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Beneath The Orange Blossom by Emma Cowell

 

Beneath the Orange Blossom by Emma Cowell.

Published 7th May 2026 by Avon.

From the cover of the book:

A lost love. A devastating secret. And a summer that could change everything…

Two years on from her husband’s death, dressmaker Ellen is learning how to live again and put memories of a difficult marriage behind her.

However, never far from her mind is another memory: Alexandros, her first love from the summer she turned eighteen.

The moment she'd arrived in his hometown of Kardamyli in Greece, Ellen had been intoxicated by the scent of orange blossom in the air, the days of endless sunshine and sparkling azure waters – but most of all by Alexandros himself. They were meant to be, until a devastating secret forced Ellen to leave and never look back…

***********

Two years on from the death of her husband, dressmaker Ellen is at a crossroads. After years of being subjecting to horrific domestic abuse behind closed doors, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hide the truth when everyone assumes she must be grieving for John, a man who seemed a loving and attentive husband to outside eyes - especially from their son Tristan, and her best friend Penny.

Thoughts of her first love, Alexandros, who she met in his hometown of Kardamyli in Greece, during a long-ago holiday with Penny, have never left her. She cannot help but reflect on the future she might have had if her eighteen year old self had been allowed to live the life they planned - had they not been tragically parted by the knowledge of a secret she was forced to keep. 

When Penny suggest revisiting their youthful selves by going back to Kardamyli for a much-needed holiday, Ellen is determined to use this as a chance to find her way back to the woman she once was... before all the secrets.

Emma Cowell does exactly what she does best in Beneath the Orange Blossom, her fifth spellbinding novel, taking you on an intensely emotional journey in beautiful Greece - this time through the eyes of Ellen, in Kardamyli.

Ellen is a woman whose life has been derailed by secrets. Torn away from her first love by the spiteful subterfuge of another, she only seems to her found herself tied to more misery through marriage to the wrong man. With complicated feelings about the past, and bound by the veneer of a supposedly happy marriage, we meet her in the moment she feels her spirit stirring within. It is time to reconnect with herself (and her friend Penny) by returning Kardamyli.

Greece comes alive in all its evocative glory through Ellen's eyes. She revels in her return to the place where she was once so full of expectation, but facing the past and taking charge of her own future makes her two week break rather less relaxing than planned. Pulled into village life a way she did not to expect, when her seamstress skills are required, she realises she does not know Penny as well as she thought. Painful recriminations, misunderstandings, and heartfelt confidences lead to friendship drama it seems impossible to recover from. And then, of course, there is a reunion with Alexandros that means facing up to more heart-breaking revelations.

Twists and turns keep you fully invested in the love story between Ellen and Alexandros, and the course of Ellen and Penny's friendship, with all the little pieces of the storylines coming together at just the right time to cleverly explore sensitive themes of damaging secrets, hidden scars, shame (especially the misplaced shame of women), female friendship, and the relationship between mothers and sons. All praise due for a well-written older female protagonist, and the sensitive way Cowell approaches the experiences of survivors of domestic abuse.

I adore the way Cowell weaves Greek mythology through her tales. Here she uses the prophetic, stitch-laden skills of The Fates to perfection, echoing their talents with the 'threads of life' in Ellen's own intuitive mastery of dressmaking as the story plays out. Beautifully done.

Snuggling up with an Emma Cowell book is always time well spent. I fully expected to shed tears over these characters, and she gave me ample opportunity to work through a box of tissues on the way to ending full of hope and second chances, tinged with sadness. There is something really touching about the way her women find common ground and understanding, and the little village of Kardamyli has the warm and welcoming community dreams are made of.  Escapist gorgeousness to lose yourself in.

Beneath the Orange Blossom is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Avon for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Emma is based in Greece with her husband, Tony who is also a writer. A former actress and BBC presenter, segueing from being paid to talk for a living into writing was a natural progression, since story telling has been at the heart of her career to date.

