Chronicle Book Box February 2021

I spent all of yesterday re-organizing my skincare tower. Tower makes it seem like a huge deal. It's a small little multi-drawer unit. It's small, I swear! It's just tall. I organized it the exact same. Total waste of my time but my brain likes it. 

My Chronicle Book Box is my UK book subscription box. I picked the quarterly option and the mystery/thriller genre. It's really a brilliant box. There are three books, newly released included. Plus, some little goodies that tend to be quite thrilling to my eye. I've gotten "goodies" from other boxes that are crap or just filler. 

They are a UK box. I do pay more for shipping but it's worth it for me. Just something to note. 

There's an envelope with print outs in them about the books. Depending on how you want to unwrap the books, they can all be a surprise or not. I go one at a time and read the sheets before unwrapping. 

Also included are author notes/info for each book included. They can spoil the book, so I tend to hide them behind the first sheet. 

As you can see. Two wrapped books and one book in a little bag. The bags have come in useful; I tend to re-use them to wrap books for others. They are shallow in width, so they aren't useful in places like the grocery store. 

The first book is The Shadow Man by Helen Fields. We also received a signed book plate and an author letter from Fields. 

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Book Blurb: 

He collects his victims. But he doesn’t keep them safe.

Elspeth, Meggy and Xavier are locked in a flat. They don’t know where they are, and they don’t know why they’re there. They only know that the shadow man has taken them, and he won’t let them go.
 
Desperate to escape, the three of them must find a way out of their living hell, even if it means uncovering a very dark truth.
 
Because the shadow man isn’t a nightmare. He’s all too real.
 
And he’s watching.
 
Helen Fields is back with a heart-pounding new book, perfect for fans of Cara Hunter and Stuart MacBride. 

The second book is by Robert Thorogood is titled The Marlow Murder Club. There's also a signed bookplate and an author letter. I'm a bit rubbish at putting the plates in the book in any manner that can be called "straight." Who knew my kryptonite would be bookplates? I actually ordered this book before I knew it was coming in the box. So, I already was super excited-go figure. I'm going to give the second away as a present. 

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Book Blurb: 

To solve an impossible murder, you need an impossible hero…

Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper.

One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don’t believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local Vicar.

Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.

When another body turns up, they realise they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape… 

The last book is Tony Parsons' Your Neighbour's Wife. We get another author letter and signed bookplate. Maybe I'll finally conquer the bookplate conundrum? Probably not.

Book Blurb: 

Tara Carver seems to have the perfect life. A loving mother and wife, and a business woman who runs her own company, she's the sort of person you'd want to live next door to, who might even become your best friend.

But what sort of person is she really?

Because in one night of madness, on a work trip far from home, she puts all this at risk. And suddenly her dream life becomes a living nightmare when the married man she spent one night with tells her he wants a serious relationship with her. And that he won't leave her or her precious family alone until she agrees.

There seems to be only one way out.
And it involves murder...

Our three books together! It looks like a good mix! Domestic Thriller, Thriller, and a bit of a cozy mystery all together! I haven't read any of them yet, so I'm not sure how I'll like them, but they're rated quite well. 

My Chronicle Bookbox has an online store where they have surplus signed books on occasion. None of the three here are in the shop, but they have others. All the books are first editions. 

Below are the "goodies" that are included in the box. There's also an online store section for the goodies, some of the options are available for purchase, so that's fun. 

First up is the postcard with the Wilkie Collins design. I have a Collins book somewhere, but I haven't read it. It's not his fault. I've been rage reading the library books I have...they're all not my jam but I have a completionism streak. 

The design is nice and it's on nice cardstock but it's not really a postcard. Like, I don't have room to write and send it to anyone. So, it's more like a type of art print. I'd prefer a postcard if I'm honest. I guess I could put something on the back that covers it up so I can use it thusly. 

The large blank bookshelf so I can fill in books. I love this idea! I'm already at 50+ books, so this wouldn't have made it out of January. Maybe I'll do a monthly tracker with the design? I guess I could do a yearly challenge with it. There are options! 

Next up, a wooden postcard stand. These are always useful, and I find this one sturdy enough to hold any thick paper. I believe it's meant to showcase the postcard design, so I could use the postcards as quarterly art and then decorate the back and send them to someone as a real postcard.  

The last item is the fountain pen. I love this inclusion. It's a German pen (is that good?). I don't have any knowledge on fountain pens or nibs, but it's been working well for me. The pen actually says "amateur sleuth" but I didn't manage to take a photo because I was so obsessed with the nib.