Poe Definitely Did Not Die of Rabies. A Review of a Mystery of Mysteries.

 Edgar Allan Poe is still one of the most popular writers and has dozens of books written about him. Nevertheless, most of us know the myths about him rather than the facts. A Mystery of Mysteries is full

of things about Poe that I never knew, even though I've read several biographies about him. He had a good sense of humor. He wrote satires. His combined works take up 17 volumes. We remember his detective stories and his horror, but he wrote hundreds of reviews, comedy, hoaxes, even puzzles that were published. Oh, and he didn't grow a mustache until the last couple of years of his life. One more Oh! He went by Edgar Poe or Edgar A. Poe. not Edgar Allan Poe.

I haven't given it all away. There's plenty more where that came from, especially about the theories surrounding his death. There is so much I didn't know about his life that I'm going to buy A Mystery of Mysteries to use for research.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review A Mystery of Mysteries.

Heaven, I'm in Heaven and Robots Are Trying to Kill Me. Don't dance cheek to cheek with these robots. TJ Klune's new book.

 People really messed up the world, so robots set out to kill all humans. Yikes! But are the robots' better stewards of earth than people were? The AI can invent, but they have nothing that made humans loveable, no joy, no sense of humor

Except...

Nurse Rached and Rambo the vacuum cleaner are the two funniest robots I ever encountered. At first, I thought those two would get on my nerves. Instead, I found myself laughing out loud at the things they said and did. 

In the Lives of Puppets is a little more violent and more dystopian than TJ Klune's other books, but, like the other books, gentleness, education, and bonds amongst a created family win the day. That and a shared enjoyment of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movie Top Hat. I grew to love the little family and I'm not the sentimental kind at all, except I too really love Top Hat. As Rambo the robot would say, "Heaven, I'm in Heaven..."

Thanks to Tor and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review In the Lives of Puppets.

See all these little squares? Unsuccessful attempts at trying to load the cover. It's a nice cover, too.

These Ghosts Aren't Friendly Like the Ghosts in "Ghosts" TV Show. A Review of A Man Among Ghosts.

 Don't you just hate it when ghosts are irritating you constantly, but they won't come right out and say what they want? Poor David, the protagonist, has a Victorian house full of ghosts and all they do is bleed all over him and leave cryptic messages. When the ghosts finally spill the beans, David is all, "Why me?"

Which are the lying ghosts?  Which ghosts can he trust? Which are dangerous? Who among the spirits want to help him? And can an average guy, a computer programmer living in a haunted, run-down Victorian, change the future? Why, OH why, of all the people in the world, did they pick David?

Choose lovers carefully. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for allowing me to read and review an eARC of A Man Among Ghosts.

What an Awful Awful Person...but I Like Him. A Review of Prosper's Demon

 

Okay, so it's two years old. No law says I can only review new books.

I liked this one so much I'm going to spend money on the sequel.

Quite funny while being horrific with demon extraction, gore, and a snarky priest whose job it is to yank demons out of people. The protagonist warns readers that they won't like him, but for a horrible person, he's kind of loveable.

Horror and laughs!

Thanks to myself for buying and reviewing Prosper's Demon.

Fever Dreams...Without the Fever! A Review of Kelly Link's White Cat, Black Dog

 

Disclaimer: I actually did have a fever while reading this. COVID ain't pretty.

Kelly Link's White Cat, Black Dog is like having seven fever dreams, but in a good way, without the fever. Usually, in a collection of short stories, there are always a few that don't seem as good as the others. Not in this book. I enjoyed all of them. Reading this made me yearn for a tiny live dog inside a pistachio shell. What's this all about? Well, you'll have to read it and see how tiny dogs arrive in nut shells.

In one, a science fiction tale, there are Handmaids with probing snouts, furred bellies, and sleek and whiplike limbs. Even though they were apparently not dressed, I kept picturing them in red capes and white bonnets.

Some stories were sad, some happy, but all were magical reads.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read and revue White Cat, Black Dog.

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall. Ooooh, there are so many.

 The Secrets of Hartwood Hall has more twists and turns than the spooky old mansion it takes place in. What's a gothic novel without twists and turns, creepy houses, ghosts real or imagined, and a romance thrown in for good measure? Add this to some strong women characters and a hunky gardener (got to have a hunky gardener) a particularly nasty villainess, plus the overthrow of the patriarchy. and you have Hartwood Hall. Did I forget anything? Oh, a sickly but sweet little boy.

