Review: Six Stories (Six Stories #1)

4 stars. This is my kind of horror - interesting format, solid premise, folklore, one POV/character per chapter, a sprinkle of the supernatural, a satisfying twist, a promise (threat?) of more possibilities... right up my alley. After finishing, I wanted to buy the rest of the books in the series immediately, which hasn't happened in a very long time.

Six Stories is presented as podcast transcripts, with each chapter as a different episode. In each one, the host interviews a person connected with a crime - or potentially non-crime - that happened many years ago... connected with the discovery of a teenager's body in Scarclaw Fell. Tracing several theories and diving into the history of the area, as well as the victim's character and background through interviews with his "friends," we as readers are treated to an excellent mystery, captivating thriller, spooky horror, etc. etc. etc.

I love horror for so many reasons. Horror has an obsession with the past, because it often intersects with or drives a narrative motive (revenge I guess, mostly?). In this case each character gets to recall and analyze their memories of a seriously traumatic event with an almost In the Woods level of detail. I loved the creeping dread, the slow unveiling of each character's character, the look backward knowing we'll see something there. The nature of the twist made me want to read it again.

Horror also uses dark subject matter to examine and/or make the story about something else. Murder is dark. Being a teenager? Horrific. I'm really impressed with how the author managed to paint a picture of a typical teenage - squad, as the kids say (or maybe they don't anymore), and dive into the dynamics so vividly and, to me, realistically. The blundering eagerness... the crushes... the cruelty... *shudders*

I've seen a few reviews poke at this for being inspired by (or so similar to) the podcast Serial, which is back in the news after essentially changing the trajectory of a man's life in the system. In this case I think any criticism is unwarranted. The author does nothing to hide his references - in fact, he highlights them. He mentions Serial right in the text. This is not a rip-off. It's a loving tribute, and better than its parent as a neat, fictional, vehicle of entertainment.

Fuck it, I'm buying the rest of the series. Sorry, wallet. I gave this 4 stars because I see its potential - it could've gone down a little smoother - and I have a feeling the series only gets better. All hail spooky.

Six Stories on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: The Chestnut Man

4 stars, though I toggled a bit between 3 and 4. This is exactly what it says it is: a Scandinavian crime thriller by the creator of a successful crime TV show. It smells like that, tastes like that, feels like that, reads like that. So if you're in the mood, look no further. I really enjoyed it, but... I am coming out of one of the worst reading slumps I've ever experienced, so it took me ages and ages to get beyond the first 10%. I ended up starting over. I don't regret it. It is what it is.

The Chestnut Man follows the investigators (as well as the investigation-adjacent, and occasionally the victims - mulitple POV) of a series of horrific murders in Copenhagan. We immediately see how the victims are connected but not exactly why or how. The killer always seems one step ahead and just when we feel safe, boom, another twist. It's a typical crime thriller and an absolute page-turner. Excited to check out the adaptation.

A couple of weird things: some of the threads go nowhere. Some of the characters seem overwritten and even in a few places the direction of the plot feels off or unpolished. It 100% reads like a screenplay. The identity of the killer was completely ridiculous... in a good way? Who cares. It delivers what it promises, I think. I miss Copenhagen in all its gloomy, chilly, coldheartedness.

The Chestnut Man on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: The Shining Girls

4 stars. I've spent a lot of time reading about this book, and reading other reviews, because reactions seem to be a bit all over the place. It happens when a book gets a lot of hype, and transcends genre (the sci-fi lovers want more sci fi, the literary lovers want less violence, etc etc etc), or if it's simply marketed incorrectly. In fact I'm even having a difficult time measuring my own reaction to this admittedly fantastic book - trying to figure out what I expected versus what I wanted versus what the book was trying to achieve.

