In this unsettling novella, a prank gone wrong triggers a deadly spiral. Sawyer and his friends are about to graduate from high school, and decide to employ the old mannequin they found in the creek years before to play a joke on their friend Shanna. Nothing goes as planned and Sawyer starts calculating the cost of their actions, determined to be the hero no matter what sacrifices have to be made.

This highly readable book explores the final year of the Civil War up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, tracing the origins of the Confederate spy network and its connection to superstar actor and future assassin John Wilkes Booth. I am not a Civil War buff but this really brought events to life in an engaging way, and related the truth behind the revisionist histories of later years.

A real vintage postcard inspired each story in this remarkable collection. Butler uses these brief enigmatic messages to conjure lives at moments of revelation and transition: a father forced to face mortality, a new bride tempted by an alternate path, a formerly enslaved man asserting his dignity, an Alabama spinster seeking adventure abroad, a young South Dakota woman drawn to a stranger. This is masterful craftsmanship, poignant and haunting.

This novella set in post-WWI eastern Kentucky follows Leslie, a former combat medic now working in the Frontier Nursing Service and newly arrived in a remote and insular community where, to put it mildly, the vibes are off. The local preacher has strong views about the proper role of women, and Leslie is soon embroiled in a very dangerous struggle for one young person's future. An atmospheric, vivid, supernatural story of trans self-determination.

When Sloane's husband surprises her with a weekend away with her wild best friend Naomi, she has reason to question his motives; he has a history of cheating and she has a history of letting it slide, part of her general life strategy of risk-averse passivity. A vampire encounter changes everything, but can it change Sloane's overthinking and self-loathing? While this vampire tale has some spicy moments, it's really about friendship, ride or die.

Don't know why I waited so long to read this! This mysterious novel consists of journal entries made by an unnamed narrator, one of only two living human inhabitants in a vast labyrinth of marble halls filled with statues and routinely flooded by the seas. It is hard to say much more without spoiling it, but this is an existential detective story as much as a fantasy novel, a dark and lyrical fairy tale, haunting and poignant.

Set 100 years in the future at a time when the United Kingdom has been reduced to an archipelago, this intriguing book follows Tom, a humanities professor, as he recreates the life of 21st century poet Francis Blundy and searches for his lost masterpiece, the poem "A Corona for Vivien." Tom is half in love with his idea of Vivien, Blundy's wife, but ultimately comes to understand: the documented details of a life don't always add up to the truth.

I loved The Change by this author and if possible I loved this follow up even more. Brigid and Phoebe are estranged sisters, descendants of a long line of powerful women. Phoebe is a healer, while Brigid has the gift of death, and together with a third they are meant to restore balance to the Earth. The history of choice and sacrifice that led them to this pivotal moment is totally absorbing. I would like witch powers immediately please!

Following the death of his business partner and seemingly only friend, Chris Curtis is the unwilling interim chief of the company responsible for the eddy, a worldchanging technology that occupies most of the day for most people. He lives on a massive SkyYacht airship, literally floating above it all, until an intern with plans gives him a new perspective. Engaging and all too plausible, although the ending left me with questions.

Anastasia Miller is a changeling, an alien plant person who replaced her human counterpart at age 3. She's always been honest about who she was, but with an invading force on the way, her quiet life in customer service is about to be upended. An intriguing concept, strong start and interesting ending made this book worth reading, but the messy middle felt repetitive. Also, who gets on a plane when they're wanted by the feds? Take the interstate!

This brief, surreal novella consists mostly of a few extraordinarily long run-on sentences, which makes for a strangely propulsive galloping pace. The narrator is a librarian named "herman melvill," obsessed with the author of the same name, as well as author Malcolm Lowry and architect Lebbeus Woods, and the idea of a Permanently Closed Library. His descent into madness is strangely compelling, although I couldn't tell you what it means.

Set on the Kentucky /Tennessee border in 1955, this atmospheric mystery novel follows Dave Hendricks, a WWII vet and former mayor, as he investigates the murder of the ne'er do well son of the richest man in town. This novel made me briefly wish I lived on a houseboat, while also examining the corruption and hidden costs behind the creation of Kentucky's man-made lakes. Author Silas House has said there will be a sequel--looking forward to it!

