Featuring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Matt Gallagher, Andrew J. Graff, Janice Hallett, Lindsay Lynch, Claire North, Megan O’Keefe, Joe Pitkin, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Preston, Richard Russo, A. J. Ryan, Nicolas Shakespeare, David Swinson

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Jamie Lee Curtis, MOTHER NATURE (Titan Comics)

After witnessing her engineer father die in mysterious circumstances on one of the Cobalt Corporation’s experimental oil extraction projects, Nova Terrell has grown up to hate the seemingly benevolent company that the town of Catch Creek, New Mexico, relies on for its livelihood and, thanks to the “Mother Nature” project, its clean water.

Haunted by her father’s death, the rebellious Nova wages a campaign of sabotage and vandalism on the oil giant’s facilities and equipment, until one night she accidentally makes a terrifying discovery about the true nature of the “Mother Nature” project and the malevolent, long-dormant horror it has awakened, and that threatens to destroy them all.

The debut graphic novel from Academy Award-winning Curtis? Count me in. Cool premise, nice art. Full review soon. Mother Nature is out now, published by Titan Comics in North America and in the UK.

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Review copy received from publisher

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Matt Gallagher, DAYBREAK (Atria)

A disillusioned American veteran volunteers for the war in Ukraine to reconnect with a woman from his past…

Thirty-three-year-old Luke “Pax” Paxton has been out of the US military for almost a decade, adrift in an America he no longer understands, haunted by a mistake made in an unforgiving moment of combat. When an old army friend suggests they travel to Ukraine to help fight against the Russian invasion, he agrees, and together they cross an ocean to Lviv, the City of Lions. But Pax isn’t merely going out of the goodness of his heart. He carries with him the address of a former love, a Ukrainian woman named Svitlana whom he had known as a young soldier and has been unable to forget.

His feverish journey through Lviv takes him down winding and missile-cratered streets as he forms surprising connections with everyone from humanitarian volunteers to displaced Ukrainians and ordinary citizens trying to survive. And when Pax gets the chance to save someone dear to Svitlana, he just might be able to correct the wrongs that have wracked him with guilt for so many years.

Inspired by the author’s time in Ukraine, Daybreak is a deeply moving love story, as well as an exploration of the struggle to find meaning and redemption in the midst of war.

I’ve been aware of Gallagher’s fiction since shortly before the publication of Empire City — strangely, it was only this month that I was able to get hold of that book. In the meantime, I’ve managed to acquire all of his novels (all good), and I’m very much looking forward to reading this one: it sounds a bit different to his previous work. Daybreak is due to be published by Atria Books in North America and in the UK, on February 20th, 2024.

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Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Andrew J. Graff, TRUE NORTH (Ecco)

As the summer of 1993 begins, Sam and Swami Brecht roll into town with a twenty-six-foot Winnebago camper van, their three young kids, and the deed to Woodchuck Rafting Company. Sam and Swami met as young, adventurous river guides but, a decade later, find themselves weighed down by money worries and the demands of adulthood. The town of Thunderwater, in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, could be the fresh start their marriage needs. But Woodchuck, once the property of Sam’s eccentric uncle, has seen better days and will need a serious overhaul if it is going to stand a chance at survival.

Soon Sam and Swami learn they are not the only ones looking for change and profit on the river. A competing rafting outfit, clashing raft guides, stubborn townsfolk, and an exploratory mining company begin to threaten their tenuous livelihood. Then nature intervenes, in the form of historic floods throughout the Midwest. Amid tumultuous currents both on and off the river, Sam and Swami find themselves struggling to maintain the new life they’ve built. Before the summer draws to a close, the Brechts must learn to face the floodwaters together in order to create a sustainable future for their family, the town, and the pristine river upon which it all flows.

Thought this sounded interesting, and I was lucky enough to get a DRC of the book. I’ll probably end up reading it soon and posting a review closer to release, but we’ll see. True North is due to be published by Ecco in North America on January 16th, 2024. (No UK publisher that I could find, at the time of writing, but Graff’s previous novel — Raft of Stars — was published by HQ in the UK.

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Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Janice Hallett, THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE ALPERTON ANGELS (Atria)

A true crime journalist revives a long-buried case about a cult—and finds herself too close to the story.

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. When the girl came to her senses and called the police, the Angels committed suicide and mother and baby disappeared.

Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the true-crime scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby’s trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realize that the truth about the Angels is much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined, and in pursuit of the story they risk becoming part of it.

The latest mystery from the best-selling author. I’ve only read one of Hallett’s novels so far — The Twyford Code, which I really enjoyed it — and fully intend to get caught up ASAP. I’ll be reading this as soon as I can. The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels is due to be published by Atria Books in North America and Viper in the UK.