My instinct is to say that I loved it. It captured me. It kept my attention. I rooted for the characters. I basked in the historical details - I learned so much about Chicago. I enjoyed the writing. I admired the premise. I appreciated the wry and witty humor that helped lift such a dark, violent story. I read this in a busy bar on a Friday evening and couldn't be distracted. The sci-fi lover in me didn't worry about explanations, or easy answers. I didn't mind the violence or find it gratuitous or without purpose. I respected the exploration of the trauma and tragedy and being female.

So I think I'd recommend it. It's incredibly entertaining. I can't wait to watch the adaptation (they better not fuck it up!). But please, for the love of god or the sky or the earth or my heart or whatever it is you'd like to invoke in this moment - read the TWs, and maybe even skip entirely the chapter about Kirby's attack. I damn near had a panic attack before bed one night. I fucking skimmed the whole thing and was still hyperventilating, holding back sobs. It's a brutal dog scene and even though I knew what to look out for it really got me. Really got me.

Moving on before I start crying, my only other complaint would be that it ended too soon!! I would've loved a longer epilogue after the climax. I'm desperate to find out where these characters ended up! I'm not a sucker for this sort of thing usually, but I am Team Dan 100%. He's super, super cute and heroic.

I dunno. I don't want to think about this too hard, although it's probably too late for that. Sometimes a book is just entertaining, and that's enough. It didn't change my life or anything, but I enjoyed it. That's it, the end, 4 stars, bye.

The Shining Girls on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Girls Who Lie (Forbidden Iceland #2)

5 stars!! This is shaping up to be a great small town mystery series. Better than the first, Girls Who Lie is a perfect combo of psychological thriller + crime novel and I loved learning more about Elma - she's so easy to root for. Made me miss Iceland a lot. It's the best. Would be a really interesting, challenging place to live.

The mystery in this is actually a bit similar to the first, with more of a Megan Abbott twist. After a single mother goes missing, everyone assumes that she has killed herself following years of depression, alcoholism and neglectful parenting. And then her body is found - turns out she's been brutally murdered - and the police department's investigation unravels a super tangled knot of false accusations, mistaken identities, and painful family relationships.

It doesn't sound super exciting when I put it that way, but this is a real page turner and the plot kept me guessing all the way through. I made a couple of assumptions that were all totally wrong, and I absolutely love it when that happens. Sure all the tropes are there, but they're familiar in a good way and the employment of them is charming - even the will they-won't they, which didn't distract at all from the main thread of the mystery. Even the twisted mother archetype, which has been explored from a lot of angles by now.

All I can say is that I recommend this series and I can't wait for the next one. And I really, really want an Icelandic hot dog. With the works.

Girls Who Lie on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: The Creak on the Stairs (Forbidden Iceland #1)

4 stars. You know what? I really liked this! I can totally see why the reviews are very middle of the road for this debut, but for a debut, I have to give it another star for simply being unpredictable. While I guessed a few of the twists, I didn't feel certain about the identity of the murderer until the reveal. And I absolutely loved the brisk pace, the tight dialogue, and the shallow characterization (not all of us want to read Tana French all the time).

The Creak on the Stairs features a couple of true crime tropes: a cop who returns to her small town after suffering a tragedy in her personal life; the small town; don't forget about secrets!; also flashbacks, a few alternative perspectives, and the very slight smell of UST between partners. When a woman's body is discovered at the sight of an isolated lighthouse, Elma has to use her big city skills to navigate solving this horrendous crime, unweaving a decade's old web of lies and wrestling with her identity as a former resident.

It's very dramatic, very noir, very crime-y: basically a police procedural. But the writing is quite clear and fast-paced, and the short chapters keep things moving. I especially loved the Icelandic details... the descriptions of the setting (which is basically a character here), the names, the cultural elements that drove both character and plot. Iceland is truly like another planet, and happens to be one of my very favorite places on this one - so I'm as biased as I am charmed - but I think this will appeal to fans of crime fiction everywhere.

I will definitely be reading the next in this series.

