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Reviews

Reviews

edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. - Anthology, Fiction, Horror, Short Stories

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms. For instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear --- and even follow you home. These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples’ survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things that an ill-advised whistle might summon.

written by Jo Nesbø, translated by Neil Smith - Fiction, Horror, Supernatural Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

In the wake of his parents’ tragic deaths in a house fire, 14-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects he is responsible. No one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver. No one, that is, except Karen, a beguiling fellow outsider. Richard traces the number that Tom prank-called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in the Mirror Forest. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear: She’s going to burn. The girl you love is going to burn. There’s nothing you can do about it.

by Cara Hunter - Domestic Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard (then aged 10), was found dead in the garden of their suburban family home. Luke Ryder’s murder has never been solved. Guy Howard’s mother and two half-sisters were in the house at the time of the murder, but all swear they saw nothing. Despite a high-profile police investigation and endless media attention, no suspect was ever charged. But some murder cases are simply too big to forget. Now comes the sensational new streaming series “Infamous,” dedicated to investigating --- and perhaps cracking --- this famous cold case. Years later, a group of experts re-examine the evidence on “Infamous” with shocking results. Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on?

by John Connolly - Fiction, Supernatural Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Phoebe, an eight-year-old girl, lies comatose following a car accident --- a body without a spirit. Ceres, her mother, can only sit by her bedside and read aloud the fairy stories Phoebe loves in the hope they might summon her back to this world. But an old house on the hospital grounds, a property connected to a book written by a vanished author, is calling to Ceres. Something wants her to enter, to journey to a land colored by the memories of childhood, and the folklore beloved of her father --- a land of witches and dryads, giants and mandrakes; a land where old enemies are watching and waiting. The Land of Lost Things.

by Donna Leon - Memoir, Nonfiction

In a series of vignettes full of affection, irony and good humor, Donna Leon narrates a remarkable life she feels has rather more happened to her than been planned. Having celebrated her 80th birthday in 2023, Leon poignantly confronts the dual challenges and pleasures of aging. Complete with a brief letter dissuading those hoping to meet Guido Brunetti at the Questura, and always suffused with music, food and her sharp sense of humor, WANDERING THROUGH LIFE offers Donna Leon at her most personal.

by Rachel Harrison - Fiction, Horror, Supernatural Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Vesper Wright left home at 18 and never looked back --- mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep. Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin, Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Have they made an exception to the rule? It wouldn’t be the first time Vesper has been given special treatment. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance, a former horror film star and forever ice queen. When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret, she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith.

by Jess Lourey - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Summer 1980: Despite the local superstition that the Bendy Man haunts the woods, three girls go into a Minnesota forest. Only one comes out, dead silent, her memory gone. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation. Summer 2022: Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck are assigned a disturbing homicide --- a woman buried alive, clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Each has ties to the original case in ways they’re reluctant to share. As Van and Harry connect the crimes of the past and the present, Van struggles with memories of her own nightmarish childhood --- and the fear that uncovering the truth of the Taken Ones will lead her down a path from which she, too, may never return.

by Graham Norton - Fiction

Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small town in Ireland. A second chance at love brings her unexpected connection and belonging --- and sparks a flurry of speculation. What does a woman like her see in a man like that? What happened to his wife who abandoned him and his children all those years ago? Carol and Declan know their relationship is the talk of the town, but the gossip only serves to bring the couple closer. When Declan becomes ill, their relationship falters. His children are untrusting and cruel, and Carol is forced to leave their beloved home and move back with her parents. It seems there are secrets in Declan's past, strange rumors that were never confronted, and suddenly the house they shared takes on a more sinister significance that affects them all.

by Anne Perry - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

Not far from the sprawling grounds of Wyndham Hall, the body of longtime MI6 agent John Repton is found, shot dead with a single bullet to the heart. Repton was killed while surveilling the members of a household with alleged ties to fascists who threaten the security of the country, as Hitler’s influence spreads across Europe. Elena Standish is assigned the case, thanks to her new connection to the Wyndham family: Her older sister, Margot, is being courted by Lady Wyndham’s brother. As Elena and her colleague, James Allenby, dig deeper into the Wyndham family’s nefarious connections, Margot grows suspicious. Can Elena reconcile her political and professional obligations with her loyalty and love for her sister? Will Elena and Allenby uncover their colleague’s killer?

by Mick Herron - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service. Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any misconduct by any MI5 officer --- and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, access to all confidential information in the Service archives. Now that the administration that created Monochrome has been ousted, the investigation is a total bust --- and Griselda and Malcolm are stuck watching as their career prospects are washed away. Until the eve of Monochrome’s shuttering, when an MI5 case file appears without explanation. It is the buried history of a classified operation in 1994 Berlin whose cover-up has rewritten 30 years of Service history.