“February, a form pale-vestured, wildly fair. One of the North Wind’s daughters with icicles in her hair.” ― Edgar Fawcett
I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died
By Amanda Flowers
From the publisher: August 1856. The Dickinson family is comfortably settled in their homestead on Main Street. Emily’s brother and his new wife are delighted when famous thinker and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to Amherst to speak at a local literary society. However, Luther turns up dead in the Dickinson’s garden and it seems that he was poisoned. Emily and her maid Willa set out to find them in order to save the Dickinson family reputation and stop a cold-blooded fiend from killing again.
A fun and imaginative murder mystery with a vintage setting and literary twist. Read via NetGalley.
Publisher: Berkley (November 14, 2023)
Language: English
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN-10: 0593336968
Where You End
By Abbott Kahler
from the publisher: When Kat Bird wakes up from a coma, she sees her mirror image: Jude, her twin sister. Jude’s face and name are the only memories Kat has from before her accident. Amid this tragedy, Jude sees an irresistible opportunity: she can give her sister a brand-new past, one worlds away from the lives they actually led. She spins tales of an idyllic childhood, exotic travels, and a bright future.
I think this one just wasn’t for me. It was perfectly well-written and plotted but the style just didn’t hook me and it’s a story where you need to be hooked. If domestic thrillers with a side of amnesia are your thing, definitely give it a read.
Read via Netgalley.
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (January 16, 2024)
Language: English
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 125087324X
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells
By Rebecca Rego Barry
from the publisher: The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells is the first biography of one of the “lost ladies” of detective fiction who wrote more than eighty mysteries and hundreds of other works between the 1890s and the 1940s. All told, Wells wrote over 180 books. Some were adapted into silent films, and some became bestsellers. Yet a hundred years later, she has been all but erased from literary history. Part biography and part sleuthing narrative, The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells recovers the life and work of a brilliant writer who was considered one of the funniest, most talented women of her time.
Read via NetGalley.
Publisher: Post Hill Press (February 13, 2024)
Language: English
Hardcover: 256 pages
ISBN-10: 163758850X
The Dictionary People
By Sarah Ogilvie
from the publisher: Of deep transgenerational and broad appeal, a thrilling literary detective story that, for the first time, unravels the mystery of the endlessly fascinating contributors the world over who, for over seventy years, helped to codify the way we read and write and speak. It was the greatest crowdsourcing endeavor in human history, the Wikipedia of its time. The Dictionary People is a celebration of words, language, and people, whose eccentricities and obsessions, triumphs, and failures enriched the English language.
I never can resist a book featuring hidden history or an obscure discovery. It’s organized in a clever way (C for Cannibals; R for Rain Collectors). Even the introduction is jam-packed full of fun facts. It’s also a great title to dip in and out of as time allows.
My thanks to Penguin Random House for the review copy.
Publisher: Knopf
Language: English
Hardcover: 384 pages
ISBN-10: 0593536401
Northern Lights
By Edward J. Cowan
from the publisher: Northern Lights reveals Scotland’s previously unsung role in the remarkable history of Arctic exploration. There was the intrepid John Ross, an eccentric hell-raiser from Stranraer and a veteran of three Arctic expeditions; his nephew, James Clark Ross, the most experienced explorer of his generation and discoverer of the Magnetic North Pole; and more. Northern Lights also pays tribute and reveals other overlooked stories in this fascinating era of history: the Scotch Irish, the whalers, and especially the Inuit, whose unparalleled knowledge of the Arctic environment was often indispensable.
As regular readers will know, I am obsessed with doomed Arctic explorations. Not all of them were entirely doomed, of course, but they rarely went smoothly. This book is a great introduction to some of the more colorful characters and their exploits.
My thanks to Pegasus Books for the review copy.
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Language: English
Hardcover: 432 pages
ISBN-10: 1639362703