Featuring: Rachel Aaron, Tess Gerritsen, Daryl Gregory, Peter Heller, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Matthew Reilly, James Rollins, Brian Slagel & Mark Eglinton, Catherine Steadman, Duane Swierczynski, Bill Zehme & Mike Thomas

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Rachel Aaron, HELL OF A WITCH (Aaron/Bach)

One month ago, Bex, the demon Queen of Wrath, and Adrian, witch of the Blackwood, pulled off the upset victory of the century. Now, they find themselves facing the question all unexpected champions must answer: what next? They’ve declared war on Heaven, but how do you actually bring down a divinely powerful tyrant when your army’s still in the single digits and your magical fortress is an illegally modified Winnebago?

It seems like a hopeless situation. As always, though, Adrian Blackwood has a plan, and this time, he’s going big. He’s got an idea to take down the Seattle Anchor, the giant magical fortress that houses the Anchor Market and every other bit of critical infrastructure that connects Heaven to Earth.

How the Anchors work is a closely guarded secret, and getting to the good stuff will require going deep into the heart of Gilgamesh’s power. There’s a reason even the Queen of Wrath has never attacked one directly, but now that Adrian’s on her team, Bex thinks they can do it. She’s finally got the power she needs to actually move the needle on this war, and she’s going to hit that Anchor with all the fire she’s got.

But the enemies of Heaven aren’t the only ones making plans. After the fiery return of his most persistent annoyance, Gilgamesh has ordered his princes to take care of the demon queen problem personally. It’s time to roll out the big guns and show these rebels what divine wrath really means, starting with the Hell of a Witch who made it all possible.

The second novel in Rachel Aaron’s new Tear Down Heaven series, following the well-received Hell For Hire. Looking forward to reading this series. Hell of a Witch is due to be published by Aaron/Bach on October 1st, in North America and in the UK.

Also on CR: Excerpt from Hell for Hire; Interview with Rachel Aaron (2011); Guest Post on “Why I Decided to Self-Publish”; Reviews of The Spirit Thief and Fortune’s Pawn

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter
Review copy received from author

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Tess Gerritsen, THE SUMMER GUESTS (Thomas & Mercer)

The chilling follow-up to The Spy Coast, plunging the Martini Club into the search for a missing teen — with a startling connection to their own pasts.

When former spy Maggie Bird retired to the seaside hamlet of Purity, Maine, she settled in for a quiet life with breathtaking views. But enemies from her past soon threatened to destroy everything.

Maggie survived, thanks to her wits and the collective intelligence of the Martini Club, the circle of ex-CIA friends in her cocktail-sipping book club. Their handiwork, however, caught the attention of young police chief Jo Thibodeau. Now Jo and her neighborhood ex-spies have an uneasy alliance.

After a teenager vanishes — and Maggie’s neighbor becomes the prime suspect — she joins the investigation, determined to prove her friend’s innocence. But the girl’s wealthy family pushes for an arrest. And when authorities discover a long-dead corpse in a nearby pond, the case becomes doubly complicated, with unthinkable ties to long-buried secrets.

As Jo grapples with two unexplained mysteries, the Martini Club races to uncover the truth behind shadowy secrets… before more lives are lost.

The first novel in Gerritsen’s Martini Club series, The Spy Coast, was the first novel by the author that I’ve read, and I really enjoyed it. When I learned that there was going to be a sequel, I was elated — followed quickly by impatience when I saw that it wouldn’t be out for quite some time. (I’m very difficult to please, and I know it.) Luckily (for me), the publisher has already made it available for review, and I intend to read this very soon (assuming I haven’t already finished it by the time this post goes live). The Summer Guests is due to be published by Thomas & Mercer in North America (March 18th, 2025) and Bantam in the UK (March 27th).

Also on CR: Review of The Spy Coast

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
Review copy received via NetGalley

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Daryl Gregory, WHEN WE WERE REAL (S&S/Saga Press)

A madcap adventure following two friends on a cross-country bus tour through the mind-boggling glitches in their simulated world as they grapple with love, family, secrets, and the very nature of reality in a simulation.

JP and Dulin have been the best of friends for decades. When JP finds out his cancer has aggressively returned, Dulin decides it’s the perfect time for one last adventure: a week-long bus tour of North America’s Impossibles, the physics-defying glitches and geographic miracles that started cropping up seven years earlier — right after the Announcement that revealed our world to be merely a digital simulacrum. The outing, courtesy of Canterbury Trails Tours, promises the trip of a (not completely real) lifetime in a (not completely deluxe) coach.