Outside of work, Emma is a keen angler and is attempting to improve her Greek language skills…..she is yet to achieve a level of proficiency outside of tavernas and bakeries.

But now, when her best friend suggests they recreate their teenage summer in Greece, Ellen knows it’s time to confront her past. Will Greece give her the freedom – and happiness – she desperately craves? And there, amidst the lush olive groves, could she rediscover the love she thought she’d lost forever?

Falling For The Protagonist by Bex Goos

 

Falling for the Protagonist by Bex Goos.

Published 7th May 2026 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

When Emmy Miura falls asleep reading a newly purchased romance novel (after her visit to a sex psychic her sister swears by), the last thing she expects is to wake up in the protagonist's bed the next morning. Emmy doesn't want to disrupt Will Barrett's world - even if he is fictional. He is clearly content with his life in idyllic and not-actually-real Cobalt, Massachusetts. He has good friends, steady work as a nurse in the paediatric wing of the local hospital, and an adorable house he inherited from his grandfather.

Understandably, he doesn't take it well when she manages to convince him none of the things he knows and loves are real. While Will is reeling at the implications of Emmy's revelation, Emmy is frantic to get back to the real world. The problem is that she is, against all her best efforts, falling head over heels in love with Will.

Will has feelings for her, too - much to the chagrin of the woman who was supposed to be his love interest - and he is determined to go with Emmy when she finds a way out of the book. Neither Emmy nor Will know if they can make a real life together that's based on fiction, but together they are willing to try.

***********

Getting over a bad break-up is hard, especially when your ex has taken an obscenely short amount of time to find a new girlfriend, and your sister is just about to marry the man of her dreams. So when Emmy Miura's sister persuades her she needs the guidance of the sex psychic who helped her find love, she decides to give it a go - even if she is a sceptic.

Post weird tarot reading, Emmy settles down with a cheesy romance novel that the psychic persuaded her to buy. After reading about the hunky, male nurse protagonist Will, Emmy finds herself drifting off to sleep... only to wake up the next morning in Will's bed. Somehow, she is now a character in the rom-com she had been reading the night before, and she is about to disrupt the entire story by displacing Will's intended love interest. Close proximity soon has the obvious attraction between them developing into love, but how can they ever be together?

This enchanting story drops Emmy into a romance novel, where her appearance has unintended consequences. Emmy suddenly has to negotiate multiple meet-cutes with an array of handsome, rom-com trope hunks while trying to find a way back to the real world, before she misses her sister's wedding.

Managing to convince Will the cosy, small town life he has been living in fictional Cobalt, Massachusetts, is just the plot of a novel gives him an existential crisis. However he agrees to help Emmy find her way back to the real world if he can. Getting back home proves to be no easy feat, and the more time they spend together, the fewer reasons they have to want to be parted. 

The delightful mix of rom-com tropes in Cobalt give a lovely tongue-in-cheek vibe to this story, which works so well with the developing (and super hot) romance between Emmy and Will. Along the very enjoyable way, Goos manages to explore a feast of heart-felt themes that echo between the fictional setting and Emmy's real world dilemmas - touching on family dynamics, unhealthy romantic relationships, true love, racism, and having the courage to follow your dreams.

Goos' writing is very engaging, the premise is so much fun, and the story sparkles with plenty of humour and tender moments. I was so invested in Emmy and Will's love story, desperate for them to find a way to be together, even if it seemed impossible - and the ending hits the 'ahh' hot-spot perfectly.

Full of Hallmark vibes, this was just the escapist gem I needed!

Falling for the Protagonist is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aria for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Rebecca "Bex" Goos has several years of experience ghost-writing and editing romantic short stories and novels. Her short story, "Can't Wait to Stay", was included in the romantic compilation Friends to Lovers, Volume 1, released by Violet Gaze Press in 2021.

Prior to Covid, she was a high school English and creative writing teacher (students aged 15-18), and she currently lives in Fargo, North Dakota with her husband and two sons.

