Category: Fiction

Posted in Adult, Fantasy, Film, Historical, Mystery, Nonfiction, Romance

Movie a Day: In Order of Least to Most Enjoyed

Posted on by Molly

In June I decided to try and watch one movie a day for an entire year. The idea is, I will end up spending less time looking at the little handheld screen, and more time looking at the bigger, vertical screen. I’ve mostly been watching films featured in the Library of Congress Nation Film Registry, and more recently Sight and Sound’s Greatest Movies of all Time list. They’re great lists. I hope you take a look.

Below, I listed the films I watched over the last month in order of least to most enjoyed. I only actively disliked two pictures that I finished watching, so things get quite hair-splitty in the middle. All films are available in the Monarch catalog on DVD or BluRay. I also watched a handful of these films on Kanopy, which you can access with an active Mead Public Library account. 

Experiment commenced June 30, 2026
Batch timeframe: Aug. 11- Sept. 13, 2026
Movies watched in that timeframe: 30
Total days elapsed: 76
Total movies watched: 59

Did Not Finish/Rewatch:
Hester Street (1975) DNF
Early on in the film, a man meets his family at immigration in New York City. He hasn’t seen his wife in several years, and maybe has never met his young son. He is short tempered and cruel to his wife and hits his son within 30 seconds of coming into contact with him. I could not go on.

Flower Drum Song (1961) DNF
While the cinematography is stunning to look at, everyone gets five guesses why I only made it halfway through this film.

The Black Stallion (1979) rewatch
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It was on Kanopy and I had credits left, so I spent an evening steeped in nostalgia. 


The watchlist:
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
I love John Ford, but I hated this movie and its sentimentality borne out via working class suffering. It had already fallen out of favor by the time I was old enough to be aware of film, so I never even heard of this movie until my adulthood. The big claim to fame for modern movie-lovers is that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture over not just The Maltese Falcon and The Little Foxes, but goddamn Citizen Kane.

Sergeant York (1941)
Gary Cooper, I hated your dumb pumpkin pie haircut and convenient moralizing that gave you permission to kill Germans as long as it’s for God and country. I consider this military recruitment propaganda of the lowest order. Cooper’s awe-shucks side-of-beef lunkhead country boy countenance annoyed me more than any other movie character I’ve encountered lately. Sergeant York was nominated for Best Picture alongside How Green Was My Valley so what do I even know. 

VelociPastor (2019)
B is for “budget” movie, and fellas we’ve got a good one here. Physical copies are hard to come by, so I regret to inform you that at the time of this blog’s publication you’ve got to pay to stream. Here’s hoping that changes when the highly anticipated VelociPastor 2 debuts later in 2026.

The Night of the Iguana (1964)
This felt like John Huston trying to recreate the circumstances that made The Treasure of the Sierra Madre such a singular accomplishment. We’re in Mexico again, but instead of wily prospectors and murderous bandits we have jealous lesbian aunts, aging poets, and a very oily Richard Burton. It’s based on a Tennessee Williams play after all, so of course it’s sordid as heck. Ava Gardner is incredible.  

The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)
Jack Warner didn’t want to cast Monty Woolley in the starring role (which he originated on Broadway) because he was afraid the actor’s homosexuality would be obvious on-screen. This is the kind of thing I think about when I start to get a bit too rhapsodic about the golden age of Hollywood. 

The Exiles (1961)
Great experimental doc about young Native Americans who choose life in the Bunker Hill neighborhood of Los Angeles instead of the reservation. Lots of moody, grainy, melancholy black and white footage of Angel’s Flight and the surrounding dilapidated bars and haunts. 

The Pawnbroker (1964)
Watch this to feel empty and horrified!!!! This is the first film produced entirely in the US that dealt with the holocaust from a Jewish survivor point-of-view. It’s also the first Hays Code film to contain nudity, and helped catalyze studio movement away from the code completely. 

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)
Haha these people are a bunch of jerks, huh? I didn’t understand this picture. 

Version 1.0.0

Marriage Italian Style (1965)
Sophia Loren is sensational, but o! This movie was so mean-spirited! 

Parking Lot Movie (2010)
This itches that Clerks-shaped spot many of my cohort had pressed into them in 1994. Most of my friends (and I) were over-educated and under-employed at the turn of the century, so there was a lot of pattern-recognition here. 

