I love looking at all the wonderful books we have to look forward to (you can see my posts for Q1 and Q2 at these links). Here are a few of the titles that I’m particularly excited about from the next three months. Covers and publication dates are correct at time of writing.
The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
(Mantle, 10 July)
I love Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s novels and I can’t wait for this latest offering.
That’s the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself. Sometimes you think they’ve ended, when they’ve barely begun…
London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. The Punchbowl and Pineapple, her confectionary shop on Piccadilly, is barely turning a profit, and her suppliers are conspiring to put her out of business. So when she learns that her husband had a large sum of money in his bank account that she knew nothing about, the surprise is extremely welcome. And when William Devereux, a friend of her late husband, tells her about a new Italian delicacy called “iced cream”, Hannah believes it might transform the fortunes of her shop.
But her husband’s unexpected windfall attracts the attention of author-turned-magistrate Henry Fielding, who suspects the money was illicitly acquired. Unless Hannah can prove otherwise, her inheritance will be confiscated. As she and Devereux work to uncover the secrets of her husband’s double life, their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder.
Human Rites by Juno Dawson
(Harper Voyager, 17 July)
I have such high hopes for this novel – the first two novels were instant favourites, and I can’t wait to see how Dawson brings the trilogy to a close.
The Coven is reunited but broken…
Niamh is back from the dead… but she hasn’t come back alone. Elle mourns a son she never had. Ciara languishes in a prison for witches. And Leonie reels from a very unexpected surprise.
Five very different witches with one thing in common: they were unwittingly chosen by the dangerously charming Lucifer, the demon king of desire, to fulfil a dark prophecy.
But Lucifer has a deadly offer for fledgling witch Theo: help him and her coven – her family – will be spared as the rest of humanity perishes in a hellish new reality. Save the ones she loves? Or save the world? The choice is hers…
The final confrontation between good and evil is about to commence in the spectacular conclusion to the insatiable Her Majesty’s Royal Coven.
The Final Vow by M. W. Craven
(Constable, 14 August)
This one should come as no surprise to regular readers, as I’ve recently raced through the previous novels so that I’m ready for this one!
An invisible killer with a 100% success rate. No one is safe. Not even those closest to Washington Poe…
A shooting at Gretna Green. A bride is murdered on her wedding day, seconds after she slips on her new ring. It’s brutal and bloody but she isn’t the first victim and she won’t be the last. With the body count now at 17, people are terrified, not knowing where the sniper will strike next.
With the nation in a state of panic, the police are at a loss and turn to Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw – the only team who just might be able to track down a serial killer following no discernible pattern and with the whole country as his personal hunting ground. Can Poe and Tilly stop an unstoppable assassin, who never misses his mark and never makes a mistake? Or will he find them before they find him…
Katabasis by R. F. Kuang
(Harper Voyager, 26 August)
This one gets a place based on the cover alone! But seriously, I loved Babel and I’m really looking forward to this.
Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld.
Grad student Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become the brightest mind in the field of analytic magick.
But the only person who can make her dream come true is dead and – inconveniently – in Hell. And Alice, along with her biggest rival Peter Murdoch, is going after him.
But Hell is not as the philosophers claim, its rules are upside-down, and if she’s going to get out of there alive, she and Peter will have to work together.
That’s if they can agree on anything.
Will they triumph, or kill each other trying?
No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes
(Mantle, 11 September)
Another autobuy author for me, I can’t wait for Haynes’ retelling of Medea’s tale.
This is what no one tells you, in the songs sung about Jason and the Argo. This part of his quest has been forgotten, by everyone but me…
Jason and his Argonauts set sail to find the Golden Fleece. The journey is filled with danger, for him and everyone he meets. But if he ever reaches the distant land he seeks, he faces almost certain death.
Medea – priestess, witch, and daughter of a brutal king – has the power to save the life of a stranger. Will she betray her family and her home, and what will she demand in return?
Medea and Jason seize their one chance of a life together, as the gods intend. But their love is steeped in vengeance from the beginning, and no one – not even those closest to them – will be safe.
Based on the classic tragedy by Euripides, this is Medea as you’ve never seen her before…
These are just a few of the wonderful books coming out in the next few months that I’m really excited about. Anything here take your fancy? Anything you’re particularly looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!
Jo's Book Blog 
Fab list, Jo. I’ve got a copy of The Art of the Lie on it’s way to me! x
Thanks, Nicki! I picked up my copy from Waterstones today! 🤗
Human rites sounds interesting. Great list, Jo.
Thanks, Yesha – I cannot wait for it!
I also have The Art of a Lie and Final Vow on my list. As well as the new Lisa Gardner, Elodie Harper and Richard Osman.
I just happened to be walking past Waterstones yesterday, and may have picked up a copy of The Art of a Lie already! 😏