Publishers Weekly: The sixth installment of Bishop’s paranormal series (after 2017’s Etched in Bone), set in an alternate upstate New York, constitutes a fresh take on a series concept…It is a standalone thriller, set near a village called Sproing in the Finger Lakes.
New to the cast is narrator Vicki DeVine, who, unlike past protagonists, is an ordinary human woman. Recently divorced from an abusive wheeler-dealer, she has come to Lake Silence to renovate the property that constituted her settlement. The Jumble is exactly that: a dilapidated sprawl of buildings, abandoned by humans but not by the world’s supernatural predators, the Others. Vicki plans to reopen it as a modest resort until a body is discovered on her land.
Abruptly, this unassuming, hesitant woman must cope with a police investigation as well as a conspiracy by developers to seize the Jumble. Many core elements of prior plots are intact, notably the Others’ inevitable dominance…but the pleasures of these books have always lain in worldbuilding and character growth. Centering these on a woman liberating herself (personally and professionally) from abuse makes this episode unexpectedly timely.
School Library Journal: Slavery comes to a halt when the dead on Civil War battlefields begin to rise and eat their compatriots. The north and south put aside their philosophical differences and join forces against the undead. They are aided in their efforts by the passage of the Native and Negro Reeducation Act which forces African American boys and girls into combat schools. Graduates from these schools are a buffer between the living and the undead.
B&N Teen Blog: On a scale of red Chucks to katanas this badass book is a ninja princess.
Tor.com: The characters are strong and compelling. The atmosphere breathes life. It has a generosity of spirit, beneath the dark bits. And the presence of queer women is delightful.
Library Journal: What seems at the outset to be a textbook psychological thriller is anything but. The twists and turns make Winslow’s fourth Keene and Frohmann’s mystery (after The Red House) a compelling read.
School Library Journal: Hutchinson artfully blends the realistic and the surreal (and a bit of the biblical) for an utterly absorbing take on the Rapture.
LA Times: Nicky Drayden’s debut novel takes place in a future South Africa where robots have made life easier. The problem is the robots are starting to gain sentience, and it’s only a matter of time before they rebel.
Booklist: McCammon masterfully combines historical thriller and supernatural horror in a compelling and suspenseful tale of race, class, and family. The intricate crime plot is enhanced by superior character development, a richly detailed historical setting, a tense dread that begins in the opening scene and continues to intensify throughout, and an omniscient narration that lets the reader know exactly how bad things really are.
Publishers Weekly: Polk’s stellar debut, set in an alternate early 20th century in an England-like land recovering from a WWI-like war, blends taut mystery, exciting political intrigue, and inventive fantasy.