Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Books from the Backlog & Can't Wait Wednesday: The Dead Cat Bounce/Belle Révolte/Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line/The Body Under the Piano



The Old(er) 
I have an embarrassing number of unread books sitting on the shelves in my personal library. Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight and discuss those neglected books in her Books from the Backlog feature. After all, even those older books need a bit of love! Not to mention it is reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!


The Dead Cat Bounce (Home Repair is Homicide #1) by Sarah Graves (Bantam, 1997)
dead cat bounce n. Stock market jargon for a small, temporary rise in a stock's trading price after a sharp drop.
Since she bought her rambling old fixer-upper of a house, Jacobia Tiptree has gotten used to finding things broken. But her latest problem isn't so easily repaired. Along with the rotting floor joists and sagging support beams, there's the little matter of the dead man in Jake's storeroom, an ice pick firmly planted in his cranium.

Not much happens in her tiny Maine town, but that's about to change. Jake's unknown guest turns out to be a world-famous corporate raider, local boy turned billionaire Threnody McIlwaine. When Jake's best friend, quiet and dependable Ellie White, readily confesses to the murder, cops and journalists swarm into snowbound Eastport.

Jake smells a cover-up, and begins poking into past history between McIlwaine and Ellie's family. But someone doesn't like nosy neighbors...and Jake's rustic refuge may become her final resting place. [Goodreads Summary]

I purchased a copy of The Dead Cat Bounce in 2005 after reading about it in a bookish newsletter. I had heard good things about the author in an online book group I belonged to at the time, and decided to give the author a try. Only, I never actually read the book. Given my interest in cozy mysteries, I still think this is something I would enjoy. 


Does this sound like something you would enjoy? Have you read anything by Sarah Graves? Have you tried this series? If so, what did you think? 


The New
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss upcoming release we are excited about that we have yet to read.


Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller
Release Date: 02/01/2020 by Sourcebooks Fire
Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome work.

Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her family, wants more from life than her humble beginnings and is desperate to be trained in magic. So when a strange noble girl offers Annette the chance of a lifetime, she accepts.

Emilie and Annette swap lives—Annette attends finishing school as a noble lady to be trained in the ways of divination, while Emilie enrolls to be a physician’s assistant, using her natural magical talent to save lives.

But when their nation instigates a frivolous war, Emilie and Annette must work together to help the rebellion end a war that is based on lies. [Goodreads Summary]
Why I want to read this: This high fantasy YA novel caught my interest because I enjoy stories where characters swap lives. And I love the cover!


Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by by Deepa Anappara
Release Date: 02/04/2020 by Random House
In this transporting debut novel, three friends venture into the most dangerous corners of a sprawling Indian city to find their missing classmate.

Down market lanes crammed with too many people, dogs, and rickshaws, past stalls that smell of cardamom and sizzling oil, below a smoggy sky that doesn’t let through a single blade of sunlight, and all the way at the end of the Purple metro line lies a jumble of tin-roofed homes where nine-year-old Jai lives with his family. From his doorway, he can spot the glittering lights of the city’s fancy high-rises, and though his mother works as a maid in one, to him they seem a thousand miles away. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line plunges readers deep into this neighborhood to trace the unfolding of a tragedy through the eyes of a child as he has his first perilous collisions with an unjust and complicated wider world.

Jai drools outside sweet shops, watches too many reality police shows, and considers himself to be smarter than his friends Pari (though she gets the best grades) and Faiz (though Faiz has an actual job). When a classmate goes missing, Jai decides to use the crime-solving skills he has picked up from TV to find him. He asks Pari and Faiz to be his assistants, and together they draw up lists of people to interview and places to visit.

But what begins as a game turns sinister as other children start disappearing from their neighborhood. Jai, Pari, and Faiz have to confront terrified parents, an indifferent police force, and rumors of soul-snatching djinns. As the disappearances edge ever closer to home, the lives of Jai and his friends will never be the same again.

Drawing on real incidents and a spate of disappearances in metropolitan India, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line is extraordinarily moving, flawlessly imagined, and a triumph of suspense. It captures the fierce warmth, resilience, and bravery that can emerge in times of trouble and carries the reader headlong into a community that, once encountered, is impossible to forget. [Goodreads Summary]
Why I want to read this: Deepa Anappara delves into the horror and tragedy of disappearing children, based on real events. This sounds like it will be an unforgettable and emotional read.


The Body Under the Piano (Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen #1) by Marthe Jocelyn, illustrated by Isabelle Follath
Release Date: 02/04/2020 by Tundra Books
A smart and charming middle-grade mystery series starring young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, inspired by the imagined life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of Lemony Snicket and The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency.

Aggie Morton lives in a small town on the coast of England in 1902. Adventurous and imaginative but deeply shy, Aggie hasn't got much to do since the death of her beloved father . . . until the fateful day when she crosses paths with twelve-year-old Belgian immigrant Hector Perot and discovers a dead body on the floor of the Mermaid Dance Room! As the number of suspects grows and the murder threatens to tear the town apart, Aggie and her new friend will need every tool at their disposal -- including their insatiable curiosity, deductive skills and not a little help from their friends -- to solve the case before Aggie's beloved dance instructor is charged with a crime Aggie is sure she didn't commit.

Filled with mystery, adventure, an unforgettable heroine and several helpings of tea and sweets, The Body Under the Piano is the clever debut of a new series for middle-grade readers and Christie and Poirot fans everywhere, from a Governor General's Award--nominated author of historical fiction for children. [Goodreads Summary]
Why I want to read this: I want to read more middle grade fiction and this sounded like a fun historical mystery. 