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Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Lindsay Lynch, DO TELL (Doubleday)

As character actress Edie O’Dare finishes the final year of her contract with FWM Studios, the clock is ticking for her to find a new gig after an undistinguished stint in the pictures. She’s long supplemented her income moonlighting for Hollywood’s reigning gossip columnist, providing her with the salacious details of every party and premiere. When an up-and-coming starlet hands her a letter alleging an assault from an A-list actor at a party with Edie and the rest of the industry’s biggest names in attendance, Edie helps get the story into print and sets off a chain of events that will alter the trajectories of everyone involved.

Now on a new side of the entertainment business, Edie’s second act career grants her more control on the page than she ever commanded in front of the camera. But Edie quickly learns that publishing the secrets of those former colleagues she considers friends has repercussions. And when she finds herself in the middle of the trial of the decade, Edie is forced to make an impossible choice with the potential to ruin more than one life. Full of sharp observation and crackling wit, debut novelist Lindsay Lynch maps the intricate networks of power that manufacture the magic of the movies and interrogates who actually gets to tell women’s stories.

As many readers of CR know, I’m fascinated by Hollywood and the entertainment industry — an interest that extends to fiction set in and around Hollywood. Lynch’s debut received quite a bit of buzz in the run-up to publication, so I naturally popped it on my to-read list. I bought it quite soon after it was released, and read it right away. And it’s good! I was travelling at the time, so I wasn’t able to give a considerable amount of time to reading it until I was about halfway through — this may have affected my experience with the novel a bit (I found the writing created a strange distance between the reader and characters, which was a little odd), but I nevertheless enjoyed it. Do Tell is due to be published by Doubleday in North America and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK.

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Claire North, HOUSE OF ODYSSEUS (Redhook)

On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace — a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.

Orestes’ hands are stained with his mother’s blood. Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra’s life on Ithaca’s sands. Now, wracked with guilt, he is slowly losing his mind. But a king cannot be seen to be weak, and Elektra has brought him to Ithaca to keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae.

Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the furies circle him. His uncle Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes’ throne — and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.

Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope fights to keep her home from being crushed by a war that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the summit of Mount Olympus itself. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus’ wife. And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.

Each woman has a secret. And their secrets will shape the world.

The latest novel from North is the second in the author’s Songs of Penelope series. I’ve fallen a bit behind, and haven’t had a chance to read Ithaca, yet, but I very much intend on getting caught up — North has written some of my favourite novels of the past decade (The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and The Gameshouse Trilogy are just two examples, if you’re interested). House of Odysseus is due to be published by Redhook in North America and in the UK, on August 22nd).

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Review copy received from publisher

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Megan O’Keefe, THE FRACTURED DARK (Orbit)

Dying planets, dangerous conspiracies, and secret romance abound in the second book of the Devoured Worlds trilogy…

Naira and Tarquin have escaped vicious counterrevolutionaries, misprinted monsters, and the pull of a dying planet. Now, bound together to find the truth behind the blight that has been killing habitable planets, they need to hunt out the Mercator family secrets. 

But, when the head of Mercator disappears, taking the universe’s remaining supply of starship fuel with him, chaos breaks loose between the ruling families. Naira’s revolution must be put aside for the sake of humanity’s immediate survival.

This is the second novel in O’Keefe’s latest science fiction/space opera series, the Devoured Worlds, and one I’m very much looking forward to reading. As with so many author’s novels and series, I’ve fallen a bit behind, but I am very much looking forward to reading this and the first in the series, The Blighted Stars. The Fractured Dark is due to be published by Orbit Books in North America (September 26th) and in the UK (September 28th).

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Review copy received from publisher

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Joe Pitkin, EXIT BLACK (Blackstone Publishing)

Imperium is the most expensive structure ever created. Once an orbiting laboratory, it is now a space hotel for the fantastically wealthy. But as the station preps for its first group of space tourists, Dr. Chloe Bonilla, Imperium’s resident biophysicist, finds herself questioning whether babysitting a passel of space glampers is worth the distraction from her research.

A private rocket delivers a rogues’ gallery of the world’s elite to Imperium: eccentric billionaires, callow tech bros, a sponsored Instagram influencer, and a seemingly saintly philanthropist. However, posing among the staff are members of a global terrorist group who call themselves the Reckoners, hell bent on upending the economic inequality of twenty-first-century Earth — and they have a bone to pick with these scions of the 1 percent.

As the Reckoners take control of Imperium and demand an $8 billion ransom from their wealthy hostages, it’s up to Dr. Bonilla to save them, and fast. Or the captives will be forced to exit the station — and there’s only one way out.