A thought experiment about a future pandemic provides the framework for this book, which examines the lessons and mistakes of the COVID pandemic while outlining policies and planning that could mitigate the impact of a novel virus. Osterholm speaks authoritatively while recommending clear communication about what can and can't be known. The current administration's haphazard and devastating cuts make this level of preparation impossible to imagine

This book started off a bit slowly & introduced a wide cast of characters, but once it kicked in it was an intense, harrowing & absolutely gripping read. Neva, a pregnant teenager, is banished to a remote home in Florida where she can be hidden away until her baby is born & given up for adoption. When she gets a very special book from the visiting bookmobile, she & her new friends realize they have more options than they realized--but at a price.

I read this after seeing the author on The Daily Show; it must have been bizarre to see the book's premise become less far-fetched with every passing day of this administration. Set in an alternate future where Americans of Vietnamese descent are detained in camps as security threats, the book follows Jen, a young college student; her half-sister Ursula, a journalist; and their extended family as a piece of racist legislation changes their lives.

In 1920s Georgia, Maryse wields a supernatural sword that helps her battle the demonic Ku Kluxes rampaging alongside the more standard-issue human Klansmen. With her friends and fellow warriors Chef and Sadie, she is determined to stop the evil responsible for the death of her family, but the forces of hate are more powerful than she can imagine. A powerful tale of grief and resistance, love and revenge, magic and history.

When Burl Spoon's daughter Dee Dee goes missing, the trail leads to the Begley family. Soon two rural Kentucky crime families are at war, exacting a terrible cost. The author has an impeccable ear for dialogue--as someone raised in eastern Kentucky, I could hear these characters plain as day. Highly recommend for fans of S.A. Cosby and Eli Cranor.

When four high school friends go into the woods one night, they encounter an inexplicable staircase. One of them, Matty, climbs it and disappears. Decades later the remaining three have the chance to find out where the staircase leads, only to be trapped in a hellish house of horrors. A gruesome supernatural tale of alienation and connection, trauma and resilience, and the imperfect, essential bonds of friendship.

Free-spirited Birdie is struggling as a single mother and waitress at a backwoods lodge in Alaska when she meets Arthur, a mysterious and reclusive man with unfathomable secrets. When Birdie and her 6-year-old daughter Emaleen move to Arthur's remote cabin, their idyllic wilderness existence comes face to face with the most dangerous thing in the woods. An atmospheric fantasy vividly and realistically told.

This fascinating account describes the movement to understand and accept "intermediaries," a term of art meant to encompass gay, trans and intersex individuals in the Weimar Republic. Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld oversaw an institute that also offered community and a sense of belonging, which he hoped to someday see reflected in society. An eye-opening look at a little known history, although the justifications for intolerance sound all too familiar.

Three astronauts arrive on Mars, charged with preparing the way for a future colony, only to find that the colony lab is badly damaged and the robots who assembled the base have undergone some inexplicable changes. This novella-length horror story packs a punch--tense, full of surprises, a claustrophobic nightmare of space exploration gone wrong.

Ayanna is a twin, but when she chose to live with their father after the divorce, her sister Olivia chose their mother. While Olivia lives a conventional life and attends Catholic mass, Ayanna is raised in the ways of Pathsong, a group devoted to the study of mysterious blue doors that appeared spontaneously around the world. A reflective, deeply moving novel about grief and finding meaning through connection, although the ending was a bit evasive

In this thoughtful memoir, the author recounts her childhood as the daughter of Baptist missionaries in Haiti. Her hot-tempered father, an agronomist, applied all his missionary zeal to reforestation efforts with little regard for the effects on his family. The author uses her parents' letters, church documentation and interviews to offer a clear-eyed look at the complicated legacy and shortcomings of missionary aid, however well-intentioned.

Set in a logging community in a redwood forest in the late 70s, this heartbreaking book follows Rich, a 4th generation logger, and his wife Colleen, who has recently suffered the latest in a series of miscarriages. Their financial future depends on the destruction of the land they love, even more so once Rich takes a risk on a parcel of land with a massive redwood. A story of greed, environmental devastation, and the families caught in the middle.

Three Black women working in retail have one major thing in common: massive student loans that have caught the brutal attention of the debt police, turquoise-clad wellness bros who relentlessly pursue the indebted. After multiple run-ins with the debt police, Jada enlists the help of her coworkers to set things right. Scathing humor lightens the intensity of a story that feels all too real, especially these days.

