Tantalizing Tales — October 2025 — Part Three

I can’t believe we’re already most of the way through October! Before we get into the really spooky part of the season tho, let’s take a look at several books publishing next week, that definitely lean harder into other genres than horror.

First up is Peter James’ The Hawk Is Dead, a police procedural inspired by a suggestion from Queen Camilla. Her Majesty is both a literacy advocate and a huge fan of murder mysteries, particularly the thrillers featuring Mr James’ creation, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. She herself plays a significant role in this book, as DS Grace is challenged by the most daunting case of his career.

Queen Camilla is on her way to a scheduled visit to two Brighton hospices when her train is derailed inside a tunnel just north of the city. Just as she and her entourage are escorted out to daylight, a sniper assassinates a key member of her household. Was Sir Peregrine Greaves the actual target, or had the bullet been meant for the queen?

As DS Grace investigates, he must resist pressure from the Met Counter Terrorism Command to hand the case over to London. The more he uncovers, the more convinced he becomes that Sir Peregrine had indeed been the intended victim, and that the reason for his murder lies somewhere in the chaotic renovation of Buckingham Palace, involving hundreds of people. When another member of the Royal Household turns up dead, it looks like DS Grace is on the right track… even if it’s one that places him in gravest danger.

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Another set of famous, if fictional, British figures stars in our next selection, Tim Major’s Jekyll & Hyde: Winter Retreat. I loved the first book in this series, and only wish I’d gotten this onto my schedule early enough to be able to devote time to reading and reviewing it in full! Hopefully, I’ll be able to find time for all that soon.

But for now, let me tell you a little bit about the premise. Muriel Carew, independent heiress and former fiancee of one Dr Henry Jekyll, has discovered the truth of his relationship with his alter ego Edward Hyde. The three of them have joined forces to form a detective agency, and soon find themselves facing another doozy of a case.

When music hall comedy duo Rolly Daconey and Irina Matei find themselves the target of an anonymous blackmailer, they hire the Jekyll & Hyde agency to investigate. The clues lead our sleuths to a winter retreat for artists, where Henry and Muriel soon find themselves snowed in with an eccentric and argumentative group of performers and inventors. Things are already threatening to get ugly even before a body is found. Worse, Edward was the last person seen with the deceased while the latter was still alive. Is Henry losing control of his other side again? And how can he and Muriel solve the crime when they themselves might be the greatest threat to the people around them?

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For something even more sci-fi, check out the third title(s) in Saga Press’ exciting tete beche Doubles series! Red Star Hustle + Apprehension combines two exciting futuristic crime stories in one volume, the former by Nebula Award-winner Sam J Miller and the latter by Hugo Award-winner Mary Robinette Kowal.

In Red Star Hustle, Aran is a high class escort in a universe crisscrossed by billions of wormholes that make intergalactic travel as easy as walking through a door. Alas, he’s been framed for murder and is now on the run. He probably shouldn’t be getting involved with the noble — and studly — clone of a murderous puppet monarch, especially not when a bounty hunter with Mommy issues is hot on his trail. But Aran is happy-go-lucky enough to embrace the chaos, even as he has to figure out a way to get out of this whole wanted-for-murder mess.

Apprehension is the story of Bonnyjean, a grieving mother who arranges a family vacation to the planet of Nahatanau with her son-in-law Jax and her grandson Tristan. What’s supposed to be a relaxing getaway takes a turn when someone unexpectedly dies in her arms… someone who turns out to be a double agent in the planet’s ongoing political conflict. Believing Bonnyjean to have received a deathbed secret from the agent, a terrorist organization kidnaps Tristan in order to pressure her into giving them the information they mistakenly think she has. Little do they know, however, that aging Bonnyjean is a retired special forces operative, who has more than one trick up her sleeve as she does everything in her power to rescue her grandson.

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All these books are available now for pre-order, so let me know if you’re able to get to them before I do, dear readers! I’d love to hear your opinions, and see if that will spur me to push any of them higher up the mountain range that is my To Be Read pile.

And, as always, you can check out the list of my favorite books in my Bookshop storefront linked below!