Synopsis:

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Pick up the novel everyone will be talking about.” —The Atlantic
“Dark, riveting, and accomplished.” —Washington Post
“Propulsive and powerful. . . A gripping roller coaster ride of escalating danger.” —New York Times Book Review

Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.

When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father’s car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family—and the family business—together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante’s recklessness has placed them all in real danger.

Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he’s forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his brother: himself, and his own particular set of skills.

Roman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.

Because everything burns.

“A fast-paced thriller that will have readers asking whether the ends justify the means if there is no end in sight. . . Reminiscent of the great tragedies, this is Cosby at his best.”
—Library Journal, starred review

Review:

After his father is attacked and left comatose, Roman Carruthers returns home to discover his brother is deep in debt to local gangsters and his sister on the brink, obsessed with finding out the truth about their mother’s disappearance when they were teens and carrying on with a crooked cop, all while trying to keep their family business up and running. Roman tries to square Dante’s debt with the BBB gang, but it soon becomes clear that no matter how much they paid they’ll never be free, and soon he finds himself embroiled with the vicious and sociopathic Tranquil and Torrent, and hellbent on destroying the gang from the inside.

S.A. Cosby flew into the crime scene like a bat out of hell with his Big Publishing debut, Blacktop Wasteland, back in the summer of 2020 and he hasn’t slowed down a bit. Five books and five years later, he’s quickly earned his place as one of the crime genre’s absolute best, not to mention becoming a favorite author of mine in short order, thanks to consistently turning out gritty, character-rich Southern crime epics. His latest, King of Ashes, is his best one yet, and that’s saying an awful lot considering just how damn good his previous books are. This one is an absolute powder keg.

Sprawling and dark, King of Ashes is also the kind of book that only gets better and more rewarding with each turn of the page. Much of this is down to Roman himself. He’s a financial advisor to Atlanta’s biggest hip-hop stars and has made his bread getting them rich. He’s smart and savvy with money, and when he first meets Tranquil and Torrent he mistakes their street gangster ethos for the fake, recording studio-ready gangstas he’s been working with. It’s a lesson that costs dearly, and a mistake he won’t soon repeat. As his plans for dealing with these two psychotics evolve, he finds himself sinking deeper into the muck, while readers are left to wonder just how far Roman is willing to go to protect his family and exact his vengeance.

Cosby takes his time building up, while simultaneously degrading, Roman over the course of numerous bloody and fire-fueled events. We’re given a front-row seat to witness the ways in which money and power can corrupt a man’s soul. Raised by his father and educated by way of bon mots like “Everything burns,” and “To be a king, you have to think like one. You have to do king shit,” Roman’s fall from grace is stunningly potent, and what makes it all the more fascinating is Roman’s own disconnect from himself and the way he blames Dante for everything. While true to a certain extent, there comes a point where Roman can’t blame anybody but himself but is pathologically incapable of it. Cosby’s turned out a brilliant and compelling character study here, bringing with it shades of Breaking Bad‘s Walter White and The Godfather‘s Michael Corleone. In some ways, I couldn’t help but imagine Roman bemoaning, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,” as he throws yet another body into the crematorium.

For as rich as the character work is, Cosby goes the extra mile to ensure that the setting is equally vivid. Jefferson Run may be a fictional Virginia town, but it feels real. It’s seedy and run-down, with Carruthers Crematorium, a bar and seafood joint, and a weed dispensary among the few viable businesses left in an area run down by urban flight, economic despair, political corruption, the proliferation of drugs, murder, and gang violence. Jefferson Run is a character in its own right, and a stark reflection of Roman and what he can become. Cosby encapsulates the nature of Jefferson Run in a single sentence when he writes, “A light rain moved across the city like it was crying over the blood on its streets.” We come to know this city as intimately as we do Roman himself, and in doing so we know the rain won’t ever wash it clean, certainly not for long.

King of Ashes is among the few books that, upon reading through its very last page and absorbing its implications, I couldn’t help but breath out one single word: “Wow.” The tour through Jefferson Run, and through the mind and deeds of Roman, was messy, violent, complicated, and oh so satisfying. Story-wise, it was like sitting down for a five-course meal, and by book’s end I was positively stuffed. I ate good with this one, even if certain moments and character’s decisions were stomach-turning. Now… when’s the next book come out?

