I know we still have summer yet to enjoy, but are you ready to think about fall? I have September book releases, Treasures in My Closet, to talk about. Let me know what September books you’re excited about.

Let’s kick off the list with Ellery Adams’ Murder on the Poet’s Walk. It’s the eighth Book Retreat Mystery, a favorite series for one of my friends. Storyton Hall is overrun with poets in town to compete for a coveted greeting card contract. They’re everywhere, scrawling verses on cocktail napkins in the reading rooms, or seeking inspiration strolling the Poet’s Walk, a series of trails named after famous authors. But the Tennyson Trail leads to a grim surprise, a woman’s corpse drifting in a rowboat on a lake, posed as if she were “The Lady of Shalott.” Then, a second body is discovered, also posed as a poetic character. (Release date is Sept. 27.)

Sarah Adams’ When in Rome reminds me of a Hallmark movie. Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned-out from years of maintaining her “princess of pop” image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome . . . Rome, Kentucky, that is. That’s where she encounters Noah Walker when her car breaks down. The small-town baker doesn’t have time for celebrity problems, but he finally sees the lonely side of her. He shows her all the small-town experiences she’s been missing. Amelia can’t resist falling for the cozy town and her grumpy tour guide, but even Audrey had to leave Rome eventually. (Release date is Sept. 20.)

The Book Hater’s Book Club by Gretchen Anthony is for anyone who loves books and bookstores. All it takes is the right book to turn a Book Hater into a Book Lover…That was what Elliot—the beloved co-owner of Over the Rainbow Bookshop—believed before his untimely passing. He always had the perfect book suggestion for the self-proclaimed Book Hater. Now his grief-ridden business partner, Irma, has agreed to sell the cozy Over the Rainbow to condo developers. But others won’t give up the bookshop without a fight. When Irma breaks the news to her daughters, Bree and Laney, and Elliot’s romantic partner, Thom, they are aghast. Over the Rainbow has been Bree and Laney’s sanctuary since childhood, and Thom would do anything to preserve Elliot’s legacy. Together they conspire to save the bookshop, even if it takes some snooping, gossip and minor sabotage. (Release date is Sept. 13.)

If you enjoyed Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories or Life After Life, you might want to try Shrines of Gaity. She transports readers to a restless London in the wake of the Great War–a city fizzing with money, glamour, and corruption–in this spellbinding tale of seduction and betrayal. 1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.  The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven, whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho’s gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost. (Release date is Sept. 27.)

Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope mysteries, the basis for the show “Vera”, are my favorite ones of her books. The Rising Tide finds an introspective Vera in the tenth in the series. For fifty years a group of friends have been meeting regularly for reunions on Holy Island, celebrating the school trip where they met, and the friend that they lost to the rising causeway tide five years later. Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding, and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now . . . (Release date is Sept. 6.)

Travel to Cape Cod in Maddie Day’s Murder in a Cape Cottage, the latest Cozy Capers Book Group mystery. ‘Tis the day after Christmas, following a wicked-busy time of year for Mac’s bike shop. It’s just as well her Cozy Capers Book Group’s new pick is a nerve-soothing coloring book mystery, especially when she has last-minute wedding planning to do. But all pre-wedding jitters fade into the background when Mac and her fiancé, Tim, begin a cottage renovation project and open up a wall to find a skeleton—sitting on a stool, dressed in an old-fashioned bridal gown . . . (Release date is Sept. 27.)

OK, I’ll admit I don’t yet have A.J. Devlin’s latest “Hammerhead” Jed mystery in my closet, but Five Moves of Doom will be here before release date. And, I’m a fan of the two previous books by the Canadian author. Hired by local mixed martial arts trainer Elijah Lennox to find a missing UFC Championship belt, pro-wrestler PI “Hammerhead” Jed must extract answers from the tight-knit MMA community. Still consuming his weight in banana milkshakes, Jed ventures into a world of jewel thieves, bodybuilders, eccentric yoga enthusiasts, and adorable baby goats. As he infiltrates an exclusive and unique no-holds-barred fight club, Jed might just find himself down for the count … (Release date is Sept. 15.)

