the excitement of it. I used to hope and pray I’d see one of Tad’s ghosts.
Only as I grew older did I learn that there were other stories that circulate around this region — about the mansion’s dark past, about spirits lingering on the land because of unfathomable injustice and unresolved pain. There’s a terrible truth behind all of that — a few years before this house was built, something unthinkable did happen right on the other side of the low concrete wall that bounds the existing property. Even so, I don’t believe in ghosts, and that’s mostly because I lived here for 16 years and in all of that time, I never felt anything but safe and loved.
From Parade Magazine:
For readers who love family secrets, decaying estates and a slow burn, The Story Keeper is on shelves now, and it is the kind of book that rewards a long afternoon and a spot on the to-be-read pile. The result is a summer read with a chill running through it.
Twenty-one Days is an offshoot of Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I read the first Charlotte and Thomas book, The Cater Street Hangman, in 1979. I can still remember not wanting to arrive at my destination on the subway because I wanted to keep reading.
So, it was with much anticipation that I began this novel in which Charlotte and Thomas’s son, Daniel, is the protagonist. He is all grown up, has attended Cambridge and is a newly qualified lawyer. Daniel is assigned several cases in this story, the 21 days has to do with the number of days it will be until a man convicted of murder will be hanged…or will he? Is he guilty? Read the story for a complex and engrossing solution.
It was lovely to see Thomas and Charlotte as peripheral characters and to read about Jemima, Thomas’s sister, who is now in New York. Victor Narraway and Aunt Vespasia also are mentioned. There are also new and very likeable characters as well.
If you like Anne Perry, read this! If you don’t know Anne Perry, read this and then work your way through the series starting with the book mentioned above. Highly recommended by me. Many thanks NetGalley!!
I like the way that this title was organized into sections. These include Common Objections to Therapy, Getting the Help You Need and, With A Little Help From Our Friends. Just a few of the subsections are titled Why Should I Talk to a Stranger, How Do I Find a Good Therapist and, Grief Counseling (this third section is about different types of therapy. Other contributors helped here).
The authors jump right in, letting readers know how they became interested in this field. Note that co-author Dr. Brink died before the publication of this title. He is, though, very present in these pages.
The two organized this book as a series of questions and answers. Readers can dip in and out, although they may want to read in order. Either way, many concerns about therapy and how it works are discussed in this accessibly written title.
Those who are thinking about seeing a therapist and/or those who are in therapy will find this to be a good resource. It helps to demystify what therapy is, how it works and more.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Koehler Books for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Description:
from the publisher
Plenty of people still don’t understand the basics of therapy-including those with a growing sense that they need help. An Insider’s Guide to Psychotherapy addresses some of the most basic questions you may have about working with a therapist.
Brink and Raubolt have written their guide as a series of answers to questions they’ve encountered during their decades of experience as psychotherapists-ranging from initial skepticism to concerns about whether therapy is working, to developing a clear sense of when it’s time to stop. They’ve also enlisted experts in more specialized fields of psychological therapy, such as couples therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and less well-known specialties such as EMDR or gendered therapy. The result is a trustworthy, one-stop resource that may be of as much help to newer therapists as it is to new or potential clients.
Full of common-sense advice and free of psychological jargon, An Insider’s Guide to Psychotherapy is a no-nonsense guide to getting the help you need.
A Note From the Publisher on the authors:
Richard Raubolt, PhD, ABBP, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a board-certified psychoanalyst who has been in independent practice for more than forty years. The founding editor of the online journal Otherwise, he served on the board of the International Forum for Psychoanalytic Education for ten years and was elected president of the Michigan Group Psychotherapy Society. He is the author of two previous books and more than thirty professional papers, and he has produced five films, three of which were nominated for awards given by the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis.
Kirk L. Brink, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who has served as an adjunct faculty member in several different colleges and universities while maintaining an active practice of individual, group, couples, and family psychotherapy, along with supervision of other therapists. He has also served as a consultant with mental health agencies, businesses, and regional hospitals. He has been a board member of the Michigan Group Psychotherapy Society and the Institute for Individual and Group Psychotherapy for the last twenty years.
