Waiting to Read Wednesday: Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder & Homer's Odyssey

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.

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg
Release Date: December 29, 2020 by Park Row

The letter was short. A name, a time, a place. Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder plunges readers into the heart of London, to the secret tunnels that exist far beneath the city streets. There, a mysterious group of detectives recruited for Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries use their cunning and gadgets to solve crimes that have stumped Scotland Yard.

Late one night in April 1958, a filing assistant for Miss Brickett’s named Michelle White receives a letter warning her that a heinous act is about to occur. She goes to investigate but finds the room empty. At the stroke of midnight, she is murdered by a killer she can’t see—her death the only sign she wasn’t alone. It becomes chillingly clear that the person responsible must also work for Miss Brickett’s, making everyone a suspect.

Almost unwillingly, Marion Lane, a first-year Inquirer-in-training, finds herself being drawn ever deeper into the investigation. When her friend and mentor is framed for the crime, to clear his name she must sort through the hidden alliances at Miss Brickett’s and secrets dating back to WWII. Masterful, clever and deliciously suspenseful, Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder is a fresh take on the Agatha Christie—style locked-room mystery with an exciting new heroine detective at the helm. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: Everything about this historical mystery captured my interest from the setting in London, secret tunnels, to a mysterious group of detectives and their gadgets. I cannot wait to get my hands on this one and read it!

Does Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder interest you? What upcoming release are you looking forward to reading?

 

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!

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper (Delacorte Press, 2009)

Once in nine lives, something extraordinary happens...

The last thing Gwen Cooper wanted was another cat. She already had two, not to mention a phenomenally underpaying job and a recently broken heart. Then Gwen’s veterinarian called with a story about a three-week-old eyeless kitten who’d been abandoned. It was love at first sight.

Everyone warned that Homer would always be an "underachiever," never as playful or independent as other cats. But the kitten nobody believed in quickly grew into a three-pound dynamo, a tiny daredevil with a giant heart who eagerly made friends with every human who crossed his path. Homer scaled seven-foot bookcases with ease and leapt five feet into the air to catch flies in mid-buzz. He survived being trapped alone for days after 9/11 in an apartment near the World Trade Center, and even saved Gwen’s life when he chased off an intruder who broke into their home in the middle of the night.

But it was Homer’s unswerving loyalty, his infinite capacity for love, and his joy in the face of all obstacles that inspired Gwen daily and transformed her life. And by the time she met the man she would marry, she realized Homer had taught her the most important lesson of all: Love isn’t something you see with your eyes.

Homer’s Odyssey is the once-in-a-lifetime story of an extraordinary cat and his human companion. It celebrates the refusal to accept limits—on love, ability, or hope against overwhelming odds. By turns jubilant and moving, it’s a memoir for anybody who’s ever fallen completely and helplessly in love with a pet. [Goodreads Summary]

Why I want to read this: I feel so terrible I have not read this book yet! It came out after the well-known Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter hit shelves, which I didn't want to read because I have a hard time reading books in which the animal companion dies at the end. Author Gwen Cooper reached out and assured me Homer suffers no such fate in Homer's Odyssey. I have long since wanted to read it, but with my interest in memoirs waning and other reading commitments, this one fell by the wayside. I still want to know more abut Homer and the impact he had on Gwen's life. I know I will fall in love with both Gwen and Homer when I do read this one.

Have you read Homer's Odyssey?  Does this book sound like something you would like to read? 

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