Ink & Sigil (Ink & Sigil #1), by Kevin Hearne ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Mythology, Suspense, Urban Fantasy

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 25th, 2020

336 Pages

Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his Iron Druid Chronicles in a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.

Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails—and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.

But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Geordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Geordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective—while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death always seems to follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.

I was a little disappointed with Scourged, the last book of the Iron Druid series, however, it was one of my favorites in the genre of urban fantasy, so when I heard that Hearne was returning to that world, I was quite excited.

First, it was refreshing having the main character older and not in his prime, although Al certainly doesn’t let age slow him down. He’s a great character who’s easy to like which I did immediately. The dialogue and story are full of Hearne’s trademark humor which helps move things along. The one issue I had was I found the villain to be rather ho-hum, but the other characters are engaging and I loved their interactions with Al. Hearne does a wonderful job building upon the mythology he created in his previous series, and this new magic that’s introduced is quite intriguing.

Overall, I quite enjoyed Ink & Sigil and I’m looking forward to seeing where this spin-off series goes. Do be warned that Hearne uses authentic Scottish dialect unsparingly, but there’s a helpful guide at the beginning. I unhesitatingly recommend this to fans of urban fantasy and mythology who like colorful characters, rich world building, and plenty of humor.

 

Survivor Song, by Paul Tremblay ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror, Massachusetts, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 7th, 2020

320 Pages

Synopsis: In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva. But unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold. To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. But society is breaking down and the government’s emergency protocols are faltering.

Dr. Ramola “Rams” Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie, a friend who is eight months pregnant. Natalie’s husband has been killed—viciously attacked by an infected neighbor—and in a failed attempt to save him, Natalie too, was bitten. Natalie’s only chance for survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible to get a rabies vaccine. The clock is ticking for her and her unborn child.

Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Rams make their way through a hostile landscape filled with dangers beyond their worst nightmares—terrifying, strange and sometimes deadly challenges that push them to the brink.

Paul Tremblay once again demonstrates his mastery in this chilling and all-too-plausible novel that will leave readers raving through the pages…and shake them to their core.

I sometimes wonder about this enormous masochistic streak I have and if I need professional help. I mean why else would I request a book about a pandemic in the middle of a pandemic? But in my defense, I love Paul Tremblay, so how could I resist. One reason why I think Tremblay is a great horror writer is because usually you’re left thinking at the end of one of his novels: “Damn! That could really happen!” His upcoming novel, Survivor Song is one of those.

This is not your typical zombie apocalypse novel, as the virus here is similar to rabies, except instead of weeks for someone who’s been bitten to start exhibiting symptoms, it can take under an hour. There’s actually this running riff throughout the story that has multiple characters explaining that victims are not zombies. Tremblay is also not known for happily-ever-afters, but that didn’t stop me from hoping for some sort of miracle for Natalie. I loved both her and Ramola and the close friendship they shared. Except for two teenage boys that provide a bit of comic relief as well as proving themselves quite helpful to Natalie and Ramola, there aren’t any other characters that really standout. But that’s okay because it’s the two women who the reader connects with as they share their inner most thoughts through their nightmarish road trip. I thought the ending was a smidge chaotic, but overall Survivor Song is sure to be another hit for Paul Tremblay. If you love strong, character-driven horror, I guarantee you’ll love this. It will immediately pull you in and not let go until you’ve reached the very last page.

Never Ask Me, by Jeff Abbott ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 14th, 2020

368 Pages

Synopsis: In a quiet neighborhood in the wealthy Austin suburb of Lakehaven, the body of Danielle Roberts is discovered on a park bench. Danielle was a beloved member of the community, an adoption consultant who delivered the joy of parenthood to a number of local families. Her murder shocks Lakehaven.

Perhaps no other family is as shocked as the Pollitts, who lived two houses down from Danielle and thought of her almost like family. Her death becomes the catalyst for a maelstrom of suspicion and intrigue. “You have been told a huge lie,” an anonymous email charges the son, Grant. “No one can learn the truth now,” thinks the father, Kyle. “Never ask me what I’ll do to protect my family,” resolves the wife, Iris. “I’ll do whatever it takes to save him,” vows the daughter, Julia, of Danielle’s grieving teenage son.