This is the fifth title to feature Marlow amateur detectives Becks, Suzie and, of course, Judith. I have read all of the series and also have watched the TV show. Now, I have just read book 5 which I enjoyed.
Book 5 picks up where book 4 ended. This means that there is a subplot about Judith and her ex husband who reportedly died from drowning. Judith’s husband had a daughter with someone else. This daughter is making accusations against Judith. Did Judith do something unforgivable? What did really happen? Those who have read the earlier books will want to know, as will some new to the series.
Around this, there are once again too many murders in Marlow. For a small, pretty place, it has an outsize number of crimes, maybe a bit like in Christie’s St. Mary Mead.
Celebrities have been killed. Why? Is there a common thread? Of course, the intrepid threesome will do their best to find out.
I look forward to a new book in this series and hope Thorogood will give this to readers.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 07 July 2026
Post first published on 22 May 2026
About the book:
from the publisher
Description
“Fiendishly clever!” – Kirkus reviews
The new cozy crime novel from the bestselling author of The Marlow Murder Club, now a major TV series on PBS Masterpiece!
Two dead celebrities. One village full of secrets.
Someone is killing celebrities in Marlow. First, it’s a famous soccer player. Then, a bestselling thriller writer. When two shocking deaths rock their quiet riverside town, Judith, Suzie, and Becks—the unstoppable Marlow Murder Club—must untangle a dangerous web of blackmail and scandal to catch a killer.
But with their trusted police ally DI Malik suddenly suspended, and Judith’s own past threatening to resurface, the women are on their own. Suspects are multiplying like tabloid headlines, secrets are stacking up, and time is running out.
Can the Marlow Murder Club crack the case before the killer strikes again—or will this be the end of their crime-solving adventures?
The inviting cover of this book made me want to read it and I am glad that I did. Note that the main characters are all here as are books. What more could a reader hope for?
Most Ardently Yours is a novel that asks for substantial suspension of disbelief. However, readers who are willing to do just that will find much to enjoy in Sampson’s newest novel.
Protagonist Zoe believes very strongly in what romances offer to their readers. Early in the book, she reels off the names of many in this field, some of whom I did not know. (I need to look).
Zoe gets into an argument with bookshop owner Nick whom she faults for not stocking romances but rather what Zoe calls “dick lit.” (Readers will learn more about this) So, while in the store Zoe runs out with a copy of Pride and Prejudice (that she did not pay for) and sets the amazing events in motion.
Imagine, Zoe’s surprise when Fitzwilliam Darcy appears in front of her. How could he possibly have come to life? It will take a bit until Zoe fully understands what happened and the implications.
Sampson has fun with Will’s adjustment to modern life. Readers will watch as he and Zoe get to know one another. What will happen to them? Can a fictional character even have a long term relationship? And, what about grumpy Nick?
Find out as readers get to know Zoe and those around her. Enjoy the time lines.
Think about what it might be like to have a bookshop like Nick’s. Marvel about what books can do for people.
This was a delightful read. Those who enjoy women’s fiction, romance, this author and escapist reads will want to take a look.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks-Landmark for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 07 July 2026
Post first published on 26 January 2026
Description:
from the publisher
From USA Today Bestselling author Freya Sampson comes a swoon-worthy, laugh-out-loud romance inspired by Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice that begs the question: what if your book boyfriend jumped from the pages of their story and into your life?
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of many romance novels, must be in want of a book boyfriend.”
Zoe Knight, a struggling romance writer, has sworn off men for good. At least…the ones in real life. Once a believer in a happily ever after, she now curbs her loneliness with the help of the best book boyfriends in literature – and there is no better man than Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy. So when she stumbles into a classic London bookshop and argues with the annoyingly attractive store owner, Nick, who refuses to sell romance novels, she decides to liberate him of a dusty copy of Pride & Prejudice abandoned on a top shelf.
But this is no ordinary book.
