My Book Haul/Showcase Sundays

 I've decided to join Books, Biscuits and Tea's Showcase Sunday to share my lovely book hauls each week. Have a look back at Vicki's link up to see what everyone is up too! I had a bit of a buying blitz this week (I know I was supposed to be holding back but sometimes you need to buy books!)

The Girl on The Landing - Paul Torday

Publisher: Phoenix

The novel begins as Michael, a middle-aged man of means, is dressing for dinner at a friend's country house in Ireland. As he descends the grand staircase, he spots a small painting of a landing with an old linen press and the white marble statue of an angel. In the background is a woman clad in a dark green dress. During dinner, Michael comments on the painting to his hosts but they say there is no woman in the picture. When Michael goes up to bed later, he sees that they are correct. This is only the first in a series of incidents that lead Michael to question his grip on reality. His wife Elilzabeth is unsettled by the changes she sees in a man she originally married because he was dependable and steady, not because she loved him. Suddenly she is aware that she has never really known Michael and as he changes, she sees glimpses of someone she could fall in love with. Michael, in the meantime, is disturbed by events up at his family's ancestral home in the wilds of Scotland and by a past that he is threatening to destroy everything, and everyone, he has ever loved.

This book is a bit of a mystery. It arrived during the week with no note, no invoice, nothing. I have no idea where it came from - if it's from the publisher, a gift, a giveaway win...complete mystery! All I know is I didn't buy it! Anyway, it sounds interesting so I will give a whirl at some point! :)

Blood and Bullets - James R Tuck

Publisher: Kensington

He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities help him take out any kind of supernatural threat. But now an immortal evil has this bad-ass bounty hunter dead in its sights. . .
Ever since a monster murdered his family, Deacon Chalk hunts any creature that preys on the innocent. So when a pretty vampire girl "hires" him to eliminate a fellow slayer, Deacon goes to warn him--and barely escapes a vampire ambush. Now he's got a way-inexperienced newbie hunter to protect and everything from bloodsuckers to cursed immortals on his trail. There's also a malevolent force controlling the living and the undead, hellbent on turning Deacon's greatest loss into the one weapon that could destroy him...

I've been persuaded by loads of postitive reviews of this books - and you all know I have a many crushes on male leads in Urban Fantasy...

Blood on the Bayou - Stacey Jay

Publisher: Pocket Books

As best as she can determine, Annabelle’s attack by a group of fairies has infected her with paranormal ability she did not previously possess, including being able to mentally move objects and heal wounds. Her new abilities appear to have few negative side effects, aside from creepy dreams. But would that change if she stopped injecting herself with the mystery drug delivered to her by the even more mysterious Tucker, one of the Invisibles? Leery of trusting criminals with her health, Annabelle wishes she had someone she could talk to about the changes in her life. Enter Hitch, FBI agent and Annabelle's ex, who's back in Donaldsonville on an off-the-books investigation. Hitch suspects that there's a government-funded illegal lab that’s developing a controversial fairy-killing spray that could adversely affect the existence of every living thing in the delta—including humans. And Hitch and Annabelle will have to find a way to work together if they're going to find a way to shut it down

This is the second book in a series and I haven't read Dead on the Delta - yet! But I couldn't resist the beautiful cover and the postive review of this series by Lesley at My Keeper Shelf!

Fated - Sarah Alderson

Publisher: Simon Schuster

What happens when you discover you aren't who you thought you were? And that the person you love is the person who will betray you? If your fate is already determined, can you fight it?
When Evie Tremain discovers that she’s the last in a long line of Demon slayers and that she’s being hunted by an elite band of assassins –Shapeshifters, Vampires and Mixen demons amongst them – she knows she can’t run. They’ll find her wherever she goes. Instead she must learn to stand and fight.
But when the half-human, half-Shadow Warrior Lucas Gray - is sent to spy on Evie and then ordered to kill her before she can fulfil a dangerous prophecy, their fates become inextricably linked. The war that has raged for one thousand years between humans and demons is about to reach a devastating and inevitable conclusion. Either one or both of them will die before this war ends.

This sounds like Buffy which was one of my favourite TV series ever. Plus I spotted on offer in WHSmiths at the weekend so how could I resist? :)

Long Lankin - Lindsey Barraclough
Publisher: UK - Bodley Head

When Cora and her little sister Mimi are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon, they receive a less than warm welcome, and are desperate to go back to London. But Auntie Ida's life was devastated the last time two young girls were at Guerdon Hall, and now her nieces' arrival has reawoken an evil that has lain waiting for years. A haunting voice in an empty room ... A strange, scarred man lurking in the graveyard ... A mysterious warning, scrawled on the walls of the abandoned church . . . Along with Roger and Peter, two young village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries - before it is too late for Mimi.

This was another bargain I spotted during the week but it looks deliciously spooky and atmospheric!

Wizard Undercover (Rogue Agent 4) - K.E. Mills

Publisher: Orbit

There may be trouble ahead ...Wedding bells are ringing for the constantly battling nations of Splotze and Borovnik, and the upcoming royal nuptials could at last put an end to their dangerous hostilities. But in a development that hardly bodes well, one of Gerald's fellow janitors goes missing - after delivering a dire warning of danger surrounding the marriage treaty. So Gerald must embark on a dangerous mission to uncover the troublemakers, before wedded bliss becomes international war. But going undercover isn't as easy as it looks, even with Melissande and Emmerabiblia for camouflage. Soon Gerald finds himself fighting for his life as well as world peace.

I've had this on pre-order for ages and it finally arrived on Monday!! I adore KE Mills Rogue Agent series - they're fun fantasys with a lot of heart and serious backbone under the banter. The last one Wizard Squared had me in tears so I'm looking forward to seeing what Gerald and the rest of Witches Inc are getting up to now!

Queen of Shadows - Dianne Sylvan

Publisher: Ace Books

Meet Miranda Grey—music and magic are in her blood. Overwhelmed by her uncanny ability to manipulate people's emotions through her music, Miranda Grey comes to the attention of vampire lord David Solomon. Believing he can help bring her magic under control, David discovers that Miranda's powers may affect the vampire world too.

I got this as a swap this week - it's been on my wishlist for ages but as promised all wishlist books will make their way to my house eventually! :-)

So what have you recieved this week?