Happy Day After Halloween!
I am proud to report that the library did a group Halloween costume and it was A+++, if I do say so myself. We won ‘Most Creative’ out of all the departments and honestly, the only reason Accounting won Best Overall is because they brought a dog in. No one can beat a dog.
But enough of that, let’s get to the books~
Good Reads from October
A Most Agreeable Murder - Julia Seales
Yes, this falls into my ‘historical woman solves a mystery’ genre. This book, however, stood out because it is at once a mystery and also very much a sendup of Austen-style stories and can be incredibly silly. For example, the gentlemen murdered is named Croaksworth. I was feeling a little weird about it at first, it seemed a little too silly, but as I kept reading, I fell into it and by the end, I was pretty well hooked. I enjoyed several of the “twists” towards the end that really played with different Austen stock character types and the running joke that the youngest sister, Mary, may or may not be a werewolf. There was a set up for a sequel and I would definitely seek it out.
I really enjoyed White’s previous book Hide so when I saw this, I knew I had to check it out. It concerns the now-grown stars of a long-forgotten children’s television show, a little bit Candle Cove-y but much more menacing. White did some really fun things with including bits of lore between chapters and I enjoyed the set up and the worldbuilding. Parts of it were a little too close to Hide for my liking but ultimately, I really liked where it ended up and I’d recommend it for a good, spooky read.
Decagon House Murders Vol 1-5 - Yukito Ayatsuji & Hiro Kiyohara
I was right: this works so much better as a manga. The stilted language works better when it has images to go with it and it’s easier to follow along and keep track of who’s who. They also updated it, as the original novel took place in the 80s and the manga takes place in 2018, as well as changing a few plot details, turning one male character into a girl (and the best character), as well as adding a new epilogue. Honestly, I think it works so much better than the original book and I would recommend this being the way to consume this story, if you’re interested. The original author collaborated with the artist to make it so he’s 100% behind it and it was a much better experience. And the twist? Still worked. A+++
The Deathly Portent - Elizabeth Bailey
This is the second ‘Lady Fan’ mystery and, having really enjoyed the first one, I was ready for it! And it … was fine? The first Lady Fan book (which I apparently didn’t write about, despite reading it in March) was fun, one of those ‘we’re all at a family estate and then dun dun duuuuun, murder!’ books. The heroine, Otilla (or Tillie), was very charming and by the end of the book, I was ready to read more about her and her husband Francis (who she got together with during the first book.)
This second book, though? Woof. There are a lot of things that are slightly off-putting, like our heroine, rather than happening to be in a town when a mysterious murder happens, just hears a weird murder happened in a town she has no connection with and is like “well, we have to chill while our broken carriage gets fixed so let’s go bother some folks. GIRL.
The main thing, though, is slightly spoilery but you probably won’t read this book so: oh, the way Bailey wrote lesbians. To be fair, the first line of this (white) author’s bio is ‘Born in colonial Africa’ so I wasn’t shocked but it’s just, it’s very off-putting. And it’s only really delved into in the last 50ish pages and it’s bad, it’s just very very bad. Not intentionally cruel but ignorant, lazy, and needlessly stigmatizing. That combined with the next books not being in any of my local library systems, I think I may be done with the Lady Fan books.
Death at the Manor - Katharine Schellman
Now, this is a book who knows how to write an old lesbian couple correctly. The third in a series I’ve been enjoying, I picked this to read because it talked of a ghost being the suspect in a murder which seemed appropriate for the month. I think my thoughts on this one are best summed up by this tweet (what do we call Bluesky posts?) I made halfway through:
One thing I’ve enjoyed about the Lily Adler series are the companions, the love interest Jack and her best friend Ofelia (and Ofelia’s adorable husband Ned.) Jack was offscreen for the entirety of this book and a charlatan (who I would have probably liked much better if he weren’t a love rival) named Mr. Spencer got all the attention. Rude! Luckily for me, I had waited long enough to read it that the next book in the series had come out in September, so I immediately put it on hold so as to restore my fair in the Lily/Jack endgame.
Murder at Midnight - Katharine Schellman
I told you, I had to know!! This one was fun, everyone trapped by a snowstorm during a ball, wakes up the next morning to a murder. Not only is Jack back but his whole family is there and his little sister is the main suspect. I really enjoyed Amelia, said little sister, who got some POV chapters which were a fun change up. Also, since Jack and Mr. Spencer were both at the ball, it was a nice chance to actually view these characters against each other and see why, obviously, Jack is the better choice (not that I have a strong opinion or anything.) There was one bit that raised my asexuality stereotype hackles on a edge a little but other than that, it was a very fun mystery and now I have to wait a whole year for another book. Rude.
The Haunting of Ashburn House - Darcy Coates
I love me a haunted house and I had read woefully little horror this spooky season so I let myself pick this up. It’s a little over 300+ pages but it reads incredibly quickly. A girl in her twenties with only 50 bucks and a fluffy cat to her name finds she’s inherited a big old house in a tiny little town from a great aunt she didn’t knew existed. But the gift might be a curse. I’m really torn on how I feel about this book. The burn is slow and Addy, our heroine, is alone with her cat for most of it so it’s a lot of her just looking around an old house. I really enjoyed the ultimate story and what was going on and the ending was weirdly very sweet? But that was all in the last fifty pages or so. I needed more of that throughout. (And don’t worry, the cat is fine.)
October sure has been a month, huh? Between family stuff, friend stuff, and just work in general, I’ve felt a bit run ragged. There was good news mixed in there (super secret project that I’m keeping on the dl got some very good news and fingers crossed I can update more next month) so it wasn’t all bad but I am looking forward to November being better.
First of all, my best friend Katy is flying out to spend the long weekend with me for a joint birthday celebration (mine is the 10th, her’s is the 15th.) She’s never been to Portland and I’ve booked us a condo at the sea for two days so we can relax and watch the waves while also watching Our Flag Means Death over and over (we are nothing if not brand consistent.)
Secondly, I get another long weekend for Thanksgiving. Not that any big Thanksgiving plans are in the works but two four day weekends? In one month? You like to see it.
Everyone cross your fingers for me that I get my big secret project proposal finished this month (that’s the goal!) and remember: if you becoming a paying subscriber for this newsletter, you get to tell me a book to read and I’ll devote a whole issue to it. A special missive, just to tell you what I think about whatever nonsense you send me. I’m just sitting here, waiting, twiddling my thumbs.
See you all in December! (Or sooner, perhaps?)