The Evans women, who are a force to be reckoned with in their small town in Southeastern Texas. There's Ducey, the matriarch, Lenore, Ducey's daughter, Grace, Lenore's daughter, and Luna, who, at 17, is just beginning to learn the family business. Or, rather, she is about to. Because while Luna knows her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother run the town's only funeral home, what she doesn't know, and has never known until now, is that the funeral home is a front. Her family runs the Evans Funeral Parlor as a cover for their real purpose: to protect their town from what they refer to as "the restless dead."

In Bless Your Heart, and its sequel, Another Fine Mess Lindy Ryan strikes a masterful balance between telling a story of a group of strong women living their lives in a small town and a horror story involving the creatures of the night. She has populated the story with a wonderful cast of characters in the Evans women, who range in age from approaching 90 to seventeen, each with a perspective and a voice, many of which clash in wonderful verbal jousting. Think of it as a variation on Steel Magnolias, only set in a funeral parlor and involving the "strigoi", a term from Romanian folklore which the Evans women use to refer to a type of zombie/vampire hybrid, with qualities of each.

The Evans women are very much like her debut novel's titular phrase, "bless your heart." On the surface, it can seem sweet and unassuming. Given just the right inflection when spoken, however, it can become a deadly weapon.

In 2022, Travis Baldree introduced readers to Viv, an Orc who wanted more from her life than fighting and bounties. She wanted... a coffee house. In Legends & Lattes, his debut novel, he follows Viv as she retires from being a mercenary to open one. In 2023, Baldree released a prequel to Legends & Lattes entitled Bookshops & Bonedust, in which Viv, while convalescing from a wound received in battle, befriends Fern, a Ratkin bookseller in the seaside town of Murk. Fern helps Viv realize that she has options and that she doesn't have to live a life dedicated to death and destruction if she doesn't want to.

In Brigands & Breadknives, Fern is back. She has accepted an invitation from Viv to relocate her bookshop and her life from Murk to Thune, where Viv has opened her coffeehouse. While Fern is excited about the change, she also realizes she is restless. The bookshop was her father's dream, and she has worked tirelessly to keep it open long after his passing. While she is satisfied to have owned and operated a successful business, she realizes that she's not entirely sure it is what she wants to do for the rest of her life. One evening, after drinking a bit too much wine, Fern passes out in the back of a wagon, which, it turns out, is owned by a legendary warrior who is taking a prisoner in to collect a ridiculously large bounty. What could possibly go wrong?

Baldree has described his books as "low-stakes high fantasy." They are books lacking in quests and wars (although there is at least the threat of war in one), focusing more on the daily life of characters normally seen in the midst of heroic events. While both Legends & Lattes and Bookshops & Bonedust focused on small businesses, Brigands and Breadknives ventures further afield. Fern is lost, both literally and figuratively, and it is only by becoming lost and out of her comfort zone that she is able to find, if not her path, at least the direction she needs to pursue.

Brigands and Breadknives is a bit of a road trip, crossed with a Hope & Crosby "Road" picture with a dash of more traditional fantasy elements. The result is charming, challenging, and at times hilarious. It is a trip well worth taking.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

In Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V.E. Schwab tells a story of living as a near immortal with a decidedly darker perspective than 2020's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Unlike Addie, who willingly entered into a bargain to get what she wanted and then learned how to live within the restrictions she accepted, Schwab's new protagonists, Maria, Lottie, and Alice, all find themselves in circumstances that they may not have actively sought and about which they know almost nothing when their journeys begin. They spend years learning the parameters and the costs of their existence for themselves and those around them.

As is true of all of her work, Schwab's characters are compelling. They are easily recognizable and are all souls that have all been damaged, in markedly different ways, by the world around them and those that are closest to them. While readers may not always agree with their decisions or pursuits, they will understand them.