After reading from the pages, Zoe finds herself in a remarkable situation: she has accidentally summoned the Mr. Darcy to the real world. Now, she’s face-to-face with the man she’s loved forever, and he’s everything she dreamed he would be. Handsome? Check. Brooding? Check. Talks like he swallowed a thesaurus? Check and check. But even in all his regency perfection, can he ever be as good as in the novel? And if he’s here, in her London apartment trying to figure out how to work a shower , what will happen to the literary world he came from? With Nick—the last man she could ever be prevailed upon to work with—urging her to send the fictional Darcy back to his own story, Zoe will have to decide what she really wants from a happy ending, before it’s too late.
This irresistible, laugh-out-loud story full of heart, hilarity, and hijinks stars a protagonist who’s ready to slice, dice, and stir up a second chance at life by enrolling in culinary school to win back her husband’s heart. Imagine Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods meets Jesse’s own Vera Wong—what, like cooking is hard?
Mebel, a doting Chinese Indonesian trophy wife, is 63 and completely unprepared for life’s next act: her husband of 40 years, Henk, leaving her for their much-younger private chef. But rather than wallow, Mebel does what any self-respecting almost-divorcée would do: she enrolls in culinary school. After all, any good wife knows that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Take that, Henk’s mistress! Henk will be running back to Mebel in no time! Except, instead of kicking off her plans for revenge in a fabulous culinary institute in Paris, Mebel accidentally enrolls in a tiny program in the rainy English countryside. Amid culture shock, kitchen disasters, and unexpected friendships, Mebel begins to realize that maybe this escapade isn’t about getting her husband back. Maybe it’s about finding herself for the first time.
Whether you’re in it for the messiness, the mayhem, or the mouthwatering misadventures of a woman rediscovering her purpose, MS. MEBEL GOES BACK TO THE CHOPPING BLOCK is an absolute treat.
About the author:
Jesse Q. Sutanto is the author of adult, YA, and children’s middle grade books. She has an MSt in Creative Writing from Oxford University and a BA in English Lit from Berkeley, though she hasn’t found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties, was bought by Netflix in a competitive bidding war. Her adult books include Dial A for Aunties, its sequel, Four Aunties and a Wedding, and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Her YA books include The Obsession, The New Girl, and Well, That Was Unexpected. Her MG books include Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit and its sequel, Theo Tan and the Iron Fan. Find her on Twitter @thewritinghippo and on Instagram @jesseqsutanto.
My thoughts:
It is always a pleasure to find a book with a protagonist who is a mature woman given a good storyline. That said, readers don’t have to be of any particular age to enjoy this book.
I also love stories that have a cooking or baking background so that also drew me to this novel, as did the idea of finding oneself as a woman in her sixties. It was fun to see how Ms. Mebel makes her way from pampered wife, to a cooking school course, to getting to know new people, and enjoying (and learning) from new experiences.
This book did not disappoint. I will miss Ms. Mebel.
Those who enjoy women’s fiction will enjoy this one. It might well appeal to readers of Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame as well.
This book has gotten many positive reviews. Here are some from the major book review magazines.
“Sutanto’s (Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)) heartwarming, feel-good story of a formerly entitled woman who learns she has desires of her own and is more than arm candy is laced with humor and will appeal to readers who enjoy stories of women reinventing themselves.”—Library Journal
“Sutanto, who is behind the beloved Vera Wong mystery series, has created another unsinkable and unstintingly funny 60-something female character, and readers should derive much pleasure witnessing Mebel’s transformation from castoff wife into Chinese Indonesian Golden Girl. Soufflé lightness, deliciously flavored with feminism.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The lessons beyond the kitchen about trust friendship, autonomy, resilience, (a little) revenge, and most importantly, her true self prove that even ‘at sixty- three, there is still so much more to life, so many more things to discover.’ Let’s hope Sutanto brings Mebel back soon.”—Booklist
“Sutanto keeps the pages turning with tight plotting and thoroughly enjoyable characters. Readers are in for a treat.”—Publishers Weekly
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing for the invitation to this blog tour. All thoughts are my own.
January 2027 Prepub Alert: forthcoming titles to know, share, and buy; plus a downloadable spreadsheet of all the titles and an Edelweiss catalog with plot summaries, author profiles, and more.
