Play Nice

Finished September 16

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

This creepy horror novel is narrated by Clio, the youngest of three daughters, with Leda being the eldest and Daphne the middle daughter. Clio is in her late twenties and works as a stylist and fashion influencer in New York City. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother bought a house that is the origin of the creepiness in the novel. 

Her mother Alexandra believed that there was something living in the house that was evil, and her actions surrounding this belief caused her to lose custody of the three girls. Following that Alexandra moved in with a new partner in the city, and wrote a book about the house and its evil presence and how she experienced that. The girls agree to not read the book, and Clio hasn't until she finds a portion of it in the house, with annotations by her mom addressed to her. 

Alexandra died of a heart attack when visiting the house, and Clio is the only one to go to the funeral. Her older sisters have more traumatic memories of their time in the house, so Clio volunteers to fix and update the house to prepare it for sale, with the idea of using this redecoration/renovation as content for her socials. She also hopes that it will make the home get more money when it sells. She is a natural when it comes to design and an eye for what looks good, and she really puts labour into the job. 

But whether it is the stories from her mother's book, the noises she isn't used to in the house, or whether there really is something paranormal going on, Clio begins to be affected by the situation, particularly when staying at the house as she works on it. 

This is a compelling read, with a strong, independent woman at the centre who approaches the situation with logic and practicality. She does accept help, and hires specialists, aware that she doesn't know how to do what needs to be done herself. Her relationships aren't deep except with her family, partly due to her independent attitude. I liked her and appreciated how she could step back and analyse what happened at different points to seek out different reasons for things. 

This is great suspense, psychological suspense with some physical elements to add creepiness to the horror. A book that is hard to put down. 

The Skeleton Room

Finished August 3

The Skelton Room by Kate Ellis

This is the seventh book in the Wesley Peterson series. This time the historical timeline that accompanies the contemporary timeline is from the late 18th century with the narrative by a local vicar at the time. Wesley and his team are called to a local estate called Chadleigh Hall that is being converted into a hotel. Workmen there broke through a wall and discovered a hidden, sealed chamber with a skeleton in it. The police and coroner can see that the body has been there for some time, but look for clues as to when the room might have been sealed. With the information that the building was once used as a private girls' school their investigation includes that time period, the 1960s. 

The same day as the discovery of the sealed room, a woman's body is discovered off the coast. As they work to identify her, they need to also determine where she might have entered the water, and whether it was an accident or a deliberate act. 

The historical timeline deals with an unfortunate time when coastal communities lured ships near to shore, where they would founder, and the local people would take the cargo. The motivations for this type of act, and some of the violence that accompanied it are complex, yet related to poverty and survival in many instances. 

There is also a mystery man who keeps to himself and seems to have something to hide. 

The plot of the novel in the contemporary time reveals an interesting loophole that was taken advantage of. I like this series, both learning about history as well as contemporary information. I like how Ellis relates the two time periods through plot elements.

It's also interesting to see how the various characters develop over the course of the series, in both good ways and bad, and how some characters that have been talked about make an appearance that relates to the plot. 

The Sibyl in Her Grave

Finished June 17

The Sibyl in Her Grave by Sarah Caudwell (Hilary Tamar, #4)

This mystery is definitely on the odd side. Intellectual and with paranormal elements, it is set around a law professor (Hilary Tamar), lawyers they are friends with in London, and the aunt of one of the lawyers who lives in a small village in England. 

The aunt's story is told mostly through letters to her lawyer niece asking for advice on different legal issues that have arisen in her life, starting with one to do with taxes from investment income. It moves on to what may be murder, a sudden death of an unlikable woman who ran a fortune-telling business, to matters of inheritance, and more. 

There is a side-story of renovation work being done at one of the law firms, and the retirement decisions around an important client at that same firm. 

There is also a mysterious man who appears in the village, that may be a key clue in mysterious death. 

I enjoyed this mystery, with its explanations of legal issues, and the somewhat mysterious professor, who seems to have many contacts with former students. 

It is also interesting that we never know the gender of this professor, with their androgynous name and no other defining information beyond the university they teach at.  

The home of the fortuneteller is a very odd one, with the birds a particularly unsettling element. 

I would definitely be interested in reading more of this series.