Their fellow passengers are 21st-century pilgrims, each of them on the tour for their own reasons. There’s a nun hunting for an absent God, a pregnant influencer determined to make her child too famous to be deleted, a crew of horny octogenarians living each day like it’s their last, and a professor on the run from leather-clad sociopaths who take The Matrix as scripture. Each stop on this trip is stranger than the last — a Tunnel outside of time, a zero gravity Geyser, the compound of motivational-speaking avatar — with everyone barreling toward the tour’s iconic final stop Ghost City, where unbeknownst to our travelers the answer to who is running the simulation may await.

When We Were Real is a tour-de-force and exploration of what really matters, even in an artificial world.

I’ve been a long-time fan of Daryl Gregory’s, so I’m always keen to read anything new he writes. This one sounds particularly interesting, too. When We Were Real is due to be published by Saga Press in North America and in the UK, on April 1st, 2025.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Peter Heller, BURN (Knopf)

A novel about two men — friends since boyhood — who emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence

Every year, Jess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage to the most remote corners of the country, where they camp, hunt, and hike, leaving much from their long friendship unspoken. Although the state of Maine has convulsed all summer with secession mania — a mania that has simultaneously spread across other states — Jess and Storey figure it’s a fight reserved for legislators or, worst-case scenario, folks in the capital.

But after weeks hunting off the grid, the men reach a small town and are shocked by what they find: a bridge blown apart, buildings burned to the ground, and bombed-out cars abandoned on the road. Trying to make sense of the sudden destruction all around them, they set their sights on finding their way home, dragging a wagon across bumpy dirt roads, scavenging from boats left in lakes, and dodging armed men — secessionists or U.S. military, they cannot tell — as they seek a path to safety. Then, a startling discovery drastically alters their path and the stakes of their escape.

Drenched in the beauty of the natural world and attuned to the specific cadences of male friendship, even here at the edge of doom, Burn is both a blistering warning about a divided country’s political strife and an ode to the salvation found in our chosen families.

I’ve been a fan and follower of Peter Heller’s work since 2012’s The Dog Stars. I’ve not been able to keep on top of them all, but every book of his that I’ve read has been superb. His prose, characters, and stories are engaging and gripping, and superb portraits of humanity in various forms. I’m really looking forward to reading Burn as soon as I can (possibly in the next week or so). Burn is out now, published by Knopf in North America and in the UK.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads

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Mallory O’Meara, DAUGHTER OF DARING (Hanover Square Press)

The story of America’s first professional stuntwoman, Helen Gibson, who rose to fame during a time when women ruled Hollywood.

Helen Gibson was a woman willing to do anything to give audiences a thrill. Advertised as “The Most Daring Actress in Pictures,” Helen emerged in the early days of the twentieth-century silent film scene as a rodeo rider, background actor, stunt double, and eventually one of the era’s biggest action stars. Her exploits on motorcycles, train cars, and horseback were as dangerous as they were glamorous, featured in hundreds of films and serials — yet her legacy was quickly overshadowed by the increasingly hypermasculine and male-dominated evolution of cinema in the decades that would follow her.

Award-winning author Mallory O’Meara presents her life and career in exhilarating detail, including:

– Helen’s rise to fame in The Hazards of Helen, the longest-running serial in history
– How Helen became the first-ever stuntwoman in American film
– The pivotal role of Helen’s contemporaries — including female directors, stars, and stuntwomen who shaped the making of cinema as we know it.

Through the page-turning story of Helen’s pioneering legacy, Mallory O’Meara gives readers a glimpse of the Golden Age of Hollywood that could have been: an industry where women call the shots.

I first came across O’Meara’s work with her debut, The Lady From the Black Lagoon. I’ve somehow managed to miss a couple of the author’s books, but this new caught my attention. Really looking forward to reading it as soon as I can. Daughter of Daring is due to be published by Hanover Square Press in North America and in the UK, on February 18th, 2025.

Also on CR: Review of The Lady From the Black Lagoon

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Silvia Moreno-Garcia, THE SEVENTH VEIL OF SALOME (Del Rey)

1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.

So when the film’s mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.

Two actresses, both determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood — a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue — make for a sizzling combination.

But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart.

Before the curtain comes down, there will be tears and tragedy aplenty in this sexy Technicolor saga.

The latest novel from the author of many best-selling novels across genres. This new stand-alone is a historical fiction about the Golden Age of Hollywood. So, just the kind of thing I was bound to want to read. The Seventh Veil of Salome is out now, published by Del Rey in North America and Arcadia in the UK.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

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Matthew Reilly, MR. EINSTEIN’S SECRETARY (Orion)

All Hanna Fischer ever wanted to do was to study physics under the great Albert Einstein.

But when, as a teenager in 1919, her life is suddenly turned upside-down, she is catapulted into a new and extraordinary life — as a secretary, a scientist, a sister and a spy.