Nothing is as it seems, including the kid's hair color. Oh, what tangled webs we weave. The family is isolating themselves but at what cost?

I read this in two days because it galloped along at brisk pace. So many secrets. So many dastardly deeds. (Victorian gothics have to have dastardly deeds.) So many meals of cold meat and cheese. Footprints in dust. And lots of mud. Mrs. Lennox spends a lot of time getting her boots and dress muddy. There's even a romantic encounter in mud and I don't even like to think about where that muck ends up.

Murder or not? Ghosts or not? Mistaken identity or not? Cold meat and cheese for dinner again?

I enjoyed The Secrets of Hartwood Hall even if almost every character bit their lips at some point. I had to get out my lip-bite-o-meter even though I put it away for the holidays.to make room for the tree. 

Thanks to Dutton and Netgalley for allowing me to enjoy and review The Secrets of Hartwood Hall.

Nice cover, too.

Something Wicked This Way Comes, and then comes again, and comes again later. A Review of The Wicked Unseen

 This book shows the reasons why someone should check out a town before they take a job there. An unsuspecting mom takes a job as a mortician and her teen daughter discovers that the dead are a lot more polite than the living cult members. (I learned that dead bodies could fart which I guess is not that polite. They don't say excuse me.)

Everyone in town, except the dead people, are obsessed with Hell. Audre, the teen daughter, is goth and her dad researched the occult for the books he writes. Oh boy, that sets off some alarms in the cult community A girl goes missing and Audre's dad is arresting because why not. The family is considered a bunch of weirdos so why not blame them?

Here's the thing. The occult studying dad and the mortician mom are way more loving and understanding, and smarter, than the overbearing cult members. The people who are considered weird are the most grounded people in town. 

Some blood and gore and one particularly nasty way to die. But ultimately, it's a story of a family that hangs in together due to their love for each other. I should mention that it's also a good mystery.

Thanks to Underlined Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an eARC of The Wicked Unseen.

Unseen.

Have You Ever Been Blue? In the Pink? Green with Envy? Lost Your Mind? Yes! The Colors in This Book Can Do That! A Review of the Shamshine Blind.

 This is one of the most original stories I've read in a long time. Also, one of the most dystopian. Things are a mess after the United States loses a war to Argentina. And how does Argentina win? By making weapons that control human emotions through color. Oh boy, now everybody from criminals to police to addicts want their hands on these molecules.

All the major cities of America are destroyed, leaving Boise Idaho as the largest town in the country. (That alone is kind of scary) There are catastrophic color events that wipe out the memories of thousands of people or make thousands lose their minds.  Meanwhile, fascists are taking over the whole world. 

Sounds terrible, right? That's what dystopian books are supposed to sound like!  This one isn't all frightening all the time. The main character, Officer Kay Curtida is funny, smart, and one tough lady. There's a meddling mother, a little romance, and several really likeable characters. Some stinkers, too.

And lots of people get shot with pigmented bullets. Think paint gun games but in this one you lose your mind if you're hit. Or breathe it. Or get too near it. This stuff is everywhere. I felt like wearing a hazmat suit while reading  Shamshine.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Press for allowing me to read and review an eARC of The Shamshine Blind.

For some reason, they really don't want me to print the cover. Too bad because it is a nice cover.

It's Not as Depressing as it Sounds. A Review of The Collected Regrets of Clover.

 Okay, so this isn't a horror novel but I'm adding it because there's lots of death. Not bloody body horror, just a bunch of natural deaths. 

I'm an introvert and I really need to get out more. If any novel convinces me to do so, The Collected Regrets of Clover is that book. Clover is a Death Duala, someone who helps ease dying patients journey from life to death. She keeps three journals of her clients' last words Confessions. Advice. Regrets. At one point she realizes she works with the dying to avoid long-term commitments to living people.

You would think that with all the dying this would be a depressing read. Think again. Clover finally opens up to meeting people who plan to stick around awhile. While some are dying, Clover learns to live.

The Collected Regrets of Clover is a kick-start to get people like me out from under the covers and walking forth into the world. Now, if I only had the kind of money Clover has and live in New York City like she does...well, I guess I'll scrounge around with what I've got. 

