October Book Haul Part 2 #StackedShelves #BookMail #BookPost #Bookreviews #Blogging

Hello everyone! Welcome to my second book haul post in the month of October. There has already been quite a few fascinating and striking novels that have arrived at my door. I have to thank Quercus, Titan Books, Pan Macmillan, Orenda Books, Gollancz and Allison & Busby for sending me out books to feature on my blog this month. A wide range of thrills, fantasy and crime to review and discuss with you all. Let me know if you are in possession of any of these titles or you are interested in reading them 😀

October Book Haul Part 2

Seventh Decimate: The Great God’s War Book One By Stephen Donaldson

Published by: Gollancz

Gollancz are the go-to publishers for Fantasy! Plus a legend such as Donaldson starting a new series can’t be missed. Can’t wait to get involved!

Official Synopsis: The war between Amika and Belleger has raged for generations. Its roots lie in the distant past, beyond memory. Sorcerers from both sides rain destruction down on the battlefield, wielding the six deadly Decimates of fire, earth, wind, water, lightning, and pestilence.

Prince Bifalt hopes that Belleger’s new weapons technology, the rifle, will provide a decisive advantage. But when Belleger’s sorcerers are mysteriously deprived of their magical abilities, leaving them unable to defend against Amika, he must set aside his own deep hatred of sorcery and work to solve this new enigma.

Grasping at any chance to save his beloved homeland, Prince Bifalt of Belleger sets out on a hazardous journey across the unmapped wastelands to the east. With Elgart, his last comrade, Bifalt pursues the long-hidden trail of the one object that might be able to turn the tide of the endless war – a book entitled The Seventh Decimate.

The events that unfold force Prince Bifalt to weigh his stubbornness, his patriotism, and his hatred for sorcerers against his sense of loyalty and of what he knows to be right. And as he learns, Amika and Belleger may simply be pawns within an even larger struggle…

Strange Weather by Joe Hill

Published by: Gollancz

This in undoubtedly one of the most exciting releases of 2017! I am the ultimate Joe Hill fan and actually contemplated dropping everything and sitting on the floor to start Strange Weather immediately. So close!

Official Synopsis: A stunning collection of short novels from bestseller Joe Hill, this new collection from an award-winning author makes compelling and powerful reading.
Four short novels from the author of THE FIREMAN and HORNS, ranging from creepy horror to powerful explorations of our modern society.

One autumnal day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails, splinters of bright crystal that tear apart anyone who isn’t safely under cover. ‘Rain’ explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as clouds of nails spread out across the country and the world. Amidst the chaos, a girl studying law enforcement takes it upon herself to resolve a series of almost trivial mysteries . . . apparently harmless puzzles that turn out to have lethal answers.

In ‘Loaded’ a mall security guard heroically stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun movement. Under the hot glare of the spotlights, though, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it…

‘Snapshot, 1988’ tells the story of an kid in Silicon Valley who finds himself threatened by The Phoenician, a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid that can steal memories…

And in ‘Aloft’ a young man takes to the skies to experience parachuting for the first time . . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapour that seems animated by a mind of its own.

The Fall Of Dragons by Miles Cameron

Published by: Gollancz

Miles Cameron is a sure-fire talent. This series is 5 books in and still kicking ass. Hope to get back into very soon!

Official Synopsis: Forget George and the Dragon. Forget Sir Lancelot and tales of Knightly exploits. This is dirty, bloody work. This is violent, visceral action. This is a mercenary knight as you’ve never seen one before.

The Red Knight’s final battle lies ahead… but there’s a whole war still to fight first.

He began with a small company, fighting the dangerous semi-mythical creatures which threatened villages, nunneries and cities. But as his power – and his forces – grew, so the power of the enemy he stood against became ever more clear. Not the power of men . . . but that of gods, with thousands of mortal allies.

Never has strategy been more important, and this war will end where it started: at Lissen Carak. But to get there means not one battle, but many – to take out the seven armies which stand against them and force Ash, the huge black dragon, to finally take to the field himself…

Austral by Paul McAuley

Published by: Gollancz

Austral seems to be a very relevant and poignant tale. I am seriously intrigued about where this novel might take me. I have a great feeling about this narrative, I hope it blows my mind 😀

Official Synopsis:The great geoengineering projects have failed.

The world is still warming, sea levels are still rising, and the Antarctic Peninsula is home to Earth’s newest nation, with life quickened by ecopoets spreading across valleys and fjords exposed by the retreat of the ice.