From racist gangs in Berlin to gangsters in New York City, Nazis in the 1930s and Hitler’s inner circle during the Second World War, Hanna will encounter some of history’s greatest minds and most terrible moments, all while desperately trying to stay alive.

She is a most unique secretary and she will work for many bosses — from shrewd businessmen to vile Nazis, to the greatest boss of them all, Mr Albert Einstein…

Spanning forty years, this is the thrilling tale of a young woman propelled through history’s most dangerous times.

I’ve been a fan of Reilly’s novels for many years, now — his unabashedly blockbuster-esque thrillers are pure entertainment. I particularly enjoyed his Jack West series. This new standalone sounds quite interesting, and I look forward to reading it soon. Mr. Einstein’s Secretary is out now, published by Orion Books in the UK.

Also on CR: Guest Post on “Four Kingdoms & Twelve Labours”; Reviews of Six Sacred Stones, Five Greatest Warriors, The Two Lost Mountains, and The Great Zoo of China

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

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James Rollins, ARKANGEL (William Morrow)

The execution of a Vatican archivist within the shadow of the Kremlin exposes a conspiracy going back three centuries — to the bloody era of the Russian Tsars. Before his murder, he manages to dispatch a coded message, a warning of a terrifying threat, one tied to a secret buried within the Golden Library of Tsars, a vast and treasured archive that had vanished into history.

As combative forces race for the truth behind this death and alarming discovery, Sigma Force is summoned to aid in the search — not only for this missing trove of ancient books, but to follow a trail far into the Arctic, to search for the truth about a lost continent and a revelation that could ignite a global war. But Sigma Force has its own difficulties at home after an explosive attack on the National Mall — one aimed at the heart of their covert agency—has left them vulnerable and exposed.

The growing conflict — both on Russian soil and deep in the Arctic — will reignite a centuries-old war between the newly resurgent Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican, while sabers rattle across the nations of the Arctic Circle, threatening to turn those icy seas into a fiery conflagration.

Facing enemies on all sides, it will be up to Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force to unravel a mystery going back millennia — and uncover the truth about a lost civilization and an arcane treasure that could save the planet… or destroy it.

This is the latest (18th) novel in Rollins’s best-selling and entertaining Sigma Force series (I’ve been reading since book two — 2005’s Map of Bones. I’ve fallen a little behind, but fully intend to catch up (I’ve been making an effort to catch up on long-running series, recently, so I’ll add this near the top of the list). Arkangel is out now, published by William Morrow in North America and in the UK.

Also on CR: Reviews of The Judas Strain, The Last Oracle, The Doomsday Key, The Devil Colony, and The 6th Extinction

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

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Brian Slagel & Mark Eglinton, FOR THE SAKE OF HEAVINESS (BMG Books)

The story of Metal Blade Records is the story of Brian Slagel-a metal-obsessed Southern California kid who launched a fanzine and landed a record store job before cobbling together what he assumed would be a one-off compilation of fledgling bands from the L.A. scene. Released in 1982, the Metal Massacre LP included the debut recordings of local groups such as Steeler, Malice, Ratt, and Metallica. In the wake of the album’s unexpected success Slagel virtually stumbled into creating a proper record label, issuing the first releases by Bitch, Armored Saint, and Slayer the following year.

For The Sake Of Heaviness is an inside look at how Brian built Metal Blade from a one-man operation in his mom’s non-air-conditioned garage to the preeminent international home of heavy music that it is today. He shares his insights into signing and working with Amon Amarth, Anvil, As I Lay Dying, Behemoth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Cirith Ungol, Corrosion of Conformity, D.R.I., Fates Warning, Flotsam and Jetsam, Gwar, King Diamond, King’s X, Lizzy Borden, Manowar, Mercyful Fate, Overkill, Raven, Sacred Reich, Six Feet Under, Trouble, Unearth, Voivod, Whitechapel, and others.

Always hard at work on a diverse range of projects, Brian reveals the early advice he gave that helped guide Mötley Crüe’s career; how he helped Metallica replace their bassist-twice; his detailed work on Thin Lizzy and Alice Cooper reissues; his behind-the-scenes role in the careers of Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains, Faith No More, Goo Goo Dolls, and Lamb of God; and his unlikely ventures with kindred metal heads-from hockey star Ken Baumgartner, to celebrity chef Chris Santos, to The Howard Stern Show‘s Richard Christy, to comedians Jim Florentine, Don Jamieson and Jim Breuer.

Throughout For The Sake Of Heaviness, Brian steps aside to present first-person insights and extended guest interviews featuring friends, colleagues, Metal Blade staffers, and a long list of artists, including Metallica’s James Hetfield, Slayer’s Kerry King, King Diamond, and many more.

