In modern day Vienna, city of spies, American Sterling Lockwood is the loyal Concierge & Keeper of Secrets at the infamous Hotel Orient, a love hotel where cameras are banned, aliases are required, and every guest has a secret.
After the double murder of two guests, including a tech mogul building an Austrian surveillance state, Sterling has to turn detective. But finding the truth will require breaking the Orient’s sacred code of secrecy, while keeping a few secrets of her own. The police struggle when modern investigative technology proves useless at the old-fashioned hotel. Because clients use aliases, pay cash, and stay mere hours, all suspects have vanished.
Sterling agrees to assist alongside her best friend and colleague Fernando, if only to avoid arrest and fight suspicion regarding her own movements that night. As enemies close in, she risks everything to solve a case haunted by the past in a city with a fetish for nostalgia.
It’s a world of secrets, the Hotel Orient. A world where you can do what you will, where names are discouraged, where pleasures are taken (with consent, naturally), phones left at the door, and where your host Sterling Lockwood will look after your every whim. It’s a gloriously decadent setting, oozing with glamour, secrets and champagne, of course. With a side order of murder, naturally. Who would be so… gauche as to do the deed? It’s up to Sterling to find out. One can’t let the good name of the Hotel Orient be besmirched in such a fashion, can one?
The book is fabulous, I adored Sterling, smart, witty and pithy. I also loved her stiff-upper-lipped police nemesis Andreas and watching them gradually, oh so very gradually start to succumb to Sterling’s charms.
And of course Serafina. But you’ll need to read the book to find out more about her. Vienna itself plays a huge role in the book too, and it was fascinating to wander the streets and clubs and bars and soak up the atmosphere. We’re back to the ‘give a book a good sense of place and make me a happy boy’ thing.
I hope we get to see much more of the Hotel Orient and her concierge/keeper of secrets. Because I feel that there are a LOT more secrets to be peeled away.
Get this on your lists for next year kids. And remember, Sterling is watching, and will know if you’ve been naughty or nice. As to which she prefers, well you’ll have to wait and see…
Highly recommended.
Murder at the Hotel Orient by Alessandra Ranelli is published by Baskerville in May 2026. Many thanks to the publisher for an advance copy for review, and to Alessandra for inviting me to take part in the publicity shenanigans in Harrogate!
Canada, 1898. The Gold Rush is on in the frozen wilderness of the Yukon. Fortunes are made as quickly as they’re lost, and Dawson City has become a lawless settlement.
In its midst, three women are trying to find their place on the edge of civilisation. Journalist Kate, along with her dog Yukon, has travelled hundreds of miles after receiving a letter from her sister warning that her husband means to kill her. Martha’s hotel and livelihood are under threat from the local strongman, who is set on buying up the town. And down by the river, where gold shimmers from between the rocks, Ellen feels her future slip away as her husband fails to find the fortune they risked so much to seek.
When a woman is found murdered, Kate, Martha and Ellen find their lives, fates and fortunes intertwined. But to unmask her killer, they must navigate a desperate land run by dangerous men who will do anything for a glimpse of gold…
Well, regular readers around these parts, or anyone who has innocently asked ‘read any good books recently?’ will know how much I adore Beth’s books. And luckily for you, dear reader, The Rush is both out now in paperback, and utterly brilliant (as per usual).
Three women’s lives in the gold rush collide. You emerge blinking into the sunlight almost feeling the grit under your fingernails from the trail, sunburnt from the environment, looking over your shoulder to see if that man has an itchy trigger finger, and is that a glimmer of gold over there?
It’s so refreshing to read a book with so many strong female leads. Kate, the journalist, travelling the Yukon trail to find her sister who has written to say her husband is going to kill her. Martha, hotel owner and madam, whose girls look after the men, but is under threat from the local hard man. And Ellen, whose husband is convinced that gold is just around the bend of the river.
Great characters, and a plot that finds these three incredible women’s lives coming together. It’s a historical murder mystery, it’s a book about the lives of the women in the Yukon, it’s about the gold rush. What more could you want?
Oh, and there’s a dog called Yukon. We love dogs.
Stunning. If you’ve not read any of Beth’s books yet, you’ve been missing out (and ignoring me).
Start here! Go buy a copy!
I loved it so much I bought myself the beautiful shiny hardback, but the new paperback is possibly even more gorgeous…
The Rush by Beth Lewis is published by Viper (many thanks for the early ebook copy for review, sorry it took so long…) and is out now in paperback. Which you’d already know if you’ve read this far.
