Let's talk about pretty books for a minute. No, not the rainbow collection (which is definitely pretty and all). We're talking about the books that are adorned with minutia in the margins, festooned with feathers and flowers across the frontispieces, and draped with decadent drawings. Yes, we're talking about Beehive Books. 
 

Beehive is a high-end publisher who has been doing some utterly scrumptious editions of the classics. They come in artfully covered slipcases, and their pages are covered with more of the same. Each title is illustrated by a single artist, and this week, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is out. This one is illustrated by Dave McKean, whose work you might recognize from some of those Sandman GN covers. 
 

Super purty. You know what makes for an excellent holiday gift for the person who loves books? A pretty book edition of a favorite work. We have a couple of the Beehive Books in the store. Just noting . . . 

Beehive is also responsible for Botanica, which is a lavishly realized flower tarot deck, though you'll have to wait until late October to get your hands on it. Of course, we could pre-order one for you. 
 

The Botanica deck is even more lovely in person. Mark, of course, was part of the Kickstarter for the project, and he shamelessly let us all look at the cards from six feet away. Because, you know, social distancing. Not because he was a jerk about it. 

Whew. We're all warm about the neck now. These books. 

The rest of this week's releases are all things like Highland Thirst, which will give you the vapors for entirely different reasons. 
 

Or The Hazards of Hunting a Duke, which isn't as much The Most Dangerous Game as you think it might be. 
 

Initially, we typed "The Hazards of Hunting a Duck," which isn't bad . . . 

Anyway, anyone want to guess how many William W. Johnstone novels are out this week? The answer is "3." Surprise! 
 

There's Till Death, the third book in the Have Brides, Will Travel series, where not every mail-order bride is as advertised, and RSVPs become RIPs. 
 

And there's The Scorching, which is about forest fires in the Pacific Northwest, sleeper terrorist cells, and disgruntled Forest Service smokejumpers. It's amazing how a man who has been dead for almost a decade can be so on top of current affairs. 
 

And finally, there's Blood and Bullets, a "Firestick" novel. Now, listen: "Firestick" is a fine nickname, but frankly, "Beartooth" and "Moosejaw" are absolutely outstanding. Anyway, Firestick, Beartooth, and Moosejaw keep the peace in the outlaw West. How? Well, it's right there in the title . . . 
 

And speaking of bullets, here's Bullets and Silver by Nik James. Now, the marketing copy says "There are some things a man can't run away from," and we understand how that works with bullets. But silver? How hard is silver to run away from? Isn't it like . . . stuck in a rock? 
 

Anyway, here's a cozy mystery novel instead. These pun titles are much less confusing. This one is Without a Brew, the latest Sloan Krause mystery by Ellie Alexander. Sloan, who runs a Bavarian-themed inn in Leavenworth, WA, is also an amateur sleuth, and when a guest goes missing, it's up to Sloan to crack the case. Look! Local-themed cozy murder mystery. As delightful as a cold glass of IPA!  
 

And speaking of delightful surprises, here is Bombshell, the first in a new series by Sarah MacLean. Lady Sesily Talbot is equally adroit with witty banter as she is with flirtatious behavior, all in the service of keeping the female population of Victorian London safe. Scandalous!
 

Meanwhile, in Jennifer Ryan's latest cowboy romance, True Love Cowboy, Jon Crawford has returned to Montana to run his father's farm and raise his daughter. He doesn't have time to fall in love, which only makes him irresistible to the tenacious and terribly sexy Trinity McGrath. 

This is, uh, the third book in the McGrath series. See what she did there? 
 

And speaking of outlaws, our pal James Patterson is showing poorly this week. He's only got one book! It's time for Rory Yates to clean up corruption and bring justice to the dead in Texas Outlaw. It even includes a full sentence blurb from Lee Child, who, apparently, has more time on his hands now that he has handed off the writing duties to his brother. "No one gets this big without amazing talent—which James Patterson has in spades."

Okay, as sentences go, it's pretty dull and that em-dash is a little wonky, but hey! All them words fill up the cover, which is important. There's barely enough room for that shadowy figure!
 

And speaking of text heavy covers, here is Wendy Walker's The Night Before, which is the story of two sisters who uncover long-buried secrets when an ill-advised Internet date spirals out of control. AJ Finn calls it "ferocious," and Riley Sager says it is "riveting," and Mary Kubica calls it "irresistible." So many one word blurbs! It must be a thrilling read if everyone could only put the book down long enough to write a single word!
 

And the final exclamation point that we've got in our allotment this week will go to Gregg Olson's Closer Than Blood, a thriller that combines "superb psychological dimensions, authentic law-enforcement details, and a richly atmospheric sense of danger." Wowza! This one definitely isn't boring with all those superlatives.