A crash involving a self-driven car kills two people and raises questions about who exactly is to blame: the 17-year-old behind the wheel? The father in the passenger seat? The AI system in the car? The algorithm's designer? As the police close in, secrets emerge that threaten to drive the family apart in this compelling and thought-provoking look at how technology affects every aspect of our lives.

Boubacar is a chercher, a detective who finds the missing, as well as a deux-fois, his features and light eyes revealing him as half-French. When an injured woman appears on his doorstep and asks for his help, only to be found the next day floating lifeless above the city center, he is drawn into a complex web of intrigue that will determine not only his country's future, but also what it is allowed to know about the past.

In a world where the British eliminated the independence movement and India continues to suffer under oppressive colonial rule in the 1960s, Kalki is both a promising young scholarship student and the daughter of a long-vanished rebel. As the years pass, Kalki must continually weigh the cost of resistance against her desire to follow in her father's path and fight for India's freedom. A compelling and heart-wrenching story of rebellion.

"I learned how to hope at nineteen."

Just starting this one!

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

This inventive and absorbing first contact novel follows Adaora, a marine biologist; Agu, a soldier; and Anthony, a Ghanaian rapper, as they encounter a life form with the power not only to shapeshift but to change other living creatures. An atmospheric, fascinating and sometimes horrifying account of Lagos and its evolution in the face of unprecedented evidence that aliens have arrived. I wish I'd noticed the glossary in the back a little sooner!

When Valerie, an inexperienced hiker in her 40s, disappears on the Appalachian trail, the Maine game warden office pulls out all the stops to find her. Bev, the game warden organizing the search, becomes emotionally invested in finding Valerie, trail name Sparrow, as she learns more about the missing woman & the joy she brought to those who met her. An absorbing story about the wilderness, mothers & daughters, and an increasingly desperate search.

Lily is a contestant on a reality show where contestants must bunk next to a member of the opposite sex each night or be kicked out. While the compound can provide big rewards when things go right, the contestants must complete challenges designed to create drama and follow certain rules or risk terrible punishment. Lily just wants to have nice things, relax, and escape a tedious life, but how much does she want to win? I really enjoyed this one.

In this challenging & ultimately devastating follow up to Hell of a Book, two parallel storylines converge. One follows an author on a book tour arriving at a college campus devastated by a mass shooting, while the other follows Soot, an author on tour in Europe pursued by a larger than life stalker. At the heart of this book is a gun; everything it is and can mean, every way it can destroy a life. I will be thinking about this one for a long time

When Theo travels with her wealthy fiance to his family's isolated compound in the mountains for Christmas, she hopes they won't look too deeply at her family background. Before it's over, secrets will be flying left and right, and not everyone will leave the mountain alive. I wasn't sure about this one at first--it initially seemed like the same old, same old--but by the end I was completely hooked.

Shizuka Satomi owes Hell one more soul in order to save herself and regain her music, and she thinks she's found the one: Katrina, a gifted violin player who is also a trans teenage runaway. Meanwhile, Shizuka finds herself distracted by Lan, a starship captain and galactic refugee who's also running a donut shop with her family. A lovely book about found family and connection that doesn't shy away from the heartbreak and abuse Katrina experiences

It took me a moment to get into this story with its multiple timelines and broad cast of characters, including 3-4 Peters. Once I became fully absorbed in the parallel mysteries at the book's heart--the disappearance of Bear Van Laar in 1961 and of his sister Barbara 14 years later-- I couldn't put the book down. I'm still not sure whether the answers were completely satisfying, but it was certainly an engrossing read.

In Hangzhou in 815, two snakes dream of becoming human; hundreds of years later, Su is the perfect wife to an up and coming politician in Singapore, while Emerald is wild, free and broke in New York. When Emerald's date with a would be sugar daddy makes the news, Su rushes to help, only to see her carefully cultivated self-control shatter and her secrets threaten to drive her sister away for good. A vivid, fast-paced and fascinating tale of family

As the general manager of a luxury hotel in rural West Virginia in 1942, June "Hoss" Hudson has a local accent, a talent for management, and most importantly, a gift for balancing the sweetwater, the (super)natural spring that affects the energy of everyone at the hotel. When the State Department and FBI replace the hotel's guests with detained diplomats from Germany, Italy and Japan, June comes to question everything she thought she wanted.