Opinions remain, as ever, my own. Now, go buy the book…
When Hop awakens in an ancient labyrinth, he has no memory of his life, or how he got here. He does not recognise the mysterious girl trapped with him. And he certainly cannot identify the shadowy figure stalking him, whispering terrible things…
But there is one thing he is certain of: He must escape.
The only way out of the labyrinth is through The Bone Door. But it lies behind a series of locked doors hidden across an array of strange realms. To open the way, Hop must complete impossible tasks before his time runs out.
As Hop travels deeper into the maze, he discovers that he and his companions may be more connected to the place and its horrors than he could ever imagine.
Unless Hop is able to unravel the true mystery of the labyrinth, and his own role within it, the Bone Door and any hope of escape will be lost forever.
Every now and again a book comes along which you just know from the very first page is going to be special. The Bone Door is one of those books.
The skeleton was sleeping in the snow, its tea-stained bones scattered like freckles across a pale face.
I mean, come on. As first lines go, that’s pretty great. And as I read I found myself highlighting more and more lines that just sang off the page. It’s a gorgeous book.
The mysterious yet eternally cheerful Hop finds himself in a narrow chamber with only a skeleton for company. He can’t remember who he is, doesn’t know where he is, and has no idea what he needs to do to get out of there. Hop and Skully join forces and they’re off in search of the Bone Door…
What follows is an adventure through the many rooms of the labyrinth. Each rooms offers a unique challenge which needs to be completed within a certain amount of time, or they will be stuck there forever. Along the way they meet gods and monsters, as well as some new members of the gang – I don’t want to say too much as you really need to meet them yourself along the way.
There’s so much I want to say about this book – the characters are messy and wonderful and broken and there for each other. The worldbuilding is just incredible – Frances White has woven together dreams and nightmares and come up with something entirely unique. Echoes of the movie Labyrinth (appropriate, given where Hop wakes up) lace through the story like a fine golden filigree. This book takes you on a journey, breaks you into pieces then puts you back together again.
It is, quite simply, a glorious thing, and will be very high on my books of the year list come the end of 2026, I’m quite sure.
Absolutely stunning. Buy this one as soon as it comes out. 11/10.
Whilst the book features children as the main characters, this is very much not a kid’s book. It tackles mature themes such as abuse, trauma and how we face up to it. The author has a list of content warnings on their website, should you need them. I really appreciated this way of presenting this – rather than as some books do, showing the warnings up front, the author has acknowledge that some people might need them, and gently pointed at where they can be found.
The Bone Door by Frances White is published by Michael Joseph in May 2026. Thanks to the publisher for an advance ebook copy of the book to review.
Irody Hasp is a Mortedant, a cleric tasked with reading the last thoughts of the dead—though no one thanks him for it. No Mortedant is popular, but Irody is scarcely tolerated even by the other members of his own guild, and rarely selected for anything but the lowliest of jobs.
This impoverished existence would be dismal enough—but after reading the corpse of a low-level records keeper, Irody’s troubles quickly multiply when his own apprentice is murdered, and all fingers point to him as a suspect. The only way to save his own skin is to find the real culprit himself, an investigation that quickly attracts powerful enemies with few scruples, and draws him into a plot that threatens the entire corrupt yet wondrous city he calls home.
Well now, this is exciting. A new book by RJ Barker is always a lovely, slightly odd thing. But in a delightful way. And Mortedant’s Peril (The Trials of Irody Hasp #1) is quite the most delightfully weird book.
We follow the adventures of Irody Hasp, a Mortedant. He can read the last thoughts of the deceased. But then his apprentice is murdered, he gets the blame, and has four days to identify the real culprit or face the gallows. So far, so murder mystery – who actually killed Malkin? Why do they want Irody to swing for it?
Conspiracies abound as Mortedant Hasp has to delve through the layered tiers of the city (an utterly lovely piece of worldbuilding, ruled by the goat satyr Niofa), accompanied by his new neophyte (and Malkin’s sister) Mirial and Whisper, an ‘unhuman’ Oster sea person tasked with guarding him until his execution day.
It’s a beautiful, strange world that RJ Barker has created, and I’ve been savouring it over the past couple of weeks rather than doing my usual of just inhaling the book in a couple of sittings. Some books just want you to take your time with them, to soak in the atmosphere, to feel the cobbles on the streets and listen to the shouts of the low-tier folk as they go about their day, pausing to see the harried Irody Hasp rush past, black Mortedant robes billowing behind him as he struggles to save himself from the hangman’s noose.
I loved every bit of it. If you’ve read any of RJ’s books before, you’ll no doubt already have this on your lists. If not, get your favourite pencil out and write down the words “MORTEDANT’S PERIL – BUY A COPY IN MAY” in your very best handwriting, and stick it to your fridge.
