White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

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CW: murder, child abuse, child sexual abuse, parental death, suicide

This one is really, really good. It’s part horror, part thriller, and is my favorite type of story: one that feels incredibly true to life. Kari has always believed that her mother abandoned her at just two days old, and with her father suffering brain damage after an accident, hasn’t been able to be a traditional parent to her. When Debby, her best friend and cousin, finds a bracelet belonging to Kari’s mother in an attic, Kari is forced to confront the bitterness and anger she feels towards her mother. That is, until she touches the bracelet and begins to see visions of her mother and her mother’s past. Now convinced there is more to her mother’s disappearance than she was led to believe, Kari must use the bracelet and face her mother’s past.

I really love a story with complicated and realistic relationships. Kari and Debby are absolute best friends and have been through so much together and would go to the ends of the earth for each other. Debby’s husband Jack? He hates Kari with a passion. This really complicates Kari and Debby’s relationship, and Debby’s ability to help Kari on her quest to discover her mother’s real fate. Kari’s Aunt Squeaker doesn’t always give her straightforward answers about her mother and the power behind the bracelet, which frustrates Kari to no end. Her father isn’t able to answer questions about the past and Kari is still processing the grief of losing her best friend as a teenager. As if that isn’t enough, Kari’s favorite bar might possibly go up for sale and she wants to buy it but is terrified of the commitment. There is so much working against her at every turn, and it’s rarely the mystical that impedes her; it’s the people around her and their complicated relationships. How do you focus on following your mother’s ghost and having visions when your best friend won’t speak to you because you blew up at her husband again? How do you focus on bank loans and financial planning when you’re potentially hunting a killer? It’s the inclusion of all the normal that really made the book special. It draws you in and makes you root for Kari’s success, and closure about her mother’s disappearance, because you want Kari to buy the bar and live a happy life.

Kari is also a huge fan of Stephen King and there are some top-notch references to the author and his books. Truly a delight.

I absolutely loved this one. It was my November pick for Book of the Month and I’m really glad they included it as a selection because I haven’t seen this book get the love it greatly deserves.

If you’d like your own copy of this book, you can order it online here, click on the book cover above, or sign up for Book of the Month with my link.

As always, this post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

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I loved The Cartographers. Absolutely, 100%, could-not-put-it-down loved it! It’s a wonderful combination of magical realism, locked room mystery, and family drama. Our main character Nell Young had a falling out with her father nearly a decade ago. Both are cartographers who worked together at the New York Public Library and had been incredibly close until one day, