What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust

 

What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley  298 pp.

The indomitable Flavia de Luce returns in another murder mystery. This time an elderly former hangman is found dead by poisoned mushrooms and Buckshaw's housekeeper, Mrs. Mullet is blamed for the crime. However, that makes no sense since the dead man, Major Greyleigh was an old lover of hers and there was still an attraction there. Flavia begins to investigate while also dealing with her very annoying young cousin, Undine, who just won't leave her alone. Soon Flavia is sucked into intrigue involving the local military base run by the Americans who have been stationed there since the end of WWII. She sets out to find an unknown person known only as Asterion whom she believes to be responsible. This all has something to do with Flavia's late father. This is one of the better books in this series.

Lesbian Love Story

 Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives by Amelia Possanza, 288 pages.

Author Amelia Possanza often felt starved of a lesbian community, or of lesbian role models to help he build up her idea of herself. This book is an attempt to dig into the historical record to find both the records the lesbians through the 20th century left behind, and the places that they were scrubbed from the archives. Possanza makes no promises of a neutral history. Rather, the whole premise of this book is using these stories of the women who came before to help her construct herself. The scope is wide-reaching, organized by decades across the United States, but with a special focus on Possanza's home in New York City. It is at times philosophical, at times historical, but always very honest.

I was very impressed by this book. Possanza expertly managed to avoid doing the thing that annoys me in many nonfiction books about historically neglected topics do; she is always extremely clear what was fact and what is speculation. I was also touched by how personal this journey was for the author. It felt like being invited into something intimate, and by the end you can't help but feel you know her. I was also impressed by how neatly she connected the many threads of this book, bringing past and present together seamlessly, as well as fact and fancy. This is an impressive piece of nonfiction that feels longer than it is, and I would definitely recommend it to others. 

Dreadful

 Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis, 347 pages. 

It's hard to imagine a much worse way to wake up than recently exploded, with no memory, in a dark wizard's lair. And yet Gav's day gets worse, because it turns out he himself is the dark wizard, and he has a whole lot of enemies who would LOVE to hear that he was vulnerable. The Dread Lord Gavrax had a whole lot of (inadvisable and evil) plates spinning, and now he has a kidnapped princess to manage, a garlic festival to oversee, a whole mess of goblins, and an evil wizard conspiracy he absolutely DOES NOT remember. In the mess of all of this he will have to understand if keeping Gavrax's life running is even a goal worth pursuing, or if Gav might be able to forge a new path that is all his own.

This book is extremely funny. T. Kingfisher is listed as a readalike, but I would also propose John Scalzi. The situations are absurd, and the characters are delightful. This is not a book that takes itself too seriously; however, it is a book that takes itself seriously enough to give it moments of startling sincerity and insight. Although this is a funny novel about characters that should be caricatures, this very point about perception and self is a major theme. This is a surprisingly serious meditation on correcting harm and building identity wrapped in a a silly package, and I would definitely recommend it to others. 

Apple and Knife

 Apple and Knife by Intan Paramaditha (trans. Stephen J. Epstein), 199 pages.

This Indonesian collection of horror short stories draws on European fairy tales, Indonesian folklore, and general horrifying experiences of existing as a woman into a very modern feeling book. Unfortunately, none of the stories managed to stir in me the type of emotion I would hope for in horror, nor do any of them particularly stick in my memory. 

While this collection didn't really work for me, it did remind me quite a lot of Mariana Enriquez's Things We Lost in the Fire, another collection of horror stories in translation. I think that people who enjoyed that book might very well enjoy this one as well. 

The Humanity Archive

The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth by Jermaine Fowler (2023) 416 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla narrated by the author. The book was recommended by a friend. I was unfamiliar with the author's podcast that is also called "The Humanity Archive." I love that the author loves libraries. Fowler has read much about history and picks out gems of stories featuring Black experience from across the breadth of history. In America, in particular, many of these examples have been forgotten or actively whitewashed. Fowler is an excellent storyteller. There are both traumatic stories and stories of excellence. Both injustices and uplift are important for building empathy with our fellow humans.
 

What Moves the Dead

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher, 165 pages.

When Alex Easton receives a letter from childhood friend Madeline Usher that she is likely dying and their presence would be a comfort, they are prepared for all sorts of sadness. They are not prepared for the creeping sense of dread the emanates from the Usher house, or for the fact that Madeline's twin brother (who served under Alex in a past war) seems to be dying in nearly the same strange and horrible way that she is. Nor did they anticipate the more horrible and strange things that were yet to come. 

This was a truly unsettling book and, much like the central fungus, that atmosphere grew slowly and greatly as this short little book went on. While not my favorite Kingfisher (which is a very high bar to clear), I still found this novella masterfully executed, and I think I will be thinking about the climax of the story for a while yet. Even though I knew where this story and guessed most of the twists, it didn't feel like that impacted my enjoyment at all; which is to me a sign of a very well-written book. I also found the pronoun situation in our protagonists native language to be a fascinating little world building detail, although the strange conjugation choices were sometimes a little distracting. I will likely pick up the sequel (not a House of Usher retelling) before spooky season is out, and I would definitely recommend this book to others.

The Mulberry Tree

 The Mulberry Tree by Allison Rushby, 294 pages.

Imy and her family have just moved all the way from Australia to a small village in England as they pursue a fresh start after a tragedy. When her family is touring houses she is immediately obsessed with a beautiful cottage with a terrifying ancient mulberry tree. A tree which, according to legend, takes little girls living there the night before their eleventh birthday. Which is ridiculous of course, except for the strange song Imy starts hearing in her head in the weeks leading up to her own eleventh birthday...

This book starts so strong! It has a very spooky atmosphere in a very specific way that's hard to manage outside of middle grade horror. The rhyme is unsettling and the premise is interesting. Unfortunately, this falls apart fairly quickly by the middle of the book, as Imy decides she won't be afraid anymore (and pretty much succeeds). It also has one of the most disappointing endings I've ever read, which feels like it undermines the entire rest of the book and also doesn't make any sense. I unfortunately don't know that I can recommend this book, as much as I would like to. 

Flamer

 Flamer by Mike Curato, 366 pages.

I read this frequently banned graphic novel for banned books weeks, and have been extremely slow getting around to actually writing about it. Which wasn't a problem, because Byron wrote his review in a timely manner and I completely agree with pretty much everything he said! The graphic novel was sometimes a little crude for me (it seems boy scout camp has a very different atmosphere than girl scout camp), but I overall found it to be an extremely powerful story. I especially found Curato's use of bright pops of fiery color to be very effective. This is a powerful story of feeling othered in adolescence, and I definitely think it could do plenty of young people a lot of good.

Northwoods

Northwoods by Amy Pease, 288 pages

Eli North has been having a tough time of it for the last few years after returning from Afghanistan. His job as a Fish and Wildlife investigator was cut and is now a deputy for his mom in the four-person sheriff's office in Northwoods, Wisconsin. On top of that, he's suffering from PTSD, self-medicating with alcohol, and his wife has kicked him out. When he discovers the body of a dead teenage vacationer, Eli's many issues are further complicated, making him less than reliable as an investigator in the hunt for the boy's killer.

This short crime novel manages to combine PTSD, addiction, corruption, and the pharmaceutical industry into a tight and tense story. The characters are realistically flawed, and I can only hope that this is the first book in a series, as I can see Eli's sure-to-be-rocky path forward being a compelling vehicle for more stories set in Northwoods.

The Guests

The Guests by Margot Hunt, 303 pages

As a Category 5 hurricane makes its way ashore, wealth couple Marlowe and Lee are preparing to hunker down in their storm-ready mansion with their children, the kids' friends, and a couple of close employees. But just before the hurricane makes landfall, a trio of boaters ties up to their dock, seeking shelter from the storm. As Marlowe and Lee welcome their "guests," they soon discover that not everything is as it seems, and that it may be just as dangerous inside as it is outside.

This is a compelling, fast-paced novel filled with excellent twists and high stakes. Reading it in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton, however, put a bit of a different spin on it. Worth an afternoon read...but maybe wait until after hurricane season.