Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Blade Between by Sam J. Miller & The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

The Blade Between by Sam J. Miller
Publication: December 1st, 2020

Ecco

Hardcover. 384 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Ronan Szepessy promised himself he’d never return to Hudson. The sleepy upstate town was no place for a restless gay photographer. But his father is ill and New York City’s distractions have become too much for him. He hopes that a quick visit will help him recharge. 

Ronan reconnects with two friends from high school: Dom, his first love, and Dom’s wife, Attalah. The three former misfits mourn what their town has become—overrun by gentrifiers and corporate interests. With friends and neighbors getting evicted en masse and a mayoral election coming up, Ronan and Attalah craft a plan to rattle the newcomers and expose their true motives. But in doing so, they unleash something far more mysterious and uncontainable. 

Hudson has a rich, proud history and, it turns out, the real estate developers aren’t the only forces threatening its well-being: the spirits undergirding this once-thriving industrial town are enraged. Ronan’s hijinks have overlapped with a bubbling up of hate and violence among friends and neighbors, and everything is spiraling out of control. Ronan must summon the very best of himself to shed his own demons and save the city he once loathed."

I read Miller's Blackfish City a little earlier this year and although it wasn't a favorite, I was really impressed and intrigued by the ideas Miller played with, which makes me extra interested in this book. 

and...

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

Publication: December 29th, 2020

Sourcebooks Landmark

Hardcover. 288 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car—strange for a frigid night. Her husband and daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away. 

The puzzle of those missing eleven days has persisted. With her trademark exploration into the shadows of history, acclaimed author Marie Benedict brings us into the world of Agatha Christie, imagining why such a brilliant woman would find herself at the center of such a murky story. 

What is real, and what is mystery? What role did her unfaithful husband play, and what was he not telling investigators?"

I've read a couple of Marie Benedict's books and I think this is the one that I feel most excited for! I love the "mystery" around Agatha Christie's short disappearance (which, who knows, it might not have been that mysterious at all!) and I'm curious to see what Benedict does with this thread. 

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

First Chapter Tuesday: Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami & Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Vicki @ I'd Rather Be at the Beach. This is meme in which bloggers share the first chapter of a book that they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Vicki's blog, or simply check it out to find more new books to read!

For this week's First Chapter Tuesday I thought I would share some intros from two books that I've just started reading!

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
trans. Philip Gabriel, Ted Goossen
 

Excerpt:

PROLOGUE

"Today when I awoke from a nap the faceless man was there before me. He was seated on the chair across from the sofa I’d been sleeping on, staring straight at me with a pair of imaginary eyes in a face that wasn’t. 
The man was tall, and he was dressed the same as when I had seen him last. His face-that-wasn’t-a-face was half hidden by a wide-brimmed black hat, and he had on a long, equally dark coat. 

“I came here so you could draw my portrait,” the faceless man said, after he’d made sure I was fully awake. His voice was low, toneless, flat. “You promised you would. You remember?”

CHAPTER 1: IF THE SURFACE IS FOGGED UP 

From May until early the following year, I lived on top of a mountain near the entrance to a narrow valley. Deep in the valley it rained constantly in the summer, but outside the valley it was usually sunny. This was due to the southwest wind that blew off the ocean. Moist clouds carried by the wind entered the valley, bringing rain as they made their way up the slopes. The house was built right on the boundary line, so often it would be sunny out in front while heavy rain fell in back. At first I found this disconcerting, but as I got used to it, it came to seem natural."

Goodreads

Since this book has a prologue as well, I decided to do as I usually do and include a snippet of both that and the first chapter.
I've been looking for to reading Killing Commendatore since it was release in Japan two (?) years ago and the wait has felt endless. It was published in English as of a few months ago and I'm finally finding the time to sink into this one. I'm already loving it and can't wait to keep going.

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
 

Excerpt:

"PEOPLE WOULD SAY 

People would say she came to Qaanaaq in a skiff towed by a killer whale harnessed to the front like a horse. In these stories, which grew astonishingly elaborate in the days and weeks after her arrival, the polar bear paced beside her on the flat bloody deck of the boat. 

Her face was clenched and angry. She wore battle armor built from thick scavenged plastic. At her feet, in heaps, were the kind of weird weapons and machines that refugee-camp ingenuity had been producing; strange tools fashioned from the wreckage of Manhattan or Mumbai. Her fingers twitched along the walrus-ivory handle of her blade. She had come to do something horrific in Qaanaaq, and she could not wait to start. 

You have heard these stories. You may even have told them. Stories are valuable here. They are what we brought when we came here; they are what cannot be taken away from us."

Goodreads

I've had this on my TBR for way too long. I finally have my hands on a copy and hope to actually get this read before the end of the year!

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

What do you think? Would you keep reading these books? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

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*Excerpts are taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

Waiting on Wednesday: Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller & Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldridge

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!

This week's upcoming book spotlight is:

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018

Ecco
336 pages
Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository 

From Goodreads:

"After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges—crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population. 

When a strange new visitor arrives—a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side—the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people—each living on the periphery—to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves. 

Blackfish City is a remarkably urgent—and ultimately very hopeful—novel about political corruption, organized crime, technology run amok, the consequences of climate change, gender identity, and the unifying power of human connection."

Everything about this premise just seems really unique to me and I can't wait to find out what it's all about. It has quite a relevance to it in many ways which really intrigues me, and I also just have to find out more about this "orcamancer."

and...

Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldridge
Publication Date: May 1st, 2018

Balzer + Bray
320 pages
Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository 

From Goodreads:

"A standout middle grade debut with a sassy, memorable heroine and a charming Southern feel, perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Natalie Lloyd.

Twelve-year-old haunt huntress apprentice Evangeline Clement spends her days and nights studying the ways of folk magic, honing her monster-hunting skills while pursuing local bayou banshees and Johnny revenants. 

With her animal familiar sure to make itself known any day now, the only thing left to do is prove to the council that she has heart. Then she will finally be declared a true haunt huntress, worthy to follow in the footsteps of her long line of female ancestors. 

But when Evangeline and her grandmother are called to New Orleans to resolve an unusual case, she uncovers a secret that will shake her to the soles of her silver-tipped alligator-skin boots. 

Set in the evocative Louisiana bayou and the vibrant streets of New Orleans, Evangeline’s is a tale of loyalty and determination, the powerful bonds of friendship and family, and the courage to trust your gut no matter how terrifying that might be."

This just sounds like a lot of fun. I am always up for a good book that features an animal familiar, and I love the idea of a New Orleans bayou setting--it's not something I really see very often (or at all)!

What do you think about this upcoming release? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

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