— Read on www.libraryjournal.com/story/Prepub-Alert-January-2027-Titles
I am excited to share The Queen of Fives with readers. This author’s last book was so enjoyable and this new one will, I think, also offer readers a good escape.
Many thanks to the team at HTP for this opportunity.
The book:
The Queen of Fives
Author: Alex Hay
Publication Date: January 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781525809859
Graydon House Hardcover
About the book:
“Bridgerton meets The Sting in this effervescent offering…. Hay has conceived of a wholly original take on Victorian London and populated it with a gallery of colorful underworld types. The plotting will have readers on the edges of their seats as one twist after another sets the stage for a series of jaw-dropping revelations. This literary confection is a delectable treat.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A confidence scheme, when properly executed, will follow five movements:
I. The Mark II. The Intrusion. III. The Ballyhoo. IV. The Knot. V. All In.
There may be many counter-strikes along the way, for such is the nature of the game; it contains so many sides, so many endless possibilities…
Nothing is quite as it seems in Victorian high society in this clever novel set against the most magnificent wedding of the season, as a mysterious heiress sets her sights on London’s most illustrious family
1898. Quinn le Blanc, London’s most talented con woman, has five days to pull off her most ambitious plot yet: trap a highly eligible duke into marriage and lift a fortune from the richest family in England.
Masquerading as the season’s most enviable debutante, Quinn puts on a brilliant act that earns her entrance into the grand drawing rooms and lavish balls of high society—and propels her straight into the inner circle of her target: the charismatic Kendals. Among those she must convince are the handsome bachelor heir, the rebellious younger sister, and the esteemed duchess eager to see her son married.
But the deeper she forges into their world, the more Quinn finds herself tangled in a complicated web of love, lies, and loyalty. The Kendals all have secrets of their own, and she may not be the only one playing a game of high deception…
Try it:
THE QUEEN OF FIVES
By ALEX HAY
A confidence scheme, when properly executed, will follow five movements in close and inviolable order:
I. The Mark.
Wherein a fresh quarry is perceived and made the object of the closest possible study.
II. The Intrusion.
Wherein the quarry’s outer layers must be pierced, his world peeled open…
III. The Ballyhoo.
Where a golden opportunity shall greatly tempt and dazzle the quarry…
IV. The Knot.
Wherein the quarry is encircled by his new friends, and naysayers are sent gently on their way…
V. All In.
Where all commitments are secured, and the business is happily—and irrevocably—concluded.
A coda: there may be many counterstrikes along the way, for such is the nature of the game; it contains so many sides, so many endless possibilities…
Rulebook—1799.
Day One
The Mark
1
Quinn
Five days earlier
Here was how it began. Four miles east of Berkeley Square, a few turns from Fashion Street and several doors down from the synagogue, stood a humble old house in Spitalfields. Four floors high, four bays across. Rose-colored shutters, a green trim to the door. A basement kitchen hidden from the street, and a colony of house sparrows nesting in the eaves, feasting on bread crusts and milk pudding scrapings.
On the first floor, behind peeling sash windows, stood Quinn Le Blanc.
She changed her gloves. She had a fine selection at her disposal, per her exalted rank in this neighborhood—chevrette kid, mousquetaire, pleated gloves for daytime, ridged ones for riding, silk-lined, fur-edged. All shades, too—dark, tan, brandy, black, mauve. No suede, of course. And no lace: nothing that could snag. The purpose of the glove was the preservation of the skin. Not from the sun, not from the cold.
From people.
She pulled on the French kid—cream-colored with green buttons—flexed her fingers, tested the grip. For she was the reigning Queen of Fives, the present mistress of this house; the details were everything.
“Mr. Silk?” she called from the gaming room. “Have you bolted the rear doors?”
His voice came back, querulous, from the stairs. “Naturally I have.” Then the echo of his boots as he clumped away.
The gaming room breathed around her. It was hot, for they kept a good strong fire burning year-round, braving incineration. But now she threw cold water on the grate, making the embers hiss and smoke. She closed the drapes, which smelled as they always did: a tinge of tobacco and the sour tint of mildew. Something else, too: a touch of cognac, or absinthe—one of the prior queens had enjoyed her spirits.
