Wishing to Read Wednesday: Old & New (#6)

Books from the Backlog is a weekly meme, hosted by the wonderful Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books to spotlight and discuss the neglected books sitting on our shelves still waiting to be read.. Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.

The Old

Drood by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown & Company, 2009)

Drood… is the name and nightmare that obsesses Charles Dickens for the last five years of his life.

On June 9, 1865, Dickens and his mistress are secretly returning to London, when their express train hurtles over a gap in a trestle. All of the first-class carriages except the one carrying Dickens are smashed to bits in the valley below. When Dickens descends into that valley to confront the dead and dying, his life will be changed forever. And at the core of that ensuing five-year nightmare is…

Drood… the name that Dickens whispers to his friend Wilkie Collins. A laudanum addict and lesser novelist, Collins flouts Victorian sensibilities by living with one mistress while having a child with another, but he may be the only man on Earth with whom Dickens can share the secret of…

Drood. Increasingly obsessed with crypts, cemeteries, and the precise length of time it would take for a corpse to dissolve in a lime pit, Dickens ceases writing for four years and wanders the worst slums and catacombs of London at night while staging public readings during the day, gruesome readings that leave his audiences horrified. Finally he begins writing what would have been the world’s first great mystery masterpiece, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, only to be interrupted forever by…

Drood. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Doesn't this just sound dark and delicious? As my husband was dusting the shelves the other day, he mentioned how I had practically begged for an copy of Drood when it first came out (which I promptly received for Christmas that same year), and yet there it sits. On the shelf unread. The size may have something to do with my putting it off, but I am still just as interested in reading it as I was then.

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The Taken (Celestial Blues #1) by Vicki Pettersson (Harper Voyager, 2012)

Griffin Shaw was a PI when alive. Fifty years later, he’s a celestial Centurion assisting the recently and violently dead. But being an angel doesn’t mean he’s a saint. One small mistake altered fate, and dumped him back on the mortal mudflat to collect another soul – Katherine “Kit” Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation may get her clipped.

Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let this sable-haired siren with hairpin curves come to harm. He also wants the truth about his killer and revenge for his wife Evie's death. Amid an evil conspiracy, a ruthless killer stalks the new partners. Grif's attraction to Kit could cost their lives -- and his answer to who killed him. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: I have not read too many books featuring angels, and The Taken caught my attention from the cover to the mystery.

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The New

Tiffany Blues by M.J. Rose
Release Date: August 7, 2018 by Atria Books

New York, 1924. Twenty‑four‑year‑old Jenny Bell is one of a dozen burgeoning artists invited to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s prestigious artists’ colony. Gifted and determined, Jenny vows to avoid distractions and romantic entanglements and take full advantage of the many wonders to be found at Laurelton Hall.

But Jenny’s past has followed her to Long Island. Images of her beloved mother, her hard-hearted stepfather, waterfalls, and murder, and the dank hallways of Canada’s notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women overwhelm Jenny’s thoughts, even as she is inextricably drawn to Oliver, Tiffany’s charismatic grandson.

As the summer shimmers on, and the competition between the artists grows fierce as they vie for a spot at Tiffany’s New York gallery, a series of suspicious and disturbing occurrences suggest someone knows enough about Jenny’s childhood trauma to expose her.

Supported by her closest friend Minx Deering, a seemingly carefree socialite yet dedicated sculptor, and Oliver, Jenny pushes her demons aside. Between stolen kisses and stolen jewels, the champagne flows and the jazz plays on until one moonless night when Jenny’s past and present are thrown together in a desperate moment, that will threaten her promising future, her love, her friendships, and her very life. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read it: New York in the 1920's has an irresistible quality to it, don't you think? And I really enjoy M.J. Rose's work. If the author's name didn't pique my interest immediately in this one, the setting and subject matter would. Just what is in Jenny's past? And how is it coming to haunt her now?

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As Wide As the Sky by Jessica Pack
Release Date: July 31, 2018 by Kensington Publishing

Five a.m.: Amanda Mallorie wakes to the knowledge that her son Robbie is gone. And a new chapter of her own life must begin. She has spent four years as her son's only support, desperately trying to understand the actions that landed him on death row and to change his fate. Now Amanda faces an even more difficult task--finding a way, and a reason, to move forward with her own life.

Before the tragedy that unfolded in a South Dakota mall, Robbie was just like other people's sons or daughters. Sometimes troubled, but sweet and full of goodness too. That's the little boy Amanda remembers as she packs up his childhood treasures and progress reports, and discovers a class ring she's never seen before. Who does it belong to and why did Robbie have it in his possession? So begins a journey that will remind her not only of who Robbie used to be, but of a time when she wasn't afraid--to talk to strangers, to help those in need, to reach out. Robbie's choices can never be unmade, but there may still be time for forgiveness and trust to grow again. For a future as wide as the sky. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Reading this synopsis, so many emotions come to mind. I cannot even imagine what Amanda must be going though. I need to read this book!


What do you think? Are these books you want to read?

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