NLW: Staff book picks: Tonia & Kristin

 

Tonia

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

 

I’ve always had a soft spot for gothic horror, especially stories centered around haunted or mysterious houses—and A House with Good Bones hit all the right notes for me. This Southern gothic tale is one of the cleverest horror novels I’ve read in a while. It strikes that rare balance between witty and unsettling, offering some genuinely funny moments without ever sacrificing the eerie atmosphere or the creepy tension that builds throughout the story.

I really enjoyed the main character, Sam, and her relationship with her mom. Their dynamic felt real and grounded, even as things around them started to get stranger and more unsettling. Their stories about Sam’s grandmother—whose presence is felt in both subtle and chilling ways—really stood out to me. As the buried family secrets start to unravel, the story picks up momentum and becomes a real page-turner.

There’s a lot of fun to be had in this book, but it also has teeth. It doesn’t let you get too comfortable or cozy, which I appreciated. If you enjoy stories with decaying houses, Southern folklore, and a mix of humor and horror, you will love this like I did.

 

Kristin

TJ Klune builds intricate, authentic characters and can weave dozens of threads into some of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever read. His published works vary in scope, but the ones I love most are the Cerulean Chronicles: The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea; Under the Whispering Door; and The Bones Beneath My Skin. This last one was self-published in 2018, but republished in a new edition by Tor Books in 2025. Bones is a bit of departure from Klune’s feel-good cozy fantasies. Nate Cartwright has just lost his parents, his job, and even his brother has no interest in him. Nate returns to the only things his parents left him—a cabin and a truck, deep in the Oregon woods. Unfortunately, the cabin appears to have been recently occupied. A little girl calling herself Artemis Darth Vader and a tightly wound man named Alex quickly turn Nate’s life upside down. Part thriller, part supernatural/sci-fi/fantasy, and a tiny part romance, this “latest” book from Klune is already on my best of the year list.

 

Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet by Samantha Allen 

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Untamed by Glennon Doyle 

Family Family by Laurie Frankel 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune 

Assistant to the Villain &  Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer 

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman 

Bittersweet in the Hollow and Lies on the Serpent's Tongue by Kate Pearsall

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanne Raybourn

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

New Books in January!

 

Arden, Katherine  The Warm Hands of Ghosts

Balogh, Mary  Always Remember: Ben’s Story (Ravenswood)

Brennan, Allison  The Missing Witness (Quinn & Costa)

Burke, James Lee  Harbor Lights

Carr, Robyn  The Friendship Club

Chen, Mike  A Quantum Love Story

Coble, Colleen  Fragile Designs

Dailey, Janet  One in a Million

Delany, Vicki  The Sign of Four Spirits (Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery)

Fawcett, Heather Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

Frankel, Laurie  Family Family

Goldberg, Lee  Dream Town

Goodwin, Daisy  Diva

Grippando, James   Goodbye Girl (Jack Swyteck)

Hawkins, Rachel  The Heiress

Hunter, Stephen  Front Sight (Earl Swagger)

Krentz, Jayne Ann The Night Island (Lost Night Files)

Lester, Natasha The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard

Maas, Sarah J.  House of Flame and Shadow

Michaelides, Alex  The Fury

Patterson, James Holmes, Marple & Poe

Perry, Thomas  Hero

Robb, J.D.  Random in Death

Taylor, Brad  Dead Man’s Hand (Pike Logan)

Willingham, Stacy  Only if You’re Lucky

Nevermore: Olive Again, Constitution, Symptoms of Being Human, This Is How It Always Is, Historian, Less

Reported by Jeanne

Nevermore opened with praises being sung for Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout.  The first book, Olive Kitteridge, was greatly enjoyed by the group (indeed, someone was currently reading it) and this second one is deemed a most worthy sequel. As with the first book, there are a series of connecting stories about the lives of ordinary people in the small town of Crosby, Maine.  Olive Kitteridge, a retired school teacher, is the link between them.  Olive is a wonderful creation. Blunt, stubborn, curmudgeonly, Olive is still very relatable.  Strout has a gift for creating characters who feel real and for infusing her stories with a deep humanity.  One reader commented that she found it amazing that Ms. Strout, who appears so young could write so movingly and realistically about old age.

How to Read the Constitution and Why by Kim Wehle is a very thorough examination of the U.S. Constitution.  Very. Thorough.  Word by word thorough. And not just the current meaning of some of the words but the historic meanings as well.  Our reader said it was good but slow reading.  She had heard the author speak and found her to be lively and interesting, but that didn’t really show up in the book.  It’s an important book on an important subject, but it was not engaging.

The next reviewer has been reading about the changing concepts of gender and sexuality.  In The Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin, Riley is a fourteen year old who is gender fluid.  Some days Riley feels more masculine, sometimes more feminine.  Riley dresses in a neutral style, but that doesn’t stop bullying by classmates.  To complicate matters further, Riley’s father is a congressman who is running for re-election in a very conservative district, so Riley’s questions of identity must be kept secret. This is a YA novel, so there is a good bit of teen angst but our reader still found it entertaining and informative.

Her second book was Laurie Frankel’s This Is How It Always Is which centers around a family with a child with similar issues, but at a younger age. Rosie and Adam have four sons—or so it seemed, but their youngest child, precocious Claude insists that he wants to be a girl when he grows up and wants to wear feminine clothing.The family accepts this, but problems arise as Poppy becomes old enough to attend school. (Kristin reviewed this book back in 2017.)