Long-time metalhead, so it shouldn’t be surprising that this caught my attention. For the Sake of Heaviness is out now, published by BMG Books in North America and in the UK.

Follow the Author (Slagel): Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Catherine Steadman, LOOK IN THE MIRROR (Ballantine)

Nina, still grieving from the loss of her father, discovers that she has inherited property in the British Virgin Islands — a vacation home she had no idea existed, until now. The house is extraordinary: state-of-the-art, all glass and marble. How did her sensible father come into enough money for this? Why did he keep it from her? And what else was he hiding?

Maria, once an ambitious medical student, is a nanny for the super-rich. The money’s better, and so are the destinations where her work takes her. Just one more gig, and she’ll be set. Finally, she’ll be secure. But when her wards never show, Maria begins to make herself at home, spending her days luxuriating by the pool and in the sauna. There’s just one rule: Don’t go in the basement. That room is off-limits. But her curiosity might just get the better of her. And soon, she’ll wish her only worry was not getting paid.

I really enjoyed Steadman’s The Disappearing Act, and I’ve wanted to read more by the author ever since. This new novel sounds particularly interesting, and I hope to get to it soon (in the next couple of weeks, hopefully). Look in the Mirror is out now, published by Ballantine in North America, and Quercus in the UK.

Follow the Author: Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

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Duane Swierczynski, SECRET DEAD MEN (Titan Books)

Del Farmer isn’t your ordinary hardboiled private eye. Instead of collecting fingerprints or clues, he collects souls of the recently dead. His latest dead guy, Brad Larsen, might just be the key to destroying Farmer’s long-time nemesis, The Association.

Of course, Farmer is sadly mistaken. An FBI agent unstuck in time is toying with him. A mysterious couple keeps trying to kill him. Another job ― a mundane babysitting gig that pays the bills ― is threatening to steer him way off course into a violent hell of sexual deceit, fractured identities, and cheap apartment toilets.

With only a head packed full of nagging ghosts, Farmer realises this case might just drive him out of his mind, literally.

This new mystery-with-a-twist by Swierczynski sounds great. I loved his previous novel, California Bear, and I’ve been looking forward to a new novel ever since finishing that. I’ll be getting to this very soon, and hope to get a review up before publication date. Secret Dead Men is due to be published by Titan Books, in North America and in the UK, on October 1st.

Also on CR: Review of California Bear

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
Review copy received via NetGalley

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Bill Zehme & Mike Thomas, CARSON THE MAGNIFICENT (Simon & Schuster)

A much-anticipated biography — twenty years in the making — of the entertainer who redefined late-night television and reshaped American culture.

In 2002, Bill Zehme landed one of the most coveted assignments for a magazine writer: an interview with Johnny Carson—the only one he’d granted since retiring from hosting The Tonight Show a decade earlier. Zehme was tapped for the Esquire feature story thanks to his years of legendary celebrity profiles, and the resulting piece portrayed Carson as more human being than showbiz legend. Shortly after Carson’s death in 2005 and urged on by many of those closest to Carson, Zehme signed a contract to do an expansive biography. He toiled on the book for nearly a decade — interviewing dozens of Carson’s colleagues and friends and filling up a storage locker with his voluminous research — before a cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatments halted his progress. When he died in 2023 his obituaries mentioned the Carson book, with New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman calling it “one of the great unfinished biographies.”

Yet the hundreds of pages Zehme managed to complete are astounding both for the caliber of their writing and how they illuminate one of the most inscrutable figures in entertainment history: A man who brought so much joy and laughter to so many millions but was himself exceedingly shy and private. Zehme traces Carson’s rise from a magic-obsessed Nebraska boy to a Navy ensign in World War II to a burgeoning radio and TV personality to, eventually, host of The Tonight Show — which he transformed, along with the entirety of American popular culture, over the next three decades. Without Carson, there would be no late-night television as we know it. On a much more intimate level, Zehme also captures the turmoil and anguish that accompanied the success: four marriages, troubles with alcohol, and the devastating loss of a child.

In one passage, Zehme notes that when asked by an interviewer in the mid-80s for the secret to his success, Carson replied simply, “Be yourself and tell the truth.” Completed with help from journalist and Zehme’s former research assistant Mike Thomas, Carson the Magnificent offers just that: an honest assessment of who Johnny Carson really was.

I missed Carson’s career, but almost every comedian I’ve been following for years speaks so highly of him (as a person and influence), so I’m looking forward to reading this biography. Carson the Magnificent is due to be published by Simon & Schuster in North America and in the UK, on December 5th.

Follow the Author: Goodreads
Review copy received via Edelweiss