Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree, 509 pages

 Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!

If only things were so simple…

It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.

A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior surviving on inertia, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.

As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when there isn’t a job to get in the way.




B & V Friends Comics Digest #258, 196 pages

 "Bag it, Harper!" -- Veronica convinces her crafty cousin Harper to start selling her handmade bags, but Harper might not be ready to give up her sense of individuality for the sake of profit!




Monday, May 11, 2026

The Strange Message in the Parchment by Carolyn Keene, 180 pages

A sheep farmer receives a mysterious telephone call shortly after he buys a series of pictures painted on parchment. "Decipher the message in the parchment and right a great wrong," the voice says. Puzzled, the owner asks Nancy to help.

With Junie, his daughter, Nancy tracks down a kidnapper and a group of extortionists. Clues weave in and out of several puzzles, two of which are linked with Italy. Is there a connection between the message in the parchment and a boy artist on another farm? And who is responsible for the atmosphere of fear in the neighborhood?

After several harrowing experiences, Nancy begins to tighten the net around a ruthless villain and calls on the assistance of her friends Ned, Burt, Dave, Bess and George to bring his nefarious schemes to a dead end.




B & V Friends Comics Annual Digest #253, 256 pages

 STORYBOOK MONTH gains momentum! In "The Princesses and the Pea-brain," the girls are put to the test to see who will be a suitable wife for Prince Archie. But when their mattresses are out to the pea test, it’s anybody's guess who will be lucky (or unlucky) enough to win over the prince!




Betty and Veronica Digest #177, 96 pages

 Bright and brassy, bold and beautiful, blonde and brunette - teen dream queens Betty and Veronica romp through this collection of new stories and classic tales that includes puzzles, games, and pin-ups!



B & V Friends Fall Annual Digest, 196 pages

 IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL for our DOUBLE DIGESTS! In the BRAND NEW story "Don't TEST My Patience," Veronica gets the highest score on the student aptitude test -- but has there been some tampering with the results?




Saturday, May 9, 2026

Playing With Fire by Dana Stabenow, 253 pages

 KATE SHUGAK is a native Aleut working as a private investigator in Alaska. She's 5 foot 1 inch tall, carries a scar that runs from ear to ear across her throat and owns half-wolf, half-husky dog named Mutt. Resourceful, strong-willed, defiant, Kate is tougher than your average heroine – and she needs to be to survive the worst the Alaskan wilds can throw at her.

PLAY WITH FIRE.
A ten-year-old boy 'hires' Kate to find his missing father and when Kate stumbles across a body in the woods she fears she may have found him. Finding out what happened will lead Kate to a right-wing religious sect, a conspiracy of silence and a smouldering evil.