A new Nevermore attendee was enthusiastic about The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  As the story opens, a young woman finds a dragon-emblazoned book which contains a collection of letters that seem to indicate the legendary Dracula is very real.  This launches a search across countries, with flashbacks to earlier time periods.  The reader said that the book bogged down somewhat in the middle, being packed with well-researched historical information.  There are some genuinely chilling scenes as well--another Nevermore member said she had put it down at times because it was so frightening.

Another character who sets out on an international adventure isn’t so much searching for something as avoiding a situation.  Andrew Less is a middle aged man whose younger lover has decided to marry someone else.  In a desperate attempt to avoid the ceremony, Andrew accepts every professional invitation he can and sets out on what will become an international journey and a voyage of self-discovery.  Our reader called Andrew Sean Greer’s novel Less funny and satiric, but also a poignant book about love.

Nevermore: High School, Physics, Waking Lions, Laurie Frankel, Flower Moon, and Chimney Sweep

Reported by Ambrea

Nevermore started out with a look at Lindsey Lee Johnson’s debut novel, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth.  Johnson’s novel is a “kaleidoscopic narrative [which] exposes at every turn the real human beings beneath the high school stereotypes,” according to the book jacket.  The Most Dangerous Place on Earth tells the story of Abigail Cress, an Ivy League bound student who has an inappropriate relationship with her teacher; Dave Chu, a decent student being crushed by his parents’ expectations; Emma Fleed, a gifted dancer who parties as rigorously as she practices; Damon Flintov, a student just back from rehab who has something to prove; Calista Broderick, a popular student who shaped herself into a “hippie outcast”; and Molly Nicoll, an English teacher who struggles to connect with her richer, more privileged students.  Our reader said she found Johnson’s novel eye opening.  She thought it might be slightly exaggerated, given the obscene wealth of the characters; however, she considered it a very honest presentation of high school life and adolescent relationships.

Next, Nevermore switched to nonfiction with Storm in a Teacup:  The Physics of Everyday Life by Helen Czerski.  Czerski, a physicist who specializes in bubbles, offers a unique and unexpected perspective on daily phenomena, like how trees manage to “drink” water and why milk looks like it does when added to tea and why raisins cause carbonated lemonade to bubble.  Our reader thought Czerski’s book was very interesting.  He thought it was fascinating how the author was able to link complex concepts of the physical universe to the simple, almost humdrum daily routine most people lead.  He liked the simple discovers and, as a special treat, he showed his fellow readers how he was able to turn a glass upside down without spilling a single drop of water.  Using surface tension and a simple piece of cardboard, our reader was able to turn the fully filled water glass upside down and hold it, never spilling a drop.  Needless to say, we were all very impressed.

Nevermore also looked at Laurie Frankel’s latest novel, This is How It Always is.  Rosie and Penn have five children—all boys, all rambunctious—but, as time goes on, they discover that Claude, their youngest son, has dreams of being someone different.  He wants to be a girl.  Rosie and Penn are supportive of Claude, because they want him to be whoever he wants to be; however, they’re just not sure if they’re ready to share his secret with the world—and then, one day, it’s no longer a secret.  Our reader liked Frankel’s novel.  She wondered if this novel was slightly autobiographical, as the author also has a transgender child; however, she thought it was an interesting novel regardless.  She said it would make an excellent book club recommendation, because it would be so easy to find different perspectives on such a charged subject.

Next, Nevemore visited Ayelet Gundar-Goshen’s latest novel, Waking Lions.  A gripping story from beginning to end, Waking Lions tells the story of neurosurgeon Eitan Green and a deadly mistake that may cost him his family, his reputation, and, quite possibly, his life.  While speeding along a dusty, moonlit road after an exhausting day, Eitan hits someone, an African migrant, and then he leaves the scene.  The next day, the victim’s widow shows up on his doorstep with his forgotten wallet.  She doesn’t want money—she wants help, and she’ll have his if no other.  Although she hadn’t finished reading Waking Lions, our reader said it was an interesting novel.  It’s complex and it’s jarring; however, she did note that she’s “had it up to ‘here’ with all the guilt and angst.”

Nevermore revisited Killers of the Flower Moon:  The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann.  During the 1920s, the richest people in the world were the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma after they received an unforeseen windfall from the oil discovered beneath their land.  But, one by one, the wealthy Osage were being picked off and investigators were murdered, before J. Edgar Hoover and a fledgling FBI became involved.  Our reader, like many others before her, thought Killers of the Flower Moon was interesting and unexpectedly captivating.  Written well and researched just as thoroughly, Grann’s book was an immediate hit with our current reader.  She said she was particularly entranced by the formation of the FBI.  She found it fascinating to see how more modern, according to the time, investigative techniques were used and how forensics—and Texas Ranger Tom White—influenced the floundering Bureau.

Last, Nevermore picked up Death of a Chimney Sweep, a Hamish Macbeth mystery by M.C. Beaton.  Set in isolated villages in northern Scotland, Death of a Chimney Sweep features Constable Hamish Macbeth investigating another mystery—this one the mysterious murder of Pete Ray, the affable, itinerant chimney sweep of the Scottish highlands.  Our reader loves Hamish Macbeth mysteries, and she was glad she had a chance to dive back into Beaton’s novels.  She said the story was “so light, so fast” and re-reading it was a “wonderful refresher.”  She highly recommended Death of a Chimney Sweep—or any other Hamish Macbeth mystery by M.C. Beaton—to her fellow mystery readers, especially if they were looking for an enjoyable, light mystery that borders on not-too-grisly.