December 1899—after the death of her beloved grandmother, Cleopatra Fox moves into the luxury hotel owned by her estranged uncle in the hopes of putting hardship and loneliness behind her, but the poisoning of a guest on Christmas Eve throws her new life, and the hotel, into chaos. C.J. Archer launches Cleopatra Fox with historical mystery where Cleo quickly realizes no one can be trusted, not Scotland Yard and especially not the hotel’s charming assistant manager, and with the New Year’s Eve ball approaching fast and the hotel’s reputation hanging by a thread, Cleo must find the killer before the ball, and the hotel itself, are ruined—but catching a murderer proves just as difficult as navigating the hotel’s hierarchy and the peculiarities of her family. 🎩Can Cleo find the killer before the new century begins, or will someone get away with murder? Archer explores what happens when family reconciliation coincides with murder investigation, examining how hotel hierarchies complicate detective work when everyone from staff to guests has secrets and motives. ☠️
The author delivers historical mystery where Christmas Eve poisonings threaten both family businesses and New Year’s celebrations, proving that sometimes starting fresh means solving crimes your family wants buried. Archer writes a heroine whose outsider status in her uncle’s hotel becomes an investigative advantage when trust is impossible and everyone lies. The first Cleopatra Fox novel establishes 1899 London as a world where luxury hotels hide deadly secrets. 🔍
Why I’m including this: Historical mystery launching Cleopatra Fox where in December 1899, after her beloved grandmother’s death, Cleopatra Fox moves into the luxury hotel owned by her estranged uncle hoping to put hardship and loneliness behind her—but the poisoning of a guest on Christmas Eve throws her new life and the hotel into chaos as Cleo quickly realizes no one can be trusted, not Scotland Yard and especially not the hotel’s charming assistant manager, with the New Year’s Eve ball approaching fast and the hotel’s reputation hanging by a thread as Cleo must find the killer before the ball and hotel are ruined, but catching a murderer proves just as difficult as navigating the hotel’s hierarchy and her family’s peculiarities, asking whether she can find the killer before the new century begins or if someone will get away with murder.
We’ve all heard the story of the Four Horsemen—Harbingers of the apocalypse, Destruction given form, Four of the sexiest—wait no—forget that, you get the point—so imagine Ruby Morningstar’s surprise when she finds out everything she’s ever been told is a lie. Kel Carpenter launches Queen of the Damned with reverse harem paranormal romance where let’s start from the beginning: her name is Ruby Morningstar, she runs a tattoo parlor in Portland with her banshee bestfriend, has a pet raccoon, a crazy ex that stalks her, not to mention this one little thing—she’s a demon, half-succubus to be exact. 😈For the last twenty-three years of her life, that’s the story she believed, but on the day a handsome stranger bails her out of jail her world is turned upside down, and suddenly she doesn’t know who she is anymore—because the Four Horsemen aren’t the bringers of the apocalypse, she is. Carpenter explores what happens when your entire identity is a lie designed to protect you from a destiny you never wanted, examining how discovering you’re the actual apocalypse changes your Tuesday plans considerably. Talk about never catching a break. ⚡
The author delivers reverse harem paranormal romance where tattoo artists are secretly apocalypse bringers, proving that sometimes the most dangerous thing about you isn’t your demon heritage but who you’re destined to become. Carpenter writes a heroine whose pet raccoon and stalker ex are suddenly the least of her problems when Four Horsemen show up to explain she’s supposed to end the world. The first Queen of the Damned novel asks whether you can refuse your apocalyptic destiny when the Horsemen are hot and persistent. 🔥
What makes this special: Reverse harem paranormal romance launching Queen of the Damned where we’ve all heard the story of the Four Horsemen—Harbingers of the apocalypse, Destruction given form—so imagine Ruby Morningstar’s surprise finding out everything she’s been told is a lie as she runs a Portland tattoo parlor with her banshee bestfriend, has a pet raccoon, a crazy ex that stalks her, plus she’s a demon, half-succubus to be exact—for twenty-three years that’s the story she believed until a handsome stranger bails her out of jail turning her world upside down and suddenly she doesn’t know who she is anymore because the Four Horsemen aren’t the bringers of the apocalypse, she is—talk about never catching a break.