Synopsis

Mystery and murder swirl around a dangerous doctor. One detective vows to unravel the truth.

A supernatural thriller blending history, mystery, and the unexplainable.

Liverpool, 1920. Detective Amelia Dei uncovers a string of unexplained comas in Liverpool’s most notorious workhouse infirmary. As she digs deeper, she faces a sinister psychiatrist and a truth darker than anything she’s imagined.

“‘Stranger in the Mind’ quickly draws you in and does not let you go till the last word.” Reader Views – ★★★★★ 5 stars

Review

First saw this in the Library section of the SFF Insiders Discord and really liked the cover. A huge thanks to James for the audible code! Liz May Brice did a great job with the narration. 

1920s Liverpool delivers a setting both familiar and different. Det. Amelia Dei must fight through gender roles, misogyny, and the supernatural in this murder mystery that feels both historical and fantastical. In a way it reminded me of Shadowseer: London by Morgan Rice in that it feels like a classic mystery meshed with an almost urban fantasy twist. Or Out on a Limb by Luis Paredes with its hints at a supernatural world beyond kind of a la Men in Black (although not alien). 

Amelia will stop at nothing to upend Dr. Knight and his string of mysterious coma patient deaths. Her superiors don’t believe in her, and are finding it hard to believe her when she says something suspect is going on, but she refuses to relent. Her partner, Det. Reed, is the only one to have her back as the mystery unfolds into swirling darkness. 

This is written well and feels cohesive. I found myself wondering where the two authors blended, becoming this unique voice. The two POVs (Amelia and Dr. Knight) worked well for me as I enjoy a glimpse into the dark and madness. The only hang up I had were the flashback memory scenes with young Knight. I understood their need, as it shows his coming into his power and experiencing his dark reality—the Umbra Mentis, but they also felt like attempting to humanize. As the story opens with him committing SA and reveling in it, I didn’t find him redeemable. 

This tackles themes of sexism, gender roles, mental illness, poverty, and sexual orientation rather well. Even in a reality that turns out to have an entirely exterior nightmarish world just beyond it, these things are still present and touched on throughout. The Umbra was creepy, intriguing in what the authors held back, and I wished to know more. The inspector finally backing Amelia, as well as hinting at his awareness of the supernatural, makes me feel like there could be an expansive series even beyond the Umbra!

I really liked the last names of Dei and Knight facing off against each other. I have to imagine it was purposeful, as they even chose spellings that were not so on the nose. As the Umbra is this kind of swirling mass of black and darkness, it really felt like Amelia was the day facing off against the night.

Synopsis:

When hometown horrors come back to haunt, friendship is salvation in a novel about childhood fears and buried secrets by #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz.

As kids, outcasts Rebecca, Bobby, Spencer, and Ernie were inseparable friends in the idyllic town of Maple Grove. Three left to pursue lofty dreams―and achieved them. Only Ernie never left. When he falls into a coma, his three amigos feel an urgent need to return home. Don’t they remember people lapsing into comas back then? And those people always awoke…didn’t they?

After two decades, not a lot has changed in Maple Grove, especially Ernie’s obnoxious, scary mother. But Rebecca, Bobby, and Spencer begin to remember a hulking, murderous figure and weirdness piled on mystery that they were made to forget. As Ernie sinks deeper into darkness, something strange awaits any friend who tries to save him.

For Rebecca, Bobby, and Spencer, time is running out to remember the terrors of the past in a perfect town where nothing is what it seems. For Maple Grove, it’s a chance to have the “four amigos,” as they once called themselves, back in its grasp.

Review:

Thinking back about all the Dean Koontz books I’ve read over the years, I feel like I’ve enjoyed about 85% of them. Many have been a cracking-good time, but a handful I’ve struggled to figure out how I felt about them. I’d say in general, that’s about how I felt about Going Home in the Dark, Koontz’ latest novel. I liked the three main protagonists and I did enjoy the narrative structure of the book (I’m sure this easily turned some people off), but overall, there were a few things that I didn’t quite love, but I’m really glad I read it. 

I still remember my first Koontz book. I was in high school and found Dragon Tears on the bookshelf at my local library. My mom tried to steer me away from those black, dark Stephen King covers, but this one was silvery and didn’t at all give away that it would be one of the scariest books I’d read up until that point. 