Amanda Flower, known for her cozy mysteries, goes in a different direction with the historical mystery that introduces Emily Dickinson as an amateur sleuth, Because I Could Not Stop for Death. January 1855 Willa Noble knew it was bad luck when it was pouring rain on the day of her ever-important job interview at the Dickinson home in Amherst, Massachusetts. When she arrived late, disheveled with her skirts sodden and filthy, she’d lost all hope of being hired for the position. As the housekeeper politely told her they’d be in touch, Willa started toward the door of the stately home only to be called back by the soft but strong voice of Emily Dickinson. What begins as tenuous employment turns to friendship as the reclusive poet takes Willa under her wing. Tragedy soon strikes and Willa’s beloved brother, Henry, is killed in a tragic accident at the town stables. With no other family and nowhere else to turn, Willa tells Emily about her brother’s death and why she believes it was no accident. Willa is convinced it was murder. Henry had been very secretive of late, only hinting to Willa that he’d found a way to earn money to take care of them both. Viewing it first as a puzzle to piece together, Emily offers to help, only to realize that she and Willa are caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse that reveals corruption in Amherst that is generations deep. (Release date is Sept. 20.)

All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon is going on my TBR pile. A remote hotel. A murder mystery. A missing woman. Everyone has a role to play, but what’s real and what’s part of the game? The weekend getaway at the gorgeous manor hotel should have been perfect. But Becca is freshly smarting from her husband Blake’s betrayal and knows this is just an expensive attempt at an apology. She may not be ready to forgive him, but the drinks are strong, the estate is stunning, and the weekend has an elaborate 1920s murder mystery theme. She decides to get into the spirit of things and enjoy their stay. What could go wrong? Before long, the game is afoot: famed speakeasy songstress Ida Crooner is found “murdered,” and it’s up to the guests to sniff out which of them might be the culprit. Playing the role of Miss Debbie Taunte, an ingenue with a dark past, Becca dives into the world of pun-heavy clues, hammy acting, and secret passages, hoping to at least take her mind off her marital troubles. Then, the morning after they arrive, the actress playing Ida’s maid fails to reappear for her role. The game’s organizer—that’s Miss Ann Thrope to you—assumes the young woman’s flakiness is to blame, but when snooping for clues as “Debbie,” Becca finds evidence she may not have left of her own free will. Told over a nail-biting forty-eight hours and interspersed with in-game clues, set pieces, and character histories from the campy flapper-filled mystery nested inside a modern one, All Dressed Up is a loving tribute to classic whodunits and a riveting exploration of the secrets we keep in order to sustain the act. (Release date is Sept. 6.)

Count me in as one of the readers who enjoy Liz Ireland’s Mrs. Claus mysteries, including the third one, Mrs. Claus and the Evil Elves. Jessica Fletcher meets Tim Burton in this creative and witty cozy mystery series from Liz Ireland, filled with unconventional characters, year-round Christmas cheer, and a unique heroine who’s married to the real-life Santa Claus! April Claus has grown to love her new North Pole home almost as much as she loves her husband, Nick—Santa himself. But even in Christmastown, the holidays can be murder… April Claus is getting an early gift for her second Christmas in Santaland. Her dear friend, Claire, is visiting from Oregon, and April hopes to show off her adoptive country at its cozy, glittering best. But when the annual ice sculpture contest is derailed by a kamikaze drone-deer, it’s just the first in a series of un-festive events… (Release date is Sept. 27.)

Does it get much better than a fifty-year-old cold case and a standalone novel from Laurie R. King? Back to the Garden is on my TBR list from this month’s selections. A magnificent house, vast formal gardens, a golden family that shaped California, and a colorful past filled with now-famous artists: the Gardener Estate was a twentieth-century Eden. And now, just as the Estate is preparing to move into a new future, restoration work on some of its art digs up a grim relic of the home’s past: a human skull, hidden away for decades. Inspector Raquel Laing has her work cut out for her. Fifty years ago, the Estate’s young heir, Rob Gardener, turned his palatial home into a counterculture commune of peace, love, and equality. But that was also a time when serial killers preyed on innocents—monsters like The Highwayman, whose case has just surged back into the public eye. Could the skull belong to one of his victims? To Raquel—a woman who knows all about colorful pasts—the bones clearly seem linked to The Highwayman. But as she dives into the Estate’s archives to look for signs of his presence, what she unearths begins to take on a dark reality all of its own. Everything she finds keeps bringing her back to Rob Gardener himself. While he might be a gray-haired recluse now, back then he was a troubled young Vietnam vet whose girlfriend vanished after a midsummer festival at the Estate. (Release date is Sept. 6.)