Quinn examined the room, wondering if she should lock away any valuables for the week. Of course, she had no fears of not returning on schedule, in triumph, per her plan—but still, she was venturing into new and dangerous waters. Some prudence could serve her well. The shelves were crammed with objects: hatboxes, shoeboxes, vinegars, perfume bottles, merino cloths, linen wrappings. But then she decided against it; she despised wasting time. The most incriminating, valuable things were all stored downstairs, in the bureau.
The bureau contained every idea the household ever had, the schemes designed and played by generations of queens. It stood behind doors reinforced with iron bolts, windows that were bricked up and impassable. It was safe enough, for now.
“Quinn?” Silk’s voice floated up the stairs. “We must be punctual.”
“We will be,” she called back with confidence.
Confidence was all they had going for them at the Château these days.
The Château. It was a pompous name for a humble old house. But that was the point, wasn’t it? It gave the place a sense of importance in a neighborhood that great folk merely despised. There were tailors and boot finishers living on one side, cigar makers and scholars on the other, and a very notorious doss-house at the end of the road. Quinn had lived in it nearly all her life, alongside Mr. Silk.
Quinn descended the creaking staircase, flicking dust from the framed portraits lined along the wall. They depicted the Château’s prior queens, first in oils, later in daguerreotype, with Quinn’s own picture placed at the foot of the stairs. Hers was a carte de visite mounted in a gilt frame, adorned with red velvet curtains. In it, Quinn wore a thick veil, just like her predecessors. She carried a single game card in one hand, and she was dressed in her inaugural disguise—playing the very splendid “Mrs. Valentine,” decked in emerald green velvet, ready to defraud the corrupt owners of the nearby Fairfield Works. She was just eighteen, and had already secured the confidence of the Château’s other players—and she was ready to rule.
That was eight years ago.
Quinn rubbed the smeared glass with her cuff. The house needed a good spring clean. She’d given up the housekeeper months ago; even a scullery maid was too great an expense now. Glancing through the rear window, she caught her usual view of the neighborhood—rags flapping on distant lines, air hazed with smoke. The houses opposite winked back at her, all nets and blinds, their disjointed gardens tangled and wild. She fastened the shutters, checking the bolts.
Silk was waiting by the front door. “Ready?” He was wearing a bulky waistcoat, his cravat ruffled right up to his chin. His bald head shone in the weak light.
Quinn studied him, amused. “What have you stuffed yourself with?”
“Strips of steel, if you must know.”
“In your jacket?”
“Yes.”
“For what reason?”
“My own protection. What else?”
Quinn raised a brow. “You’re developing a complex.”
“We’re living in a violent age, Le Blanc. A terribly violent age.”
Silk was forever clipping newspaper articles about foreign agitators, bombs being left in fruit baskets on station platforms.
“Stay close to me, then,” Quinn said, hauling open the front door, squinting in the light.
Net curtains twitched across the road. This was a quiet anonymous street, and the location of the Château was a closely guarded secret, even among their kind. But the neighbors kept their eyes on the Château. Nobody questioned its true ownership: the deeds had been adulterated too many times, sliced out of all official registers. In the 1790s, it was inhabited by an elusive Mrs. B—(real name unknown). Some said she’d been a disgraced bluestocking, or an actress, or perhaps a Frenchwoman on the run—a noble comtesse in disguise! She caught the neighborhood’s imagination; they refashioned her in their minds. B—became “Blank,” which in time became “Le Blanc.” Her house was nicknamed le Château. Smoke rose from the chimneys; queer characters came and went; the lights burned at all hours. Some said Madame Le Blanc had started a school. Others claimed it was a brothel.
In fact, it was neither.
It was something much cleverer.
The Queen of Fives. They breathed the title with reverence on the docks, down the coastline. A lady with a hundred faces, a thousand voices, a million lives. She might spin into yours if you didn’t watch out… She played a glittering game: lifting a man’s fortune with five moves, in five days, before disappearing without a trace.
