Nico
Absolutely cozy and creepy for me. Found family, humor, creepiness, monsters, I just love it. Underread series.
Kingfisher continues to be an interesting author for me, will I quit the book, think it's fine or love it? In this case I thought it was overall fine. I think it follows a sort of formula I saw in The Twisted Ones and The Hollow Places. You're in the head of the MC following a very train-of-thought writing style while Kingfisher does the set up and then half way through, bam! - weird, mildly disturbing creepiness unleashed. This falls behind The Twisted Ones for me. Even though I thought it was fine I continue to be haunted by the imagery of that book.
I absolutely loved this family drama about an inter-generational household who practice hoodoo. At the end of the day it's a comforting story about women who have trouble talking about their truths, which can sometimes be annoying, but I felt like the trope was handled in a real and relatable way...sometimes people withhold information because of shame, fear or good intentions and there are just consequences sometimes. Can't wait to see what Brown writes next.
I borrowed book 3 because of library convenience and it was familiar. I really liked the first book, but was pretty bored with the second and wasn't sure if I was going to continue. But I mostly liked this one so I'll probably continue on to the fourth at some point.
Oh yeah, this fourth book in the Dresden Files series is my favorite so far. Yes, Harry and the writing were still annoying to me in many of the ways I found annoying in the first three, but the fantastical world-building, plot and characters were much stronger than the first three books and overall I really liked it.
4.5 stars, decided upon reflection to round to 4. As a parent what would risk for your children when you have little options? Eric, 18yo daughter Dess and 9yo daughter Stacy are on the run. Making their way to Texas, Eric sees an ad seeking people to live in the Masson House, a skinny house on top of a hill in Degener, Texas. The ad claims the house is a site of pronounced paranormal activity and serious candidates only, with a high six-figure payout after completion of the assignment. The house can't actually be haunted, right?
I wanted to pick this up because I really want to read Compton's 2024 release. A very strong 2023 debut IMO. It has a smidge of a slow start because of lot of family set up, but once the creepy/scary things kick off they don't stop with a lot of twists and reveals along the journey. I was worried the ending would fizzle but I was content. Great character work and I love that it's multi-POV of the family members and others too. The father reminded me of my own parents: “this next idea is going to be the one that solves all our problems.”
If you like haunted house movies/stories I 100% recommend this book. If you're looking for true horror, but don't want any gore or anything else extreme this could be for you. It might also be historical fiction because I think it lines up with the one American Civil War Texas fact I know, but there's no author's note. The book's structure reminded me of LaValle's the Changeling, as in a family story that turns horror, but an intergenerational family story with familial love nonetheless.
Fans of Caroline by Neil Gaiman might like this one. I picked this up because I'm looking for new dark fantasy favorites and I suspect Barker might be my guy, but Imajica is too daunting for me at this point. I wasn't expecting a YA/children's story, since this is shelved as adult fiction at my library. It was fine. Not sure which Barker I'll pick up next.