The Pollitts always thought they’d be there for each other. When each begins to suspect the others of the unimaginable, the strength of their bonds will be tested in extraordinary new ways. The latest from New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbott, is his most suspenseful thriller yet: a riveting tale of the dangerous secrets one family has concealed—and what happens when the question each Pollitt hoped they’d never be asked threatens to expose their darkest truths.

I’ve enjoyed Jeff Abbott’s previous books and in my humble opinion Never Ask Me will further cement his solid reputation for writing exciting twisty mystery/suspense stories filled with flawed characters who keep you guessing. While it turns out that just about everyone featured has a motive for killing Danielle, I honestly didn’t start figuring out the identity of the true culprit until the last few chapters. The mystery does segue into a somewhat crazy and convoluted plot, but as long as you can suspend disbelief, it’s still an enjoyable page turner. At its core, Never Ask Me is the quintessential summer beach read. It doesn’t require a lot of heavy thinking, and it has relatable characters whose mistakes are usually understandable and more often than not will leave you emphasizing them. If you’re looking for a thoroughly enjoyable escape, I highly recommend you give this a try!

The Living Dead, by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror, Zombies

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 4th, 2020

656 Pages

Synopsis:

It begins with one body.

A pair of medical examiners find themselves battling a dead man who won’t stay dead.

It spreads quickly.

In a midwestern trailer park, an African American teenage girl and a Muslim immigrant battle newly-risen family and friends. On a US aircraft carrier, living sailers hide from dead ones while a fanatic makes a new religion out of death. At a cable news station, an anchor keeps broadcasting while his undead colleagues try to devour him. In DC, an autistic federal employee charts the outbreak preserving data for a future that may never come.

Everywhere, people are targeted by both the living and the dead.

We think we know how this story ends.

We. Are. Wrong.

Before he passed away in 2017, horror movie legend, George Romero, had been working on a novel titled The Living Dead, which would have brought his epic zombie saga from film to page for the first time. Sadly, he never got to complete his manuscript, but author Daniel Kraus has been able to bring it back to life using his notes. And overall, I think Romero would be quite pleased.

With its 656 page count, The Living Dead is a beast. As you can guess from the premise, in addition to loads of zombies, there’s also a large, diverse cast of characters and backstories. Kraus wisely keeps the chapters short and tight though, which makes it easy to follow. My favorite character, hands down, is Etta Hoffmann, the autistic researcher and chronicler of the zombie apocalypse. She is unquestionably the heart and soul of this story. While in the beginning, everyone is separated, fighting their own battles, once they’re brought together, the plot really takes off. My one criticism is that this could have been edited a little, particularly in regards to the numerous details included as part of the multiple backstories, yet aren’t really necessary in making the characters memorable. But honestly, this is a very minor complaint. Despite its length, I finished this in three days. When real life interrupted I found myself longing to return to my reading.

In my opinion Daniel Kraus has done the legacy of George Romero proud, and I believe most purists will be pleased even with changes like switching the timeline from the sixties to present day. It has all the classic zombie gore Romero fans would expect, along with fascinating  characters you’ll connect with, and an absolutely thrilling storyline. I HIGHLY recommend this to the legions of fans who admire Romero’s work, as well as anyone who appreciates a well-told horror tale that will keep them up reading late into the night.

Or What You Will, by Jo Walton ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Florence, Metafiction, Shakespeare

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 7, 2020

320 Pages

Synopsis: From the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning author of Among Others, an utterly original novel about how stories are brought forth.

He has been too many things to count. He has been a dragon with a boy on his back. He has been a scholar, a warrior, a lover, and a thief. He has been dream and dreamer. He has been a god.

But “he” is in fact nothing more than a spark of an idea, a character in the mind of Sylvia Harrison, 73, award-winning author of thirty novels over forty years. He has played a part in most of novels, and in the recesses of her mind, Sylvia has conversed with him for years.

But Sylvia won’t live forever, any more than any human does. And he’s trapped inside her cave of bone, her hollow of skull. When she dies, so will he.

Now Sylvia is starting a new novel, a fantasy for adult readers, set in Thalia, the Florence-resembling imaginary city that was the setting for a successful YA trilogy she published decades before. Of course he’s got a part in it. But he also has a notion. He thinks he knows how he and Sylvia can step off the wheel of immortality altogether. All he has to do is convince her.