You might not remember Kathryn Lasky’s mysteries, but some of you might know her name or Kathryn Lasky Knight as the author of numerous children’s and young adult books, including The Guardians of Ga’Hoole series. Light on Bone, a beautiful mystery, is seen through the eyes of an artist and amateur sleuth, Georgia O’Keefe. When she went to the Ghost Ranch in New Mexico to paint, O’Keefe was approaching the peak of her fame and success, having just sold a painting for a record price. The narrative begins when she discovers the slain body of a priest in the desert. The plot includes several other murders, Georgia’s burgeoning romance with the local sheriff, an international espionage plot involving Charles Lindbergh (who is staying at the ranch with his wife Anne), and lots of intricate twists and turns leading to a thoroughly unforeseen denouement. “The strength of this story is how Lasky’s elegant writing captures the emotional depth of this artist’s turmoil and so stunningly reveals O’Keeffe’s perception of the landscape that moves her to paint. More than a who-dunnit mystery, this is a narrative of healing and resurrection of spirit.” (Release date is Sept. 6.)

Fans of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple will want to try Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by some of the most popular authors of today.
Jane Marple is an elderly lady from St Mary Mead who possesses an uncanny knack for solving even the most perplexing puzzles. Now, for the first time in 45 years, Agatha Christie’s beloved character returns to the page for a globe-trotting tour of crime and detection. As in any collection, some are better than others. But, if you’re a fan of short stories or Christie, you’ll want to sample the book to see the imaginative take from authors such as Ruth Ware, Elly Griffiths, Alyssa Cole, and Lucy Foley. (Release date is Sept. 13.)

Ever since Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, there have been a World War II novels aimed at women have saturated the market. Kristina McMorris’ The Ways We Hide has an unusual protagonist. It’s a sweeping World War II tale of an illusionist whose recruitment by British intelligence sets her on a perilous, heartrending path. As a little girl raised amid the hardships of Michigan’s Copper Country, Fenna Vos learned to focus on her own survival. That ability sustains her even now as the Second World War rages in faraway countries. Though she performs onstage as the assistant to an unruly escape artist, behind the curtain she’s the mastermind of their act. Ultimately, controlling her surroundings and eluding traps of every kind helps her keep a lingering trauma at bay. Yet for all her planning, Fenna doesn’t foresee being called upon by British military intelligence. Tasked with designing escape aids to thwart the Germans, MI9 seeks those with specialized skills for a war nearing its breaking point. Fenna reluctantly joins the unconventional team as an inventor. But when a test of her loyalty draws her deep into the fray, she discovers no mission is more treacherous than escaping one’s past. (Release date is Sept. 6.)

The Thursday Murder Club is back in Richard Osman’s third mystery, The Bullet That Missed. A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers. And, a new enemy pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill or have one of her closest friends killed. But, the entire cast of friends is back in another clever mystery featuring the irresistible seniors. (Release date is Sept. 20.)

Speaking of senior sleuths, Deanna Raybourn’s Killers of a Certain Age is one of my favorite books so far this year. In fact, I loved it so much that I pre-ordered a signed copy from The Poisoned Pen even though I already read the book. Four female assassins, all about sixty, have retired, and the friends take a cruise together. However, one of them spots a fellow assassin on the ship. It doesn’t take them long to realize they’re now targets. In a fast-paced adventure, the women prove you should never count out women of a certain age. (Release date is Sept. 6.)

A new Eve Dallas book by J.D. Robb is always a reason to celebrate. Desperation in Death pits homicide detective Eve Dallas against a conspiracy of exploitation and evil. The place called the Pleasure Academy is a living nightmare where abducted girls are trapped, trained for a life of abject service while their souls are slowly but surely destroyed. Dorian, a thirteen-year-old runaway who’d been imprisoned there, might never have made it out if not for her fellow inmate Mina, who’d hatched the escape plan. Mina was the more daring of the two―but they’d been equally desperate. Unfortunately, they didn’t get away fast enough. Now Dorian is injured, terrified, and wandering the streets of New York, and Mina lies dead near the waterfront while Lt. Eve Dallas looks over the scene. Mina’s expensive, elegant clothes and beauty products convince Dallas that she was being groomed, literally and figuratively, for sex trafficking―and that whoever is investing in this high-overhead operation expects windfall profits. Her billionaire husband, Roarke, may be able to help, considering his ties to the city’s ultra-rich. But Roarke is also worried about the effect this case is having on Dallas, as it brings a rage to the surface she can barely control. (Release date is Sept. 6.)

