www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/12/books/review/book-quotations-quiz.html

NOOK Daily Find

Fiction

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Toshikazu Kawaguchi Book Set

by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

What would you do if you could travel back in time? Discover the internationally bestselling novels of Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, now a worldwide phenomenon and BookTok sensation, in this special new box set. Step inside Tokyo’s whimsical Café Funiculi Funicula and travel back in time with a cast of unforgettable characters.$3.99

www.nytimes.com/article/book-movie-tv-adaptations-2025.html

A Pony Tale

by Kathy Simmers

#PicklesforChristmas #NetGalley

Did you love ponies when you were young? Do you know a child who does now and who longs for a pony above all things? Do you like sweet stories with endearing illustrations? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you must read this book that is based on something true. I loved it. It is five stars for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bound to Happen Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 05 December 2024

Website: http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/

2025 EDGAR AWARDS PRESENTED
Mystery Writers of America presented the Edgar Awards May 1, 2025, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City. Our congratulations to the winners (listed first in each category) and to all of the nominees.

Grand Masters:

Laura Lippman John Sandford

Best Mystery Novel
*	The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell [review]
°	The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett [review]
°	Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco [review]
°	Things Don’t Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins [review]
°	My Favorite Scar by Nicolás Ferraro [review]
°	The God of the Woods by Liz Moore [review]
°	Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera [review]

Best First Novel by an American Author
*	Holy City by Henry Wise [review]
°	Twice the Trouble by Ash Clifton [review]
°	Cold to the Touch by Kerri Hakoda [review]
°	The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee
°	A Jewel in the Crown by David Lewis [review]
°	The President’s Lawyer by Lawrence Robbins [review]

Best Paperback Original
*	The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle
°	The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass
°	Shell Games by Bonnie Kistler
°	A Forgotten Kill by Isabella Maldonado
°	The Road to Heaven by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson

Best Fact Crime
*	The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective by Steven Johnson
°	Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers by Frank Figliuzzi
°	A Devil Went Down to Georgia: Race, Power, Privilege, and the Murder of Lita McClinton by Deb Miller Landau
°	The Amish Wife: Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy that Let a Killer Go Free by Gregg Olsen
°	Hell Put to Shame: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America’s Second Slavery by Earl Swift
°	The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age by Michael Wolraich

Best Critical/Biographical
*	James Sallis: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Nathan Ashman
°	American Noir Film: From The Maltese Falcon to Gone Girl by M. Keith Booker
°	Organized Crime on Page and Screen: Portrayals in Hit Novels, Films, and Television Shows by David Geherin
°	On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett by Ashley Lawson

Best Short Story
*	“Eat My Moose” by Erika Krouse   Conjunctions: 82, Works & Days
°	“Cut and Thirst” by Margaret Atwood   Amazon Original Stories
°	“Everywhere You Look” by Liv Constantine   Amazon Original Stories
°	“Barriers to Entry” by Ariel Lawhon   Amazon Original Stories
°	“The Art of Cruel Embroidery” by Steven Sheil   Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, July-August 2024

Best Juvenile
*	Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Stolen Key by Margaret Peterson Haddix
°	The Beanstalk Murder by P.G. Bell
°	Mystery of Mystic Mountain by Janet Fox
°	The Spindle of Fate by Aimee Lim
°	Find Her by Ginger Reno
°	Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare

Best Young Adult
*	49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards
°	Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell
°	The Bitter End by Alexa Donne
°	A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur
°	Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson

Mary Higgins Clark Award
*	The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill [review]
°	The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen
°	The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard
°	Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman
°	Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen

Sue Grafton Memorial Award
*	The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear [review]
°	Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
°	A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh [review]
°	Proof by Beverly McLachlin
°	A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia [review]
°	All the Way Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen

Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Award
*	The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald
°	Death and Fromage by Ian Moore
°	Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson
°	Murder on Devil’s Pond by Ayla Rose
°	The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan [review]

Previous Edgar Awards

---

2025 ANTHONY AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
The Anthony Awards are given at each annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention with the winners selected by attendees. The award is named for Anthony Boucher (William Anthony Parker White), a writer and critic from the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times, who helped found the Mystery Writers of America. The Anthony Awards will be presented at Bouchercon New Orleans in September. Our congratulations to all the nominees.