I absolutely LOVED Or What You Will, but I have to caution that this isn’t a book for everyone. If I say this is a book for serious readers who live and breathe books, I hope I’m not coming off as a condescending, pretentious snoot. It’s just that you’re not a big time reader, particularly of the fantasy genre, there’s a lot that will just fly by you. Also, if you’re not familiar with Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Twelfth Night, there’s going to be even more you’ll miss out on. Even Walton’s title harkens back to the full title of Twelfth Night which was Twelfth Night, Or What You Will.

The novel is really two stories woven together. There’s Sylvia’s story, where we learn everything about her from her childhood, her marriages, and her time in Florence. The second is the new story she’s working on which is a fantasy version of Florence called Illyria, and it’s where Shakespeare’s characters come into play. While I enjoyed the imaginative world building of Sylvia’s new creation, my favorite chapters are the ones featuring the unnamed Narrator who began as Sylvia’s childhood imaginary friend, and is now her muse as well as the starring character in all her novels. Their discussions are intimate, playful, and utterly fascinating and I felt as though he knew her better than she knew herself at times. Whenever the book moved back to Illyria, I found myself impatiently wanting to get back to the Narrator and Sylvia.

In the end, Or What You Will is one of the most meta of meta fiction novels I’ve ever read. It’s a sumptuous ode to readers and writers, Shakespeare, and the beautiful city of Florence. It’s a tale with characters I will not forget anytime soon. This is my first book by Jo Walton, but it’s apparent to me that she is a consummate storyteller and I’m looking forward to reading her other books. I’m just going to finish by saying that if you choose to pick this up, be prepared for a reading experience quite unlike any you’ve had before.

The Patient, by Jasper DeWitt ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Horror, Mental Health, Supernatural Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 4th, 2020

224 Pages

Synopsis: The Silent Patient by way of Stephen King: Parker, a young, overconfident psychiatrist new to his job at a mental asylum, miscalculates catastrophically when he undertakes curing a mysterious and profoundly dangerous patient.

In a series of online posts, Parker H., a young psychiatrist, chronicles the harrowing account of his time working at a dreary mental hospital in New England. Through this internet message board, Parker hopes to communicate with the world his effort to cure one bewildering patient.

We learn, as Parker did on his first day at the hospital, of the facility’s most difficult, profoundly dangerous case—a forty-year-old man who was originally admitted to the hospital at age six. This patient has no known diagnosis. Every person who has attempted to treat him has been driven to madness or suicide.

Desperate and fearful, the hospital’s directors keep him strictly confined and allow minimal contact with staff for their own safety, convinced that releasing him would unleash catastrophe on the outside world. Parker, brilliant and overconfident, takes it upon himself to discover what ails this mystery patient and finally cure him. But from his first encounter with the patient, things spiral out of control, and, facing a possibility beyond his wildest imaginings, Parker is forced to question everything he thought he knew.

Fans of Sarah Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes, and Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World, wil be riveted by Jasper DeWitt’s astonishing debut.

If you are looking for a quick escape and you’re a fan of creepy horror, you should definitely check out The Patient when it’s released in August. It’s a fast-paced story that begins as a psychological horror tale before taking a turn to the supernatural. Parker’s online posts relating his experiences with the mysterious patient known as Joe are captivating and for the most part, keep you guessing as to what is really going on with him. The main reason I marked this down a point is because although Joe’s childhood is a big part of this story, when Parker finally speaks with his mother in the final third of the book, I was still left with questions which left me somewhat frustrated. I also think both the story and its characters would have benefited if the book were slightly longer. That said, I was entertained and easily finished this in a couple of hours. The Patient is Jasper DeWitt’s debut novel and I’ll definitely be looking out for future books by him.

Angel of the Crows, by Katherine Addison ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery, Steampunk, Supernatural

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 23rd, 2020

432 Pages

Synopsis: Katherine Addison, author of The Goblin Emperor, returns with The Angel of the Crows, a fantasy novel of alternate 1880s London, where killers stalk the night and the ultimate power is naming.

This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.

In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical world. And human beings remain human with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.

Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.

Being a Sherlock Holmes fan, I was immediately intrigued by Angel of the Crows which began as fanfic. It’s not bad, but it could have used some more originality.

For the most part, what Katherine Addison has done, is taken some of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories (A Study in Scarlet, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Speckled Band), thrown in the Whitechapel murders by Jack the Ripper in the background, and added fantasy, dystopian, and steampunk elements. The problem is, despite these different themes the characters and stories don’t really divert much from the original source material. Some of the dialogue is even remarkably similar to BBCs Sherlock Holmes series.

