The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen

 

In 1964, four remarkable young women at a prestigious university became the subjects of parapsychology experiments by a visionary scientist. On the cusp of a historic breakthrough, the women mysteriously vanished and the program was erased from history. Decades later, Riley Bell, newly divorced and desperate for a fresh start, accepts a caretaker job for an elderly widow named Betty. Riley steps into a home that is frozen in another era - no microwave, television, or cell phones, and Betty has never heard of the internet. 

Why has Betty lived in such profound isolation for so many years, and why does she need Riley now? As the story unfolds across two timelines - Betty’s 1960s era of 5 o’clock martinis and high-stakes experiments, and Riley’s quest to uncover the truth about the missing women - old secrets rise to the surface. And the only way to survive is to confront the mystery that has lingered for sixty years.

Told on two timelines, the present day and 1964, when women aspired to be Betty Crocker, (is that why a main character is named Betty?)  this is the story of four young women who endured psychological torture under the guise of parapsychology experiments at a prestigious university.

In the present day, Riley is homeless and penniless, living in her car until she is offered the position of live in caretaker of one of these women, now elderly and in a wheelchair from a terrible accident. Betty wants Riley to help her reconnect with her former friends.

I love a good historical fiction mystery, and I enjoyed the first half of this book a great deal. Betty's point of view from 1964 was especially compelling, as was learning what her friends went through as the experiments became more and more grueling. It was heartbreaking and tragic to find out what happened the day these friends separated. Three of these four ladies were married, but of course all three husbands were too cowardly to stand up for their wives until one finally did when it was too late.

 I was less interested in Riley and her marital discord. The eventual reveal of who has resurrected these experiments and the reasoning behind it left me wanting a better explanation. All in all, an enjoyable read even if parts of it bothered me.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC.

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Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden

Maggie Wise will take your eyes.

When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.

But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child―when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.

From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way.

Malcolm and his siblings grew up in the shadow of their mother's reputation as the town's witch. Now she is on her deathbed and Malcolm is left to care for her alone with his sister-in-law Violet, while his brother and sister seem happy to ignore her, leaving it all on Malcolm's shoulders. This is more than just an emotional burden. Fulfilling Maggie's last request to be buried in her birthplace will set off a gory, savage bloodbath as ancient evil beings try to prevent Malcolm from this task while on a killing spree of anyone who crosses their path.

I am always excited to read a new Christopher Golden, and this one did not disappoint. Carry Me To My Grave is an action packed, fast paced, supernatural train ride through family dysfunction, ancient curses, sibling rivalry, and heartfelt sacrifices. How the author could manage to fit a love story into the midst of all this death, destruction, and blood splatter is beyond me, but he did it. 

I cared so deeply for these characters and was heavily engaged in the juxtaposition of the selfishness of some vs. the selflessness of others. The dangers that lurked around every corner had my heart in my throat, and the suspense was almost too much to bear.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for the invitation to read an advance copy.

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Thorns by Gregory Bastianelli

A deadly contagion spreads throughout the world, while scientists grapple to find a cure before it's too late...

Dr. Monica Cucinotta works on the front lines of a hospital in Cassino, Italy, dealing with a deadly contagion that causes thorns to erupt along the surface of the body. When Monica becomes infected with the virus and must leave the hospital, she begins a journey across the dark landscape of a pandemic world where she meets the best and worst of humanity that tests her belief in science and faith as she struggles to return home to her loved ones.

 

 Thorns is the name of the fast spreading, highly contagious disease that is rapidly causing suffering and death across the globe. There is no cure, there is no treatment.

 Hospitals are overrun, businesses are closed, nobody is allowed to be out in public without a valid reason. Food is scarce, funerals are not allowed, bodies are piling up. One courageous doctor who stayed on at the hospital, choosing to live there so as not to infect her family, gets fired when it is learned she has contracted Thorns. This is her story as she tries to make her way home in such perilous times.

Along the way, she will reflect on how she came to be in this situation, looking back on her choices with both resolve and regret. She will be met with kindness, contempt, and several dangers as she comes into contact with survivors and other infected people while coming to terms with the probability of her own death.

 I usually avoid books that revolve around pandemics, diseases, viruses, etc but being a fan of the author's previous works, I could not keep myself away from this one. Highly recommended to those who are ready to handle it. It may be a difficult subject for some. This is an anxiety inducing medical horror that brings stark reminders of those first early, panic-stricken days of Covid, except that unlike COVID, there have so far been no survivors.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for the ARC

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Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist

“The symmetry should have tipped me off.”

After a violent incident at work, Tamsin goes looking for a fresh start in a remote cottage far away from her old life. Here she could make real friends, find a job she loves, become a whole new person, even.

But the solitary cottage is actually a semi-detached, with only a thin wall separating her from a total stranger. Her neighbour is an enigma. Dowdy one moment, vivacious the next, but always wearing an unnerving smile. Tamsin can’t shake the feeling that there’s something wrong with her, especially when she starts experiencing disturbances in her own home.

As the locals share strange stories about her house, and her barely contained paranoia spirals out of control, Tamsin begins to suspect that the past she was so desperate to escape might never let her go.

 

Tamsin has always felt less than. Unwelcome, unwanted, or just ignored. After an incident at work, she left her job, her home, and even her town without a word to anyone. Wanting a fresh start, she buys a cottage sight unseen, based solely on photos and a description on a website.

When she moves in, she discovers it is not as described. In fact, it is a duplex and another woman is living right on the other side of the wall. A strange woman who bangs around at all hours of the night but is rarely seen.

Homesick felt like a combination of folk horror and psychological study of a woman who felt acute rage, shame, and alienation at every slight by others, whether real or imagined. If she was indeed "homesick" it was for a time and place that never really existed for her.

Throw in some creepy rumors about the previous residents of the cottage and what may have become of them, along with the weird happenings Tamsin is experiencing in her not so happy home and you've got a recipe for a spooky good time. 

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Rebellion Publishing Ltd for the e-ARC

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