Cocktails & Conversation

Something Creepy is Happening . . .

Ever notice how the most unsettling things happen around the house? In your familiar spaces where nothing should go wrong. This story pulls you into that exact discomfort. A married couple. A home that feels increasingly wrong. Incidents that can't be explained. This story promises to linger long after you close the cover. Malerman writes like he knows what nightmares sound like. Come find out if you dare.

"The scariest stories aren't the ones that take place elsewhere - they're the ones that take place at home."

To 8 year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day, “Can I go inside your heart?”

Horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of having to ask Bela the question. Over and over again. Bela understands that unless she says yes soon, her family will pay.

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.

And Other Mommy needs an answer.

367pgs [publisher blurb]

• Locus Horror Award Nominee (2025)
• Bram Stoker Award Nominee (2024)
• GoodReads Best Horror Nominee (2024)

Classic Backman, taking ordinary lives and revealing the extraordinary heartbeats beneath. Here, we follow three friends through forty years of laughter, betrayals, breakdowns, and the stubborn glue of friendship that refuses to let go. This is the story of how we find ourselves in each other.

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places." - Hemingway

Somehow, one of the most famous (and mysterious) paintings in the world, ends up in aspiring artist Louisa’s hands. Louisa has doubts something this good could happen to her.

And while she’s not sure of what to do about her inheritance, she does decide to figure out its true backstory. Louisa goes on a cross-country journey to that seaside town to uncover its secrets.

In her travels, she hears stories about a group of teenagers that sought refuge from their difficult home lives by spending long summer days together. They tell jokes, they share secrets, and they commit small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to thrive.

But the closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes. What happened to the three boys? And how does it involve her?

An uplifting love letter to the transformative power of friendship.

438 pages
Fiction

• Libby Award for Best Audiobook (2026)
• British Book Award for Fiction, Shortlisted (2026)

It's that time of year again! December meeting at my house for regular members only. Comfortable clothing (I may be in pjs) is encouraged. And I've banished the hubby and pets downstairs . We can post here (make comment private) to discuss finger food items. Drinks will be provided.

Twelve stories. Twelve months. One chance to heal her heart...

When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her husband waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago…

The gift is simple. Twelve carefully chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.

And so begins a reading-inspired journey that takes Tilly around the world. She starts to discover who she is now, after Joe.

As she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own.
With the help of the bookshop owner, her new followers, friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love life again?

407 pgs