The sun was inching higher, turning the sky a hard mazarine blue. “Nice day for it,” Quinn said, squeezing Silk’s arm.
Silk peered upward. “I think not.” He’d checked his barometer before breakfast. “There’s a storm coming.”
Quinn could feel it, the rippling pleasure down her spine. “Better and better,” she replied. “Now, come along.”
They made an unassuming pair when they were out in public. An older gentleman in a dark and bulky overcoat, with a very sleek top hat. A youngish woman in dyed green furs, with a high collar and a sharp-tilted toque. He with his eyes down, minding his step. She with her face veiled, gloves gripped round an elegant cane. Always listening, watching, rolling dice in their minds.
Silk and Quinn had a single clear objective for the day. Audacious, impossible, outrageous—but clear. He showed her his appointment book: Three p.m.—Arrive in ballroom, Buckingham Palace, en déguisé.
“In disguise? Doesn’t that go without saying?”
“You tell me. Has your costume been delivered?”
“Not yet. But we have a more serious impediment.”
“Oh?” he asked her.
“I’ve still not received my invitation card to the palace.”
They turned into Fournier Street. Silk tutted. “I’ve dealt with that. Our old friend at the Athenaeum Club will oblige you.”
“You’re quite sure? We’ve never cut it so fine before.”
“Well, you might need to prod him a little.”
“Just a little?”
“The very littlest bit, Quinn.”
Unnecessary violence was not part of their method. But persuasion—well, that was essential. Let’s call a spade a spade: the Château was a fraud house, a cunning firm, a swindler’s palace ruled by a queen. It made its business by cheating great men out of their fortunes. In the bureau stood the Rulebook, its marbled endpapers inscribed with each queen’s initials, setting the conditions of their games.
And this week the Queen of Fives would execute the most dangerous game of her reign.
Quinn paused outside the Ten Bells. “Very well. We can’t afford any slips. I’ll go to the Athenaeum now. Anything else?”
Silk shook his head. “Rien ne va plus.” No more bets.
They gripped hands. He gave her his usual look: a fond gaze, then a frown. “Play on, Le Blanc.”
She grinned at him in return. “Same to you, old friend.”
ALEX HAY grew up in the United Kingdom in Cambridge and Cardiff, and has been writing as long as he can remember. He studied history at the University of York, and wrote his dissertation on female power at royal courts, combing the archives for every scrap of drama and skulduggery he could find. He has worked in magazine publishing and the charity sector and lives with his husband in London. His debut, The Housekeepers won the Caledonia Novel Award, and was named a Best Book of the Summer by Reader’s Digest, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, and others. His second novel, The Queen of Fives, publishes in January 2025. Alex lives with his husband in South East London.
Ann Cleeves is absolutely one of my favorite authors. I have read all of the Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez novels. The Matthew Venn books are the ones in her newest series and this title is the fourth of these. I think that it is the very best so far. I was completely absorbed in this novel from start to finish.
Matthew is a complex character, in part because of his experiences when he was growing up. He is now married to Jonathan who has something significant happening in his life over the course of this story.
And, of course there are murders. Two young girls have been killed as the story opens. There are a plethora of suspects.
The settings are vividly described. The political rise of one character was interesting as were the stories of other wealthy incomers to the neighborhood. There is also a visiting American couple, and those who have lived in the community for far longer. Readers also spend time with the police officers who will be known to readers of the series.
I so enjoyed this book. Matthew Venn come back soon!
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.
Post first published on 29 July 2026
Description:
from the publisher
“Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible.”—Richard Osman DI Matthew Venn peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets one family is keeping in this searing new novel, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension.
A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in Devon. Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death, when the body of a young woman, Lottie, is found in the swimming pool of a luxurious holiday home. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing. The girls had arrived a few days earlier to celebrate the end of their school exams, quickly stirring unrest in the small community with incendiary social media videos mocking the place as parochial.
When further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community filled with secrets. The fact that Hannah’s father, Paul Armstrong, is a rising political star with powerful enemies draws intense media scrutiny to the case.