Hugely recommended. All the stars.
Mortedant’s Peril by RJ Barker is published by Tor Books in May 2026. Huge thanks to the publisher for an ebook copy of the book to review.
Edenscar, a town in the Peak District, has more than most. 17 years ago, its inhabitants were hit by tragedy when a school bus veered off the road and everyone on board drowned. Everyone, that is, except Joseph Ashe. His miraculous survival has haunted him and the town ever since.
Now a Detective Sergeant in the local police, Joe is called to the scene of a brutal and apparently inexplicable crime. The whole town is spooked, but Joe’s new boss, DI Laurie Bower, more used to inner-city police work, has no time for superstition. She just wants to find the very real killer who has left no trace and apparently had no motive.
Joining forces, Joe and Laurie work to uncover the secrets of Edenscar, both past and present.
But when you dig up the dead, expect to get your hands dirty…
Well now, that was a bit good. If you’re looking for a great murder mystery which is a bit different, then The Drowning Place should be very high on your list.
Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I read a lot of books. And a lot of crime books. And there’s a point where sometimes they can start to feel a little samey. This is very much not the case here – it has a refreshingly different twist with DS Joseph Ashe, who was involved in a tragic accident on a school trip where he lost his best friend Sammi and is literally haunted by the events of that day. A miracle, say some. Others are less convinced…
I loved the setting, the village of Edenscar is very much a character itself, eerie and surrounded by the moors and woodlands of the Peak District. It’s broody and slightly oppressive, with some fantastic inhabitants, all with their own secrets.
Throw in DI Laurie Bower from the bright lights of Salford, a smart, no-nonsense sort of copper who is tasked with investigating the brutal murders. Joe and Laurie are quite the pair!
It’ll keep you up late reading, just make sure the lights are on and the doors are firmly locked. Edenscar is out there, lurking in the dark.
And it’s the start of a new series! I can’t wait to see what other cases our detectives have to investigate. Hugely recommended.
The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary is published by Harvill and is out now in hardback. Many thanks to the publisher for an advance copy for review. Opinions remain my own.
A waiter’s job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door . . . is hell. Edward Chisholm’s spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you beneath the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world—and right into its glorious underbelly. He inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep and dive bars; scraping by on coffee, bread and cigarettes, often under sadistic managers, with a wage so low you’re fighting your colleagues for tips. Your colleagues—including thieves, narcissists, ex-soldiers, immigrants, wannabe actors, and drug dealers—are the closest thing to family that you’ve got. It’s physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. But it doesn’t matter because you’re in Paris, the center of the universe, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be in the world.
Let’s start with a confession. Edward Chisholm’s A Waiter in Paris had been on my NetGalley TBR pile for so long that I couldn’t find it on my kindle. I’m a terrible bookblogger!
Then I was in Harrogate with my daughter for a day out recently and spotted it on the shelf so bought a copy. Amends would be made.
This is fascinating stuff. We follow Edward, known as l’Anglais by his coworkers, from his lowly start as a runner (lower than a waiter) in a Parisian bistro. The tales of scrounging coffees from the Tamils who run the pass – the interface between the kitchens (terrifying, you do not go there as a waiter, ever), run-ins with the director, badly fitting suits, scrounging euros from the actual waiters (usually with little to no success), living in cramped bedbug-ridden accomodation through to finally becoming accepted by his colleagues (mostly) are deftly told.
The writing is crisp, often amusing, and a love of Paris shines through.
I loved it.
A Waiter in Paris by Edward Chisholm is published by Monoray and is out in paperback now.
A road trip across America with her teenage daughter was meant to be much-needed bonding time for Simone before Lucy leaves home for university.
But on the first night of their stay, in a cabin deep in the Texan desert, Simone wakes to find Lucy missing and a mobile phone in her place. The phone rings and the voice on the other end issues instructions: Don’t tell the police. Come to this location. Be prepared to do a deal…
There is nothing Simone wouldn’t do to save her daughter. Hide the truth. Commit a terrible crime. Become a wanted woman.
But this is no ordinary kidnap and ransom. Getting Lucy back is just the beginning.
Blimey, what a premise! Your daughter goes missing, what will you do to get her back? Is there anything you wouldn’t do?
Superb, high-tension, fast-paced thriller with more twists and turns than a curly wurly (google it, kids). Everything you’d expect from a Gillian McAllister book, in short.
Loved it, and raced through the book almost as quickly as Simone raced to get her daughter back. Tense, gripping, and super atmospheric, you can almost feel the Texas heat and the dust getting under your fingernails.