Let me introduce you to a new series, kicking off with Gretchen Rue’s Steeped to Death. A murder at the The Earl’s Study sets the stage for an intoxicating brew of small-town chicanery with a hint of the supernatural. Phoebe Winchester’s beloved aunt Eudora has a taste for adventure—and a knack for making magical tea. It’s even rumored that she just might be a witch. So when Eudora passes away and leaves everything to her niece—her Victorian mansion, her bookshop/tea store, The Earl’s Study, and one very chubby orange cat named Bob—Phoebe gets more than she bargained for. And she knows she’s in deep when a dead man is found on the shop’s back step, apparently killed while trying to break in. Phoebe knows she should leave it to the professionals, but as she starts to dig into the underbelly of Raven Creek, she begins to uncover the truth about Eudora. What’s more, her aunt might not have been the only witch in the family, as Phoebe soon discovers she has unique and unexpected gifts of her own. (Release date is Sept. 6.)

Nicholas Sparks’ Dreamland is the last book summarized this month, although there are a number of books on the list below. Colby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, until tragedy grounded his aspirations. Now the head of a small family farm in North Carolina, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in St. Pete Beach, Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home. But when he meets Morgan Lee, his world is turned upside-down, making him wonder if the responsibilities he has shouldered need dictate his life forever. The daughter of affluent Chicago doctors, Morgan has graduated from a prestigious college music program with the ambition to move to Nashville and become a star. Romantically and musically, she and Colby complete each other in a way that neither has ever known. While they are falling headlong in love, Beverly is on a heart-pounding journey of another kind. Fleeing an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, she is trying to piece together a life for them in a small town far off the beaten track. With money running out and danger seemingly around every corner, she makes a desperate decision that will rewrite everything she knows to be true. (Release date is Sept. 20.)

Don’t forget to watch for these other books as well!

Bayliss, Jenny – Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (9/27)
Black, Laura Gail – Bound By Murder (9/6)
Brook, Allison – Dewey Decimated (9/6)
Cartty-Williams, Candice – People Person (9/13)
Chapman, Caly McLeod – Ghost Eaters (9/20)
Christmas Scarf Murder – Carlene O’Connor, Maddie Day, Peggy Ehrhart (9/27)
Dunbar, Carol – The Net Beneath Us (9/13)
Emmons, Cai – Unleashed (9/6)
Enninful, Edward – A Visible Man: A Memoir (9/6)
Fellowes, Jessica – The Best Friend (9/13)
Fields, Tricia – A Reluctant Saint (9/6)
Gilmore, Olesya Salnikova – The Witch and the Tsar (9/20)
Giraldi, William – About Face (9/6)
Hambrock, Meredith – Other People’s Secrets (9/6)
Hamdy, Adam – The Other Side of Night (9/27)
Horowitz, Sarah – The Red Widow (9/6)
Howe, Jenny L. – The Make-Up Test (9/13)
Hsu, Hua – Stay True: A Memoir (9/27)
Kelly, Vanessa – The Highlander’s Holiday Wife (9/27)
Lien, Tracey – All That’s Left Unsaid (9/13)
Mayor, Archer – Fall Guy (9/27)
McEwan, Ian – Lessons (9/13)
Mestre0Reed, Ernesto – Sacrificio (9/6)
Morgan-Bentley, Robin – The Guest House (9/13)
Munroe, Randall – What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions (9/13)
Nielsen, Helen – Turning the Tables: The Short Stories of Helen Nielsen (9/23)
North, Claire – Ithaca (9/6)
O’Farrell, Maggie – The Marriage Portrait (9/6)
Penrose, Andrea – Murder at the Serpentine Bridge (9/27)
Richards, S.C. – Where Secrets Live (9/6)
Robards, Karen – The Girl from Guernica (9/6)
Serpell, Mamwali –The Furrows (9/27)
Shamsie, Kamila – Best of Friends (9/27)
Smart Brevity – Jim VandeHei, Mark Allen, et al. (9/20)
Trinchieri, Camilla – Murder on the Vine (9/13)
Tyson, Neil deGrasse – Starry Messenger (9/20)
West, Catherine Adel – The Two Lives of Sara (9/6)
Zamora, Javier – Solito: A Memoir (9/6)
Zuckerman, Edward – Wealth Management (9/20)

What did I miss? I know I don’t have every book you’re waiting to read in September.