Greta Garbo And The Rise Of The Modern Woman by Scott Reisfield

 

Greta Garbo and the Rise of the Modern Woman by Scott Reisfield.

Published 30th April 2026 by Vendela Publishing.

From the cover of the book:

"Reisfeld knows about Garbo what we would never know. But, fortunately, he tells us." ~ Mick LaSalle, author of Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood.

Hollywood Made Her a Star.

What she did for women made her a Legend.

Greta Garbo dominated European cinema and Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s. With discipline and fearless self-belief, she transformed screen acting into something intimate, modern, and psychologically real. She fought studio control... and won. She challenged censors, defied social expectations, and refused to compromise her independence.

More than a movie star, Garbo reshaped what it meant to be a woman on screen-self-possessed, mysterious, and unapologetically autonomous. She redefined the power a woman could hold in Hollywood.

In this intimate biography, her grandnephew Scott Reisfield reveals this disciplined artist, strategic thinker, and the fiercely private woman who helped usher a closed culture into the Modern Age.

***********

Born 1905 in Stockholm, Greta Gustafson went on to become one of Hollywood's biggest stars, as Greta Garbo - a name she chose for herself when she embarked on her career in drama. Garbo is a figure of screen legend. Starring in her first big movie, Torrent, for MGM in 1926, she transitioned from the silent movie era to the golden age of Hollywood - a feat many of her fellow silent stars failed to do.

Garbo remains a name to conjure with, evoking Tinsel Town glamour, but I confess I knew little of the woman behind the image. So I was delighted to have the opportunity to find out a bit more about her in this impressive biography, written by her great nephew, Scott Reisfield.

This is a sizeable, and erudite book, weighing in at 600 odd pages - including a number of appendices, and an extremely comprehensive index. It is a testament to the years of research he has undertaken into Garbo's life, but more than that, it is the personal connection to the woman herself that shines through.

I have dipped in and out of this book rather than reading it cover to cover, given its size, but it contains everything you could possibly want to know about Garbo, from her childhood and earliest dramatic projects, to her romantic relationships, and all the way through her spectacular movie career and beyond. From busting the myth that Garbo was a reclusive and distant character, to detailing quite how much of an impact she had on the 'Rise of the Modern Woman' (as so succinctly expressed in the title), this book is a fascinating in-depth exploration of the life of someone was not afraid to challenge the view of women in film and the wider world - even if she did not originally intend to do so - by playing sexually independent, self-assured, powerful leading ladies.

And, Reisfield includes a wealth of supporting information that really gets into the nitty gritty of the film industry of Garbo's time, including how censorship played a part in dictating what the paying public were allowed to view on-screen.

This book has already left me with a very different impression of Greta Garbo than the one I had when I ventured into its many pages, and an intense desire to sit and watch all her movies. I am looking forward to discovering more about her as I make my way through the rest of the book.

Highly recommend if you are interested in the history of film AND the life of a woman whose influence can still be felt today.

Greta Garbo and the Rise of the Modern Woman is available to buy now.

Thank you to Ransom PR for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Scott Reisfield is the grand-nephew of Greta Garbo and wrote the 2005 book Garbo: Portraits from her Private Collection (co-written with Robert Dance). That book was a companion to the museum exhibit of the same name. The American edition sold 12,500 copies. It was also printed in German, French and Swedish.

Scott has traveled around the world to research Garbo. He has access to family documents and collections that have not been used prior to this. He had the time to tease out fact from fiction, and there was a lot of fiction. He went back to archives multiple times to pin down answers.

Scott has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He has spent forty years in business, thirty of them in senior management, working in companies ranging from large corporations to start-ups. He also ran marketing for a national association. Today, Scott lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

All Cats Are Grey by Susan Barrett

 

All Cats are Grey by Susan Barrett.

Published 24th April 2026 by Bathwick Hill Publishing.