Schwab also plays with a well-established literary trope, redefining or rejecting established "rules," while also adding new ones to tell the story she wishes to tell.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a fascinating, exhilarating, and terrifying novel. And it just may be the much darker, evil twin of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
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Mallorie O’Meara returns! After solving the mystery of The Lady from the Black Lagoon, and uncovering the secrets of Girly Drinks, O'Meara is back to tell the story of Helen "Daughter of Daring" Gibson in 18 spine-tingling chapters! Gibson, a Wild West Show cowgirl and rider, made the leap (literally!) to becoming one of Hollywood’s first female stunt performers and went on to become an actress, screenwriter, producer, and eventually formed her own production company. She is a Hollywood heroine whose story we should all know, but have never been told... until now.

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A father and son are found drowned in their high-rise Chicago apartment. The wife and mother of the two is found unconscious and in a near comatose state in one of the bedrooms. As the detective assigned to the case, Ethan Krol, begins his investigation, every discovery raises more questions than answers. The father and son drowned in seawater, for which there is no viable source within over 500 miles. The mother is hospitalized, and no one on the medical staff can determine what is wrong with her or how/why she seems to recover so quickly once she awakens. When a near duplicate murder is discovered in Rhode Island, Krol teams up with Nicole Gutierrez, the detective investigating the murder in Providence, to uncover how and why these murders are happening.

Half a world away, in Bristol, England, Hollie Rogers encounters a strange woman who calls herself Abi. She is Amazonian in stature, claims to be from Nigeria, talks like she’s stepped out of an old Hollywood movie, and has no cash, offering to pay for things with diamonds. Holly believes Abi clearly needs help and sees helping her as an opportunity to help herself. Holly agrees to help Abi locate the people she is looking for...

In Esperance, Adam Oyebanji takes readers on a globe-trotting, page turning adventure as the pair of detectives in the US and the mis-matched pair from the UK, follow their pursuits and, inevitably, cross paths and purposes. Esperance is a masterful blend of mystery, historical, and speculative fiction that builds to a startling conclusion that is as hopeful as it is heartbreaking.

Tochi Onyebuchi's latest centers around Boubacar, a veteran and private detective, who, like most in his chosen profession, is experiencing a dry spell in both his personal and professional lives. Then, one night, an injured young woman he has never seen before takes refuge in his office. Bouba notifies the authorities, but when he brings them back to his office, the girl is, of course, gone. So, Bouba starts searching for her. His search uncovers a conspiracy, of course, that is larger and farther reaching than he could have imagined (or wanted), but Bouba will not stop until he knows what happened to the girl.

Harmattan Season is a fascinating blend of detective/mystery fiction, historical, and fantasy fiction. Bouba, the down-on-his-luck P.I., could be the love child of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and Onyebuchi involves him in a case that touches on issues of colonialism, urban development, and racial inequalities. In another nod to noir stories and films, Onyebuchi sets his story in an unnamed West African city shortly after a war. Onyebuchi is clearly both playing with and paying homage to the stories that inspired him. This is a marvelous read!

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In life, Razgaif was a respected warrior and the War Chef responsible for keeping the Onyx-Ax Clan fed. He had learned to cook from his father, who was the War Chef before him. After dying in battle, Razgaif was resurrected and placed in the thrall of the Worm King, where he became Lord Commander Rottgor, the leader of the Death Knights. After centuries of servitude, committing unspeakable acts of violence and horror, Rottgor betrayed the Worm King and became a trusted servant of the new regime. Having lived for literal centuries, Rottgor is quite a bit worse for wear, being kept alive and together by dark magic. When Lady Cleo, heir to the throne, coerces (tricks) Rottgor into retirement, he is suddenly faced with a series of challenges that seem greater than any he’s faced in centuries. Can he adjust to being a living being again? Where will he live? What will he do? He has lived for so long and done so much, most of it unspeakable; yet, there are some distant memories of a time when he was happy. And those led him to a startling discovery. He knows what he needs to do: he needs to open a restaurant.

In Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife, Deston J. Munden’s latest novel, readers will follow Rottgor as he tries to remember what it was like to be an actual person and not simply a tool for use at someone else’s whims. As he attempts to make his dreams a reality, he recognizes and reforges existing relationships and discovers that he is also creating new ones. This is especially true of Astra, a young orphan whose past is almost as dark as his own, and who is also seeking what he realizes he also wants and needs: a home. Munden tells simple truths in fantastic settings, with equally fantastic characters, and leads readers to a conclusion that is as satisfying as a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup on a chilly, rainy day.
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The Horror Writers Association tasked writer/editor Eric J. Guignard with assembling a collection of 15 short stories inspired by classic literature and written by some of contemporary fiction’s best writers. The result is Scaring and Daring, an anthology targeted at younger, middle-school readers, but can and will be enjoyed by anyone looking for a good yarn. The short fiction in this collection provides new perspectives and adventures with characters that include Peter Pan, Pollyanna, Sherlock Holmes, Huck Finn, and Mulan. For readers who have never read the original stories, this could be a marvelous incentive to seek out the books on which they are based, and for readers who are familiar, they are a wonderful reminder of why these stories are known as classics.
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Jenny Winter was the "Hunter of Artemis." She was a "chosen one," selected to defend and protect humanity from evil. As a half-demon private investigator, Annette Thorne, used her supernatural talents to solve mysteries. Now she's struggling to be a better mother to her only son and a good grandmother. Temple was one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Some days, he still is. These three are now retired and running Second Life Books & Gifts in Salem, Massachusetts. On most days, the biggest challenges they face are shoplifters and rude tourists. But when Anette is attacked by a monster-hunter with claims that he has had dreams of another world-ending apocalypse, Jenny, Annette, and Temple must, once again, save the world.

Jim C. Hines tells a marvelous tale that pokes good-natured fun at the "chosen one" trope in general and Buffy the Vampire Slayer very specifically, by taking the story into generally unexplored territory: old age. Hines deftly shifts perspectives between Jenny, Artemis, and Temple, telling this tale of the joys of aging and found family with charm, wit, and several winks and nudges to the reader. Slayers of Old is a delight!
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Gareth Brown's debut novel, The Book of Doors, is about a young woman who comes into possession of a book that allows her to go practically anywhere she wishes by opening any available doorway and stepping through. In his new novel, The Society of Unknowable Objects, Brown tells the story of a small group of individuals, known as The Society of Unknowable Objects, and the seemingly random and mundane objects that provide the person holding them with a special, unique power. As in The Book of Doors, Brown takes readers on another page-turning, globe-trotting adventure filled with secrets, lies, danger, and, quite possibly, the most frightening thing of all: the truth.

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Stitch has been waiting for the professor for 327 days. Stitch knows the rules. He is never to wake Professor Hardacre, but to wait for him to leave his room. So, Stitch has been waiting, along with Henry, whom the Professor told to stay in his cage until the Professor told him he could come out. The Professor put Henry in the cage, telling him he was clumsy and that he had broken too many things. Professor Hardacre made Stitch. He made Henry, too. So, Stitch and Henry have been waiting for the Professor to leave his room and join them. When Professor Hardacre’s nephew arrives, along with his assistant Alice, they soon discover that the Professor hasn’t been sleeping all this time. It’s been something else entirely, which, at first, Stitch doesn’t really understand. But the Professor’s nephew does his best to explain as he begins to make his own plans. He is fascinated with his uncle’s experiments, and he decides he wants to do more. He wants to do his own experiments on Stitch and Henry, but neither of them wants him to experiment on them. When Henry runs away from the laboratory, Stitch feels that he must find him and bring him home, and Alice chooses to join him on his search. It won’t be easy, but Stitch knows it is the right thing to do.