Hud (1963)
Hud is the evil side of the Long Hot Summer coin. Hud, played by the ever-beautiful Paul Newman, is such a piece of shit I could hardly make it through this thing. Patricia Neal is the best she’s ever been, and she’s never been bad. 

Becky Sharp (1935)
Aesthetically notable for being the first feature film to use the newly developed three- strip Technicolor technology. Indeed, it’s gorgeous to look at, and I loved the rapid-fire dialogue of the sharp-tongued Becky Sharp.

Little Fugitive (1957)
Shot in the style we would now call cinéma vérité, François Truffaut claims the French New Wave couldn’t have happened the way it did without this movie and that it inspired him directly when filming The 400 Blows. 

Atlantic City (1980)
I was waiting for the worst character in this film to get murdered because I hated him so much and then he got murdered and I could really start to enjoy myself.

The Watermelon Woman (1996)
This film is unusual to the point that defies my description. It’s funny and sweet and romantic and even a bit edifying. It made me think about representation in film in a whole new way. Please watch this movie.   

Five Easy Pieces (1970)
I didn’t know anything about this movie prior to watching, and was charmed with what I saw. The central dysfunction driving the plot made more sense to me than whatever was happening in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Everyone was flawed, but so much more sympathetic than an Edward Albee character. Karen Black delivers the performance of her career. 

Key Largo (1948)
That’s right, it’s another fabulous John Huston/Humphrey Bogart collaboration. Add in Lauren Bacall and Edward G. Robinson and you’ve got a highly watchable and troubling top-of-the-line film noir picture.

The Informer (1935)
The thing about John Ford is that he tends to work in at least one crazy bar fight in each of his films. The Informer is no different, and also features my other favorite Ford trope of incomprehensible drunken Irishmen. This morality play was filled with complex and hopeless people pushed to their limits by the circumstances they were born into. 

Wanda (1970)
This movie is unique unto itself. Wanda is passive in her own life and has very few resources or prospects. She is totally apathetic in a world that doesn’t care about her. I understood Wanda and saw pieces of myself in her, so I loathed her and rooted for her and forgave her in a really personal way. Filmmaker Barbara Loden would die of breast cancer ten years later and I think that’s a really cruel thing for the universe to do. 

Notorious (1946)
Good lord does Ingrid Bergman ever go through it in this Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece. How can Claude Rains be that charming AND a hidden Nazi?

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
John Huston’s dad, Walter Huston, originated the archetypal wise, grizzled prospector we all know and love with his role here. He’s astounding in a film packed full of towering performances, including Bogart’s finest turn as the loathsome Fred C. Dobbs.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
Gene Tierney is easy to watch whether she’s the femme fatale or the meek country wife and she seems to be having the time of her life here in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. This short and sweet romance hit all of the expected beats and it didn’t matter that I knew how things would end. This is as cozy as it gets, folks. 

The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance (1962)
When Lee Marvin gets to go full-sneer as the villain I feel so happy. He’s mean and evil as Liberty Vallance and we are all actively rooting for his death in no time. I have a bigbrain and knew the title was trying to impart some subtext to the audience, so I had an inkling at what we were working up to. Anyone devoted to the western genre would love this film.

The Band Wagon (1953)
I struggle with musicals. The first musical I saw in my life was Singing’ in the Rain and it’s pretty hard to go anywhere but down from there. The Band Wagon was written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green who also wrote Singin’ in the Rain and this is right up there in quality. I was astonished to find myself welling up when Cyd Charisse and Bing Crosby finally danced together. They are my symbol for everything that goes right in Hollywood. 

Lifeboat (1944)
This movie has everything! The horrors of war! A drowned infant! Madness! Amputation at sea! Nazis on amphetamines! Mob justice! Starvation! Suicide! Romance! Filming took extra long because cast members kept coming down with colds from being soaked and shivering all day. 

Gun Crazy (1950)
Don’t look this up. It’s better to go in blind. Get yourself a copy from your local library, or stream it on Kanopy as soon as you can. Why isn’t this movie more well-known? I was breathless the entire back half of the film. 

Red River (1948)
Another western? Oh yes, but this one is something else. It’s a story of found family, grit, and fortitude. It’s also kinda about being gay, but that’s mostly us thirsting after a very handsome Montgomery Clift comparing pistols with a very handsome John Cherry. I literally hooted and hollered. It scared the cats. One million out of five stars.