Austral Morales Ferrado, a child of the last generation of ecopoets, is a husky: an edited person adapted to the unforgiving climate of the far south, feared and despised by most of its population. She’s been a convict, a corrections officer in a labour camp, and consort to a criminal, and now, out of desperation, she has committed the kidnapping of the century. But before she can collect the ransom and make a new life elsewhere, she must find a place of safety amongst the peninsula’s forests and icy plateaus, and evade a criminal gang that has its own plans for the teenage girl she’s taken hostage.

Blending the story of Austral’s flight with the fractured history of her family and its role in the colonisation of Antarctica, Austral is a vivid portrayal of a treacherous new world created by climate change, and shaped by the betrayals and mistakes of the past.

What the Hell Did I Just Read (John Dies at the End #3) by David Wong

Published by: Titan Books

David Wong is one of those authors who has a dedicated following but is certainly not in everyone’s tastes. I actually really love this series and hope it is just as bizarre, wacky and charming as the previous two outings.

Official Synopsis: From the writer of the cult sensation John Dies at the End comes another terrifying and hilarious tale of almost Armageddon at the hands of two hopeless heroes.

It’s the story “They” don’t want you to read. Though, to be fair, “They” are probably right about this one. No, don’t put the book back on the shelf – it is now your duty to purchase it to prevent others from reading it. Yes, it works with ebooks, too; I don’t have time to explain how.

While investigating a fairly straightforward case of a shape-shifting interdimensional child predator, Dave, John, and Amy realized there might actually be something weird going on. Together, they navigate a diabolically convoluted maze of illusions, lies, and their own incompetence in an attempt to uncover a terrible truth that they – like you – would be better off not knowing.

Your first impulse will be to think that a story this gruesome – and, to be frank, stupid – cannot possibly be true. That is precisely the reaction “They” are hoping for.

The Missing Girl Jenny Quintana

Published by: Pan Macmillan

As I keep saying, 2017 is the year of the psychological thriller and The Missing Girl has the potential to take the top spot. I really like the sound of this narrative and it could be a challenging read!

Official Synopsis: When Anna Flores’ adored older sister goes missing as a teenager, Anna copes by disappearing too, just as soon as she can: running as far away from her family as possible, and eventually building a life for herself abroad.

Thirty years later, the death of her mother finally forces Anna to return home. Tasked with sorting through her mother’s possessions, she begins to confront not just her mother’s death, but also the huge hole Gabriella’s disappearance left in her life – and finds herself asking a question she’s not allowed herself to ask for years: what really happened to her sister?

With that question comes the revelation that her biggest fear isn’t discovering the worst; it’s never knowing the answer. But is it too late for Anna to uncover the truth about Gabriella’s disappearance?

The Crow Garden By Alison Littlewood

Published by: Jo Fletcher (Quercus)

The Crow Garden sounds fantastic! It has all the eerie chills and thrills necessary to be a cracking read. The plot is compelling me to pick this uop very soon!

Official Synopsis: Haunted by his father’s suicide, Nathaniel Kerner walks away from the highly prestigious life of a consultant to become a mad-doctor. He takes up a position at Crakethorne Asylum, but the proprietor is more interested in phrenology and his growing collection of skulls than the patients’ minds. Nathaniel’s only interesting case is Mrs Victoria Harleston: her husband accuses her of hysteria and delusions – but she accuses him of hiding secrets far more terrible.

Nathaniel is increasingly obsessed with Victoria, but when he has her mesmerised, there are unexpected results: Victoria starts hearing voices, the way she used to – her grandmother always claimed they came from beyond the grave – but it also unleashes her own powers of mesmerism . . . and a desperate need to escape.

Increasingly besotted, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a world of séances and stage mesmerism in his bid to find Victoria and save her.

The Scarred Woman (Department Q #7) By Jussi Adler-Olsen

Published by: Quercus

Official Synopsis: In a Copenhagen park the body of an elderly woman is discovered. Though the case bears a striking resemblance to another unsolved homicide from over a decade ago, the police cannot find any connection between the two victims. Across town a group of young women are being hunted down. The attacks seem random, but could these brutal acts of violence be related? Detective Carl Mørck of Department Q is charged with solving the mystery.

Back at headquarters, Carl and his team are under pressure to deliver results: failure to meet his superiors’ expectations will mean the end of Department Q. Solving the case, however, is not their only concern. After a breakdown, their colleague Rose is struggling to deal with the ghosts of her past – a past seemingly connected to one of the division’s most sinister case-files. It is up to Carl, Assad and Gordon to unearth the dark and violent truth plaguing Rose before it is too late.