In 1996, during his Carnegie Medal acceptance speech, author Philip Pullman stated that "There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book." Pádraig Kenny’s Stitch is a perfect example of how this can be true. Kenny tells a story that is a variation on themes of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, boiled down to their barest elements. Kenny explores loss, grief, loneliness, and loyalty in ways that are accessible and enjoyable to both children and adults. And he does so through the perspective of the titular character Stitch, who has an endearing, child-like quality that is maintained even during some of the novel’s darkest moments.

Stitch is a primer for its intended, middle-school audience and a solace for readers who may be a bit older, but still seeking answers to some of those unanswerable questions.

Josh Rountree, the author of 2023's The Legend of Charlie Fish returns with another tale of the "weird west": The Unkillable Frank Lightning. Like his earlier novel, this one is also a bit traditional Western and part "creature feature." It is also a fun and fascinating take on the Frankenstein mythos.

Only two weeks after his wedding, Private Frank Humble is killed while on patrol. His bride, Catherine, who is both a physician and practitioner of the "dark arts," is determined to raise Frank from the dead and uses all of her skill and ambition, along with powers of the occult she has been warned should never be used, to do so. When the result is a murderous, violent creature, Catherine, like another famous resurrector of the dead, abandons him in the desert.

Twenty-five years later, Catherine learns that Frank is working as one of the star attractions of a travelling wild-west show and, with the help of two hired guns, plans to put her creation back in the grave. But the person she finds is not what she expected, and Catherine is forced to re-examine her past, present, and future actions when a drunken gun battle may force her to try her experiment again.

The Unkillable Lightning Frank is a rip-roaring tale of the "weird west" at its best, with marvelous settings, memorable characters, and a plot that breathes new life into a well-known tale.

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Demeter is the primary AI for a ship that transports passengers between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Demeter "awakens" as she approaches her destination to discover two disquieting pieces of information: 1) she has been offline and has no idea who turned her off, why, or for how long; 2) all of the humans aboard, passengers and crew, are dead—she has no idea how/why this has happened. When she docks, something, because she knows there is no one alive onboard, hacks an airlock. While Demeter can see nothing on her cameras, the humans on the space station report seeing a large dog run off the ship. And when Demeter checks, the code used to hack the airlock included the name "Dracula."

Over the next few years, and subsequent interstellar trips, Demeter encounters a werewolf, a group of Eldritch horrors, a mummy, and a version of the Frankenstein monster. Some are friendly. Some are most definitely not. But it becomes clear that for Demeter to avoid decommission and being branded a monster herself, she is going to have to find and confront Dracula.

This book was a surprise in oh so many ways. I discovered it in a local bookstore, recommended by the staff. I read the title and then read the description on the back. My immediate thought was that there was no way this premise would work and that this book would either be terrible or marvelous; there were really no other options, because the idea of classic monsters on a space cruiser really shouldn’t work. And yet, Truelove makes it work. She pays homage to the classic monster movies and sci-fi novels of the past that inspired her while bringing these tropes into the 21st century and creating something marvelous and new. Truelove really seems to know her stuff regarding both parts of the dichotomy. She easily references the different mechanical, programming, and engineering challenges involved with interstellar travel, sprinkles her marvelous prose with references to monster lore, and poses new questions that horror fans have rarely, if ever, had to consider (how does moonlight affect a werewolf in space when the moon is always full?).

One of the places where Truelove really shines is the relationship between Demeter and Steward, the ship’s medical AI. The differences in their functions leave each system with abilities and programming that the other lacks, making them reliant on each other, which neither system relishes. The result is sharp and witty banter that would rival a Preston Sturges romantic comedy or an episode of Gilmore Girls.

While Of Monsters & Mainframes touches on some serious issues, found family, scientific ethics, our responsibilities to ourselves and those we care about, it seems clear that Truelove was having a great deal of fun while she was writing her novel and wanted readers to have fun reading it. And she has succeeded brilliantly. Of Monsters & Mainframes is my favorite book of the year, and I simply can’t recommend it enough.
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