There are nearly 10,000 DVD and BluRay discs currently in circulation at Mead Library alone. With access to Kanopy and the rest of the Monarch system, we have a pretty healthy array of visual material at hand. I am happy to take suggestions. In fact, I LOVE being the only library in the system to own weirdo indy titles no one has heard of. Use the “Recommend a Purchase” tool to indicate what you’re after and selectors (me) will work to get that title out for circulation. We also have this handy Your Next Five Movies tool to use when it’s hard to choose from the 10,000 discs on the shelf.

I’d like to take a moment to brag about the condition of Mead’s DVD collection. Of the sixty or so movies I watched since June, only one skipped out of the whole bunch. The clerks who shelve and maintain our collections do an incredible job of keeping these materials useful for literal decades. Thank a library clerk that next time you’re in the building.

Posted in Film, Horror

Horror Films With Great Sequels

Posted on by Sydney Anderson

Believe it or not, it’s almost October, and if you’re a horror fan, that means you’re probably already thinking about all the scary movies you’re going to watch.  Today, I thought I’d take the opportunity to explore an underappreciated niche of the horror genre: the truly great sequel.  If horror movies have been unfairly maligned until quite recently, horror sequels have had it even worse.  I thought it would be fun to take a stand against the stereotype by showcasing some films that were later followed up by sequels that are, in my opinion, just as good or better than the originals.  Interestingly, both of these stellar sequels happen to work as standalones – it’s not necessary to watch the original in order to follow the plot or to appreciate the movie as a whole.  Maybe that says something about the importance of creating something that can stand on its own, even when making a sequel.  That being said, seeing the original of course always helps.  As such, I’ve presented both sequels alongside the originals that inspired them.  Enjoy!

Cloverfield

Definitely dating myself here, but I remember the mystery surrounding Cloverfield’s release.  Nobody knew what the movie was about, or even what the title meant – and of course, that only made everyone eager to find out.  I didn’t have the opportunity to see Cloverfield in theaters, but I got it on DVD not long after, and I think I was just as surprised as everyone else by the movie we got – a fusion of found footage horror and alien invasion disaster film, in which a group of friends’ scramble to survive an extraterrestrial attack on New York City is captured on a personal camera.  Those two genres might not sound like they go together on paper, but think again.  Alien invasions are an old trope, but Cloverfield makes that idea scary again by narrowing the focus.  By placing the audience alongside a single group of characters and limiting what we can see to what their camera can capture, Cloverfield makes us feel the terror of their helplessness in the face of the unknown.  Cloverfield took audiences by surprise and revitalized two genres everyone thought they knew backward and forward, and even now, there’s still not really any other film like it.

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Posted in Adult, Staff Picks, Thrillers

The Doctor Will See You Now

Posted on by abbiebourelle

Coincidences are weird, but sometimes you just have to roll with them. That is how this blog post idea came about. It was not my intention, but it seemed many of the books I had been reading contained the theme of the main character being a psychiatrist. Buckle in and prepare to question reality in the following mind bending recommendations! The Doctor will see you now. . . .

The Boy Who Could See Demons by Carolyn Jess Cooke

This is one of C.J. Cooke’s early novels (she used to write as Carolyn Jess Cooke). For being an early novel, I immensely enjoyed it. Alex (our boy who sees demons) was an absolute delight and a well written, slightly awkward young boy. I loved his character so much. But the question is: can Alex really see demons or is he suffering from a mental health disorder? This is what Anya, our main character psychiatrist, has been tasked with finding out. Alex has come under her care after his mother attempted suicide.

Alex claims that his best friend is a demon named Ruen. Ruen is thousands of years old, knows a lot of history, and is the rank of Harrower. Ruen is not what you would expect of a demon (for which I was pleasantly surprised). Yes, he can appear terrifying, but instead of being a creature out of The Conjuring or Insidious, he is witty and interesting. He has a depth of character that pulls you in. He claims that he is studying Alex as Alex is the only human who can see the demons. According to Ruen, everyone has a demon assigned to them. Alex can see them all.

What is Anya to make of all this? She is dealing with her own trauma. She could not save her daughter that was suffering from a mental illness even with her psychiatric background. Her daughter jumped out of a window at twelve years old. Anya believes that Alex shows the same symptoms that her daughter did. She is desperate to make sure this tragedy never happens again. The stakes mount as Alex’s behavior gets worse and worse. He claims he is just doing what Ruen tells him to do. The more time she spends with Alex, the more troubled Anya becomes. Alex knows things-things he could not possibly know. Is Alex suffering from a mental health disorder or is Ruen a real and frightening danger?