Koontz has published a lot of books since that 1993 thriller, but he still has the chops to craft a well-told story. I think some people would point to his 2019 book deal with Amazon (Thomas & Mercer imprint), as the point where Koontz could just turn out lazy writing for an easy paycheck and guaranteed readers through Amazon’s Kindle Marketplace. The guaranteed readers might be true — I borrowed the book through Kindle Unlimited and the audiobook automatically downloaded to Audible simultaneously — but I really enjoyed Going Home in the Dark. Is it as good as what he was publishing 20-30 years ago? Perhaps not, but I still had a great time with it. 

Enough about background — the story is about four friends who have a shared childhood trauma that none of them can remember. When Ernie falls into a coma, the other three — Bobby, Spencer, and Rebecca — all return to their hometown to deal with the aftermath. What happens next is a bit of a madcap combination of IT, Weekend at Bernie’s, The Stepford Wives, and Little Shop of Horrors. There is more than a little humor to the action as the three friends try to figure out what happened to their “Fourth Amigo” without letting him die. 

There are a few nitpicks. The omnipresent narrator breaks the fourth wall (maybe the fifth and sixth at times as well), and while I liked the different tone than you would find in most books, I know some people don’t like as much humor in their “serious” horror or sci-fi. Also, due to the narrator, there are a lot of explanations and info dumps. Now, the narrator points that out and fully acknowledges it when it happens, but it happens nonetheless. If you can put up with that, I think you may have a really good time with a book by a master in the genre. 

Dean Koontz will be turning 80 years old this year, but he still understands horror and pop culture. No matter his age or who his publisher is, I still really enjoy picking up a book from him like I did this week with Going Home in the Dark.  

Synopsis

For fans of The Silent Patient and Gone Girl, a razor-sharp and Hitchcock-inspired psychological thriller about two ordinary women who make a dangerous pact to take revenge for each other after being pushed to the brink.

One dark evening on New York City’s Upper West Side, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realize they have much in common, especially loneliness and an intense desire for revenge against the men who destroyed their families. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you.

In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the beautiful brownstone she shares with her husband, Scott, is invaded. She’s attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes, who disappears into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again while the blue-eyed stranger is out there?

Review

This was pretty neat. I don’t read a lot of thrillers so sometimes it’s harder for me to guess what’s going to happen in them than in other genres. This book had a pretty satisfying mixture of WTF moments (I literally said it out loud three times within five chapters at one point), unexpected reveals, and satisfying expected reveals.

The characters were all pretty interesting and I immediately started guessing what might happen to them later on. Sometimes I was right, sometimes I was completely wrong. In a good way though, since I don’t want everything to be super predictable.

It took me a little bit to really get into it at first. The crimes that this book started out with are really sad and fed into my intrusive thoughts in an uncomfortable way. That’s why I could only do a couple of chapters a day at first, which made it hard for me to get fully invested right away. That also fueled my support for the revenge plot though. And once the drama really started to unfold, I was all in. The WTF moments just kept happening and twists were revealed that threw all my theories to the wind so I had to continue as quickly as possible to find out what would happen next.

The ending was pretty satisfying to me overall. I wasn’t sure how all the POVs would converge eventually but once that was revealed, I was so intrigued. I liked how the story ended for each character, though I did wish to have a little more info on one specifically. That one’s development shocked me the most and while I really enjoyed how that POV ended, I also wanted to know more about their motivations.

While I don’t think thrillers will be a super regular addition to my TBR, I do want to have more here and there to shake things up. A fellow reviewer is reading one by this same author right now so I’ll be keeping an eye out for their review!

Synopsis

An electrifying thriller about species re-engineering run amok, Scales is a great, fast-paced read perfect for fans of Jurassic Park.

A secret corporate-military project enhances four men with dinosaur traits to sell the public on a next-gen army of super-soldiers. But weeks before the big media unveiling, Eddie Boka, leader of the dino-prototypes, falls victim to a dark compulsion. His desperate overseers call in Dr. Adelaide LaTour, a therapist rejected by mainstream psychiatry for her wildly unorthodox methods. Sparks fly from the moment the ill-matched pair meet. But Eddie and Adelaide’s mutual antagonism soon takes a back seat to threats from deadly mercenaries and from something far worse, the monstrous byproducts of genetic engineering gone horribly wrong.