From the cover of the book:

London, 1942, ordinary people behave in unaccustomed ways, all changed by their real and recent brush with death delivered by the blitz.

We follow four of them deep into the shadowlands of the blackout, back into their own shadowy past - to discover what primed and equipped each to play their part in bringing down the predator who hunts the bomb sits after drank in a city itself transformed by war.

A literary gothic tale, enacted in the ruins of London just after the Blitz, inspired by the real-life murderer The Blackout Ripper, Gordon Cummins.

***********

January, 1942. London is in ruins in the wake of the Blitz, and a perilous place to navigate in the gloom of the Blackout. Being out at night has become even more dangerous now there is a serial killer stalking the streets - dubbed The Beast of the Blackout by the press.

In South London, four unlikely allies come together, united in their quest to deal with the threat the murderer poses...

Thrumming with lashings of atmospheric wartime vibes, Susan Barrett has crafted a powerful novel that sits decidely on the dark, visceral edge of the noir genre. The plot, inspired by the crimes of real-life murderer Gordon Cummins, largely follows a small cast of ordinary London residents from different walks of life, as they become involved in the hunt for a serial killer set against a bombed-out landscape. They have little in common, except for the fact that they each carry a secret that makes them peculiarly fitted for the task of taking on The Beast of the Blackout. 

As the story flows between grim night-time scenes in the present, and harrowing forays into the past of the characters, Barrett skilfully weaves a picture of people who have been forced to address serious trauma in their lives. Their experiences are gut-wrenching, tragic and psychologically damaging, but they have also been transformative. 

Barrett keeps her cards close to her chest about what really connects these characters until well into the story. It is only after a seriously clever coming together of past and present that it becomes clear they have all found a way to take revenge on their abusers and get away with murder. The mystery is handled so well that I did not connect all the dots until the glorious climax of the story, when The Beast of the Blackout gets his comeuppance. 

The darkness in this story makes for gritty reading, especially the parts about childhood abuse and trauma, but the writing is impressive. The well-handled suspense, and the magnificent ending, make all the disturbing moments worthwhile - and Barrett shows acute insight into loneliness too.

Perhaps 'enjoyable' is the wrong word to describe this one, in the same way authors like Will Carver manage to put you through the mill before pulling off a blinder of an ending (if Carver-noir does it for you then this is a book that would be a perfect addition to your reading pile). It certainly takes you on an unforgettable journey to the dark side of the psyche!

All Cats are Grey is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Bathwick Hill for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Folk PR for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Susan Barrett gave up a job in TV production to be at home with young children and do what she always secretly wanted to do, write. She is the author of three previous novels, Fixing Shadows, Inconstant Husband, and The Housekeepers.

She divides her time between London and Umbria.

 April 2026 Reading Round-Up

I have certainly travelled far and wide this month, with a typically eclectic mix of books!

I have had my heart torn to shreds by complicated relationships; solved mysteries and murders around the globe; witnessed shocking injustices; had a mind-blowing glimpse of the future; chuckled along with a gang of glorious women; and baked a few biscuits! 

You can find my reviews of these eleven books by clicking on the pictures below.

First of December by Karen Jennings

The National Trust Book of Biscuits by Linda Collister

Maurice by E.M. Forster

A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

The Traveler by Joseph Eckert

The Lottery Winner Widows Club by Elly Vine

Last One Out by Jane Harper

Strange Buildings by Uketsu

Kiss Marry Kill by Yemi Dipeolu

Curiosity Spares the Butterfly by Anthea Syrokou 

Hidden in Memories by Viveca Sten

Onwards to May for more reading adventures...

Hidden In Memories (The Åre Murders Book Three) by Viveca Sten

 

Hidden In Memories (The Åre Murders Book Three) by Viveca Sten.

Translated by Marlaine Delargy.

Published 18th November 2025 by Amazon Crossing.

Audio book narrated by Laura Jennings.