At times this books felt like a love letter to The Skrewtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. He and that novel are referenced quite a bit. This was something I delighted in. If you have not read The Skrewtape Letters, I will also include a link below to access from our catalogue. I was pulled into The Boy Who Could See Demons and spent many a late night reading this one.

Click HERE to request The Boy Who Could See Demons!

Click HERE to request The Screwtape Letters!

Continue reading “The Doctor Will See You Now” →
Posted in Biography & Memoir, Film, Historical, Uncategorized

What have I been watching and reading lately?

Posted on by Beth

I have always found myself drawn to history. My interest ranges from more recent history all the way back to ancient histories of Egypt, Greece, and beyond. One of my favorite genres to read is historical fiction, usually I find myself with more questions at the end of a historical fiction book than I had prior to starting. Some stories really just stand out to me more than others. When that happens to me, I go searching for either books, documentaries, or movies about the actual event, or the actual person I have just finished reading about.  

I find myself frequently visiting the WWII era. My journey started like most, learning in school of Anne Frank, and although I was young when the movie Schlinder’s List, I remember watching it. So much from that time period is hard to fathom, that I believe, that is what keeps bringing me back to it.  Whether it be through books, movies, or documentaries if something that I have not read or seen comes to my attention, I usually dive right in.  

I found that happening a lot in the past year. I feel like when the big box office shines light on this era, it brings attention back to a pivotal point in our history.  With big office movies like Nuremberg and Truth & Treason hitting the screens last fall and available for streaming or DVD this past winter, I have spent the good part of this year in that era specifically on one story.  

The story that stuck with me the most this past year has been Truth & Treason. 

Continue reading “What have I been watching and reading lately?” →
Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Thrillers

Library Reads – August 2026

Posted on by Zachary

August means another summer reading program is coming to an end; remember that August 8th is your last day to enter your reading time and use those prize tickets to be entered into the drawings! But just because the summer reading program is finishing for the year doesn’t mean that your summer reading has to end. The new month also brings with it another LibraryReads list. You’ll find the books library staff voted on around the country in this post and a blurb from one of the people who voted for that book. After you read today’s blog post, make sure to check out the other books on this month’s list.

Majestic Hills by Dawn Turner

Dr. Blaque just wants to live somewhere quiet, and his wife Josephine—wary of the suburbs—agrees to move on a one-year trial basis. At first, their predominantly white neighbors seem like the picture-perfect, friendly community, but after an awful crime, prejudice starts showing up in full force. As the year deadline creeps closer, the couple wonders: can they make it, or is their marriage—and safety—about to blow up? – Magan Szwarek, LibraryReads Ambassador, IL

NoveList read-alike: Missing Sam by Thrity Umrigar

Continue reading “Library Reads – August 2026” →
Posted in Adult, Fiction, Historical, Horror, LGBTQI+, Thrillers

Found At Book Club

Posted on by Sydney Anderson

Sometimes, I feel silly that I took so long to join a book club.  I think since I have a somewhat idiosyncratic taste in books, I was afraid that joining a book club would entail reading a lot of books I disliked. Not only was I wrong, I was missing the entire point of being in a book club.  In a book club, even if you end up disliking the selection, you still get the satisfaction of venting about why you disliked it.  This is just one of the ways book clubs turn the normally solitary activity of reading into a social one, and I think the value of that really can’t be overstated.  I’m also happy to report that since I started attending the Sheboygan County LGBTQ Alliance book club, I’ve liked or loved far more of the selections than I’ve disliked, and many of the ones I’ve loved the most were books I probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise.  Unfortunately, there are too few hours in the day and too few days in the week for me to get involved in all of the amazing book clubs you can participate in through Mead Public Library.  We have book clubs for readers interested in mysteries, nonfiction, readers who want to make art based on what they read, and so much more.  Consider this blog post a snapshot of the amazing experiences I’ve had with a book club, and an invitation to try one that matches your interests and see what you might discover.