Review

Thank you to Angry Robot for the physical review copy!

A group of four have been genetically and surgically modified with traits and scales from our prehistoric apex predators. This is meant to be the next step in warfare, a way to up the ante, but also a way to ultimately protect lives. Naturally, there are some rather strange side effects when you attempt to turn humans into something else. 

As the blurb mentions, the novel opens up with a bit of a mishap. Eddie Boka, the poster boy for Project Saurian, has accidentally given into his T-Rex-infused DNA and cannibalized an enemy solider during his first live mission. In the fear of the information leaking, or the project missing its launch date, extreme therapist Addi LaTour is brought in. The hope is that her method of shock therapy will be enough to train Eddie out of it. But Eddie’s upbeat, overcome-it-all attitude has created a spark that transcends typically patient-doctor transference. There’s something more between them, and although romance isn’t the focal point, it does propel this journey. 

To be honest, other than the use of dino DNA, I think the “perfect for fans of Jurassic Park” may be a bit out there for some readers. It doesn’t go so heavy on the actual science it took to get the dino-humans to the stage they’re at, so this falls more into the realm of thriller. Although the later fights definitely have the vibe. But also, how do you even classify something like this? It doesn’t even really follow the natural flow of a novel at times either, and yet I found it works. It is intriguing enough that even when it isn’t fast it’s good, and when it took off it didn’t stop until it ended. Fast, brutal, and with intriguing deception I really was not expecting. 

A military thriller meets science fiction. A blend of billionaire gone wrong and medical/scientific advancement. I really wondered how the science would make it all work. Like wouldn’t their bodies refuse the foreign changes? Never a bad job when a book intrigues you! 

This novel also opened up the debate of cannibalism. The dino-humans started as naturally born human males, but since the transfusions and surgeries, they are kind of classified as something other. That includes in the public eye, with many labeling them as freaks. So it just kept standing out every time I read the word—if they aren’t being considered humans anymore, is it even really cannibalism? While it remains disturbing and unacceptable regardless, I wondered what it would be called otherwise. Where does science take that step past alteration and actual end up making something new?

Synopsis

When her Mum dies unexpectedly, Allyson thinks her world has hit rock bottom — until she goes to live with her estranged Uncle Otto at his country mansion in Germany. The gardener and the housekeeper make her feel anything but welcome, and her cousin Martin gives her the creeps. Then, after a child’s empty casket is unearthed in the backyard during a violent storm, people close to her uncle start turning up dead. And a man with ice-blue eyes seems to be following Allyson.

As the noose tightens and murders draw closer to the mansion, Allyson and her new boyfriend discover a dark, long-hidden truth and realise that nobody is safe. Their lives will be at stake if they don’t learn the twisted reason why each broken body is decorated with a bloodstained doll.

Review 

As far as homages to the Giallo genre go, you won’t find a more authentic one than The Bloodstained Doll. It’s a creepy slasher that plays out in your mind like the classic Italian movies of the 1970s. 

John Everson is best known for writing horror. But when he turns his hand to this particular brand of gruesome mystery thriller, he really goes all in. You’ve got to admire the gusto that he puts into what is, admittedly, a niche genre, and his passion for it really pays off.

What is a Giallo story? It’s a psychological-slasher-thriller reminiscent of the movies of Mario Bava and Dario Argento, containing stylised violence, a particular visual flair, and harping back to the Italian paperbacks of the 1920s and 1930s with their distinctive yellow covers. If you can picture a faceless killer sporting black leather gloves poised with their knife over the flesh of a beautiful woman, then you’ve got the atmosphere of what a Giallo story should feel like.

This is exactly what The Bloodstained Doll is all about — creating that atmosphere. It feels familiar because it’s supposed to. It follows the tropes because it needs to. That’s the whole point of it. These types of stories had a heyday, but fans will always crave new content, and John Everson has decided to give it to them.

The story itself hinges on the killer’s trademark — scattering a broken a doll over their victims. The conceit works on a surface level to draw you in, and provides a really impactful visual, and if that’s enough to satisfy you, then this book will go down easy. But if you crave a little more substance from your killers, then you may find it a tad difficult to swallow.