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review an eARC of The Collected Regrets of Cover.

Two! Two! Two Books in One! A review of American Mermaid.

 It's almost like getting two books in one! A humorous one and a tragic one. Here's how it works. The fictional author of a novel, American Mermaid, is hired by Hollywood to write the screenplay. Hollywood wants to sex it up and put in more action. Can Penny save her story from the Hollywood machine? This is the fun part of the novel.

Intertwined with that is the dystopian story, American Mermaid, where a billionaire has the knowhow to speed up climate change and plans to use it in such a way that only billionaires survive--and they must pay him for their survival. Only one person (?) stands in his way--his adopted mermaid daughter.

Science fiction plus humor. Comedy plus tragedy. Parts of the book had me laughing out loud and parts had me feeling sad for the mutilated mermaid and her compromised doctor. Even though the two-story lines share space between the covers of American Mermaid, it's never confusing as to what's what. In fact, it's quite clever.   

Science fiction, comedy, dystopian, and the perils of being an ingenue in La La Land. What a fun ride!

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for allowing me to read and review an eARC of American Mermaid.

In Spite of Everything, Head on Into The Spite House A Review.

 When I first started reading Spite House, I had a hard time getting interested in the fleeing family, Eric, Dess, and Stacy. I wondered if I'd picked the wrong story to read. As soon as they got to the mansion of the mysterious 80-year-old women, things really picked up. I got to the point where I was thinking, "I'll read one more chapter," and then going on and reading four or five more chapters. In other words, Spite House turned into a real page turner.

Horror, some magic realism, curses that follow families through generations, and a father and two daughter who really care about each other. Nothing is as it seems. It looks like the family is running from one thing, maybe a crime. Instead, they're running from something weird and miraculous into something even weirder. and possibly deadly.

Several interesting and strong women characters in addition to the Ross family.

Thanks to Tor and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an eARC of Spite House.

What Do You Get When You Mashup Horror and a Western? You get Lone Women.

 I loved the ending of Lone Women and want to move there immediately!

There is a saying that men settled the West and then had their wives and children flown out later. In reality, thousands of women settled the West on their own, sometimes with children in tow. The protagonist of Lone Women is fleeing to Montana but unlike most fugitives, she's bringing her curse with her...in a big, heavy trunk.

This isn't only horror. It's a fantastic Western with outlaws, horse thieves, and vigilantes, that happens to have some magic and horror, too. Most of the characters are women, both the heroines and the villains. The setting itself looms large. As the characters repeatedly warn each other, "Montana wants to kill us."

Whatever you do, don't open that trunk!

Thanks to One World Publishers (a division of Penguin Random House) and to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review Lone Women.

The Weird Things We Do for Love. A review of The Crane Husband

 Rare is the book that makes me cry but The Crane Husband came close.

It's the story of a resourceful girl, her sensitive little brother and their brilliantly talented artist mother with an obsession for a crane wearing a hat and eyeglasses. It's also the story of loss and the sometimes-stupid things we do for love.

The Crane Husband is extraordinarily written, imaginative, and emotionally loaded. A reader might cry, but it's worth it.

Thank you to Tor/Forge and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an eARC of The Crane Husband.
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What a beautiful cover.

A Ghost, a Mother, a Witch, and an Archeologist Walk Into a House. This isn't a joke! It's a House With Good Bones.

 I know a house with good bones is a real estate term, but this book could have been called a house with mysterious bones or a house with bad bones or even Where'd This Jar of Teeth Come Froom?

Yes! All kinds of calcified things are buried around this house. There's more! A mean ghost, a distraught mother, a nice witch, and an archeologist. The protagonist is fat. Yay for chubby heroines! And there are vultures. Lots and lots of vultures. There's a disabled vulture who resembles a pancake. Let's not forget the human males, a grumpy neighbor and his hot, handyman grandson. 

With a lineup like that, this story goes places. Mainly underground, but underground is a place. A place with underground children. Hungry, hungry underground children.

There's also a cute running gag about the size of Texas.

Likeable characters (except for the mean ghost.) Even the pancake vulture is loveable. Fast paced action toward the end. Read this book or the underground children will get you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor/Nightfire for allowing me to read and review an eARC of A House With Good Bones.

                                        T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors. Love this cover, too.