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters is famous for two things: her beloved trilogy of historical novels portraying the experiences of lesbian women in the Victorian era, and her mastery of the art of the plot twist.  Affinity delivers in both departments.  The story follows Margaret Prior, a woman struggling with a stifling family environment and severe depression, and her relationship with Selina Dawes, who is serving time in prison for conducting fraudulent seances, one of which led to the death of one of the participants.  Since Margaret is, as far as anyone knows, a law-abiding gentlewoman, her visits are intended to aid in Selina’s moral rehabilitation.  However, as the pair become closer, Margaret becomes captivated by Selina’s magnetic presence and convinced that her abilities as a medium are entirely real.  Affinity is probably the most underdiscussed of the Victorian Trilogy, possibly because it’s easily the bleakest and most pessimistic in tone. At times, it reads like a descent into the psychological underworld – and I devoured every page of it.  If you’re craving a merciless historical thriller that never lets up for a moment, complete with a tragic gut-punch of an ending, Affinity is your book.

Continue reading “Found At Book Club” →
Posted in Adult, Fantasy, Horror, Staff Picks, Teen & Young Adult, Thrillers

Separated Sisters

Posted on by abbiebourelle

Dear reader, lately I have discovered a trend in my reading. Books that I have read recently seem to have the similar theme of sisters being separated but finding closure or reigniting their relationship. This is not a theme that I set out planning to explore, the books I have chosen to partake in were pure serendipity. A bit about me: I do not have a biological sister. I have two stepsisters that I love and enjoy spending time with, but we did not become close until adulthood as we did not grow up together. Do I wish that I had a sister? I do not know. I have close female friends I consider akin to sisters. I think that is enough for me. I did enjoy reading these books (mostly thriller) that explore sister relationships. I hope you also enjoy traveling down the dark twisty roads of the bonds of sisterhood in the following novels!

The Clinic by Cate Quinn

If you read my last month’s blog post you will remember that I was awaiting The Clinic to come in. After much anticipation and excitement my hold finally arrived! Was it worth the wait! Oh yes, very much so. The Clinic was so good I read it in a week.

“To solve your sister’s murder, you might need to solve yourself.”

Meg and Hailey did not have an easy childhood growing up with an abusive famous mother. As an adult Hailey became a famous country singer. Meg took a security job at a casino. Both became addicted to drugs and alcohol. Hailey wanted to change and get clean so she enrolled herself in a new treatment center: The Clinic. The Clinic is a specialized place that the rich and famous can come to get clean. It is incredibly fancy and costs a fortune to attend in-patient treatment. That picture perfect image is shattered when Hailey is reported dead from an apparent overdose.

Meg knows her sister. Hailey would not overdose or risk her life like that. Facts about the case just do not add up. Suspicious, Meg decides to go in undercover to get to the truth about the goings on inside of The Clinic. Meg quickly realizes that in order to solve her sister’s murder she must get clean and solve her own childhood trauma first. The Clinic kept me guessing at every turn. I had no idea who could possibly be the killer. Usually I have an inkling. This one is full of unexpected plot twists. The setting is also chef’s kiss. The Clinic is no ordinary addiction treatment center.

I feel it is worth noting the author’s note in the beginning of this book. Cate Quinn confesses that this is her first novel written completely sober. Many of the ideas she got for this novel come from her own treatment for the conditions of alcohol abuse. She says that this is the novel she is most proud of. After reading it, I must say she has a right to be proud.

Click HERE to request The Clinic!

Continue reading “Separated Sisters” →
Posted in Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, New & Upcoming, Romance, Thrillers

Library Reads – July 2026

Posted on by Zachary

With the way the weather has been this week, it’s a perfect time to get out of the heat and do some summer reading. Along with the heat, July has brought a new LibraryReads list full of book recommendations from library staff across the country! Below you’ll find some of the books from this month’s list along with a review from one of America’s numerous library workers.

Top Pick: The Story Keeper by Kelly Rimmer

In this compelling gothic novel set in Australia, recently divorced 50-something Fiona buys her uncle’s decaying country estate with plans to refurbish it. But the locals fear the place is haunted. When Fiona discovers a novel that appears to be set in the house, it becomes a dual-timeline story, with chapters from the book woven into the narrative. – Robin Beerbower, LibraryReads Ambassador, AZ

NoveList read-alike: The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

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Posted in Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Staff Picks, Thrillers

Dark Romance, Black Widows, and 42 is the Answer to Everything?

