Autumn is fast encroaching.  It is the favorite season of many booklovers, myself included. Autumn lends itself to cuddly blankets, cups of tea, and books.  Alternately reading outside in autumn is wonderful as well.  I enjoy both.

September was a great month for Fictionophile as 96 new people signed up to follow this blog, bringing the total to 778 altogether!

I pleased to announce that I will be taking part in a blog tour for Ann Patchett’s new novel, “Commonwealth” on October 3rd.  The tour is being hosted by TLC Book Tours.

I’m excited about some amazing new titles I’ve added to my TBR over the last month:

“The bird tribunal” by Agnes Ravatn is a title provided to me by Orenda Books. Besides the GREAT cover, the novel’s blurb says: ”

Two people in exile. Two secrets. As the past tightens its grip, there may be no escape…

TV presenter Allis Hagtorn leaves her partner and her job to take voluntary exile in a remote house on an isolated fjord. But her new job as housekeeper and gardener is not all that it seems, and her silent, surly employer, 44-year-old Sigurd Bagge, is not the old man she expected. As they await the return of his wife from her travels, their silent, uneasy encounters develop into a chilling, obsessive relationship, and it becomes clear that atonement for past sins may not be enough…

Haunting, consuming and powerful, The Bird Tribunal is a taut, exquisitely written psychological thriller that builds to a shocking, dramatic crescendo that will leave you breathless.”

I’ve been approved for three new titles from NetGalley this past month.  I’m really trying to not request any more so that I can get my feedback ratio up, but these titles were ones I just couldn’t pass up:

“The beautiful dead” by Belinda Bauer
(Grove Atlantic Books)

Crime reporter Eve Singer’s career is on the downward slope when a spate of bizarre murders—each carefully orchestrated and advertised like performance art—begin in her territory. Covering these very public crimes revives her byline, and when the killer contacts Eve to discuss her coverage of his crimes, she is suddenly on the inside of the biggest murder investigation of the decade. But as the killer becomes increasingly obsessed with her, Eve realizes there’s a thin line between inside information and becoming an accomplice to murder—possibly her own.

“Beneath the ashes” by Jane Isaac (Legend Press)  
This is the sequel to “Before it’s too late” which I read last year and really enjoyed.

When a body is discovered in a burnt-out barn in the Warwickshire countryside, DI Will Jackman is called to investigate.
Nancy Faraday wakes up on the kitchen floor. The house has been broken into and her boyfriend is missing. As the case unravels, DI Jackman realises that nothing is quite as it appears and everyone, it seems, has a secret.
Can he discover the truth behind the body in the fire, and track down the killer before Nancy becomes the next victim?

“Safe with me” by K.L. Slater  (Bookouture)

Thirteen years ago someone did something very bad to Anna. Now it’s her turn to get even …
Anna lives a solitary existence, taking solace in order and routine. Her only friend is the lonely old lady next door. She doesn’t like to let people to get too close – she knows how much damage they can do.
Then one ordinary day Anna witnesses a devastating road accident and recognises the driver as Carla, the woman who ruined her life all those years ago. Now it’s Anna’s chance to set things straight but her revenge needs to be executed carefully …
First she needs to get to know Liam, the man injured in the accident. She needs to follow the police investigation. She needs to watch Carla from the shadows…
But as Anna’s obsession with Carla escalates, her own secrets start to unravel. Is Carla really dangerous or does Anna need to worry about someone far closer to home?

I was approved for one new title from Edelweiss this month:

“The widow’s house” by Carol Goodman (William Morrow/HarperCollinsPublishers)

When Jess and Clare Martin move from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to their former college town in the Hudson River valley, they are hoping for rejuvenation—of their marriage, their savings, and Jess’s writing career.

They take a caretaker’s job at Riven House, a crumbling estate and the home of their old college writing professor. While Clare once had dreams of being a writer, those plans fell by the wayside when Jess made a big, splashy literary debut in their twenties. It’s been years, now, since his first novel. The advance has long been spent. Clare’s hope is that the pastoral beauty and nostalgia of the Hudson Valley will offer some inspiration.

But their new life isn’t all quaint town libraries and fragrant apple orchards. There is a haunting pall that hangs over Riven House like a funeral veil. Something is just not right. Soon, Clare begins to hear babies crying at night, see strange figures in fog at the edge of their property. Diving into the history of the area, she realizes that Riven House has a dark and anguished past. And whatever this thing is—this menacing force that destroys the inhabitants of the estate—it seems to be after Clare next…

I was super excited to get Louise Jensen’s newsletter in which she shared the cover reveal for her upcoming thriller, “The gift“.  I’m sure you’ll agree it is a great cover – and in keeping with the cover of her first thriller, “The sister“.

And… I was delighted to learn that one of my favorite authors, Fredrik Backman has a new novella coming out!  I can’t wait to read it!  I’ve loved everything he has written so far.  Mind you…he does tend toward long-winded titles. LOL

And… last but not least, I purchased a Kindle copy of Ed James‘ new title.  I read and enjoyed his novel “Snared” in May of 2015.

“The hope that kills” is the first novel in a new series featuring D.I. Simon Fenchurch.

The body of a young woman is found on the streets of East London, in the shadow of the City’s gleaming towers. No ID on her, just hard-earned cash. But there is no doubting the ferocity of the attack.
DI Simon Fenchurch takes charge but, as his team tries to identify her and piece together her murder, they’re faced with cruel indifference at every turn—nobody cares about yet another dead prostitute. To Fenchurch, however, she could just as easily be Chloe, his daughter still missing after ten years, whose memory still haunts his days and nights, his burning obsession having killed his marriage.
When a second body is discovered, Fenchurch must peel back the grimy layers shrouding the London sex trade, confronting his own traumatic past while racing to undo a scheme larger, more complex and more evil than anything he could possibly have imagined.

Also, I purchased a Kindle copy of Dot Hutchison’s “The butterfly garden“.  I’ve never read Dot Hutchison, but this novel has an incredible rating on Goodreads AND it was on sale for $1.99!

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.
In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.
When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.
As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding…

Happy autumn reading everyone!