Best Mystery Novel
°	Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett [review]
°	The God of the Woods by Liz Moore [review]
°	The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
°	Alter Ego by Alex Segura
°	California Bear by Duane Swierczynski

Best First Mystery
°	The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee
°	Ghosts of Waikīkī by Jennifer K. Morita
°	You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen [review]
°	Good-Looking Ugly by Rob D. Smith
°	Holy City by Henry Wise [review]

Best Paperback/E-book/Audiobook
°	The Last Few Miles of Road by Eric Beetner
°	Echo by Tracy Clark
°	Served Cold by James L’Etoile
°	Late Checkout by Alan Orloff
°	The Big Lie by Gabriel Valjan

Best Historical Mystery
°	The Lantern’s Dance by Laurie R. King
°	The Witching Hour by Catriona McPherson
°	The Bootlegger’s Daughter by Nadine Nettmann
°	The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan [review]
°	The Courtesan’s Pirate by Nina Wachsman

Best Paranormal Mystery
°	A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke
°	Five Furry Familiars by Lynn Cahoon
°	Exposure by Ramona Emerson
°	Lights, Camera, Bone by Carolyn Haines
°	Death in Ghostly Hue by Susan Van Kirk

Best Cozy/Humorous Mystery
°	A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns
°	A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron
°	ll-Fated Fortune by Jennifer J. Chow
°	Scotzilla by Catriona McPherson [review]
°	Cirque du Slay by Rob Osler
°	Dominoes, Danzón, and Death by Raquel V. Reyes

Best Juvenile/Young Adult
°	The Big Grey Man of Ben Macdhui by K.B. Jackson
°	Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson
°	First Week Free at the Roomy Toilet by Josh Proctor
°	The Sherlock Society by James Ponti
°	When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar

Best Critical or Nonfiction Work
°	Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft edited by Phyllis M. Betz
°	Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers: Critiquing the Columbo Killers by Chris Chan
°	On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett by Ashley Lawson
°	Abingdon’s Boardinghouse Murder by Greg Lilly
°	The Serial Killer’s Apprentice by Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman

Best Anthology or Collection
°	Murder, Neat: A Sleuthslayer’s Anthology edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman
°	Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House edited by Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson
°	Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir edited by Tod Goldberg
°	Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024 edited by Heather Graham
°	Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead edited by Josh Pachter

Best Short Story
°	“A Matter of Trust” by Barb Goffman   Three Strikes—You’re Dead
°	“Twenty Centuries” by James D.F. Hannah   Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir
°	“Something to Hold Onto” by Curtis Ippolito   Dark Yonder, Issue 6
°	“Satan’s Spit” by Gabriel Valjan   Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024
°	“Reynisfjara” by Kristopher Zgorski   Mystery Most International

Michiko Aoyama

#WhatYouAreLookingForIsintheLibrary #NetGalley

I am a great fan of books about books. A favorite of mine is The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, and I recently read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. Aoyama’s lovely title shares with the others a love of books and reading, an acknowledgment of how books open worlds to readers, and an understanding of how self-knowledge and growth are fostered through reading. A bit like, Wait Until the Coffee Gets Cold, What You are Looking for consists of a series of vignettes about people who are at a crossroads. When they meet a very particular librarian, they may not understand why she gives them certain recommendations (a small felted frying pan, the suggestion of a children’s book when the reader was asking for books on Excel) but readers can trust that all will become clear and that the books’ borrowers will benefit. This book is one that reads in a deceptively simple manner. There is much to think about as well in these pages, however, especially about the meaning of work. This book would make a delightful gift for a book lover. It looks very nice in its hardcover version. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

From the Publisher

Four stars ****

Not so long ago, I was transported to Paris and the world of Shakespeare & Co. in Ms. Maher’s last novel. This time, readers are placed firmly in the Chicago area in the early 1970s.

It is a time of upheaval and change, even as some cling to a more 1950s lifestyle. Readers are introduced to several main characters who live in the time period.