It all kicks off when an empty coffin is unearthed during a storm. The protagonist —Allyson — is a young girl who’s grieving the loss of her mother and goes to stay at a gothic mansion with her extended family. They’re all a bunch of creeps, which is necessary because the killer is most likely among them. The reason for this is that the deaths all surround the empty coffin, the missing remains, and the secrets they hold.

In terms of mysteries, it’s pretty straightforward. But this isn’t designed to be a head-scratcher. The appeal of the story is all about the aesthetics and the atmosphere, and in this regard, it’s an utter triumph. Did I guess who the killer was? Yes. Did I figure out the big secret in advance? Also yes. Does it matter? Not at all. You don’t go into this book for the twists and turns — you go in for the style. 

There’s an indulgence about the way this unabashedly hits almost every beat you’d expect from a Giallo homage, and for fans of the genre, it’s one to be relished. There are a couple of sub-plots that are well worth their time on the page — one being a romance element, and the other being a conspiratorial blackmail. It all adds up to a climax of reveals that plunges Allyson into deeper trouble, all the way to a typically bloody final confrontation.

This book could have been very different. It could have delved more into Allyson’s grief at having just lost her Mum. It could have been a richer coming-of-age drama as she navigates life independently in a new country. But it’s all the better for steering clear of too much emotional heft. Sometimes, all you want from a piece of entertainment is for it to be slick, stylish, and suspenseful. And if you’re in that zone, you can’t go wrong with this.

The Bloodstained Doll may not be a perfect mystery, but it’s the perfect take on a modern Giallo B-movie in book form. If you prefer style over substance and you’re ready for a slasher with gothic creepiness, then get ready for a book that slays.

Synopsis

A woman dives into her husband’s memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension.

Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It’s the loneliest she’s ever felt in her life.

When a mysterious stranger named Hassan appears at her door, he reveals a shocking truth: Stanley isn’t losing his memories. Someone is actively removing them to hide a long-buried secret from coming to light. If Maggie does what she’s told, she can reverse it. She can get her husband back.

Led by Hassan and his technological marvels, Maggie breaks into her husband’s mind, probing the depths of his past in an effort to save him. The deeper she dives, the more she unravels a mystery spanning continents and centuries, each layer more complex than the last.

But Hassan cannot be trusted. Not just memories are disappearing, but pieces of reality itself. If Maggie cannot find out what Stanley did all those years ago, and what Hassan is after now, she risks far more than her husband’s life. The very course of human history hangs in the balance.

Review

This book was a total cover grab based on the U.K. cover. I loved it at first sight and despite not wanting to judge a book by its cover, I happily accepted a review copy from the author. Little did I know how much I would love this book.

When I first started Dissolution, I was a little skeptical though. I found the narrative setup a little lacking and forced. Thankfully the story that was told through that POV and the second narrator, which showed us scenes from the past, kept me very interested. I also found the thought process of the first narrator very compelling. I enjoyed her little detours, rants, and memories that weren’t always exactly what she was supposed to be talking about. It made her feel so real to me.

There were some other small details throughout that I found a little questionable, but—just like the narrative setup I originally disliked—these all converged in a really satisfying ending. It felt like every detail (those I loved and those I didn’t) had a specific purpose that slowly led us to the conclusion. I fully expected to be reading multiple books at the same time as this one (ADHD brain!), but this one crept its way into my daily thoughts even when I wasn’t reading and I just could not start another one. It hooked me so thoroughly with its consistent build-up and I reached the finale breathless for the conclusion. It took right until the very last couple of pages to completely resolve. I was really worried that it wouldn’t feel as satisfying as the climb to get there, but it did not disappoint! What a clever and fitting ending!

When I had first read the description of the book, I’d been worried it might get a little too dark for me. Despite my exploration of horror this year, I still approach each thriller and horror book with caution. That wasn’t necessary with this one though. I never really got that worried while reading the book itself. Rather, what unsettled me instead snuck up on me really slowly, which were the implications of the book. It started quite innocently with its second POV. I don’t usually like most coming-of-age stories, but this one managed to stay interesting to me the whole time with its carefully chosen scenes and its swift timeline. While I don’t usually like that kind of rush through someone’s story either, here the scenes always felt important and emotionally impactful. At times, it was quite heart-breaking. At the same time it was compelling and addictive. I couldn’t look away, even when it started to feel like tragedy was approaching. It was satisfying to guess some of the reveals but also be surprised by others.