The Other Woman By Laura Wilson

Published by: Quercus

Official Synopsis: Shortly after Christmas, a message arrives at Sophie’s house, scrawled across her own round robin newsletter: HE’S GOING TO LEAVE YOU. LET’S SEE HOW SMUG YOU ARE THEN, YOU STUPID BITCH. Perhaps she should ignore it, but she ignored the last one. And the one before that. Now it’s time to take action.

But when a simple plan to identify and confront the other woman goes drastically and violently wrong, Sophie must go to extreme lengths to keep her life and her family together – while never letting on her devastating secret.

The Hit (Rosie Gilmour #9) By Anna Smith

Published by: Quercus

Official Synopsis: Rosie Gilmour is hot on the trail of a ring of baby-sellers and people-traffickers. The problem is, her main suspect is a dead man. Or is he?

A money-laundering accountant disappears in Romania. The hitman hired to disappear him is found dead in a Glasgow flat. And the owner of the flat, the accountant’s widow, claims she knows nothing about it.

Crime reporter Rosie Gilmour isn’t convinced by Helen Lewis’s innocent facade – she is convinced Helen was the one who ordered the hit on her husband, and she’s going to prove it. But when she discovers that Helen’s husband worked for a ring of gangsters selling babies from Romanian orphanages, her focus shifts. Now she has two sets of criminals to bring to justice – she’d better pray they don’t catch up with her first.

Snare by Lilja Sigurdardóttir

Published by: Orenda Books

I have actually already read this novel. I was a huge fan of Lilja’s writing and thought the narrative was unpredictable and filled with intrigue. Scandinavian Thrillers are quickly taking a place in my reading list and I can’t seem to get enough of them.

Official Synopsis: After a messy divorce, attractive young mother Sonia is struggling to provide for herself and keep custody of her son. With her back to the wall, she resorts to smuggling cocaine into Iceland, and finds herself caught up in a ruthless criminal world. As she desperately looks for a way out of trouble, she must pit her wits against her nemesis, Bragi, a customs officer, whose years of experience frustrate her new and evermore daring strategies.

Things become even more complicated when Sonia embarks on a relationship with a woman, Agla. Once a high-level bank executive, Agla is currently being prosecuted in the aftermath the Icelandic financial crash.

Set in a Reykjavík still covered in the dust of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, and with a dark, fast-paced and chilling plot and intriguing characters, Snare is an outstandingly original and sexy Nordic crime thriller, from one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

The Lost Village by Neil Spring

Published by: Quercus

This a brilliant departure from anything I have read recently and I eager to partake in this ghost chase. I do love a great ghostly yarn 😀

Official Synopsis: Many years ago, soldiers entered a remote English village called Imber and forced every inhabitant out. It remains abandoned . . . Each winter, on one night only, Imber’s former residents return to visit loved ones buried in the overgrown churchyard. But this year, something has gone wrong. Secrets are surfacing, putting all who come near Imber in danger. And only one man can help.

Notorious ghost hunter Harry Price has reluctantly reunited with his former assistant Sarah Grey. Once, she worshipped Harry, but their relationship has recently soured. Harry knows that Sarah could be the key to unlocking the mystery of Imber, but will her involvement in the case be the undoing of them both?

Without a Word By Kate McQuaile

Published by: Quercus

Official Synopsis: Lillian had phoned telling her to get Skype up and running. ‘I have so much to tell you.’ Then, the knock on the door. ‘Sorry Orla, I’d better see who it is’ she said. Orla waited. Seconds became minutes. She didn’t know how long she waited before she realised that something terrible had happened.

For more than a decade, Lillian’s disappearance has remained unsolved, and Orla has found it impossible to move on.

Then she receives an unexpected visit from Ned Moynihan, the detective who led the original investigation into her friend’s vanishing. Moynihan has been receiving anonymous notes accusing him of having failed to investigate the case properly. He assumes the notes are coming from Orla, yet Orla knows nothing of these letters.

Is somebody trying to tell them the truth about what really happened to Lillian that night?

Thanks for stopping by to check out another large book haul sent to me in the month of October. I am incredibly blessed to be receiving such great books to feature here on Always Trust In Books. The year is slowly coming to a close and publishers and authors are working hard to see 2017 out with a huge bang! If you have read any of these books already then please share your thoughts with me!