Hard to say too much without spoilers. If you’ve read any of Gillian McAllister’s books before, this will be an auto-buy anyway. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. Just brace yourself…
Highly recommended.
Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister is published by Michael Joseph and is out now. Many thanks to the publisher for an advance ebook copy of the book for review. Opinions remain my own.
Three months ago, a bunch of twelve-year-olds saved the world.
Now they’re stuck investigating a talking hamster.
After everything they’ve been through, they expected grander mysteries, higher stakes, something legendary. Instead, they’re bored, restless and growing apart … until someone breaks into the British Museum.
An ancient artifact has been stolen, and they’re framed for the crime. With the police closing in, their only way out is to uncover the truth themselves.
But the more they dig, the stranger it gets.
They learn that the heist, the hamster and an old comic about a vanished group of adventurers are all connected. And the deeper they go, the more they realise this may be all their fault.
Recently I found myself wondering if there would be a follow-up to Barry Nugent’s excellent Trail of the Cursed Cobras. And lo! An email popped into my inbox asking if I’d like to read the sequel!
Of course I said yes, immediately. I absolutely loved the first book, which I described as “an absolute blast, and one of the most fun, enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time.”
Fear not, dear reader, book 2 is also fabulous! There’s still that feeling of a mixture of Grange Hill (showing my age there), the X-Files, and with a dash of Indiana Jones thrown into the pot. Along with the enigmatic shopkeeper Mr Carnaby who knows a little too much about magical shenanigans.
Oh, and there’s a talking hamster, who might just be rather more than it seems.
Ada, Bobby, DJ, Nikki and Tony are back in action after saving the day in book 1. They’re older. A little. Wiser? Maybe. Ready for action? Absolutely!
Another grand adventure kicks off with a visit to the British Museum, where an ancient artefact is stolen and naturally, they get the blame. Throw in a bit of inter-school conflict (didn’t everyone’s high school have an enemy school? I know mine did!), some missing adventurers and we’re in for a rollicking good time.
The book is aimed at a middle-grade audience, with our heroes being about 12. However, I am very much not twelve (sense of humour notwithstanding), but as a fifty-something bookblogger (my blog is older than the gang!) I absolutely loved it.
Better characters and plot than some ‘grown-up’ books, for sure, and they’re a great, diverse bunch of kids, with real issues and problems which aren’t always neatly solved (just like in real life). There’s also a real sense of peril and some proper character growth.
Superb. As you can probably tell, I properly loved this one. Book 3 cannot come quickly enough. We want more!
Huge thanks to Barry for sending me an ebook copy of Mystery of the Midnight Cartographers for review!
@PeelhousePress is a brand new hybrid fantasy publisher, and the launch title is The Path and The Way – Book 1 in the #Ringlander series. It’s planned as a trilogy (with accompanying novellas) by Michael S. Jackson with @thebrokennbinding, production by @blackcrow_pr
Artwork by @rickyhoconcepts @tallshepherd @jadillustrated Jonathan McEnroe @jennyhunterarts
ABOUT THE BOOK
Set in an original universe, The Path and The Way kicks off the series with a fast-paced journey of games, grit and magic set in a world of tearing realities that evokes the dark, atmospheric tension of The Witcher, and blends the visceral grit of John Gwynne with the lyrical world-building of Patrick Rothfuss. It follows one woman’s struggle to choose between her blood and her destiny, and explores common themes found in the genre such as the search for self, found family, and the exploration of power and magic, with mythical creatures aplenty.
Hello my little book loving chums! We’ve made it to April (well done) so it’s time to look back over the books of March.
Not as many books read as in previous months, but it’s quality over quantity, innit?
Kicking things off with an advance copy of David Goodman’s Solitary Agents, which I reviewed here.
It’s really really good. Properly tense, fantastic characters, some absolutely superb action and a growing sense of dread that Jamie (who we met in book 1, A Reluctant Spy), whilst now trained up, is rapidly heading out of his depth, and the sharks are sensing blood and starting to circle.
I loved the first book a lot. And the second is even better. If you like spy thrillers, or just thrillers, or just damn good adventure stories, David Goodman needs to be firmly on your lists. This one is out in June from Headline – thanks to the publisher for an advance ebook copy!
A bit of a change of pace (hah!) for book two of the month. Jamie Doward’s And So I Run (from the lovely folk at Vertebrate Publishing).
I really enjoyed this. It’s about Jamie and how he uses running to get away from things. It’s in part funny, wise, moving, though with some very dark chapters.
I loved this line:
I was trashing my thirties with the demented determination of a bus shelter vandal.
Great book, highly recommended.