A new intriguing-sounding science fiction mystery. Hadn’t heard of it before it popped up in NetGalley, but I hope it proves to be an excellent discovery. I also hope to read it quite soon, as I haven’t been reading much SF recently (save for Black Library novels), and I’d like to get back into the genre soon. Exit Black is due to be published by Blackstone Publishing in North America and in the UK, on February 20th, 2024.

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Review copy received via NetGalley

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Terry Pratchett, A STROKE OF THE PEN (Doubleday)

A delightfully funny, fantastically inventive collection of twenty newly unearthed short stories by Sir Terry Pratchett, the award-winning and bestselling author and creator of the phenomenally successful Discworld fantasy series. This special trove — featuring charming woodcut illustrations — is a must-have for Pratchett fans of all ages and includes a foreword by Neil Gaiman.

These rediscovered tales were written by Terry Pratchett under a pseudonym for a British newspaper during the 1970s and 1980s. The stories have never been attributed to him until now, and might never have been found — were it not for the efforts of a few dedicated fans.

As Neil Gaiman writes in his introduction, “through all of these stories we watch Terry Pratchett becoming Terry Pratchett.” Though none of the short works are set in the Discworld, all are infused with Pratchett’s trademark wit, satirical wisdom, and brilliant imagination, hinting at the magical universe he would go on to create.

Meet Og the inventor, the first caveman to cultivate fire, as he discovers the highs and lows of progress; haunt the Ministry of Nuisances with the defiant evicted ghosts of Pilgarlic Towers; visit Blackbury, a small market town with weird weather and an otherworldly visitor; and embark on a dangerous quest through time and space with hero Kron, which begins in the ancient city of Morpork…

A new collection of long-lost short stories by Pratchett, published very early in his career and originally under a pseudonym — of course I was going to be interested in reading this. The UK publisher kindly sent me an ARC while I was there, and I hope to read it as soon as I can. A Stroke of the Pen is due to be published by Doubleday in the UK and Harper in North America, on October 10th.

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Review copy received from publisher

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Douglas Preston, THE LOST TOMB (Grand Central Publishing)

Douglas Preston presents this collection of the most jaw-dropping true stories from his career as a journalist and explorer.

What’s it like to be the first to enter an Egyptian burial chamber that’s been sealed for thousands of years? What horrifying secret was found among the prehistoric ruins of the American Southwest? Who really was the infamous the Monster of Florence?

Douglas Preston’s journalistic explorations have taken him from the haunted country of Italy to the jungles of Honduras. He was granted exclusive journalistic access to the largest tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, broke the story of an extraordinary mass grave of animals killed by the asteroid impact that ended the Cretaceous period and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, and explored what lay hidden in the booby-trapped Money Pit on Oak Island. When he hasn’t been co-authoring bestselling thrillers featuring FBI Agent Pendergast, Preston has been writing about some of the world’s strangest and most dramatic mysteries.

The Lost Tomb brings together an astonishing and compelling collection of true stories about buried treasure, enigmatic murders, lost tombs, bizarre crimes, and other fascinating tales of the past and present.

I think I’ve only read one book by Douglas Preston, but each premise of his novels and non-fiction titles has caught my attention. Perhaps because I get DRCs, it’s a case of Kindle Blindness which leads me to forget I have them, but I really do want to read more of his work. Hopefully this latest book will break the forgetting-streak! The Lost Tomb is due to be published by Grand Central Publishing in North America and in the UK, on December 5th.

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Review copy received via NetGalley

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Richard Russo, SOMEBODY’S FOOL (Knopf)

Ten years after the death of the magnetic Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the town of North Bath is going through a major transition as it is annexed by its much wealthier neighbor, Schuyler Springs. Peter, Sully’s son, is still grappling with his father’s tremendous legacy as well as his relationship to his own son, Thomas, wondering if he has been all that different a father than Sully was to him.

Meanwhile, the towns’ newly consolidated police department falls into the hands of Charice Bond, after the resignation of Doug Raymer, the former North Bath police chief and Charice’s ex-lover. When a decomposing body turns up in the abandoned hotel situated between the two towns, Charice and Raymer are drawn together again and forced to address their complicated attraction to one another. Across town, Ruth, Sully’s married ex-lover, and her daughter Janey struggle to understand Janey’s daughter, Tina, and her growing obsession with Peter’s other son, Will. Amidst the turmoil, the town’s residents speculate on the identity of the unidentified body, and wonder who among their number could have disappeared unnoticed.

Infused with all the wry humor and shrewd observations that Russo is known for, Somebody’s Fool is another classic from a modern master.

