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Fantasy

Review

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer

by Brian Kenney

Middle-aged, mid-divorce (although she is still in love with her husband), and mid-pregnancy, Kathy Valence is a no-nonsense, shoot-from-the-hip type of character. She keeps busy working for S.C.Y.T.H.E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences), helping transport the souls of the recently departed on to their next phase, until the soul of one of her clients, hip and happening 17-year-old DJ Conner, gets misplaced. Conner insists he was murdered by someone at S.C.Y.T.H.E., and that it is up to Kathy to track down the murderer and find Conner’s soul. All within forty-five days, or else he’ll become a ghost, destined to wander the Earth (no pressure!). What’s so lovely here are the overlapping needs of the characters. Kathy, whose fears and anxieties hold her back from accepting love. Simone, Kathy’s husband, whose only desire is to be allowed to love Kathy and their baby. And Conner, who wants to identify his murderer, be saved by Kathy, and find the love he missed on Earth. Poignant and pleasing, this successful supernatural mystery will long be remembered.

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Review

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society

by Brian Kenney

Take a bit of Buffy, throw in some of Murder, She Wrote, let a very officious cat, Lord Thomas Cromwell, channel an ancient demon—that bit is a trifle frightening—set it all in rural New York state under the auspices of local librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle, and you have a novel both fun-loving and poignant. Sherry realizes that something is a bit off in Winesnap, NY. Namely, people are regularly being killed, and she typically ends up helping the cops track down the murderer. But when a friend’s husband is found dead, Sherry ups her game, assembling a small group, the Demon Hunting Society, including the new town priest (good for exorcism!). No interest in the supernatural? Don’t be silly. This book has a big enough reach to appeal to any cozy reader, with Sherry delivering a riveting denouement in the manner of Dame Agatha.

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Review

An Intrigue of Witches

by Henrietta Thornton

Addison, author of the Enchanted Bay series, brings her lively voice to a series debut featuring a heroine to remember. Historian Sidney Taylor, a young Black woman, is on furlough from the Smithsonian when she gets a mysterious offer to go on a quest in her hometown, Robbinsville, VA, the heart of which is the Josiah Willoughby museum. Sidney’s parents are rich—her father is the Speaker of the House of Representatives—but they believe in the young woman making her own way, so when she receives a wax-sealed envelope with an invitation inside to find something historically significant in Robbinsville, and the prize is a million dollars, she’s in. There’s danger and intrigue in store though, with Sidney receiving threatening messages and increasing pressure on the museum to give in to virtual reality as the future, a government program that seems more sinister by the minute, headed as it is by a woman who will remind readers of scary real-life tech-exec Elizabeth Holmes. The small-town scene, loving family members, and history-tinged puzzles keep the pages turning fast; there are plenty of real historical details packed in, too, surrounding a long-running conspiracy about the U.S. presidents. A winning series starter.

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Review

Exit Black

by Jeff Ayers

A floating space station, the Imperium, was once a laboratory but has been crafted into a hotel for the extremely wealthy in Pitkin’s thriller. The first group arrives, and the team onboard is ready to show off the unique features of a stay, including a view of Earth and a supervised spacewalk. Chloe, a biophysicist who misses having her work be the focus of the station, assists in making the visitors feel welcome. It doesn’t help that her boyfriend, the CEO of the hotel, can’t make it at the last minute. She quickly learns that something sinister is happening and that some of the staff she thought she could trust are part of a global terrorist group called The Reckoners. While Chloe remains in hiding, the visitors are taken hostage, and the demand is eight billion dollars. With no hope of rescue and no way to communicate with anyone on Earth to send help, Chloe takes matters into her own hands. This mashup of the films Die Hard and Gravity is an action-adventure reader’s dream. The pacing is relentless and claustrophobic, making it impossible to stop turning the pages. Pitkin has written a winner.

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Review

Relentless Melt

by Brian Kenney

A supernatural mystery—part Stranger Things, part Enola Homes, but very much itself—set in 1909 Boston. Young Artie Quick, a Filene’s basement “shopgirl” by day, is fascinated by criminal behavior and signs up to study Criminal Investigation at the YMCA’s Evening Institute for Men. One problem? Artie is a young woman, and to pass, she has to adopt male drag and attempt to alter her voice. While she still lives with her working-class family, most of her time she’s at well-off Theodore’s digs—her charming if awkward best friend. Theodore is as obsessed with magic as Artie is with crime, and the two take on a case: the investigation into unnatural screams heard at night in the Boston Common by homeless men and petty criminals. What seems like a minor quest ends up taking the two on a sojourn that reveals the abduction of young women, a cover-up by city officials, and the existence of a spirit underneath the city, ready to wield even greater destruction. This book is way, way over the top—and is sure to delight its intended audience. Artie grows to love her menswear, and seems to love women as well, and her embrace of her queerness is just one of the many transformations in the book. For young adults on up.

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