As the stores close, a winter light / opens air to iris blue / glint of frost through the smoke / grains of mica, salt of the sidewalk. ~ from “February Evening in New York” by Denise Levertov
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
from the publisher: Grim Wolds, England: Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect governess―she’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But long, listless days spent within the estate’s dreary confines come with an intimate knowledge of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family.
This was a very odd but vibrant book. It’s short. It’s blunt. It is strange. It’s the inner narrative of Winifred, governess to the Pound children, who could not be any less like Mary Poppins. I am not surprised it is already being turned into an A24 movie.
Read via NetGalley.
Publisher: Liveright (February 4, 2025)
Language: English
Hardcover: 208 pages
ISBN-10: 1631498630
Something in the Walls By Daisy Pearce
from the publisher: Newly-minted child psychologist Mina has little experience. In a field where the first people called are experts, she’s been unable to get her feet wet. Alice Webber is a thirteen year old girl who claims she’s being haunted by a witch. The town of Banathel has a deep history of superstition and witchcraft. As Mina races to uncover the truth behind Alice’s condition, the dark cracks of Banathel begin to show.
I greatly enjoyed this very well-paced and imaginative novel. With Gothic and folkloric elements, it is also presented in a realistic way – Mina is a novice psychologist and Sam is a journalist looking for a story like this. It makes it all the more believable, and makes it all the more unsettling.
Read via NetGalley.
Publisher: Minotaur Books (February 25, 2025)
Language: English
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1250334381
Bitter Passage by Colin Mills
from the publisher: In May 1845, Sir John Franklin, commander of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, departed England to seek a navigable route across the top of the Americas. He and his 128 men never returned. Four years later, Royal Navy Lieutenant Frederick Robinson and Assistant Surgeon Edward Adams are determined to find the men missing in the Arctic. While they are united in purpose, they are divided in ambition.
I have made no secret of the fact that I love reading about doomed Arctic (or Antarctic) explorations. Franklin, the Erebus, and the Terror is probably my favorite one to learn more about, so I was taken with the idea of a book about the crew who tried to find them. Despite trying more than once, I was unable to read this book. The writing was clunky and the format was even more heavy-handed. I really wanted to fill in the gaps of my knowledge of the rescue efforts but I quickly realized this was not the book to do that.
Read via NetGalley.
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (January 1, 2025)
Language: English
Paperback: 303 pages
ISBN-10: 1662520603
You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
from the publisher: When renowned anonymous author J. R. Alastor hires former aspiring writer Mila del Angél to host a writing retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance—particularly since she has an axe to grind with one of the invitees. The guest list? Six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem.
Unfortunately, this is another dud for February. And Then There Were None is one of my favorite books and I am happy for someone to give the genre a twist, but this novel was all over the place. Multiple points of view that don’t hang together mean the story never coalesces. The overarching voice is all over the place and ultimately makes for a weaker novel.
Read via NetGalley.
Publisher: Bantam (February 11, 2025)
Language: English
Hardcover: 384 pages
ISBN-10: 059387157X
Buried Alive by AJ Griffiths-Jones
from the publisher: The macabre meets the factual in this spine-chilling exploration of humanity’s darkest fear: being buried alive. From ancient folklore to modern medical marvels, Buried Alive delves deep into the annals of history, uncovering tales of premature interment and miraculous escapes.
It was a great idea for a book but very poorly executed. There are no stories, no themes, no real historical context. It is a collection of random examples of accidental burials (or close calls). Most are only a couple of sentences long. This needed a serious editor to encourage the author to categorize and contextualize the examples, and show them how to choose stories that have real throughlines and can be explored.
Read via NetGalley.
Publisher: Pen and Sword History (February 13, 2025)
Language: English
Hardcover: 240 pages
ISBN-10: 1036111709