Hiaasen has always been the champion chronicler of Florida Man in all his incarnations; with this latest entry set in Palm Beach and the Winter White House, he takes on the Florida Man-in-Chief, a POTUS whose deranged lies turn a bizarre accident involving a Burmese python into an anti-immigrant witch hunt, until Angie Armstrong, a wildlife expert with a record, takes matters into her own hands. A hilarious, fast-paced read with satirical bite.

Stilwell, a former diver turned LA County sheriff's detective, has been exiled to Catalina Island after a run in with a colleague. Now there's trouble on the normally sleepy island, and Stil has to decide whether to risk his newfound happiness to investigate a murder that isn't his to solve. Like Connelly's Bosch novels, Nightshade is meticulously detailed and grounded in a sense of place, with a lead character who doesn't suffer fools gladly.

I listened to this audiobook and found it riveting from start to finish. A former New Zealand diplomat, the author sought out a position at Facebook because she believed it could be a force for good in the world. This story of how little the executives thought about the consequences of their actions and failure to act, how little regard they had and still have for the human beings using their products or in their employ, is genuinely horrifying.

Miranda is writing her thesis on Beatrice Tremblay, a little known horror author whose novel was based on the disappearance of her college roommate in the 1930s. As she digs deeper, parallels arise with the stories her great-grandmother, Nana Alba, told her in Mexico. A tense, gripping tale of witchcraft and survival, told in three alternating timelines. And what a beautiful cover!

I won an ARC of this slim, haunting book about five sisters, orphans who live with their nearly blind grandfather. When the local ferryman's resentment of the girls and their silence leads him to start a wild rumor that they transform into dogs, the town quickly turns against them. An unsettling and memorable fable, although readers who prefer clear and definitive resolutions may want to look elsewhere.

I listened to the audiobook of Red Scare and found it really captivating. The story goes far beyond the grandstanding McCarthy Senate hearings; so many careers and lives were ruined by anti-communist fervor and by the parallel investigations of the Lavender Scare, by Hollywood's rapid capitulation, and by the slightest association with labor or civil rights groups labeled communist-adjacent. The echoes with our own turbulent times are unmistakable

In this riveting novel, the first US plane sent to drop a nuclear bomb on Japan in WWII crashes before it can deliver its payload. When the Japanese military recovers the bomb and realizes what it actually is, Yagi, an ethnic Korean in the Japanese Navy, and Keizo, a physicist whose wife has been detained by the secret police, are caught up in a plan to use this devastating weapon against its makers. I couldn't put this one down.

The theme for book club this month was disability pride, and I'm very glad it led to me reading this engaging and often surprising memoir. Josh Miele was four when he was blinded and disfigured in a senseless attack. Miele's intelligence, creativity and insatiable curiosity led him to find ways to accomplish his goals, lead a meaningful and independent life, and ultimately make the world a better and more accessible place for other blind people.

This beautiful and elegiac book follows two timelines: ten thousand years in the future, where Nick explores a pristine world in search of any trace of human life; and 2068, where a plague has landed what may be the final blow to climate-ravaged humanity, and a team led by scientist Natalie Quist attempts a last desperate effort to perpetuate the species. This was not a long book but I had to read it in small doses because it made me so sad.

Money is at the heart of this tense drama about a pyramid scheme in the guise of a women's empowerment group. The Bishop sisters grew up wealthy until their father lost his job: now in their 40s, they are struggling: Debra, under the weight of her husband's medical bills; Pam, in battle with her duplicitous ex; and Harper, still reeling from a break up that left her with a debt she cannot pay. The Wheel promises prosperity, but at what cost?

In this dystopian satire, movies have been replaced by "advertainment," and the most popular product is the Claustrosphere, a bio-shelter designed to help the owner survive the eco-death of the Earth. Skewering Hollywoood, consumerism and corporate greed in equal measure, the story follows a screenwriter, a star, an eco-terrorist, a celebrity activist & Plastic Tolstoy, the all powerful business tycoon. Over the top but also somehow all too real.

In this sequel to The One, a near-future United Kingdom has instituted policies that greatly favor married couples who submit their relationships to AI monitoring, granting them priority access to health care, lower taxes, etc. A wide cast of characters show the consequences, intended and otherwise, including a serial killer who takes advantage of his role as a Relationship Responder to target victims. An intriguing and disturbing read.