From the cover of the book:

The slaying of a hotel developer in the Swedish mountains casts a shadow over a blissful vacation paradise in a chilling novel of suspense by the acclaimed author of Hidden in Shadows.

On Easter weekend, a guest at a luxury ski lodge in Åre is stabbed to death in her plush suite. She’s Charlotte Wretlind, a property developer who planned to restore a nearby mountain hotel to its long-gone glory days. It was not a random attack. It was an act of pure aggression levelled against a woman with plenty of enemies.

As the murder spreads panic among tourists and Åre residents alike, Detective Inspectors Hanna Ahlander and Daniel Lindskog face a shady staff, a dogged press, and multiple suspects. But the case takes a turn when a cleaning woman from the lodge is found strangled to death in the woods—and Charlotte’s son goes missing.

Hanna and Daniel plunge into a winding investigation tangled with damaged relationships, corrupt power players, betrayal, and, for Daniel, a personal struggle to process the memories of a painful past. As more troubling questions arise, one thing is certain: Åre’s killing season has only just begun.

***********

Easter weekend. Uncompromising businesswoman, Charlotte Wretlind, is in Åre to announce her controversial scheme to develop the abandoned ski lodge in Storlien, bringing it back to its former glory days - but she never makes it to the press conference. Instead, Charlotte is brutally murdered in her plush hotel suite at Copperhill Mountain Lodge by an aggressive assailant.

Detective Inspectors Hanna Ahlander and Daniel Lindskog, hampered by the holiday crowds, get stuck into the case. They are almost certain a member of staff at Copperhill must be responsible for the murder, but the fact that Charlotte clearly made a lot enemies in her business dealings (including resorting to a bit of bribery and corruption) means they have to keep an open mind.

The plot thickens when a member of the housekeeping staff at Copperhill is also killed, perhaps for something she spotted on the night of the murder, and Charlotte's distraught son goes missing. Any plans Hanna and Daniel had for a relaxing holiday are now well and truly off the cards.

Book three of this gripping Scandi noir series unfurls in familiar Viveca Sten style, via a number of perspectives related to the case. Hanna, Daniel, and their colleague Anton carry the police procedural side of the plot, with snippets about the continuing dramas of their personal lives on the side; and there are contributions from an anxious business associate of Charlotte's, her bewildered son, and Copperhill employees with skin in the game. Mixing up the story, there are two additional threads - one from a woman who suspects her husband of wrongdoing; and another that goes back in time to 1973 and the glamorous heyday of the Storlien mountain lodge, through the eyes of a young waitress whose romantic notions about an affluent guest she dubs 'Sean Connery' end in tragedy. 

The short, punchy chapters weave back and forth between the propulsive investigation and the interconnecting threads, until they all collide in a tense hostage situation at the creepy abandoned lodge in Storlien (lovely Overlook Hotel vibes), where Hanna puts her life on the line. 

Sten gets everything right in terms of pacing, character, and the significance of buried secrets about past misdeeds. The balance of murder investigation and personal lives of Hanna, Daniel and Anton is well-judged in this third book too, particularly when it comes to relationships - with Daniel's partner Eda finally being written with some depth, which makes her more relatable and far less annoying (thank goodness). I really enjoyed the up-turn in both Hanna and Anton's love lives, and there is a bomb-shell moment for Daniel which promises interesting developments in the next book.

This is definitely my favourite Åre Murders mystery yet! Nicely consumed via the audio book, narrated once again by Laura Jennings.

Looking forward to more Åre Murders in book four, Hidden in Lies, which is out 5th May.

Hidden in Memories is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

Viveca Sten is the author of Hidden in Snow, Hidden in Shadows, and Hidden in Memories in the Åre Murder series—which has been adapted into a runaway #1 hit series on Netflix—and Buried in Secret, In Bad Company, In the Name of Truth, In the Shadow of Power, In Harm’s Way, In the Heat of the Moment, Tonight You’re Dead, Guiltless, Closed Circles, and Still Waters in the #1 internationally bestselling Sandhamn Murders series.

