Tarotmancer by W.A. Simpson

Jun 132023
 

Following Tinderbox, the acclaimed first title in the The Tales of the Riven Isles, the story of magic and revenge continues with Tarotmancer. Harper holds the Gift of Divination. Red is the infamous Reynard the Fox, fugitive shapeshifter. When his past finds him Red is taken to the Kingdom of Vale within Underneath so he can pay for his crimes and Harper is taken as hostage. With the Rot drawing on the hatred of the citizens, including Harper she realizes she must put her feelings aside and save Red from the punishment of the Cesspit. As the Rot continues to grow, all must take control of their emotions and join to protect Vale.

I Didn’t Do It by Jamie Lynn Hendricks

May 232023
 

A murder at a suspense writer convention makes everyone a suspect―especially the victim’s literary rivals.

Murderpalooza, the premier thriller writers conference, is meant to be an exciting celebration of the genre and its preeminent writers. But when bestselling author and industry favorite Kristin Bailey is found dead in her hotel room, four rival authors―a midlister, an egomaniac, a has-been, and a newbie―also get targeted by an anonymous social media account and wonder if they’re next.

First, they find themselves bonding to try to find out who’s behind it. As the account taunts them, it slowly reveals secrets that each of them have connected to Kristin―secrets that make them a suspect in each other’s eyes. Soon, they are turning on each other and silently accusing each as a killer. With time running out until the awards ceremony where the social media account has promised a big reveal, the only thing they know for sure is that no one is better at both creating and solving a mystery than the people who write them for a living.

Viviana Valentine Goes Up the River by Emily J. Edwards

May 022023
 

1950, New York. Viviana Valentine–Girl Friday turned partner to New York’s top investigator, Tommy Fortuna–is drawn into a sordid new case when Buster Beacon, a wealthy man of science, beckons them to a party at his mansion north of the city. There, Buster entertains blue-blooded friends as well as investors keen to make a dollar on the many advancements made in his home laboratory, but he’s been hearing strange noises in the night coming from his expansive estate, and he doesn’t know who to trust.

Once Viviana and Tommy arrive, the party is snowed in. And suddenly, there is a dead body and nowhere to hide. Who killed the disguised federal agent in their midst? And how have details from the top-secret lab become public? Once chomping at the bit to be brought into this mysterious life, Viviana wonders if she’s ready for the risks that come with the territory—risks that rise treacherously high as the killer targets the next victim.

Set in the gritty, noir world of 1950 New York City, Emily J. Edwards’s Viviana Valentine Goes Up the River packs all the elements mystery fans love: an irresistibly clever protagonist, a posh cast of heroes and villains, and a murder case that could defy even the most seasoned investigator.

Review: Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai

Mar 292023
 

The New York Times: I’ve saved the sweetest book for last. BITTER MEDICINE by Mia Tsai, centers on Elle, a descendant of the Chinese god of healing who makes magical glyphs for a fairy bureaucracy and secretly pines for Lucien, a handsome, half-elf agent. When the glyphs work too well, saving Luc’s life but revealing Elle’s existence to the dangerous family members she’s running from, she and Luc will have to atone for the sins of their pasts while working out what they truly mean to each other.

There are so many joys in this paranormal. The wealth of languages, mythologies, religions and magicks are a weight that balances the emotional tenderness. Healing magic, rather than fighting magic, takes center stage — and without spoiling things too much, it’s also one of the rare paranormals to feature a heroine who loses rather than gains power. Tsai does not flinch from this grief: “The overhead lights cast her shadow, faint and watery, across her threshold, and that’s how she imagines she looks: magic-less and broken, a ghostly husk of herself.” In a subgenre that so often makes supernatural power the answer to problems, how refreshing to find one that says being mortal — being human, and happy, and safe — is purpose enough.

Review: I Didn’t Do It by Jamie Lynn Hendricks

Mar 152023
 

Publishers Weekly: This brisk, funny thriller from Hendricks (It Could Be Anyone) begins at Murderpalooza, an annual New York City conference for writers of genre fiction. When Kristin Bailey, a nominee for the coveted Thriller of the Year award, is found dead in her hotel room, the Twitterverse runs rife with speculation. Shortly after Kristin’s death, four other conference attendees (who narrate the novel on a rotating basis) start receiving menacing tweets from a burner account that threatens to leak secrets that could end their personal relationships, careers, and possibly their lives. The group decides to band together for protection, but each new tweet breeds distrust and fear as the truth about Kristin’s killing slowly comes to light. Hendricks’s plotting is impeccable, and she knows precisely when to jump perspectives for maximum suspense. Her humor, too, is razor-sharp: she has fun taking shots at the anxieties and unchecked egos of writers at all stages of their career (“Is it really narcissism if I know I have it? Or just an overinflated ego,” one character wonders).

Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai

Mar 142023
 

In this inspired contemporary fantasy, a Chinese immortal and a French elf try to balance new romance, familial loyalty, and workplace demands. In her debut novel, Taiwanese American author Mia Tsai has created an unforgettable paranormal adventure that is full of humor, passion, and depth.

As a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, ignored middle child Elle was destined to be a doctor. Instead, she is underemployed as a mediocre magical calligrapher at the fairy temp agency. Nevertheless, she challenges herself by covertly outfitting Luc, her client and crush, with high-powered glyphs.

Half-elf Luc, the agency’s top security expert, has his own secret: he’s responsible for a curse laid from an old assignment. To heal them, he’ll need to perform his job duties with unrelenting excellence and earn time off from his tyrannical boss.