For the first half of the book I was also a bit confused much of the time in regards to this alternate London. It took me a while to understand the difference between angels and their roles. I felt as though I had just been dropped and left to make my own way through this murky world.

Despite these issues, I did find much to enjoy in this rather curious tale. I did like Crow (Sherlock), and Doyle (Watson), and as much as I love ACD’s original stories, it must be admitted that some had racist and sexist connotations. Addison deftly removed these without taking anything away from the story. I also liked the addition of Dr. Doyle’s secrets that he’s hiding. They’re creatively done yet perfectly fit in with his personality. The story is also quite fast-paced and I never found myself bored.

Overall, while not perfect, Angel of the Crows is an entertaining journey back to Victorian London with English literature’s most endearing odd couple. I can easily see this being turned into a tv series like Showtime’s Penny Dreadful. For fans of the original Sherlock series, think of this as a nice reread with some interesting fantastical additions. If you’re not familiar with the four stories I mentioned, you may actually enjoy this even more.

 

Home Before Dark, by Riley Sager ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 30th, 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis: In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the house really haunted by evil forces as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?

What was it like? Living in that house.

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits, became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes, and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous by Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint of a history filled with dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

Alternating between Maggie’s uneasy homecoming and chapters from her father’s book, Home Before Dark is the story of a house with long-buried secrets and a woman’s quest to uncover them—even if the truth is far more terrifying than any haunting.

The first book I read by Riley Sager was Final Girls (2017), and with each book he writes he just keeps upping his game. Home Before Dark kept me up until the wee hours of the morning, had me nervously checking my pantry and linen closet as I walked by them, and has quite possibly ruined one of my favorite songs, Sixteen Going on Seventeen from The Sound of Music for me for life!

There are two stories at play here. The first takes place twenty-five years ago and is told through the book House of Horrors, by Ewan Holt, which is an account of the family’s twenty-two day ordeal in Baneberry Hall. The second takes place during the present day, and follows now thirty-year-old Maggie as she desperately tries to uncover the truth of what happened all those years before.

Maggie is somewhat aloof and remote, but given what her life has been like, who can blame her. She’s had Baneberry Hall following her around for most of her life, and to top things off she has no memories of her time there, and she’s positive her parents have lied to her and everyone else about what happened. It’s made her reluctant to trust anyone, yet I wound up quite liking her. She does have a compassionate side, and her determination to discover the truth, even when it upends her entire world, is something to be admired. I also liked Ewan, and while I disagree with some of his decisions, I understand how desperate he is to save his family. The secondary characters play small yet pivotal parts, and a couple of them have some quite interesting backstories that tie into Baneberry Hall.

The house itself almost becomes a character in its own right thanks to Sanger’s vivid details. I have a picture in my mind of not only what Baneberry Hall looks like, but what the atmosphere feels like after being the site of so many tragedies. There is more than one mystery that needs to be solved, and the path to the answers is a twisty one indeed. I thought by the midway point that I pretty much had everything figured out, only to be proved wrong multiple times. It drove me nuts, in the best kind of way!

Home Before Dark is a pulse-pounding, suspenseful tale of horror and mystery that will leave you questioning everything. It doesn’t have a lot of blood and gore in it, but this proves that you don’t always need those graphic elements to instill true terror. One word of caution: if you’re not a fan of snakes, they’re in here in all their creepy, slithery glory. For readers already familiar with Riley Sager, this is another knockout from him. For those who haven’t read his books, I guarantee that if you try this, you’ll immediately want to scoop up his others.

 

Meg: Generations (Meg #6), by Steve Alten ~ 2.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror, Thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 21, 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis: Dubai: An impossibility is being taken to the Middle East. The transport vessel Tonga is carrying a lioplerodon to the City of Gold. But while investors gawk at the prehistoric creature, an even more dangerous creature is beginning to stir.

The megalodon shark that Jonas Taylor worked so hard to capture is coming out of its drug-induced stupor and refuses to be contained. Now both ancient creatures, older than mankind itself, are loose in the waters of the Arabian Sea, and the region will never be the same.