Since 2008, her books have sold more than ten million copies, and the Sandhamn Murders series has been adapted into a Swedish-language TV series shot on location and seen by an estimated one hundred million viewers around the world in close to a hundred countries. Today, Viveca divides her time between Stockholm, Sandhamn, and Åre. 

About the translator:

Marlaine Delargy lives in Shropshire in the United Kingdom. She studied Swedish and German at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and taught German for almost twenty years.

She has translated novels by many authors, including Kristina Ohlsson, Helene Tursten, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Therese Bohman, Theodor Kallifatides, Johan Theorin, with whom she won the Crime Writers’ Association International Dagger in 2010, and Henning Mankell, with whom she won the Crime Writers’ Association International Dagger in 2018.

Marlaine has also translated nine books in Viveca Sten’s Sandhamn Murders series, and Hidden in Snow, Hidden in Shadows, and Hidden in Memories in Sten’s Åre Murders series.

Curiosity Spares The Butterfly by Anthea Syrokou

 

Curiosity Spares The Butterfly by Anthea Syrokou.

Published 2nd March 2026 by Glittery Sea Publishing.

From the cover of the book:

Foteini Carteris leaves her life in Australia and moves to Greece at the cusp of adulthood. When she starts a business in the city of Thessaloniki several years later, her life is running smoothly and it continues to do so when a philosophical and charismatic young man named Lazaros enters her life … the same year that the city is recognised for its cultural assets. She rejoices in new-found love and in the art scene that surrounds her.

However, it all comes crashing down! Lazaros vanishes, and she finds herself constantly looking over her shoulder as she senses danger is following her at every turn. Her childhood fuses with her present life when memories of an unforeseen incident come flooding back … of her and her parents fleeing the port of Thessaloniki in 1977 and frantically flying back to Australia … soon after meeting a mysterious university lecturer who'd been introduced to them as Manolis.

Throughout her childhood, Foteini relentlessly searches for answers … to no avail, as her parents have shut the door to that chapter of their lives forever! As danger pursues her again, she is forced to take matters in her own hands and to shed light on the strange incident which occurred at the port back in 1977. More importantly, could recent events explain why Lazaros jumped ship?

Spanning three decades from the seventies, eighties and nineties, this roller-coaster journey of mystery, love, and self-determination unfolds with the omnipresent backdrop of the alluring Aegean Sea, and the historical surroundings of Thessaloniki where the enigmatic coastline is a constant reminder of the mystery and beauty of life.

Curiosity Spares the Butterfly is a captivating and heart-warming tale of one woman's quest to put an end to all the pretences and innuendoes, and to seek justice and truth!

***********

Australia, 1977. Foteni is looking forward to her holiday to Greece, thrilled to finally be visiting the friends and family her parents have spoken about. But the visit is filled with confusing events that bring their holiday to an abrupt end, after a university professor called Manolis is brutally arrested in front of her at the port of Thessaloniki.

Years later, Foteni returns to Thessaloniki to open her own cake shop. The city has been newly recognised as a centre for culture, and is buzzing with optimism - a feeling reflected in Foteni's own heart when she meet a young man called Lazaros, and finds herself falling for him.

But Foteni cannot shake the unsettling sensation that something is not right. When Lazaros vanishes, she becomes overwhelmed with childhood memories that her parents are reluctant to speak about. In her heartbroken state, she searches for answers about events of the present... and the past.

This fascinating novel spans three decades and two countries, and combines elements of family drama, coming-of-age tale, tender love story, and mystery yarn that delve into the impact of childhood events on the course of Foteni's life.

The pace is gentle, with twists, turns packed into the final part of the story in a sudden profusion of revelations on a number of enlightening fronts. Given the slow-burn style up to this point, and the number of characters and connections to keep track of, you do have to pay close attention from here onwards, but the eventual destination makes going with the flow worthwhile.

