The nitty-gritty: Cynthia Pelayo’s latest love letter to historical Chicago is infused with ghosts, fairy tales and an intriguing mystery, perfect for genre fans who love surprises. Forgotten Sisters was such a unique reading experience, and I’m so glad I’ve finally read a book by Cynthia Pelayo. This is a weird, spooky ghost story with […]
The nitty-gritty: A woman is thrust into a disturbing mystery when she loses all her memories, in this solid but sometimes confusing debut. “My name is Iris and I am thirty-five years old. My husband is called Marcus. I was born in Suffolk, England. I work at the London Research Institute. It is Wednesday, the […]
The nitty-gritty: A newlywed couple out of their element try to solve a murder involving an angry ghost in this fast-paced, emotional thriller. Simone St. James is back with another twisty supernatural mystery, and while I didn’t like this quite as much as her last book, The Book of Cold Cases, there is plenty here […]
The nitty-gritty: A gruesome war story with surreal, ghostly elements, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is an emotional tale of a brother and sister during WWI. “Sometimes, as he walked the hotel corridors, Freddie told himself he was trying to find the door that led out, but he wasn’t. He didn’t have enough hope left […]
The nitty-gritty: Readers looking for the perfect fantasy/mystery will love Robert Jackson Bennett’s immersive world building and lively characters. “Perhaps it is a wise thing, to prepare for death every day, just as the Empire prepares for death every wet season.” I always love it when the first book in a new series works, and […]
The nitty-gritty: A family slowly loses control of their extremely disturbed daughter in this scary, creepy domestic thriller. “Her happiness and high energy were abnormal. Mommy had turned into a balloon, and she wanted to pop her with a pin and watch her fizzle-fuzzle into nothingness.” I have finally read Zoja Stage’s debut, Baby Teeth, […]
The nitty-gritty: Monsters both supernatural and human populate the pages of this short but thrilling dark adventure tale. I always hear good things about Premee Mohamed’s books, but this is my first experience with her writing. Now I can see what all the fuss is about, because I loved everything about The Butcher of the […]
The nitty-gritty: Angsty, immature characters, overly-dramatic dialog and secrets revealed too soon add up to a disappointing story. It seems February is the month of disappointments, as yet another one of my highly anticipated 2024 releases failed to impress me. I had high hopes for An Education in Malice, especially after loving the author’s last […]
The nitty-gritty: I wanted the gothic creepiness of What Moves the Dead, but instead this sequel lacked the elements that made the first book so good. “This isn’t just a dream, though. It’s the war.” I absolutely loved What Moves the Dead last year, and I was honestly surprised to see Kingfisher had written a […]
The nitty-gritty: Magic, art forgery and heists make up the plot of Gwenda Bond’s latest, a fun mash-up with mixed results. I ended up having a lot of fun with The Frame-Up, despite a few issues with pacing and some of the world building elements. Gwenda Bond has written a magical heist story with a […]