Feisty, stubborn, and bored with life in Texas, she’s about to get more than she bargained for—in a mid-life crisis, widow Anne Best heads to the Big Apple for a job interview, expecting no more than a few days of adventure in New York City. Tamie Dearen launches The Best Girls with sweet billionaire romance where instead, she finds herself with a new job working for the most infuriating man she’s ever met—yes, he’s hot, but he’s still infuriating. 💼Billionaire Steven Gherring is one of New York’s Most Eligible Bachelors, and he has every intention of staying that way, but his Gram has other ideas—she’s on a not-so-secret campaign to find a wife for her grandson. Dearen explores what happens when matchmakers become the matched, examining how professional boundaries dissolve when your job is finding your boss a wife but his grandmother thinks you’re the one. Passions rise along with hemlines as Gram joins forces with Anne, a veteran matchmaker, to find the perfect match for Steven—Anne disobeys Steven’s direct orders in her search for a suitable mate for him, with her livelihood and her future at risk, so is her heart. 💕
The author delivers sweet billionaire romance where Texas widows reinvent themselves in New York only to fall for the impossible boss, proving that sometimes the best match is the one you’re actively trying to avoid making. Dearen writes a heroine whose mid-life adventure becomes complicated when matchmaking for her billionaire boss means ignoring the obvious chemistry between them. The first Best Girls novel asks whether you can find someone their perfect match when you’re it. 😊
Why I’m including this: Sweet billionaire romance launching The Best Girls where feisty stubborn widow Anne Best bored with Texas life heads to the Big Apple for a job interview in a mid-life crisis expecting no more than a few days of New York adventure—instead she finds herself with a new job working for the most infuriating man she’s ever met (yes he’s hot but still infuriating) as billionaire Steven Gherring is one of New York’s Most Eligible Bachelors with every intention of staying that way, but his Gram has other ideas with her not-so-secret campaign to find her grandson a wife, with passions rising along with hemlines as Gram joins forces with veteran matchmaker Anne to find Steven’s perfect match while Anne disobeys Steven’s direct orders in her search for a suitable mate, risking her livelihood, future, and heart.
West with Giraffes: A Novel
“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes”—Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away, but when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. Lynda Rutledge delivers friendship fiction where it’s 1938, the Great Depression lingers, Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder—they find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic, and what follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. 🦒Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow, and inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes. Rutledge explores what happens when Depression-era America needs wonder and finds it in improbable survivors, examining how a cross-country giraffe delivery becomes a journey of personal transformation for everyone involved. 🚛
The author delivers friendship fiction where 105-year-olds recall the moment everything changed, proving that sometimes your truest friends are the ones who can’t speak but change your life anyway. Rutledge writes historical fiction where giraffes surviving hurricanes give hope to humans surviving economic collapse, creating stakes where delivering animals safely means more than just zoo acquisition. The novel asks whether wonder can save us when the world is falling apart. 🌟
What makes this essential: Friendship fiction where “Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes”—Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away but when he learns giraffes are going extinct finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave as it’s 1938, the Great Depression lingers, Hitler threatens Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder they find in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic—what follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo with young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow behind the wheel in this tale inspired by true events weaving real-life figures with fictional ones including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.
Jane Healey delivers historical fiction about the women codebreakers of Arlington Hall during World War II—these unsung heroines worked to crack enemy codes that helped turn the tide of war, performing top-secret work that remained classified for decades. 🔐Healey explores what happens when brilliant women are recruited for classified wartime work, examining how codebreaking became one of the most crucial contributions to Allied victory while remaining hidden from history. The author balances mathematical genius with personal sacrifice, creating stakes where breaking codes meant saving lives but also meant keeping secrets forever. 💪
The novel delivers historical fiction where female codebreakers changed the war’s outcome while their contributions stayed secret, proving that sometimes the most important work is the work nobody knows you did. Healey writes about women whose intelligence was finally recognized when the nation needed it most, creating a narrative where wartime necessity temporarily overrode peacetime discrimination. The story asks whether recognition matters when the work itself made all the difference. 🌟
Why I’m including this: Historical fiction about the women codebreakers of Arlington Hall during World War II who performed top-secret work cracking enemy codes that helped turn the tide of war while their crucial contributions remained classified for decades, examining how brilliant women recruited for classified wartime work made one of the most important contributions to Allied victory while remaining hidden from history.
In a quiet suburban neighborhood in upstate New York, single mom Kelly Gibson is slain in her home—the victim of a rage killing—and right away, Sheriff Bree Taggert has three persons of interest: an angry soon-to-be ex-husband, a furtive rebound boyfriend, and an obsessive neighbor. Melinda Leigh continues Bree Taggert with police procedural where but as Bree and investigator Matt Flynn work together to narrow the field, there’s a shocking twist in the case: a second woman is murdered in the same brutal fashion. 🔍While investigating, Bree is attacked and left for dead—when another woman is kidnapped, Bree and Matt must act quickly to unravel the deceptions in Kelly’s life and death and find a killer before someone else dies. Leigh explores what happens when rage killings aren’t isolated incidents, examining how personal investigations become desperately personal when the detective becomes a target. ⚠️
The author delivers police procedural where sheriffs investigating murders become victims themselves, proving that sometimes getting close to the truth means getting close to the killer. Leigh writes a tenth Bree Taggert novel where multiple murders with the same pattern suggest serial killing, creating stakes where solving the case means surviving it. The continuation asks whether you can catch a killer when you’re fighting for your own life. 💔
What makes this compelling: Police procedural continuing Bree Taggert where in a quiet suburban upstate New York neighborhood, single mom Kelly Gibson is slain in her home as the victim of a rage killing—right away Sheriff Bree Taggert has three persons of interest: an angry soon-to-be ex-husband, a furtive rebound boyfriend, and an obsessive neighbor—but as Bree and investigator Matt Flynn work together to narrow the field there’s a shocking twist with a second woman murdered in the same brutal fashion, and while investigating Bree is attacked and left for dead, with another woman kidnapped forcing Bree and Matt to act quickly to unravel the deceptions in Kelly’s life and death and find a killer before someone else dies.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 3Page 3