With the summer heat come holidaymakers, and it emerges that some of them may have stronger connections with the Armstrong family than first thought. Venn knows all too well that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silences that they keep.
Taut, atmospheric, and brimming with suspense, this searing new novel finds DI Matthew Venn caught between a powerful family’s secrets and a powder keg of local tensions.
From the Ann Cleeves website:
The deadliest truths are those in the shadows…
Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death. The body of a young woman has been found in the swimming pool of Tide House, a luxurious holiday home in North Devon, and her best friend is missing. The property belongs to rising political star Paul Armstrong and the case quickly draws intense media scrutiny.
As a scorching heat wave rages and further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community brimming with secrets. The dead woman and her friend had been spotted at a nearby music festival the day before, an event which brought locals and outsiders together – some of whom may have been more connected with the Armstrongs than first thought.
Caught between a powerful family’s secrets and a powder keg of local tensions, Venn must navigate a treacherous path. Knowing that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silence that they keep …
Try it:
Prologue
THE TWO GIRLS CLIMBED OUT OF the car and there it was, in all its glory. Tide House, so white in the morning sun that it hurt their eyes to look at it. The pool blue and glittering. The sea below them partly hidden by trees. Lundy Island on the horizon. They’d driven overnight on Thursday to avoid the traffic on the M5, so they’d arrive as soon as possible after the exams were over, and in time for the weekend. Hannah had needed to be in Millscombe for the weekend. For the festival. For Jake. They’d told their parents that it would be more comfortable to set off late in the evening. After all, the country had been in the middle of a tarmac-melting, climate-emergency heatwave for weeks.
‘Wow!’ Lottie was impressed and it was hard to impress Lottie, super-cool, with her place at St Hilda’s, Oxford, and her model good looks. Her string of super-cool boyfriends. Her sporting prowess. ‘We could be in the Mediterranean.’
Soon, Hannah thought, they’d separate, head off to different universities, different lives. The thought gave her an unexpected and overwhelming sense of relief.
She was dizzy and light-headed after the drive, grateful to have arrived safely. She’d had to persuade her mother that of course she’d be fine coming down early with Lottie. She’d passed her driving test first time, and though the car her parents had given her wasn’t new, it was perfectly reliable. Her father had winked and reminded her mum of their reckless youth, the miles they’d travelled in their crappy minivan. The festivals and the squats.
‘I think we can trust this lovely lass to make it from London to North Devon in one piece. She’s far too sensible already,’ he had said.
So here she was, the stress of A levels over, with her bestie, her saviour, in her parents’ holiday home in North Devon. Three days of freedom, of sunshine, of independence, before the olds turned up with her younger brothers.
Hannah opened the boot and began to pull out the bags. There was a splash, and she turned to see that Lottie had already stripped off and was in the pool, her blonde hair dripping, her face just above the water, grinning.-from Criminal Elements website
Editorial reviews:
Det. Insp. Matthew Venn investigates a murder and a disappearance connected to a prominent British politician in Cleeve’s effective sequel toThe Raging Storm. Venn and his team are called to Tide House, the Devon vacation home of well-known MP Paul Armstrong, where Armstrong’s daughter, Hannah, and her friend, Lottie, had been staying ahead of a family vacation. Armstrong found Lottie dead in the pool, with Hannah nowhere to be seen. His public profile means the U.K.’s ministry of the interior watches and weighs in on every move Venn makes as he searches for answers, which come via observations from local villagers and conversations with the girls’ parents and friends. As always, Cleeves is strong on atmosphere, and she crafts well-rounded characters whose overlapping secrets form an engrossing puzzle—developments in the personal lives of Venn’s investigators land with the same sense of occasion as bombshells about the victims’ lives. By the time Cleeves has narrowed her large list of suspects to a guilty few, readers will be eager to see where Venn goes next. (Sept.)–Publishers Weekly
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Twenty-one Days is an offshoot of Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I read the first Charlotte and Thomas book, The Cater Street Hangman, in 1979. I can still remember not wanting to arrive at my destination on the subway because I wanted to keep reading.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 