Book of the Week November 5, 2026
Felix, writer of esoteric biographies and his brilliant scientist wife, Georgia, are set for four weeks in the Lake District as soon as Georgia delivers a speech on her groundbreaking technique for finding brain aneurysms. In an irony of all ironies, she collapses from one herself in the middle of her speech, and dies. Felix feels it his fault since he ignored the warning of the single magpie that flew into their apartment window that morning; one for sorrow, as the legend goes. His mother lived by the rules of the spirit world, Georgia by those of science and logic. Both voices guide him as he ignores friends and packs for the vacation his Coleridge papers, meant for the biography he has in process, and all Georgia’s work notes. He and their lovely dog, Panda, arrive late, fall into bed in the beautifully prepared cottage, and find a body on their first hike the next morning. Oh, the complications begin! An intrepid police officer, a young Albanian woman who seems to have been sex-trafficked by the man found dead, an attack dog on another hike, his friends arriving uninvited, and multiple offers to help sort the papers. All the while, Georgia’s voice of logic is in one ear, the spirits in another. Who are the villains and who the friends? With a spectacular tour of the Lake District’s highlights, this debut novel gives us beautifully drawn characters and a crackling ending. Not to be missed.—Danise Hoover