I have been a fan of Alten’s Meg series since it debuted in 1997. For sheer popcorn pleasure, these books are adrenaline-filled insanity, so it pains me to say this 6th adventure with Taylor & Co. flounders badly. There are just way too many characters, both prehistoric and bipedal. For fanged, people-eating monsters in addition to the Megs, there are: Pliosaurs, Titanoboa, Pleseosaurs, Mosasaurs, among others. When you have a series about the re-emergence of Megalodons, one of the largest and nastiest aquatic creatures who ever lived (they make great white sharks look cute and cuddly), it’s the stuff of nightmares. But when you throw in all these other deep sea monsters, well, the bloody mayhem that follows just gets redundant after awhile.

In addition to the monsters, there are numerous groups from across the world that all want a piece of the action. And if that isn’t enough, there’s the family of a man killed by a Meg, who are determined to hunt down and kill all the Meg pups in revenge. Somewhere in this murky mess are the Taylors, but except for Jonas’s son David, for the most part they’re sidelined by Terri’s battle with cancer and Parkinson’s. There are so many storylines that not only does this do a disservice to the characters, but it makes it almost impossible to follow what’s happening. And to make matters worse there’s a confusing time jump that came out of nowhere and left me thoroughly confused.

The only saving grace is that the final quarter of the book manages to pull itself together and is much more entertaining. Overall though, Generations left me longing for the previous books in which the Taylors and Megs were worthy adversaries, and you were never quite sure who was going to win. Given the cliffhanger ending, I’m fairly certain there will be a seventh book and if this is the case, I hope Alten returns to the formula which served him so well: Taylors vs. Megs. Although this latest book was a disappointment, I still highly recommend the series if you love scary monsters with loads of blood and gore.

 

 

 

The Blade Between, by Sam J. Miller ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Homophobia, Horror

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: December 1st, 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis: Ronan Szepessy promised himself he’d never return to Hudson. The sleepy upstate town was no place for a gay photographer. But his father is ill and New York City’s distractions have become too much for him. He hopes that a quick visit will help him recharge.

Ronan reconnects with two friends from high school: Dom, his first love, and Dom’s wife Attalah. The three former misfits mourn what their town has become—overrun by gentrifiers and corporate interests. With friends and neighbors getting evicted en masse, and a mayoral election coming up, Ronan and Attalah craft a plan to rattle the newcomers and expose their true motives. But in doing so, they unleash something far more mysterious and uncontainable.

Hudson has a rich, proud history and, it turns out, the real estate developers aren’t the only forces threatening its well-being: the spirits undergirding this once-thriving industrial city are enraged. Ronan’s hijinks have overlapped with a bubbling up of hate and violence among friends and neighbors, and everything is spiraling out of control. Ronan must summon the very best of himself to shed his own demons and save the city he once loathed.

As someone who’s not overly fond of the small town I was born and lived in until a couple of years ago, the premise of The Blade Between, immediately piqued my interest. And while I hadn’t read any of Sam Miller’s previous books, he’s been on my radar since his Nebula Award nominated Blackfish City came out in 2018. After finishing this in two days, I can honestly say that this gave me a completely unique reading experience unlike any other.

Ronan, a forty-year-old recovering crystal-meth addict, is planning on getting revenge on the people taking over his town by setting up a fictitious online persona, looking for blackmail material, and pining after a lost love who is now married to a woman. What could possibly go wrong! It has to be said that while Ronan is a brilliant photographer, emotionally, he’s a hot mess. Yet, he’s also sweet, and surprisingly funny and likable at the same time. He’s quite complicated, which is my favorite type of character.

The story itself is equally complex, and beautifully explores the good, the bad, and the downright ugliness, of revisiting your past, while blending in intriguing supernatural elements. It’s incredibly fast-paced and I was glued from the first page and couldn’t tear myself away until I had finished it during the wee hours of the morning. One minor spoiler: It has whales!

Going home is something most of us will have to deal with at some point in our adult lives. For some it will be a positive experience filled with happy nostalgia, for others, a nightmarish revisiting of traumatic memories that have long simmered under the surface. The Blade Between will have widespread appeal for its thoughtful treatment of what can be an emotional time of life. As you can guess, I absolutely LOVED it and it’s no doubt going on my list of top reads of 2020. This is the first book I’ve read by Sam J. Miller, and it’s left me determined to read his others. I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who’s looking for a completely unique tale with flawed yet endearing characters.