Do any of these upcoming releases interest you? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to? 

© 2020, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

58 comments:

  1. Interesting selection of reads and I do so like the intriguing titles!

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    1. Mystica - Hopefully they will be as good as they sound! Thank you for visiting.

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  2. All of your books sound wonderful. I guess I have seen the Belle Révolte book around a few months ago. And The Dead Cat Bounce looks familiar. I agree, we all have "tons" of unread old books we should spotlight a bit more. Thank you for sharing and happy reading!

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    1. Vi - My TBR shelves are overflowing with books, many I have had for years . . . I spend too much time on new books, I think. LOL Thank you for stopping by!

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  3. Belle Révolte sounds really fascinating! I love a good swap story. I will have to make sure that I have this one added as well. :)

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    1. Lori - Doesn't it? I'm looking forward to reading it when it comes out! I hope we both enjoy it when we read it! Thank you for visiting.

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  4. I haven't read any of those but I hope you like them when you read them.

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  5. They all look and sounds good but I'm particularly curious about Djinn Patrol. Sounds odd and every once in a while I want odd :)

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    1. Barb - Doesn't that sound interesting? I can't wait to read it. Thank you for visiting!

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  6. I've heard great things about Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line. I'd like to get my hands on it.

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    1. Kathy - I am glad you have been hearing good things about it! I hope I will enjoy it too. Thank you for stopping by!

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  7. These are some great picks! I am hoping to start Belle Revolte soon, it sounds so good.

    My CWW

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    1. Jenea - Thank you! I hope you enjoy Belle Revolte! I look forward to reading your thoughts on it. Thank you for visiting.

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  8. I really like the sound of Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line! :)

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    1. Lark - Me too! I hope it will be good. Thank you for stopping by!

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  9. I am super interested in Aggie Morton and will definitely be looking for it at our library!

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    1. Sarah - Doesn't it sound like it will be cute? I can't wait to read it with my daughter. Thank you for visiting!

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    2. I searched for them at our library right after I read your post, but they don't have them. I am now headed to harass my library on Twitter until they make the purchase. Wish me luck!

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    3. I don't believe it comes out until next week. Good luck with your library. I hope they order it!

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  10. All of these sound so good! Isn't it amazing how we buy books but never get around to actually getting them read. I hope you enjoy all of these, Wendy!

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    1. Carole - I have so many unread books . . . Thank you for stopping by!

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  11. Oooh! All of these sound like interesting books! Great picks!

    Here’s my WoW!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

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  12. Belle Revolt sounds so good! I love stories were the characters sap lives! Great list!!!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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    1. Lindy - It does sound good, doesn't it? I can't wait to read it. Thank you for visiting!

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  13. Dead Cat Bounce is certainly an interesting title! Not sure I like the mental images conjured though... 😂

    Belle Revolte sounds cool!

    My It's Wednesday! Post.

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    1. Nicci - No, it's probably best not to take the title literally. Haha. Thank you for stopping by!

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  14. I love Christie so The Body Under the Piano sounds amazing!

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    1. Eustacia - I think it will be a fun one. :-) Thank you for visiting!

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  15. such a fun cover and title for dead cat bounce. :-)
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  16. The Djinn Patrol is the one that intrigues me!

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    1. Jenclair - I am really curious about that one too! Thank you for visiting!

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  17. All of them look good, especially the Sarah Graves series. I have that one in my TBR.

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    1. Yvonne - Hopefully we will like it when we read it! Thank you for stopping by!

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  18. All of these sound like fantastic reads! The Body Under the Piano is on my wish list. It sounds like it'll be a good middle grade mystery. And I love the cover for Belle Revolte. :)

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    1. Ashley - The Belle Revolte cover is gorgeous, isn't it? I am really looking forward the The Body Under the Piano too! Thanks for visiting!

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  19. Learned something new, the meaning of "dead cat bounce." All these sound like good choices. Hope you enjoy them.

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    1. Roberta - I hadn't known what it meant either. I hope these books will all be as good as it sounds. Thanks for stopping by!

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  20. Huh, totally learned something new inthe meaning of Dead Cat Bounce! Definitely a cozy worth checking out.

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    1. Verushka-Hopefully it will be a good one. Thank you for visiting!

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  21. Belle Révolte keeps catching my eye, mainly because of the pretty cover, but the synopsis sounds really good too.

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    1. Suzanne - Hopefully it will be as good as the cover is pretty. 😊 Thank you for stopping by!

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  22. Belle Revolte attracts me the most as well as your older title. I like cozies too.

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    1. Laura - I am feeling a cozy mood coming on soon... Thank you for visiting!

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  23. This is a nice way to remind yourself of the unread books on Mount TBR. I have so many that I had to buy because I swore I'd read them right away...lol. And the upcoming The Body Under the Piano looks cute!

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    1. Naida - Yes, and feel guilty for not reading them. Haha. Thank you for stopping by!

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  24. If you do read Djinn Patrol, I can't wait to find out what you think of it. It's been on my list but the topic is also not going to be an easy one to read about.

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    1. Athira - It does sound like it will be a difficult subject to read about. Thank you for visiting!

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  25. Glad to get the explanation about 'dead cat bounce' and the book looks good, too.

    Oooh, true events of horror like the Anapparra story does captivate me.

    Good picks!

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    1. Sophia Rose - I am looking forward to reading them. Thank you for stopping by!

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  26. The cover for Belle Revolte is so pretty and best thing, sounds like a promising story!

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  27. The Aggie Morton book looks really good! And I have been eyeballing that Belle Revolte for a while now.

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  28. All the books sound good; and the cover for Belle Révolte is eye-catching.

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