The third (and final?) novel in Russo’s North Bath series, following Nobody’s Fool and Everybody’s Fool. Russo is one of my favourite authors, and I really hope to get caught up on this series ASAP. I’ve not yet read everything of his, but everything I’ve read so far (fiction and non-fiction) has been excellent. Somebody’s Fool is out now, published by Knopf in North America and Allen & Unwin in the UK.

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A. J. Ryan, RED RIVER SEVEN (Orbit)

Seven strangers. One mission. Infinite horror.

A man awakes on a boat at sea with no memory of who or where he is. He’s not alone – there are six others, each with a unique set of skills. None of them can remember their names. All of them possess a gun.

When a message appears on the onboard computer – Proceeding to Point A – the group agrees to work together to survive whatever is coming.

But as the boat moves through the mist-shrouded waters, divisions begin to form. Who is directing them and to what purpose? Why can’t they remember anything?

And what are the screams they can hear beyond the mist?

A new novel from the best-selling author of Raven’s Shadow and Covenant of Steel fantasy series. This time, the author has ventured into the horror/thriller genre, and I’m very much looking forward to giving this a try — the premise, I think, is very intriguing. Red River Seven is due to be published by Orbit in North America (October 10th) and in the UK (October 12th).

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Review copy received from publisher

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Nicolas Shakespeare, IAN FLEMING: THE COMPLETE MAN (Harper)

A fresh portrait of the man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact, by an award-winning biographer with unprecedented access to the Fleming family papers.

Ian Fleming’s greatest creation, James Bond, has had an enormous and ongoing impact on our culture. What Bond represents about ideas of masculinity, the British national psyche and global politics has shifted over time, as has the interpretation of the life of his author. But Fleming himself was more mysterious and subtle than anything he wrote.

Ian’s childhood with his gifted brother Peter and his extraordinary mother set the pattern for his ambition to be “the complete man,” and he would strive for the means to achieve this “completeness” all his life. Only a thriller writer for his last twelve years, his dramatic personal life and impressive career in Naval Intelligence put him at the heart of critical moments in world history, while also providing rich inspiration for his fiction. Exceptionally well connected, and widely travelled, from the United States and Soviet Russia to his beloved Jamaica, Ian had access to the most powerful political figures at a time of profound change.

Nicholas Shakespeare is one of the most gifted biographers working today. His talent for uncovering material that casts new light on his subjects is fully evident in this masterful, definitive biography. His unprecedented access to the Fleming archive and his nose for a story make this a fresh and eye-opening picture of the man and his famous creation.

Thought this sounded interesting, then I read Adam Sisman’s second biography of John le Carré, and I learned that Shakespeare and le Carré knew each other, which only increased my interest in this book. Hopefully read it soon, but can’t promise a quick turn-around for review (it’s really long…). Ian Fleming: The Complete Man is due to be published by Harper in North America (March 12th, 2024) and Harvill Secker in the UK (October 5th, 2023).

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Review copy received from Edelweiss

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David Swinson, SWEET NOTHING (Mulholland)

Homicide Detective Alex Blum must answer a terrible question: ‘how far would you go to love the wrong woman?’

In a red brick house on a tree-lined street, DC homicide detective Alex Blum stares at the bullet-pocked body of Chris Doyle. As he roots around for evidence, he finds an old polaroid: the decedent, arm in arm with Arthur Holland, Blum’s informant from years ago when he worked at the Narcotics branch.

But Arthur has been missing for days. Blum’s only source: Arthur’s girl, Celeste — beautiful, seductive, and tragic — whom he can’t get out of his head. Blum is drawn to her and feels compelled to save her from Arthur’s underworld. As the investigation ticks on and dead bodies domino, Blum, unearths clues with damning implications for Celeste. Swallowed by desire, Blum’s single misstep sends him tunnelling down a rabbit hole of transgression. He may soon find the only way out is down below.

Set in 1999, Swinson, a former DC cop, offers a look back at a rougher, grittier, bygone DC replete with seedy strip clubs, pagers beeping, and Y2K anxiety. It’s here we’re taken inside sting operations, fluorescent-tinged interrogation chambers, and rooms that have seen irreversible mistakes. At once authentic, gritty, tragic, and profound, SWEET THING asks how far can you fall when the world teeters on the edge?

A new novel from one of my favourite authors! I loved Swinson’s Frank Marr series, and when I learned that he was returning to DC-based crime, this became a must-read. If you’re a fan of gritty crime fiction, then do yourself a favour: read Swinson. Sweet Thing is due to be published by Mulholland Books in North America and in the UK, on November 7th.

Also on CR: Reviews of The Second Girl, Crime Song, and Trigger

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Review copy received from publisher