Little Red Death

 

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A killer premise. A hot mess ending.

Little Red Death by Alexandra Benedict had an intriguing premises. A thriller writer gets kidnapped and told to write gruesome murders based on classic fairytales, murders her captor then acts out in real life. So much promise in the premise. Meanwhile DI Lyla Rondell is working the case, tying the killings to fairytales and connecting them to her best friend’s disappearance 25 years ago. Great setup. But the execution just did not hold up for me. 

I’ve read a lot of UK police procedurals and Lyla’s investigation felt off from the jump. She’s relentless, I’ll give her that, but she breaks chain of evidence, goes rogue constantly, and her boss talks and acts nothing like an actual supervising inspector would. It read amateurish in a genre that usually gets these details right. And then the back half. The murders keep escalating, the kidnapped writer is scrambling to save herself, and it all tips into pure absurdity. By the ending I wasn’t along for the ride anymore. I was just along for the wreck. If the goal was a meta, mind bending finale, then mission accomplished. But it cost the story my suspension of disbelief and, unfortunately, my enjoyment too. 

If you want a fast paced mashup of mystery, thriller, fairytale horror and existential chaos, this might be exactly your book. It just wasn’t mine. 

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the gifted ARC. Little Red Death is out Sept. 8. 

You can preorder a copy of Little Read Death at Bookshop.org and help out an indie bookstore while you're at it. 

If you're interested in folktale-based thriller, read my review of The Hat Man by Greg Marchand.

About the Author

Alexandra Benedict is a bestselling, award-winning writer of short stories, novels and scripts. She she writes acclaimed short stories, high-concept novels and award-winning audio drama for Big Finish, Audible UK, Audible US and BBC Sounds among others. She won the Scribe Award for her Doctor Who radio drama, The Calendar Man, and was shortlisted for the eDunnit Novel Award for The Beauty of Murder and the BBC Audio Drama Podcast Award for Children of the Stones. Her Christmas mysteries, The Christmas Murder Game and Murder on the Christmas Express, were both bestsellers, and The Christmas Murder Game was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger. Follow Alexandra on Instagram or visit her website for more news and information about her books.

Death Meets Cute

 

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She’s failing at evil in the most charming way possible. 

I read this one purely because it was nothing like what I usually pick up, and it turned out to be an incredibly fun surprise.

Iris Weyward wants to be a proper villain. The problem is her new bodyguard is a reanimated orc named Talon who’d rather bake cupcakes than terrify anyone. Iris spends this book trying to build her wicked reputation while accidentally helping her neighbors, falling for Talon, and working with her sisters to figure out why their magic keeps fading. She’s failing at evil in the most charming way possible. 

This was such a sweet, funny listen. Talon stole every scene he was in, and the slow burn between him and Iris had me smiling the whole way through. 

It’s got found family, a little mystery, and just enough of a hint of danger to keep things interesting without ever losing that cozy feeling. Samara MacLaren’s narration matches the tone perfectly, she gives Talon this warmth that makes him impossible not to love. 

If you’re in the mood for a witchy romance with heart and humor, this is a great pick. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Sourcebooks Audio for the gifted listen. Death Meets Cute by J. Penner is out now.

Grab a copy of Death Meets Cute at Bookshop.org and help out an indie bookstore while you're at it.

If you enjoyed this review and are interested in another romantasy, check out my review of Shield of Sparrows.

About the Author

J. Penner writes cozy fantasy books filled with magic. She lives in San Diego where she can be found with her cat on her lap and a pen in her hand. Follow her on Instagram or visit her website for more news and information about her books.

Headlights

 

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🎧 Pub Day Book Review 🎧

A single human hair tied around the tongue. That image alone tells you Headlights by C.J. Leede is not playing around.

Danny Stansfield is one day from leaving the FBI when his old boss in Denver calls with the three words he never wanted to hear: it's happening again. Years back, Danny worked a string of murders he could never crack, where the killers turned up dazed and wandering, wearing the skin of their victims and a single human hair tied around their tongue, with no memory of any of it. That case cost him his marriage and chased him out of Colorado. Now the bodies are back, and so is he, partnered with his ex-wife's new boyfriend and pulled straight into his own past.

There's something different about Danny. He's seen shadows since he was a kid. There’s a pull he gets when something bad is coming. He also watched his father kill his mother, and that history starts bleeding into the case in ways he can't explain.

This is a horror novel, a police procedural, and a supernatural mystery all running at the same time, and Leede ties every thread together without dropping one. Sharp writing, never a slow patch, atmospheric all the way through. Andrew Eiden narrates, and he's carrying a huge cast plus a mountain of tension and emotion. He absolutely delivers.

This is my first CJ Leede book and I have no notes. It’s shocking, dark, and so well put together.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted early listen. Out today! Grab a copy on Bookshop.org and help an indie store while you're at it.

If you enjoyed this review, you might also like my review of  The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer.

About the Author

CJ Leede is a bestselling horror writer, hiker, and Trekkie. She is the author of Maeve Fly, American Rapture, and Headlights. Her debut novel Maeve Fly won the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award and Splatterpunk Award, and earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination. 

Follow CJ on Instagram.

Ascendents

 

Science just proved the afterlife is real. The catch? Your genes determine if you’re invited.

Today is pub day for a debut that asks what happens when the most powerful force in the world isn’t money or weapons. It’s who gets to exist after death.