The Creak on the Stairs on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: The Lost Village

4 stars. This is pretty much a perfect thriller, or at least, perfectly suited to my reading interests (Scandinavian, well-paced, super dark and super spooky). It reminded me of an elevated slasher - cinematic in tone but sophisticated in premise, execution and resolution.

The Lost Village is about a group of five filmmakers who travel to an isolated ghost town in remote Sweden to make a documentary about an old mystery: in 1959, the murdered, mutilated body of a resident was found in the center square, and all other residents of the town had disappeared. Alice, whose grandmother's family vanished along with the rest, is determined to trace her way from the past to the present and find some answers along the way. Narration alternates between the present and the past... throwing that out there because I know flashbacks are an annoyance for some readers.

I'll say upfront that I docked a star because I absolutely could not stand the protagonist (being inside her head made me itch), but I wonder if the author intentionally made her a little naive/prickly/selfish because she's more realistic that way... insecurities battling headstrong determination at every turn. I can relate to that. Something about her just didn't quite click, though. I suppose she acted when it mattered, in the end.

Beyond that, I completely admire the author's presentation of mental illness. We owe mentally ill women especially patience, time, and comprehensive, accessible care, even in fictional worlds that are often dominated by men, or by inappropriate villainizing. It's a shame that such a stigma still exists around something that causes so many so much suffering, and we should reckon with the past by doing better in the future. I'll look to authors like this for hope when I feel like I'm screaming into the void.

LOVED the atmosphere. LOVED the creepy moments and the dread - this felt full-on horror during certain moments. A story like this must go horribly wrong for the characters at some point, and the author really went there, painfully. I could barely put this down except when I needed a breather. LOVED the ending.

The Lost Village on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Chasing the Boogeyman

3 stars. Interesting! I'm not sure I would call this horror, exactly, or even a thriller... it's more like a uniquely formatted memoir/mystery. I've never read anything by Richard Chizmar before, but 10 pages in I was like ... okay, this guy loves Stephen King. And Ray Bradbury. Sure enough, he references and admires both loudly. I think that's awesome, and those authors are the absolute masters, but I wish horror authors would channel someone else every now and then, lol. It was just so obvious.

Chasing the Boogeyman is a fictional story written as though it is a new edition of a non-fiction true crime book "originally published" in the 90s about a series of murders that "take place" n the 80s. The setting, and even some of the characters, are real. The killings/circumstances are not, but that doesn't matter. It's still a strong narrative and a real pageturner. I read it in one day. Think I'll Be Gone in the Dark.

Unfortunately this didn't... really meet my expectations. It read like a slightly more elevated creepypasta, like something you'd find on r/nosleep, which isn't a bad thing, it just didn't blow me out of the water. I can't relate to the deep nostalgia Richard Chizmar felt for his childhood and adolescence, not just because I didn't grow up in a small town, but because I wasn't as, well, privileged. Bradbury admittedly looks back at the 50s with rose-tinted glasses, but at least he chose to express a profound sense of humility and gratitude over a sort of feaux-aw shucks attitude and melodramatic posturing about growing up.

Eesh, that sounds really harsh. I'm sorry! This is one of the highest rated horror books of the year, and probably deserves it for the creativity of the premise alone. The chapters about the murders were well-written - although I PICKED OUT THE KILLER ALMOST IMMEDIATELY! Why does my brain do that! I was so bummed when I found out I had been right ... I was really hoping for a better twist.

I'd better stop before I complain this into oblivion. Listen, I recommend it. I liked it! I'd like to read more by Chizmar. It's perfect for fans of King and Bradbury and true crime books. It has clever moments. I loved the pictures, as staged as they looked haha. The blending of the real and the fictional is very well done. It just didn't ... you know, thrill me.