Veronica is a bit of a free spirit and a person who is involved in the social movements of the time. Most significantly, she becomes a part of the Jane network, providing safe, but illegal, abortion services.

Patty, a friend of Veronica’s growing up years, is more conservative. She is a traditional wife and mother who is concerned about her doctor husband’s recent lack of interest in her.

Siobhan is a newer friend of Veronica’s. The story opens as Veronica accompanies Siobhan to her illegal abortion. Siobhan is an artist who is separated/divorced from her professor husband Gabe. She is active in the Janes.

Margaret is a new Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago. She is finding her way and becomes friends with Phyllis. She also becomes involved with Gabe.

This is a rich historical novel that will remind readers of what life was like in the days before Roe v Wade, a time that we have now reentered. The author tells her story well and readers will become immersed in the lives of these fictional characters and the decisions that they make.

I highly recommend this one. It is being published at just the right time.

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

From the Publisher

Puzzle Quest Summer Surprise

Mystery Puzzles for Kids

by Kia Marie Hunt

#PuzzleQuestSummerSurprise #NetGalley

The timing of this book’s publication makes it just perfect for taking on a trip with the family (or for playing at home). It should keep a child occupied for a while in a fun, non-screen dependent way; this is something that I always love.

Kids can solve word and number puzzles, mazes and more in these pages. The puzzles are tucked around a story line that includes many watery settings.

Young readers/solvers are immediately invited in. The initial setting is a rainy one. Children are invited to follow Dottie the cat as they take on the challenges.

I highly recommend this book. Brain games are one of my weaknesses.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Collins Reference for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 5 June 2025

by Renée Rosen

#LetsCallHerBarbie #NetGalley

Barbie…just the name is enough to form the picture of this her in the reader’s mind. She is a doll that has both been embraced and vilified, perhaps even both at the same time for some. Now, she is so much a part of popular culture, it is difficult to remember that once there was no Barbie.

Author Renee Rosen has written a detailed, intriguing and complex story about Barbie and her creators. She has brought the historical people to life, especially Ruth and Jack (more below), Elliot and Charlotte, to name a few. She also has created fictional characters including Stevie who interacts with all of the historical figures.

I learned so much about the toy industry, how toys go from plans to reality and how this applied specifically to Barbie, in these pages. Ruth had a vision and it took her and engineer Jack much work and many years before Barbie was brought to the market. It is intriguing that Ruth saw Barbie as a source of freedom for girls. She wanted them to have a doll that offered more to them than imagining becoming a mother and wife.

It was intriguing to think of the real fashion designers who made the clothes and why Barbie has her dimensions. It was fascinating to find out how many tries it took to get Barbie just right.

Both Ruth and Jack were quite complex individuals. Readers learn that Ruth’s mother did not want to raise her. They find why work was so critical for Ruth and the ways in which this impacted her children and husband. Jack, also was complicated. Readers learn that he had some mental health issues with which to struggle.

Over the course of the novel, readers learn about both the triumphs and lows of these characters so that is there is no fairy tale. All of this is part of the characters’ life stories.

In her afterword, Rosen notes that she had wanted to write this novel before the Barbie movie was released. The movie will undoubtedly bring readers to this novel but, in my opinion, this excellent book stands very well on its own.

Highly recommended to readers of historical and women’s fiction. Of course, those who are already interested in Barbie will flock to this but, even if a reader is not a Barbie aficionado, there is much in these pages.

I was so delighted to be asked to read and review this title. Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 21 January 2024

From the Publisher

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.”

They parted ways.

And the game began.

Excerpted from THE QUEEN OF FIVES by Alex Hay. Copyright © 2025 by Alex Hay. Published by Graydon House, an imprint of HarperCollins. 

The author:

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.

Links:

Buy Links:

HarperCollins page: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-queen-of-fives-alex-hay?variant=42418202050594 

BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-queen-of-fives-original-alex-hay/21448543?ean=9781525809859 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-queen-of-fives-alex-hay/1145522986 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1525809857/keywords=historical%2Bfiction?tag=harpercollinsus-20 

Social Links:

Author Website: https://alexhaybooks.com/ 

X/Twitter: https://x.com/alexhaybooks?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexhaybooks/?hl=en