Sticking with the non-fiction theme, Edward Chisholm’s A Waiter in Paris had been on my NetGalley TBR pile for so long that I couldn’t find it on my kindle. I was in Harrogate with my daughter for a day out and spotted it on the shelf so bought a copy.
This is the story of how the author finds himself in Paris, left by his girlfriend and seeking a job. He finds employment at a restaurant as a runner, lower on the scale than a waiter, the job to which he aspires.
This is fascinating stuff – from his lowly start, scrounging coffees from the Tamils, run-ins with the director, badly fitting suits, cramped bedbug ridden accomodation through to becoming accepted by his colleagues (mostly). I loved it.
Last book of the month was a proof I’d picked up in Harrogate last year: A Murder At World’s End, by Ross Montgomery.
Unforgiveably, it had been sat in a pile on a table by the sofa for a while. I picked it up one Sunday and thought I’d read a bit. And a bit I did read. All of it, in fact. Gloriously entertaining, it’s like Downton Abbey crossed with Christie. A stately house cut off from the mainland by a storm. A young man turns up to be one of the staff. A devious locked-room impossible murder. And imagine Violet Crawley but with a LOT more swearing.
Huge fun, highly recommended. Don’t leave it as long as I did! Very much hoping for a sequel.
Currently reading
As it was a short month for reading, I thought I’d tell you what I’m currently working my way through.
Starting with RJ Barker’s Mortedant’s Peril (out in May from Tor, thanks for the ebook review copy!)
RJ writes some delightfully odd books, and this one is no exception.
admit it. And not that anyone actually likes the Mortedants, or Irody in particular. Nonetheless, Elbay is a city of tradition, and tradition calls for Mortedants to attend a death.
But when Irody reads the corpse of a low-level record-keeper, he’s dragged into a conspiracy that will see someone close to him murdered and Irody framed for the crime, the eyes of the city’s guilds, nobles and villains all fixed on him. With only days to prove his innocence before he is executed, Irody is forced to work with unlikely and unwanted allies: a street urchin and a hulking, inhuman mercenary from the sea people’s city of Oknusoka.
With danger and death lurking around every corner, and trust a luxury, Irody is running out of time. He must save himself and his friends, as well as Elbay – the magnificent, terrifying, complicated city that he loves. Or darkness will fall on them all.
Also reading and loving The Bone Door by Frances White (also out in May, thanks to Michael Joseph for the ebook review copy)
Hop peered into the darkness, and it peered back
I love this book so much already!
What lies beyond The Bone Door?
When Hop awakens in an ancient labyrinth, he has no memory of his life before, or how he got here. He does not recognise the mysterious girl trapped with him.
And he certainly cannot identify the shadowy figure stalking him, whispering terrible things . . .
But there is one thing he is certain of.
He must escape.
The only way out of the labyrinth is through The Bone Door. But it lies behind a series of other locked doors hidden across an array of strange realms. To open the way, Hop must complete impossible tasks before his time runs out.
As Hop travels deeper, he discovers that he and his companions may be more connected to the place and its horrors than he could ever imagine.
Unless Hop is able to unravel the true mystery of the labyrinth, including his own role within it, the Bone Door and any hope of escape will be lost forever.
Finally (for now), I picked up a copy of Run Forever, by Damian Hall (also from the lovely folk at Vertebrate). As an ‘older’ runner (hmm), it looks really interesting.
‘We don’t stop running because we get old. We get old because we stop running.’
Is it inevitable that our running performance slides as we get into our forties and beyond? Or are there things we can do to slow or even pause the decline, master our midlife and use experience as a superpower and become an ageless ace?
In Run Forever, record-breaking GB ultrarunner Damian Hall, fifty, examines the reasons why our strength and speed might deteriorate, yet how it isn’t certain if we choose to do something about it. In running, like other sports, there have been phenomenal performances from masters athletes, and while ageing is unavoidable, how we age isn’t. Becoming an ageless ace has potentially extraordinary healthspan and longevity benefits away from running.
Featuring chapters on speed, strength, mindset, sleep and nutrition, Hall draws on the knowledge of experts and shares the stories of other runners – including five-time Olympian and European 10,000 metres champion Jo Pavey, and record-breaking ultrarunner Nicky Spinks – to provide advice for how we can keep running strong and enjoying it for as long as possible. World-renowned sports dietician, author and ultrarunner Renee McGregor explains how ageing affects female runners, especially around perimenopause and menopause, and leading strength and conditioning coach Pete Stables provides knowledge and exercises for the masters athlete.
Right, that’s my recap of March! Have you read any of these? Any catch your eye?
As ever, I’d love to know what you’ve been reading lately.
espresso coco 