Chasing the Boogeyman on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: The Trespasser

5 stars. She's done it again. These books are everything: well-written, entertaining, witty, intense... full of deep warmth and true ugliness. It's officially a desert island series for me. The characters are so lovable (or so hateable) and each book offers something truly unique. I've noticed that as the series continues, the scope of each mystery changes... the early ones take place over a longer period of time while the newer ones take place over, what, 2-3 days? She's honed her already impeccable craft... the quality of the storytelling is absolutely maddening and I wish I could shake Tana French's hand for achievement in writing. I'm obsessed.

Antoinette Conway, poor thing, it's your turn. Step right up to the chopping block. That chip on your shoulder was never going to take you someplace good, and anyway, you're just ripe for French's picking with the crunchy attitude and the intelligence and the strong bitchy bones. In this fantastic follow up to The Secret Place, Conway and her partner Moran are assigned what appears to be a cut-and-dry domestic; a young woman has been killed and all signs point to her over-infatuated date. But something's not right, and their investigation leads them through twists and turns toward a destination nobody - including me, a seasoned mystery reader - expected.

I really, really loved this one. I loved In the Woods because it felt so fresh and fully detailed. I loved The Likeness (despite a super questionable premise) because of its characters and references and dark academia vibes. I loved Faithful Place because it felt the most Irish to me, and I adore Frank Mackey, and the whole thing was surprisingly romantic. I loved Broken Harbor because of its themes and clarity and conciseness and because it ended with such a painful gut punch. I thought The Secret Place was okay - frankly, I never want to return to the world of teenage girl, so that one's on me. And here we land at The Trespasser, which I really, really loved because the solution was so shocking and weirdly delightful.

I wish I could explain, without sounding creepy, how real these characters feel to me. There's something about the way French writes both internal monologue and conversational dialogue that just hits so close to real life... her colloquialisms and detective speak and... her grasp of emotions like ambition and fury and resentment and... her characters, I guess, are among the most admirable fuck-ups I've encountered in literature. I should also mention she swatted me right out of a reading slump, so extra points for that.

I realize this "review" has been more about myself and my reaction and my feelings about the Dublin Murder Squad series as a whole, but there are plenty of other reviews of this book that say enough about why we love Antoinette Conway and Stephen Moran (WE LOVE THEM!). I don't want to dive too deeply into the plot because it's so enjoyable going in blind, and also, if you're here right now, curious about this book, you may already be a French superfan like me and don't need a loud recommendation. Just in case, though: READ THIS! READ THEM ALL! Bask in the glory of these books and let them haunt you forever.

The Trespasser on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: The Secret Place

3 stars. I mean ... incredible. I have no idea why this didn't work for me, because objectively - it's an incredible book. Maybe I didn't leave myself enough time between French books, maybe the subject matter was too ... crushing, familiar territory, or something. I just found this one to be too much. Too floral, too soft, too mushy, bloated with whimsy and weird imagery. (Was this book even edited?) I also had some trouble, well, following along, which felt like such a slap in the face after the tight clarity of Broken Harbor. Tana French will always be a must-read for me, and there's nothing less impressive about this one. I'm just having a strange reaction, is all.

Here she dives into the dangerous jungle of female adolescence. Told in alternating flashbacks from various POVs, The Secret Place is about the murder of a young boy on the grounds of a girls' boarding school. Like all of her mysteries, it's more about the how/why than the who, and yep, we take a really, long, meandering, spiraling, detail-filled journey to get there. Her detectives have to learn to work together, two friendless misfits who share an ambition, and navigate among - OMG like, so gross and terrifying? - the youths to get their solve. There are rival girl gangs, secrets, illicit romances, and more. It's all a little gaggy sweet, if I'm being honest. Like, light nasty instead of dark nasty. If that makes any sense.