Posted on by abbiebourelle

Dear reader, this last month was quite an interesting reading month for me. I dabbled in the Dark Romance genre that is highly popular right now. I finally, after all these years, read all The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books for the first time. I also read a thriller novel with a very unique premise that I was not sure I would like (spoiler alert: I was smitten by it!). I enjoy giving books a try that I may not normally pick up. Dear reader, please enjoy my offerings of books that may be a bit out of the ordinary. Perhaps you will also like to give one a try that is not on your usual reading menu.

Hooked by Emily McIntire

Have you looked at the book selections at Walmart and Target lately? If you have you will see that dark romance is all the rage right now. As a librarian, I am seeing these books coming through on a daily basis. Of course I am curious! I myself am attracted to the dark and spicy side of the bookshelves. The thing is, I just do not read romance often. The genre attracts me, but usually other books (thrillers, nonfiction, or The Dragonriders of Pern) get my attention first. Well, I told my usual To Read list to take a break and made a point to read Hooked.

I chose Hooked as I am a Disney nerd. I have also always rooted for Hook over Peter in the Peter Pan story so I was sold with Hook being the hero/love interest. Honestly, I did not expect much. I thought this would be a poorly written bit of fluff. To my surprise and delight it was really well written and good! I fell in love with the characters! James Hook was a complex character that ended up exploring issues of what childhood trauma does to a person. Wendy was loveable and quite relatable. I was emotionally invested! Hooked is very very loosely based off the Peter Pan story. It is not a fantasy. It takes place in the real world. Peter is an adult rich businessman who owns an airline company and is trying to get into the drug (Pixie Dust) trade. Wendy is his adult daughter who he ignores and treats like crap. Wendy was instantly likeable. She was unaware of her father’s illegal activities. She is trying to make a life for herself outside of the shadow of her rich and famous father. In trying to make that life, she ends up going with some friends to a nightclub called The Jolly Roger. . . .

The Jolly Roger is owned by the notorious James Hook. The town bad boy and heartthrob. Every girl wants him, but he will give none of them the time of day. (Yes, he just smolders. The accent does not hurt either.) Seeing Wendy on the security feed gives him a plan, a dark plan steeped in revenge. See, Peter killed James Hook’s parents and destroyed his life. Peter drove Hook into a life of darkness and crime. If he can get close to Wendy, Peter’s daughter, he can use her against Peter. What James Hook does not expect is to find that he may have a heart after all and he is falling for Wendy.

I highly recommend Hooked for all those Dark Fantasy fans out there! Click HERE to request Hooked from catalog!

Continue reading “Dark Romance, Black Widows, and 42 is the Answer to Everything?” →
Posted in Adult, Audience, Fantasy, Fiction, Genre

Fantasy-Mystery Fusions

Posted on by Sydney Anderson

Not too long ago, I dove into the world of genre fusions by sharing some of my favorite works of historical fantasy. If you’re curious, you can read that post here. Today, I’m going to take a look at another fantasy genre fusion, this time between fantasy and mystery. As far as I’m aware, this genre fusion doesn’t have an official name, but I’m fascinated by it, particularly because the genres it pulls from are so different. While a fantasy novel usually has to follow a certain set of rules in order to be believable, those rules can be just about anything the author wants, and many fantasy authors revel in breaking established conventions of the genre. Mysteries, on the other hand, are bound by a strict set of genre expectations. The very best fusions between fantasy and mystery, in my opinion, are capable of reinvigorating both of the genres they pull inspiration from. Let’s get started!

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

When poison expert Anja is summoned by the King to uncover the cause of his daughter Snow’s mysterious illness, she knows the stakes couldn’t be higher.  When she arrives at the royal palace, Anja finds both her young patient and the court surrounding her haunted by secrets and scarred by tragedy.  Soon, Anja discovers that the cause of Snow’s illness is not medical, but magical, devised by a ruthless adversary who lurks within the castle’s mirrors.  To save Snow and stop the magic of the mirrors from falling into the wrong hands, Anja’s courage and smarts will be put to the test.  My favorite element of this loose retelling of Snow White was the surreal,  creepy mirror-realm.  T. Kingfisher’s horror chops were certainly evident in some of the scenes featuring it, and while the mirror magic was a little confusing at first, this actually turned out to be to the story’s benefit.  The reader discovers how the mirrors work side-by-side with Anja, thereby getting a good sense of how this mystery’s detective thinks well before the main climax.  If you’re looking for a new twist on an old story, told with T. Kingfisher’s signature humor and heart, Hemlock & Silver will chill, intrigue, and enchant you.

Continue reading “Fantasy-Mystery Fusions” →