It did take me a while to get into the rhythm of Syrokou's writing style, and a handle on the sprawling cast of characters, but Foteni captured my interest from the very beginning. It was an enchanting experience looking at the world through her eyes as she grows, navigates love and loss, and puts together all the little pieces of a compelling mystery steeped in complicated relationship dynamics, political intrigue, and secrets.

Syrokou does a good job of packing these pages with well-written scenes that stir the emotions, and bring time and place alive. I have not read a novel set in Thessaloniki before, and really enjoyed the clever way she immerses you in the city, particularly when it comes to blending atmosphere and the changing tides in the plot (the sea is used especially well). She weaves popular culture references into the story throughout that make for a lovely amble down memory lane too.

If sweeping, escapist novels set in Greece are your thing, with lyrical prose and a protagonist you can take firmly into your affections, then you will find plenty here to please. I liked how Syrokou uses the recurring motif of butterflies, and the heart-warming themes of family, love, and truth are truly compelling.

Curiosity Spares the Butterfly is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Anthea Syrokou for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Anthea Syrokou is an author who grew up and resides in Sydney, Australia.

Anthea's love for writing was planted at a young age when she studied Greek mythology. Her love for literature continued well into her teenage years when she enjoyed reading novels by many of the great English writers.

Her new novel, Curiosity Spares the Butterfly, is a coming-of-age literary tale in the upmarket fiction/mystery genres, and was just released on the 2nd March, 2026.

Anthea has a BA degree, majoring in psychology and industrial relations, and a diploma in counselling. She also studied Greek literature at university and has worked in direct marketing, and insurance and investments.

When she isn’t writing or reading, Anthea enjoys travelling, yoga, spending time with her family, and escaping to the vineyards. A quiet house with some jazz playing in the background, surrounded by a few lit scented candles is her idea of relaxation. Even though Anthea dreams about hosting the “perfect” dinner party, she is more likely to be found at a cosy, candlelit restaurant. She lives with her husband and their two sons, and enjoys regular visits from the neighbour's cat.

Kiss Marry Kill by Yemi Dipeolu

 

Kiss Marry Kill by Yemi Dipeolu.

Published 23rd April 1016 by Faber Books.

From the cover of the book:

It's Ife's dream wedding - until her new husband Ade is arrested for murder.

His missing ex, Cynthia, has been found dead on the Dorset coast.

Case closed: it's always the ex, right?

But did Ade kiss, marry - and kill? One person hopes the truth never comes out.

A pulse-racing, bingeable thriller about love, marriage and obsessions that fans of Adele Parks and The List will LOVE.

***********

Ife is excited when she has finally bagged her man, Ade. However, her dream wedding turns into a nightmare when her new husband is arrested for murder.

The body of Ade's missing ex, Cynthia, has been found on the Dorset coast, near the picture-perfect cottage when she and Ade will begin their married life. Ife is forced to travel to their new home on her own - a cottage that is still filled with traces of Cynthia. 

As she sits waiting for Ade to join her, she begins to wonder whether he really is guilty. Is he keeping secrets that reveal he did kiss, marry - and kill? But then she has secrets of her own too...

This propulsive thriller unfurls through the perspectives of Ife and Cynthia, moving back and forth in time between before and after Cynthia went missing. The cast of characters is small, intimate, and intensely dysfunctional, especially when it comes to Ade's relationship with his controlling mother (and his two love interests Cynthis and Ife), and Dipeolu soon has you tied up in deliciously dark-themed knots as it becomes clear not everyone here is above board about their motives and actions.

Dipeolu excels in weaving themes of obsession, unhealthy relationships, and trauma throughout this story of the most unreliable of narrators. The drama pulls you in as the messy lives of the characters fall apart, revealing their closely guarded secrets, and there is a full quota of human frailty on display which makes it addictive reading. The mix of Nigerian and Jamaican cultural attitudes in Dipeolu's characters is insightfully explored too.

I really did not know where this story was going to take me, and I am so impressed with the way Dipeolu keeps the momentum going all the way to her jaw-dropping conclusion! What a debut! Yemi Diepolu is a new voice in fiction that is set to go far!

Kiss Marry Kill is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Faber Books for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Yemi Dipeolu is a British-Nigerian writer from South East London. She studied English Literature with Creative Writing at the University of Surrey and has an MFA from Kingston University. By day, Yemi works as a copywriter, using her passion for storytelling to help businesses connect with their customers. 

In her fiction, she blends her two favourite genres, crime and romance, to create character-driven thrillers with relationships at their centre. Kiss Marry Kill is her first novel.

Strange Buildings by Uketsu

 

Strange Buildings by Uketsu.

Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion.

Published in paperback 26th February 2026 by Pushkin Vertigo.

From the cover of the book:

The addictive mystery taking the world by storm, from the author of Strange Pictures.

Eleven strange buildings. One terrible secret.

A lonely hut in the woods.

A hidden chamber.

A mysterious shrine.

A home in flames.

A nightmarish prison...

Each of the buildings in this book tells a chilling story. Each one is part of a puzzle.

Look closely... and you'll see that everything is connected.

All leading to a revelation so horrifying you won't want to believe it.

Millions of readers have become addicted to solving Uketsu's dark mysteries.

Strange Buildings is the strangest, and darkest, so far.

***********

Following the publication of Strange Houses, our unnamed author is contacted by a number of people who believe they have similarly odd experiences with weird properties.

The author decides to investigate eleven of these buildings, looking into the strange events associated with them. What he does not expect to find is there is a connection between them all. Each is part of a puzzle that reveals a horrifying truth...

I was introduced to the weird and wonderful world of Uketsu, the mysterious best-selling Japanese phenomenon, through the mesmerising Strange Pictures - and I was very keen to explore more of their unsettling literary riddles!

Like Strange Pictures, this book contains a series of linked stories - this time around eleven buildings associated with dark deeds. The book largely follows the format of transcripts of interviews between the author and interested parties, supplemented with drawings, articles and stories that delve into peculiar goings on - mostly around murder, suicide, and bizarre rituals. The truth behind each one is a mystery, but the author is determined to track down clues which will reveal what has really gone on in each case, no matter how obscure the facts.

At the conclusion on the book, the author co-opts the help of their architectural draughtman friend Kurihara (who proved to be of great assistance in Strange Houses), as they sift through all the information gathered about the eleven cases, and make their deductions.

Uketsu is a delight for those who enjoy logic puzzles, particularly when it comes to the deductive process towards the end of the book. Having read Strange Pictures, I was armed to look out for enlightening clues whilst the story unfolded - and was pleased to have spotted many of them. However, the Uketsu magic comes into its own when each case comes under the scrutinising attention of Kurihara, and he details the connecting facts. All the little twists and turns in the eerie tales then give up their dark secrets... and the shocking truth is exposed.

Every single element of this book comes together to produce an ingenious novel that is utterly absorbing from the first page to the last - and really tests your inner detective. Somehow, Uketsu distils so many things I love about Japanese mysteries into their books, and then blows your mind with a fresh twist that I am absolutely here for. More please!

Strange Buildings is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Pushkin Vertigo for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Uketsu is an enigmatic Youtuber and author, specializing in horror and mystery, who has exploded onto the literary scene in Japan and around the world, becoming an international bestseller. He only ever appears online, wearing a mask and speaking through a voice changer. His true identity is unknown.

Strange Pictures and Strange Houses are also available from Pushkin Vertigo. 

About the translator:

Jim Rion is an American translator and writer living in the beautiful western Japan prefecture of Yamaguchi with his wife, son, and cats of unusual size. His translations for Pushkin Press include The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo and The Ark by Haruo Yuki, as well as Strange Pictures and Strange Houses by Uketsu.