I really appreciate that she changed up the format, though, and tried something a little new. I adore Frank Mackey and was happy to see him again. There's also a touch of special here - magic, mystery, strange forces - that really freshens things up. I can see why it threw other fans for a loop; she often comes across as strict when it comes to her crimes. But I didn't mind it, especially because she was so casual about it. Her characters (everything from the way they speak to the way they interact) are as usual, pretty damn perfect, pretty damn engaging. The mystery itself is less so, also, I couldn't help but cringe a few times thanks to the unrealistic but personally-triggering re-emergence back into the world of being a female teenager. Fuck. That.

Man, French's world, or worlds - from the Squad to the school to the neighborhoods to the workplaces to the family homes - are all so fucking brutal, aren't they? This one was excruciatingly sad, to me. Her writing is something else really. I say this all the time about Stephen King, and I think it applies here as well: a mediocre Tana French is still going to be an incredibly good read. She's dependable like that.

The Secret Place on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Broken Harbor

5 stars. Broken Harbor ---> Broken Heart. This one was excruciating, and I caught myself with a clenched jaw more than once. I don't think I know of another author who can write so deeply about serious, acute, emotional pain. Why do we love this stuff?! I don't know, but I can't wait to dive into the next one, lol. If I were to rank the Dublin Murder Squad books, this one would be near the top.

The mystery: a family is found murdered in a stalled housing development near the ocean, outside of Dublin. (The setting: appropriately gloomy, isolated, half-constructed and half-abandoned, bleak and freezing cold.) Patrick Spain has been brutally stabbed, and his two children smothered in their beds. Jenny Spain, having suffered a similar knife attack, has survived and is in the hospital. Our hero: Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, strolling onto the scene with his own story after his cameo in Faithful Place. Step right up to the plate, Scorcher, it's your turn for one of those classic Frenchian life-altering, terror-inducing, world-shattering mysteries that leaves us, as witnesses, equally shattered.

Honestly, not sure how I'm going to get through this spoiler-free, so FYI - SPOILERS AHEAD. You've been warned.

Kennedy, like most of French's protagonists, starts his book confident and capable, having stuffed a painful past into an ordered, black-and-white, neat and tidy life. To him, there's a reason, or an explanation, for everything. Even caring for his mentally ill sister has strict parameters - a deep-seated strategy he refuses to veer from. He's good at his job, he follows the rules, and he keeps his temper under control. Control the chaos - that's his thing. Without control, he's adrift. Everything’s adrift.

(I've read him described as a really unlikeable protagonist - not to me. Toxic boss behavior aside, I loved him. Or maybe, I understood him.)

And I totally thought we were going to witness the crumbling of that carefully-built lifestyle, from start to finish. I totally thought the lesson would be that his need or desire to have control = a futile, useless effort, all the way. The final act (by this I mean, Dina and Richie's betrayal) was a swerve, and a satisfying one. I was glad, honestly, to see Kennedy, not totally, but just slightly, justified. I was glad to see his need for control even mildly validated, even if he didn't want it to be, necessarily. Even if I didn't want it to be. (Again, I'm referring to Dina and Richie's actions - nothing pertaining to the case itself.)

Does that make sense?

Probably not.

Re: the case itself - French always weaves Ireland's Issues - economic and otherwise - into the narrative and it's phenomenal (and phenomenally relevant) here. The precise clarity with which she writes about shattered hopes and dreams is almost horrific. And I loved the animal aspect. When we got to read the wildlife forum posts, it was a genuine WTF moment for me. A couple of the clues weren't exactly ... groundbreaking, but they unfold themselves nicely enough. It's a scary case, though the scariest moment for me personally involved considerable damage done to an alphabetized bookshelf.

I always think of Tana French's books as Very Adult. They're wordy, thinky, contemplative. When I pick up something by her I have to be in the mood to 1) pay attention and 2) wallow in something muddy for a while. Though she nails family dynamics well, I was glad they were on the lighter (though no less dramatic) side here. I LOVED THE ENDING. I loved the themes. The Witch Elm was disappointing and very feel-bad, but I'd love to keep going with this series and check out The Searchers.

Broken Harbor on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads