The latest issue of Booklist has 2 reviews by me but before we get to this, I wanted to take a moment to remember Bill Ott who died recently. Bill was the head of Booklist for many years and was the person who hired me back in 2015. Please read this full article noting his passing in PW.
Bill was excellent at his job and his love of Crime Fiction was legendary and infectious. But he was also kind and supportive. Seeing him at local library events and conferences was always a highlight. He was always truly happy to see me and chat. And it wasn't just me, he was that way with everyone. Anyone who every visited the Booklist booth at any conference saw this in action.
Over the years, Bill and I jockeyed over titles that blended Crime and Horror. Last year it was The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias. I gave in to Bill on that one and did my review for LJ instead, but turns out we were both right to want to review it as this title is up for both the Edgar and the Stoker this year.
That was just one of many examples, and all of these examples shows how collaborative Bill always was. Most of the reviewers are contract employees but he treated us as a team, always. All of us reviewers were already invited to a gathering at ALA Annual this June. I for one am glad we are going to be able to come together and share our Bill stories and honor him as the team we are.
In a sad moment of irony, I happen to have a review of a mystery, that I wrote for Bill, as he still oversaw the Crime reviews in retirement, in the current issue of Booklist. And it is a star. That is followed by a horror review.
As usual, these are the draft reviews and this post contains my three words as well as more readlaikes and appeal info.
STARUnnatural Ends
Christopher Huang
June 2023. 402p. Inkshares, paper, $18.99 (9781950301065); e-book (9781950301058). First published April 15, 2023 (Booklist).
After the success of his debut mystery, A Gentleman's Murder, Huang is back with another stellar historical mystery that channels Agatha Christie, giving readers a tale that accurately honors the past while providing thought-provoking fodder for our present. April 1921 and Sir Lawrence Lindwood, the patron of a Yorkshire hamlet, was murdered. His adopted adult children return for the funeral. Alan from an archaeological site in South America, Roger, a successful engineer, from London, and Caroline, from Paris where she is a journalist. When the will is read, the children find out that Lindwood Hall will be left to the sibling who can solve his murder. The set up immediately draws readers in and holds them for the duration as Huang introduces the siblings in more detail, moving the point of view around and building the gripping backstory of their relationships with each other and their parents. An immersive read with satisfyingly intricate plotting, but where this mystery excels is in how Huang seamlessly incorporates issues from its time and makes them integral to the resolution– race, class, gender, eugenics, and PTSD– issues that will resonate with 21st Century readers. A great choice for fans of family drama fueled mysteries, featuring strong, likable characters such as Bradley’ Flavia de Luce mysteries or Chang’s The Family Chao.
Further Appeal: This book is a perfect example of why we need diverse voices writing traditional golden age type mysteries. It showcases what is missing when only white people are allowed to tell these stories. This is an excellent historical mystery both in setting and how it is told, but there is more than meets the eye.
And the characters are realistically diverse. How did you give a white landed gentry dude racial diverse kids? Adoption is the answer we are given at the start, but of course, there is more to that story.This is a “diverse” mystery that just is diverse. Not preachy about issues, but by existing again, it showcases what is missing when only white people write historical mysteries.
Camelot metaphor is well used throughout the story as well. Well worth your time, even if you are not a huge mystery fan, but this one will be greatly enjoyed by your mystery readers.
Three Words That Describe This Book: intricate plotting, great characters, immersive
Readalikes: There are so many more than what I listed. First of all the Knives Out movies are a great comp as well as Agatha Christie. I chose one mystery series above, but I also urge you to try The Family Chao. The family drama/sercrets and a hint of a mystery are there. Many of the same issues, but this time it is modern day and a far flung family trying to figure out who gets the restaurant when the dad dies.
In 2023, the world is learning how to manage after the Saratov Syndrome global pandemic of 2010, which turned the infected into vampires. Mia was 10 when her mom Izzy became a “Sara,” and instead of turning herself in, Izzy adapted by feeding off of Mia and working only after dark. Now 23, Mia is stuck protecting her mom’s dangerous secret, never allowed to get close to anyone, faced with no future, always returning home at sundown to provide her mother’s meal, until the day she meets Jade and starts to question everything. Told in Mia’s conversational and honest narration from alternating time lines in 2010 and 2023, readers fall right into the novel as the details of the world and Mia and Izzy’s life are effortlessly relayed through the compelling story, simultaneously hammering home the anxiety and hopelessness of this speculative world alongside the very real horrors of addiction and toxic family relationships. A morally gray and timely story that is bursting with Sookie Stackhouse vibes but will also appeal to fans of Cartriona Ward and Zoje Stage.
Further Appeal: This is a mixture of near future dystopia (lite), psychological horror, and vampires. Back and forth timeline narration by Mia as a kid and an adult hammer home the horror on multiple fronts. It also adds suspense and depth to Mia. She is morally gray but very sympathetic.
This story probes the very real horrors of addiction, abusive relationships (multiple) and child abuse, along with its vampirism tropes-- but all fairly effortlessly. This is a fast read and has the right amount of suspense.
There is also a sweet blossoming love story with Mia and Jade. Both women find a true connection. No resolution on if they will stay together, but after the toxic and abusive relationships, and Mia lack of ability to make any connections because of her mom, the portrayal of Jade and Mia was realistic and sweet.
Three Words That Describe This Book: engaging narration, facing real fears, strong world building
Readalikes: This will 100% scratch the Sookie Stackhouse fans itch. In terms of specific comps for the other authors above, I suggest Sundial for Ward and Mothered for Stage to start with. I would also suggest Just Like Mother by Heltzel and the Matthews edited Addiction Horror anthologies. Here is a link to the most recent one, a story from which is up for a Bram Stoker Award right now.
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