Emily Calkins

Leigh Bardugo is such a master - this is excellent on every level. The world building is rich and unique. The plot is hugely complex, but all the pieces come together in the end. The characters are wonderful, nuanced and deeply flawed and yet you can’t help root for them. I love this series and I’m not even mad that this ended with another cliffhanger. Excellent audio, too, if that’s your thing.

The performances in this are just so, so good. The mystery plot didn’t feel special to me - it’s fine, it works - but the characters and their relationships make it a standout.

I’m not much of a nonfiction reader, but I thought this was excellent. It starts as a fascinating and accessible history of the Troubles, then morphs into a really interesting exploration of history, memory, and how people document atrocities. And then it ends with a perfect little true crime stinger. Just really well done.

Really well done, but so tense and stressful that I had to fast forward through parts 😬

Funny, sharp, deeply satisfying.

Part family drama, part mystery, part romance. I really liked this story about a teenager who moves from DC to small town Georgia so her parents can care for her dying grandmother and all the secrets the move unearths.