Oct 31, 2024
From Our TBR Pile

Review — Mosaic by Catherine McCarthy

Mosaic
By: Catherine McCarthy
Illustrator: Devin Forst (Cover Art and Design)
Release Date: August 8, 2023
Publisher: Dark Hart Books
Rating:


2020’s Aberystwyth University Prize for Short Fiction winner Catherine McCarthy incorporates stained glass window repair, long-forgotten churches, and the macabre into one compact tale in her 2023 novella Mosaic. A compelling front cover by Devin Forst draws readers in with its depiction of a woman half-illuminated in the myriad of colors of an unseen stained glass window, that rainbow-colored half portrayed oddly corpse-like.

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Jun 20, 2024
From Our TBR Pile

Review — How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

Library card catching on fire How Can I Help You
By: Laura Sims
Release Date: July 18, 2023
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Rating:


Laura Sim’s How Can I Help You straddles the line between mystery, thriller, and horror all set in a small library in the Midwest. The darker side of human nature is brought to life and had a spotlight shown on it here. Flawed characters, a long game of cat and mouse, and tense situations galore await you in this 2023 release.

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Feb 13, 2024
From Our TBR Pile

Review — We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets (Translated by Emma Rault)

City landscape against a pink sky We Had to Remove This Post
By: Hanna Bervoets
Translator: Emma Rault
Release Date: March 6, 2021
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Rating:


The novella We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets took BookTube and BookTok by storm. It was all anyone talked about for months and every library in the general vicinity had a hold list a mile long. This was of little wonder; Dutch author Hanna Bervoets holds much acclaim, including being granted the Frans Kellendonk Prize and having her works adapted for film and TV.

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Aug 07, 2023
From Our TBR Pile

Review — Small Game by Blair Braverman

Forest with campfires with the text Small Game: A Novel by Blair Braverman over the image Small Game
By: Blair Braverman
Release Date: November 1, 2022
Publisher: Ecco
Rating:


Nonfiction author Blair Braverman (Welcome to the Goddamned Ice Cube, 2016) turns her hand to fiction in Small Game. This thriller novel is set in a landscape familiar to the author: the wild, forested landscape of the US. Braverman’s well-known survivalist skills are well utilized throughout the novel, adding a welcome sense of realism to a situation that is far from everyday.

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Jul 31, 2023
From Our TBR Pile

Review — Daphne by Josh Malerman

Daphne
By: Josh Malerman
Release Date: August 23, 2022
Publisher: Del Rey
Award: Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Best Novel (2022)
Rating:


Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box, brings us a horror novel in the style of classic 1980s slasher movies. Daphne is the latest, and possibly best, novel Malerman has brought readers to date, something highlighted by the novel’s Bram Stoker Award nomination for Best Novel in 2022. Ghosts, urban legends, and a growing number of inexplicable murders are rounded out by 80s slasher movie trappings that leave readers frantically turning the page to find out what on earth happens next.

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Jul 24, 2023
From Our TBR Pile

Review — The Spite House by Johnny Compton

The Spite House
By: Johnny Compton
Release Date: February 7, 2023
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Rating:


Author Johnny Compton is perhaps best known for his short fiction and contributions to the fiction podcast world, appearing in podcasts such as Pseudopod, The No Sleep Podcast, and certainly not least, his own podcast Healthy Fears. Debut novel The Spite House is Compton’s first foray into long-form fiction. Like his previous works, this debut novel falls solidly within the horror genre, with plenty of gothic elements for fans of the subgenre to sink their teeth into.

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Jun 17, 2023
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Review The Witnesses Are Gone by Joel Lane

The Witnesses Are Gone
By: Joel Lane
Release Date: October 1, 2022
Publisher: Influx Press
Award: Shirley Jackson Award Nominee for Novella (Finalist, 2009); British Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novella (2010)
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


The widely acclaimed The Witnesses Are Gone by Joel Lane finds new life with Influx Press’s 2022 printing. It is of little wonder this novella was nominated for multiple awards upon its first printing, namely as a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award for Novella in 2009 and a nominee for the British Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novella in 2010. This is an engrossing, all-consuming tale that pulls readers into the strange, unknown world of Jean Rien and the old movies which may or may not exist at all.

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May 23, 2023
From Our TBR Pile

Review — The Cloisters by Katy Hays

The Cloisters
By: Katy Hays
Release Date: November 1, 2022
Publisher: Atria Books
Rating:


Art historian and author Katy Hays’s debut novel The Cloisters is an intensely gothic, gripping tale that oozes suspense. Protagonist Ann Stilwell finds herself in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with an internship lined up for the summer. Unfortunately, these plans fall through when she learns her would-be boss is off in Europe. Despite the unexpected circumstances, Ann still has a coveted internship, though not at the MET proper.

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Apr 29, 2023
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Review — Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall

Night of the Living Trekkies
By: Kevin David Anderson, Sam Stall
Release Date: September 15, 2010
Publisher: Quirk Books
Rating:


If anyone is looking to beef up their TBR for the next GarbAugust Readathon, look no further. Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall is the sort of adventure- and horror-laden fare that makes for an excellent palate cleanser and the perfect sort of book to pick up your mood.

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