Archives de catégorie : London 2024 Fiction

A HITWOMAN’S GUIDE TO REDUCING HOUSEHOLD DEBT de Mark Mupotsa-Russell

A thriller that hits the target.

A HITWOMAN’S GUIDE TO REDUCING HOUSEHOLD DEBT
by Mark Mupotsa-Russell
Affirm Press, September 2024
(via Kaplan/DeFiore)

This darkly amusing and pacey thriller follows hitwoman-turned-suburbanmom Olivia Hodges, who used to do horrible things, back when she worked for a Spanish syndicate. She fled that life and moved home to Australia, building a loving family in a hippie, hipster community where she waits for her past to catch up with her.

When a small-time criminal gang accidentally kills someone she loves, superstitious Olivia thinks it’s the universe finally demanding payment for her crimes. If she wants revenge, she’ll have to get it without adding to her karmic debt—leading her to leverage her targets’ anger, ego and greed to kill them without actually killing them, all while trying to mislead the cops and her husband long enough to finish what she started.

Olivia’s voice is astounding: she’s cynical, witty and deeply human in a way that never feels forced. It’s quite a feat to write a novel that’s all-in-one package– a deliciously tangled thriller and a searing depiction of a marriage in crisis —and to make it so funny.

Mark Mupotsa-Russell lives in Australia. Before this book, he was a screenwriter, film reviewer cocktail columnist and PR consultant. He lives among the trees with his art therapist/superstar wife and hilarious son. When not writing, he obsesses about movies and martial arts.

BIRTH OF A DYNASTY de Chinaza Bado

BIRTH OF A DYNASTY is a fast-paced high fantasy about court intrigue, dangerous politics, power struggles, devastating violence, and surviving in a world dedicated to destroying you, perfect for readers who crave their next heart-shattering epic read.

BIRTH OF A DYNASTY
by Chinaza Bado
Voyager, Summer 2025
(via Nancy Yost Literary)

Pitched as Game of Thrones meets Children of Blood and Bone, BIRTH OF A DYNASTY is an edge-of-your-seat, drama-filled, and gut-wrenching, epic high fantasy is set in Alkebulan, a fictionalized Africa, where magic is feared and giants are real. It follows three high noble families as they fight to maintain their power in the midst of averting a devastating prophecy.

M’Kuru Mukundi, the sole surviving member of the high noble Mukundi family of Madada, barely escapes a brutal attack by Prince Effiom and the Red Sun Army of the Zenzele. After watching his parents, then his sister, her lover, and everyone else he ever knew slaughtered by Prince Effiom, ten-year old M’kuru makes a vow:

We shall not forgive. We shall not forget. We will have our vengeance.

M’kuru flees to a small village where he hides as farm boy Khalil Rausi, unaware that the real Khalil’s father is the bloodthirsty Commander of Prince Effiom’s army. When an imposter claiming to be M’kuru shows up in the village, the real M’kuru—now Khalil—must make impossible choices and do the unforgivable as he makes his way to the capital, where he will one day avenge the murder of his family and his people.

Meanwhile, in Winneba, young Zikora Nnamani, the only daughter of Lord Nnamani, wants nothing more than to be a fierce Seh Llinga warrior. But Zikora is the most beloved child of Winneba and, according to the prophecy, the only living threat left to to the Zenzele Dynasty. When the Queen’s messenger arrives to « invite » Zikora to the castle, her family is not in a position to refuse. However, before she leaves her home, Zikora’s father secretly begins the dangerous Rite of Blessing to protect her, with the risk that it may also bring the world one step closer to completion of the prophecy that Prince Effiom so fears.

Between scheming ladies at court, backstabbing princes on the prowl, and everyone in between having nothing to lose, M’kuru and Zikora must do what they can, no matter how terrible, to save their people and claim vengeance for their families. No choices are easy, and nothing is as it seems…

Chinaza Bado has previously written under the pen name, J.J. McAvoy, in a variety of genres, most recently Regency romance. Her titles have sold in the UK, Hungary, Brazil, Poland, and were bestsellers in Turkey, Israel, and France. Chinaza is second generation Nigerian, who spends her free time traveling throughout Africa collecting stories and visiting family in Nigeria.

MAGGIE THE UNDYING d’Ilona Andrews

MAGGIE THE UNDYING is the brand new work by Ilona Andrews, the #1 NYT bestselling author duo, who’ve created an incredible new world combining elements of heroic fantasy, romantasy, portal isekai, and D&D.

MAGGIE THE UNDYING
by Ilona Andrews
Tor, TBD
(via Nancy Yost Literary)

Our dauntless heroine wakes up cold, filthy and naked in Kair Toren, a city in the kingdom of Rellas, a world she knows intimately from the pages of a famously unfinished epic-historical-fantasy series she’s been reading, re-reading (and reading again!), while waiting (years!) for the final novel.

She has no idea how or why she’s landed in this gritty world filled with rival warlords, magic and mayhem, but she’s determined to survive until she can figure out how to get home. Her only tools? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the book’s plots, settings, and the characters’ actions, motivations, fates and ambitions: information she can sell to the dueling factions, while staying under the radar so as not to affect the very information she plans to barter.