I sometimes got lost in my own thoughts about the tech that was discovered and used in the book. That’s what my worried brain got quite stuck on at times. If that technology really was part of our world, that would be terrifying. It was incredibly interesting though to follow the story woven around memories and how they could be used. I’m not sure why I thought I could read a book about memory though and not have my feelings hurt. Hehehe.

Synopsis

Contagion meets The Walking Dead in this new sci-fi thriller where a biological threat ravages scientists and military personnel at the South Pole.

As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation – until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base. In their truck is a dead body, the first murder in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do. But they soon realize the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than the body…

Within seventy-two hours, thirteen others lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength.An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.

Exhausted by suspicion and fear, with rescue impossible for months, the desperate crew members turn on each other. A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe’s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease – it is a biological weapon that can change the balance of power in a time of war.

The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them – and potentially the symbiote – back to civilization.

Review

Thanks to the publisher for this one! This is an Antarctic contagion thriller that was actually written on the continent! That’s so sick. I also really liked the cover. It’s simple, but drew me in.

A team of scientists and engineers have begun to hunker down for the winter season on the ice of Antarctica. The author does a good job of letting the reader know right off the bat that these two groups don’t really get along, foreshadowing future tensions. He also does an incredible job of juggling quite a large cast of characters, which was something I initially worried about—but no need. 

When a trio of Chinese scientists make an incredible trek across the frozen wasteland, with quite a heinous scene on display in the back of the truck, you know this is not your normal winter on the ice. One of their team had been brutalized, completely unrecognizable, and no one knows why. And even worse, the station’s Dr. Wei now thinks that all those that stepped foot on the truck after may now be infected. 

What follows is a truly high octane, nightmare fueled battle from start to finish. Where the author brings us scientific reasoning just as often as shockingly brutal violence. This is a well paced, and intricately organized thriller, and the author does not let off the pedal until it’s over. It’s a unique take, where the infestation is fighting just as hard (if not harder) for its survival as the humans. 

The novel takes place during WWIII, where its near-future take on politics extrapolated to their almost inevitable conclusion, is almost more frightening than the violence itself. But it also gives the novel this truly grounded feeling, that even without stepping foot on that ice, you can know it’s actually happening. 

To touch on this quick, the back cover says Contagion meets The Walking Dead. While I have not seen Contagion, this really is nothing like TWD, and while there are some zombie-ish descriptions it’s more like a rage-fueled illness. It felt kind of like they grabbed the biggest IP they could think of and rolled with it, even though it’s not a perfect fit. Maybe to further itself from The Thing? Now, this really in no way marred my enjoyment of this novel, I was definitely looking for it though because they put it there. Maybe more I Am Legend, fresh-turned Z Nation zombies, Days Gone even. Coincidentally the use of worms and infestation did go hand in hand with Angela Sylvaine’s Frost Bite, which I read right after, or even The Troop by Nick Cutter and Infected by Scott Sigler. 

Synopsis

A spine-tingling thriller by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about a 10-year-old girl with an impossible power, her father, and an unlikely stranger, who come together to confront the dangerous forces that want her at all costs. A strange story of family, love, comets, and bacon. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things.

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he’s been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family’s summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It’s not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn’t exactly as she appears.

Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.

Review

This is not a romance. At least not in the way I usually read them. But it’s a love story of a different kind. The kind that I think will stick with me for a while. It’s a family finding each other.

The story started off pretty slowly. I wasn’t sure what really kept me reading at the beginning, but the writing felt really smooth and compelling in a way I can’t explain. But then suddenly the story went off like a shotgun and things got really exciting the rest of the way. The pages flew by for me after that. Klune conveyed their feelings so well to me and every little interaction had my heart race. I was as worked up and nervous about their trip as the characters were.

I loved finding out more about Artemis. She was such an interesting character and I enjoyed seeing Nate completely lose his mind over her multiple times. There wasn’t much world-building since this was set on Earth as we know it, but her character more than made up for that for me.

Nate and Alex were great too. We found out about their backstories at different speeds but the way that was handled felt well done. I really enjoyed learning more about them and seeing them bloom around each other.

While I did find the very end a bit cheesy, overall I had a great time. The build-up and climax were satisfying and I really enjoyed the characters. I’m not quite sure who I would recommend this book to yet, but I do hope to see more people reading it.