Happy pub day to Ascendants by Don Schechter! 

It’s 2060, and the world has been split in two, not by war or politics, but by a scientific discovery that changes everything. An afterlife exists, but only for those with the right genetic marker. If you’re an Ascendant, transcendence awaits. If you’re a Biomass? Oblivion. And a powerful organization called the Jacobs Institute controls all of it.

This debut techno-thriller follows three characters pulled into the Institute’s web: a scientist who helped build this world, a grieving husband desperate to follow his wife into the afterlife, and a young woman fighting to survive in a society that has decided she doesn’t matter. It’s a story about what happens when science, faith, and power get tangled together in the worst possible ways.

If you’re a fan of Black Mirror or dystopian thrillers that make you think, this one is worth a look. Thank you PR by the Book and  GFB for gifted ARC! 

About the Author

Don Schechter is an entrepreneur, filmmaker, writer, and Professor of the Practice at Tufts University. Ascendants is his first novel and part of a larger sci-fi project that includes a short film anthology. He’s the founder and CEO of Charles River Media, co-host of the science fiction podcast No Win Scenario, and a lifelong student of speculative storytelling.

Forget You Saw Her

 

She thought adoption meant safety and happiness. She was wrong.

I flew through Noelle W. Ihli’s Forget You Saw Her in a way that only happens when a story grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go. It’s sharp, emotional, and impossible to read “just one more chapter” of. Ask me how I know.

Sabina made the most painful decision of her life at sixteen: she placed her infant daughter for adoption, believing she was giving her a better future. Seventeen years later, that fragile peace shatters when a detective in Utah contacts her, requesting a DNA sample to help identify the remains of a deceased teenage girl.

That letter changes everything.

Sabina always assumed her daughter grew up with loving parents. Instead, when she arrives in Utah, she uncovers a truth that is far darker than she ever imagined. What follows is a relentless, heart-pounding search for answers—and justice. Sabina is not a passive bystander in her own story. She is determined and willing to tear through every lie put in her path.

The pacing is fast. The tension keeps climbing. Just when you think you’ve found solid ground, Ihli pulls it out from under you with another twist. But what really makes this thriller hit hard is the emotion. This story aches. Sabina’s guilt, hope, rage, and grief pulse through every page.

Themes of motherhood, identity, and the lasting consequences of past choices are woven throughout the narrative. There’s also an unsettling exploration of how systems meant to protect children can fail them. And knowing the story is inspired by a real-life case—one that even has a Netflix documentary—adds another layer.

This is the prequel to Ask for Andrea, but it stands completely on its own. Whether you start here or there, you’re in for an edge-of-your-seat ride.

I buddy-read this one with my librarian friend Cindy, and we both tore through it at record speed. That alone should tell you something.

If you love emotionally charged thrillers, true crime–adjacent stories, and fierce mothers who refuse to back down, put this at the top of your tbr list. This is a book that snaps you out of a reading slump faster than you can turn a page. 

Five stars. No hesitation. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Curious about the prequel Ask for Andrea? Check out my review here.

Death and Other Occupational Hazards

 

What if Death clocked out and everything started to unravel?

In Death and Other Occupational Hazards, Veronika Duount gives us a sharp, darkly funny twist on the ultimate job burnout story. Death—yes, thatDeath—decides she’s had enough of ushering souls into the afterlife and takes a much-needed sabbatical as a human on Earth. Predictably, things do not go smoothly.

Trying to pass as human, Death lands a job at a law office and immediately runs headfirst into the mundane annoyances of mortal life: needing money, eating actual food, and navigating social norms she’s never had to care about before. But her break is cut short when she discovers an unplanned death. It’s one that wasn’t approved by the Boss and definitely wasn’t supposed to happen. That single mistake could threaten the balance of the universe itself, forcing Death back into investigative mode to figure out who—or what—is messing with the cosmic order.

What makes this novel shine is its balance. Duount leans hard into the humor. Death’s bafflement at human routines is genuinely funny, but there’s real heart here too. Life and Death are sisters, and their squabbling relationship is familiar, grounded in rivalry and resentment, and deep affection. As Death spends more time among humans, she slowly begins to appreciate the small things she once dismissed: good food, unexpected friendships, and moments of connection that give life its meaning.

Beneath the wit and irreverence, the book quietly explores big ideas about purpose, free will, religion, and what makes existence worth sticking around for. Duount never lets the existential weight crush the fun, striking a smart balance between dark comedy and emotional insight.

Funny, thoughtful, and surprisingly touching, Death and Other Occupational Hazards is a clever reminder that even Death herself might need a reminder of why life matters.

TW for animal lovers: There is a dog in this story. The dog is rescued, befriended, and loved—and later dies. It’s meaningful to the plot, but if animal death is a dealbreaker for you, I wanted to give you a heads-up. Out now. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: how do you feel about books that mix humor with big, existential questions?

#darkhumorbooks

#speculativefiction

#bookreview #fantasyreads

#thoughtfulreads

About the Author

Veronika Dapunt is a British-Austrian writer. Her debut novel, Death and Other Occupational Hazards, was a runner-up for the 2023 Comedy Women in Print Prize. She has always had a love of the darkly comic and the absurd, quite possibly the reason why her first career was in law. Veronika holds a degree from the University of Oxford and currently lives in London.