She quickly discovers she has another, surprising ’skill’: she cannot be killed (though many will try!).

But her initial goals swiftly change as she becomes attached to the motley band she’s somehow gathered — which includes a disgraced lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, and a dangerous and experienced soldier, as well as various outrageous creatures — and instead she finds herself trying to save them and the Kingdom of Rellas from the cataclysmic war she knows is brewing.

“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)

Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats.

They have co-authored several bestselling series, including the #1 NYT bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels, rustic fantasy of the Edge, paranormal romance of Hidden Legacy, and Innkeeper Chronicles.

FAITH OF THEIR FATHERS de Samuel Sargeant

A gripping and taut Icelandic historical thriller by debut author Samuel M. Sargeant.

FAITH OF THEIR FATHERS
by Samuel Sargeant
Neem Tree Press, July 2024
(via Randle Editorial & Literary Consultancy)

At the dawn of the 11th Century in a small Icelandic settlement, these words, daubed in blood, herald the arrival of a killer. Soon, a spate of murders threatens the fragile peace between pagans and a growing Christian minority. Arinbjorn, a young pagan farmer resolves to track down the killer before the community is permanently torn apart. His investigations will draw in Freya, an isolated housewife whose secrets could either condemn or free her.

Meanwhile in Norway, King Olaf Tryggvason has his own designs upon Iceland and its people. War is rife in Scandinavia, and a Christian Iceland would bolster his control over the region. Only one thing is certain: these murders will change Icelandic society forever…

Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell.

Samuel Sargeant taught English Literature and Creative Writing at Cardiff University as part of his doctoral degree programme where his PhD thesis focused upon the structure of Medieval Icelandic sagas and its applicability to Historical crime and mysteries. He now lectures at the Cardiff University International Study Centre, specialising in Medieval Literature and Philosophy.

MEET THE NEWMANS de Jennifer Niven

Set in sun-drenched 1964 Los Angeles, MEET THE NEWMANS chronicles America’s favorite TV family whose perfect façade starts to unravel when their iconic show (titled of course, Meet the Newmans) is up for renewal and one of them suffers a tragic accident. You can think of this as a mix of Lessons in Chemistry and The Nest with a dash of Daisy Jones and the Six as well as an affectionate nod to Ozzie and Harriet.

MEET THE NEWMANS
by Jennifer Niven
Flatiron Books, Spring 2025
(via Levine Greenberg Rostan)

For two decades, Del (45) and Dinah Newman (43) and their sons, Guy (22) and Shep (18), have ruled the airwaves as America’s Favorite Family. Thirty million viewers tune in every week to watch them play airbrushed, flawless versions of themselves. But behind the smiling black-and-white exterior, the Newmans are a mess.

Patriarch Del is the propulsive motor and visionary behind the Newmans machine— producing, directing, writing, and starring in every single one of the 400 plus episodes. But at forty-five, he suddenly feels like a relic. Ratings have plummeted, the studio is threatening cancellation, his own fame has been eclipsed by his youngest son’s, and their money (that he was managing) is suddenly gone. Meanwhile, Dinah struggles to figure out what is making her body literally go numb, and to break out of her traditional roles as wife and mother. Roles that—off camera— she is terrible at. Lately she finds herself wondering is this all there is and daydreaming about having an affair with the neighbor. Guy and Shep aren’t faring much better. Guy has lived life by the book, doing everything right—at least as far as anyone can see— in a futile effort to win his dad’s approval. Behind closed doors, though, his personal life is in chaos. Younger brother Shep, on the other hand, is a dreamy rock n’ roll idol who seems to be on top of the world—until an ill-timed romance and a surprise baby change the course of his life.

When Del gets into a car accident in a mysterious location across town, the Newmans’ world is turned upside down. Dinah, Guy, and Shep scramble to keep his hospitalization and comatose state from the press and the studio and at the same time figure out how to keep the show afloat without Del at the helm. Being everyone’s fantasy family is a lot to carry!

Enter LA Times Reporter Juliet Dunne (26), here to cover the life and times of America’s beloved Newmans. Trouble is, Juliet loathes them. She grew up watching the show and blames Dinah in particular for setting an unrealistic and antiquated version of what it means to be a woman. Juliet fully expects to get her fluff interview and go back to her actual journalism pursuits.

But Dinah has a different plan…

Meet the Newmans is as relevant today as it will be tomorrow as it was yesterday. A novel about love, money, fame, purpose, friendship, creativity, loss, and most of all the evolution of a family. This funny, warm, affecting read is also about the dual lives we all lead— the version we present to the world and the version that exists off stage. Because it turns out, even when our lives aren’t televised weekly, we all have a behind-the-scenes.

Jennifer Niven is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of fiction and nonfiction, including the massive breakout All the Bright Places which she also adapted for the Netflix film directed by Brett Haley and starring Elle Fanning, Justice Smith, Luke Wilson, and Keegan-Michael Key. Her books have been translated into over 75 languages and have won literary awards around the world. When she isn’t working on multiple book and screen projects, Jennifer oversees Germ, an online literary journal for high school age and beyond.