Synopsis

BLADE RUNNER, TRUE DETECTIVE and DISTRICT 9 meld with the weird worlds of JEFF VANDERMEER and CHINA MIÉVILLE in Adrian M. Gibson’s fungalpunk noir debut.

TWO YEARS AFTER a devastating defeat in the decade-long Spore War, the island nation of Hoppon and its capital city of Neo Kinoko are occupied by invading Coprinian forces. Its Fungal citizens are in dire straits, wracked by food shortages, poverty and an influx of war refugees. Even worse, the corrupt occupiers exploit their power, pushing the native populace toward the brink of civil unrest.

As a winter storm looms over the metropolis, NKPD Homicide Detective Henrietta Hofmann begrudgingly partners up with mushroom-headed patrol officer Koji Nameko to investigate the mysterious murders and disappearances of Fungal and half-breed children. Their investigation drags them deep into the seedy underbelly of a war-torn city, one brimming with colonizers, criminal gangs, racial division and moral decay. 

In order to solve the case and unravel the truth, Hofmann must challenge her past and embrace Fungal ways. What she and Nameko uncover in the midst of this frigid  wasteland will chill them to the core, but will they make it through the storm alive?

Quick Review

Mushroom Blues has been racking up awards and praise—and for good reason. Gibson’s fungalpunk detective noir is a stunning read, elevated by Imogen Church’s performance in the audiobook.

Full Review

I hadn’t planned on writing a full review of Adrian M. Gibson’s Mushroom Blues. Anyone who frequents this blog has likely already heard about it, but having listened to the audiobook—which was released after the other reviews here—I feel I can probably add something to the conversation. Let’s begin there. 

The audiobook, narrated by Imogen Church, is phenomenal. Imogen throws everything into the performance, really showing off her vocal range and acting skills. Some of the narration comes alongside sound effects such as the crackle of a radio, or the echo of a megaphone. These moments are frequent enough to help immerse a listener, but not so frequent to be distracting. Each chapter is also introduced with a snippet of music, adding to the atmosphere of Neo Kinoko. 

Honestly, I worry that the Mushroom Blues audiobook may have spoiled other audiobooks for me—it’s just that good.

So, that’s what you can expect from the audiobook. But how’s the actual story? Mushroom Blues revolves around a brutal mystery. Fungals—the city’s native mushroom-people—are discovering their children washing up ashore, murdered. Detectives Hofmann and Nameko (the sole fungal on working with the police) are tasked with finding out who’s doing it and stopping them.

Beneath it all there is a story about colonial oppression, racism, and reckoning with one’s past. The most visible of these threads is the humans’ terrible treatment of the fungals. Unfortunately, at the start, our hero is no different. Henrietta Hofmann is not particularly likeable. As A.J. Calvin commented in her review, Hofmann is initially a part of the problem facing the fungals in this book. She is overtly racist, disgusted by them, and an all-around difficult person to be near—let alone be in her perspective throughout the whole story. 

At first, I thought this might be enough to make me put down the book, but I kept going and discovered the real journey Hofmann was on: one of growth and change. I can’t say more without spoiling major events of the story, but suffice it to say that if you’re struggling with Hofmann as I was, try to stick it out a bit longer. There’s an interesting discussion to be had about unlikable narrators, but looking back on Mushroom Blues I’m not sure the story would have paid off as well in the end without Hofmann’s initially off-putting attitudes. And it absolutely paid off.

I mentioned how the audiobook adds to the atmosphere of Neo Kinoko, but Gibson’s writing is already brilliant. He describes the city as a post-war wreck, slowly recovering both because of and in spite of the occupying humans’ efforts. As Andy Peloquin mentioned in his review, every part of the city blends modern architecture with fungi. The fungal language is inspired by Japanese, as is their culture, but it all still unique enough to be the fungals’. Their religion, traditions, and families feel steeped in generations of history. There are even similarities to cyberpunk stories, with a “fungal net” that acts like a kind of biological “cyberspace” for the fungal people. It’s a weird blend of ideas and genres, but it works.

I recommend Mushroom Blues. Gibson wrote an incredible debut, and Church absolutely nailed the audiobook version. If you enjoy crime thrillers, mysteries, and unique worlds, this one deserves a place in your library.