Avery different experience than the Perry Mason novels, though Gardner‘s trademark dialogue and crime schemes are both evident.

Finishing this book makes me want to cry. It‘s like losing a friend.

I wanted to like this one! I like the concept and the execution. The tension is phenomenal. I completely understand why everyone recommends it. I just don‘t know why it felt like a slog to me.

OH MY GODDD WHAT DID I READ?!

“Dear notebook - I‘ll tell it to you straight- in my opinion the best horror magazine covers are the ones where the lady‘s boobs aren‘t spilling out as she‘s getting attacked by a monster. Those covers give me something worse than the creeps. I think the boob covers send a secret message that it is very dangerous to have breasts. - and considering what Mama is going through, maybe the magazines know stuff that we don‘t…”

At least I can say I‘ve read it?

Starting this today. Small town isn‘t pleased at the arrival of a new nurse. Can‘t wait to see what they‘re hiding.

Archeological horror? For me?! Don‘t mind if I do!

Shirley was an Elvis fan. Also Fats Domino, much to the distress of everyone else in the household.

I liked this one! It did some pretty unique things for the genre.

This is a surprisingly fun read but Tom is an asshole.

Lighter than most haunting stories, this is a great little palate cleanser for your spooky season reads.

Love the atmosphere and the premise, but I don‘t like how Simon views other people and I‘m having a hell of a time figuring out how much is the character and how much is the author‘s bias bleeding through.

I‘ve read a lot of “my life got derailed and now I‘m going to open a bookstore” novels, but so far this is the only one that looks anything like my experiences working in a bookstore.

I love this team‘s work and I was excited for the premise, but I‘m not seeing any of the care Brubaker &co usually put into their work, and none of the perfect jigsaw bits, it‘s still hot the gritty-noir vibe, but I‘m just not feeling this one.

I wouldn‘t care so much, but she‘s so specific about everything but her reading material, now that‘s she‘s out of college. She‘s always reading mysteries but never says which ones.

Loving this so far!

I started reading this the day before my uncle died, which made this a really weird read. Lots of good stuff about grief, though.

It was so well done and I hated it SO MUCH.

Had a blast with Vandy and her entourage and I‘m looking forward to reading more in the future.

Another one for my not a cishet white dude detective list.

I‘m writing this with tears drying on my cheeks.

Brilliant and devastating. I haven‘t read Manhunt so I didn‘t really know what I was getting myself into. The prologue could stand as its own short story, but is a hell of a bit of foreshadowing. We know exactly what the kids in the novel are going to face but the slow, dread-building pacing as they creep closer to that revelation is addictive.

During a leisurely reread of The Haunting of Hill House I decided to snag a copy of the letters. I love reading correspondence, and Jackson‘s somewhat eccentric personal correspondence is a blast. This is an excerpt of a letter to her future husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman (“seh” of the excerpt) while on summer vacation from college.

I got so absorbed in the world and small town drama that the actual revelation of the killer felt like I was being robbed, though there were enough clues that I knew who it was going to be. I hope there‘s a sequel.

I‘m not loving this book as much as Vermilion, partly because I read to escape the tourist trap where I live, and partly because the costume party portion was long and painful due to blackface and yellowface costumes.

This exchange is pretty great, though, and there aren‘t any references to the first book so it shouldn‘t be a problem to skip ahead to Slate.

If this book had been around when we were kids my brothers and I would have been obsessed. Beautiful art, fascinating world design, and great emotional storytelling.

I‘m always on the lookout for queer detective fiction and this fits the bill nicely. Despite the murder of a hustler and the crackdown on the queer community in Boston following the discovery of the body int he lawn of a notoriously homophobic politician, this book remains surprisingly upbeat without dismissing the violence and grief. Excellent banter and solid character have me craving the rest of the series.

The first 12 pages are Álvaro narrating a movie he wants to direct based on getting stranded on the highway ?

I‘m not a fan of body horror, so we‘ll see how this goes. At least I‘m not usually squeamish about it.

It‘s time!

Fuuuck. Maybe I worked too many years in customer service but this made me tear up.

Now for something a little different! I can‘t resist library romances.

I finished this six months ago but it still creeps up on me out of nowhere. Short term impact I had a couple of jumpy moments around our two dogs. Longer term, I‘m looking at people and feeling like I can dee the roadmap of scars that got them to the present, while having absolutely no concept of scale or quality. Messed me up.

HELL YES! Intrigue, swordplay, and a queer romance? This is going in the shelf with Swordspoint and Maledicte!

I‘ve had this sitting in my Kindle library for ages and never got around to reading. It‘s actually pretty damn engaging.

Gotta love the right thigh/hip agony rep in here, though I‘m fairly certain mine isn‘t demonic in nature.

I‘d been meaning to check this out and finally cracked it open. I‘m definitely going to have to hunt down a copy for my shelf of loaner kidlit books.

I absolutely NEED a spin-off novel(la?) focusing on our Renaissance vampires

Selkies and spinsters and sapphics, oh my!

My hold ran out on Libby before I could finish the book 😭2 weeks until it comes back around

This ghost girl story has lingered with me for tears, but I‘d forgotten it was from Inuyasha!

Eric and the girls just left the spite house to head for Eunice‘s and I have a fictional little old lady I‘d like to drop kick.

I bought and read the first 21 standard volumes as a teen and really loved them. Unfortunately my collection took a hit and most of them were unrecoverable. I saw the Vizbig editions on Libby and thought I‘d give them a shot for nostalgia‘s sake.

It‘s… very different reading them in your 30s. The story is still interesting and I‘d forgotten how many horror elements there were! But also Kagome is only 15 and some bits of the manga feel icky now 😭