When Elle saves Luc’s life, they begin a dangerous collaboration, but their chemistry blooms. Happiness, for once, is an option for them both. But Elle is loyal to her family, and Luc is bound by his true name. To win freedom from duty, they must make unexpected sacrifices.

Starred Review: I Didn’t Do It by Jaime Lynn Hendricks

Mar 012023
 

Kirkus: Authors’ dreams curdle into nightmares when murder strikes a mystery convention.

Kristin Bailey, one of five nominees for Murderpalooza’s Thriller of the Year, has been stabbed to death in her room at the Waldorf. Amid the digital firestorm that breaks out, two items stand out. One is a Twitter thread indicating that @MPaloozaNxt2Dieis following Vicky Overton, a fellow nominee; Mike Brooks, the once-successful friend who shared a hush-hush relationship with Kristin; Suzanne Shih, the admiring stalker she’d gotten a restraining order against; and Davis Walton, a self-absorbed rising star. The other is a series of text messages to Vicky, Mike, Suzanne, and Davis making target-specific insinuations and threats, all ending with the refrain “Maybe you’re next.” Since all four of them have plenty of secrets to hide, their suspicions of each other are equaled by their apprehension that they’re about to be unmasked. Alternating among their four points of view, Hendricks revels in their paranoia while archly revealing the differences in their narrative styles, from Vicky’s relentless self-editing to Suzanne’s guileless pushiness to Davis’ preening narcissism to Mike’s terror because his current comeback novel features a murder at a mystery convention committed by his own fictional avatar. Authors, agents, publishers, wannabes: None of them comes off nearly as well as Vicky’s boyfriend, publicist Jim Russell, who’s miles ahead of Pearson—no first name—the investigator hired by the Waldorf to figure out just which of these experts in homicide upped their game to the next level. Despite the obvious premise, it’s a furious, riotous, meta-romp right up to the last deflating twist.

January Translation Rights Deals

Jan 312023
 

Brazilian rights to Shaun David Hutchinson’s WE ARE THE ANTS, to Record, by Flavia Sala at International Editors’, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Czech rights to New York Times bestselling author Tamsyn Muir’s NONA THE NINTH, the third book in The Locked Tomb series, to Host, by Milena Kaplarević at Prava i prevodi in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Danish rights to New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s SUMMER KNIGHT, DEATH MASKS, and BLOOD RITES, books 4-6 in the Dresden Files series, to Superlux, by Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Dutch rights to Ruby Barrett’s THE ROMANCE RECIPE, to Anne Everard at Heartbeat by Katie Shea Boutillier for Kiana Nguyen.

French rights to New York Times bestselling author Tamsyn Muir’s NONA THE NINTH, the third book in The Locked Tomb series, to Actes Sud, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

French audio rights to Nnedi Okorafor’s BINTI TRILOGY, WHO FEARS DEATH and THE BOOK OF PHOENIX, to Noa Rosen at Éditions Thélème by Marie-France Heinic at Anna Jarota Agency on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Donald Maass.

German rights to Mia Tsai’s BITTER MEDICINE, to Blanvalet, in a preempt, by Sarah Knofius at Thomas Schlueck Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier at for Anne Tibbets.

German rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, the sixth installment in the Murderbot Diaries series, to Heyne, by Sarah Knofius at the Thomas Schlueck Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Israeli rights to Annika Martin’s MOST ELIGIBLE BILLIONAIRE, to Sifrut Shenogaat, by Beverley Levit at The Israeli Association of Book Publishers, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

Italian rights to LJ Andrew’s CURSE OF SHADOWS AND THORNS, COURT OF ICE AND ASH, and CROWN OF BLOOD AND RUIN, to Triskell, in a three-book deal, by Stefania Fietta at Donzelli Fietta, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Polish audio rights to New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS, the first book in the Cinder Spires series, to F.H.U. Strix, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava i prevodi in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Spanish rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ WITCH KING plus an untitled fantasy novel, to Hidra, by Amaiur Fernández at International Editors’ Co. in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Deal: Jaime Lynn Hendricks

Dec 162022
 
ANYONE, and the forthcoming I DIDN’T DO IT, Jaime Lynn Hendricks fourth domestic thriller, EVERYONE IS LYING, about a woman who marries and builds a perfect life with her best friend’s boyfriend until the friend’s adult daughter arrives questioning her paternity, and implicates the woman in a decades old murder, to Luisa Cruz Smith at Scarlet, in a nice deal, by Anne Tibbets.

 

Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man by Emily J. Edwards

Nov 082022
 

New York City, 1950. Viviana Valentine is Girl Friday to the city’s top private investigator, Tommy Fortuna. The clients can be frustrating, and none more maddening than fabulously wealthy Tallmadge Blackstone, who demands Tommy tail his daughter, Tallulah, and find out why she won’t marry his business partner, a man forty years her senior. Sounds like an open-and-shut case for a P.I. known for busting up organized crime—but the next day, Viviana opens the office to find Tommy missing and a lifeless body on the floor.

The cops swoop in and Detective Jake Lawson issues a warrant for Tommy’s arrest. Desperate to clear Tommy’s name, Viviana takes on the Blackstone case herself. When she goes out for a night on the town with the heiress, she begins to learn the secrets behind Tallulah’s headline-grabbing life. Meanwhile, Lawson is itching to solve his murder case, and continues harassing Viviana for answers—until she’s the victim of a series of violent attacks.

But Tommy’s still missing, and Viviana is scared. As she digs into the dirty history of the Blackstone empire, she suddenly realizes the true danger at hand. Now, it’s up to her to find her missing boss and make sure he doesn’t turn up D.O.A.

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