There were 2 issues of Booklist in February and nI had a review in each. One, Horror, the other a Psychological Suspense.
Draft reviews with extra content below.
Apr. 2022. 136p. illus. Cemetery Dance, paper, $14 (9781587678158); e-book, $2.99 (9781587678196). First published February 15, 2022 (Booklist).
Opening with an unsettling dream in which Grace is running on a path that feels familiar, but that she cannot remember, Lucia immediately sets the creepy tone, foreshadowing everything that is to follow. Grace has been spending her days alternating between sitting by the bedside of her catatonic sister, Lilly, or running. Readers follow along as Grace is sorting through her emotions, clearly holding back key information, as she tries to process what has happened to her family and what comes next. Mysterious events such as an encounter with a runner in black, her discovery of an abandoned village in the woods, and her sister’s locket which seems to have a mind of its own, as well as the ghostly black and white drawings scatter throughout, work in together to drive the tale and enhance the atmosphere, reminding all that while there are no clear or easy answers when faced the universal human dilemmas, there are still choices to be made. A heartbreakingly beautiful, thought provoking, and compelling read with an unforgettable protagonist, fans of the Gwendy’s Button Box series by Chizmar and King or The Wayward Children Series by Maguire will find much to like here.
Three Words That Describe This Book: creepy, compelling, folk horror
Readalikes: I list 2 solid series above, but anything that is a short, fast paced, dark fantasy with a strong coming of age theme but more geared to an adult reader than teen, would work.
Tr. by Alexandra Fleming.
Mar. 2022. Minotaur, $27.99 (9781250249272); $14.99 (9781250249289).
First published February 1, 2022 (Booklist).
Eleanor walks in on her grandmother’s murder and watches as the perpetrator calmly leave the apartment. Clearly they know Eleanor has prosopagnosia, commonly known as face blindness, because they have no worries of being identified. From this violent and unsettling open, Sten [The Lost Village] builds the tension and suspense relentlessly. Eleanor’s family is anything but typical, far from happy, and buried deep in secrets. When a country estate turns up among the inheritance, Eleanor, her boyfriend, estranged Aunt, and a lawyer head to the remote location during a winter storm to check it out. Eleanor immediately begins to make discoveries that do not make rational sense. And where is the caretaker? Told in dual timelines in the present through Eleanor’s unreliable but sympathetic eyes and in the past through the diary entries of a former domestic worker, the plot and unease exponentially thicken, adding a deeper layer of intensely sinister fear and mortal danger with every turn of the page. A great choice for fans of terrifying psychological suspense driven by family secrets such as seen in titles written by Sarah Pinborough and Jennifer McMahon.
Further Appeal: The chapters had a staccato feel. And there were converging time times that got more and more threatening. Both increased the tension.
This is psychological suspense that teeters on the edge of Horror.
Three Words That Describe This Book: constant unease, family secrets, dual story line
Readalikes: I gave two of the best examples of extremely tense psychological suspense above. Sten in general is in this category. This novel in particular has a very strong sense of place. I also reviewed The Lost Village by Sten last year, here. In that review I suggested Clay McLeod Chapman. I think that definitely words as well.
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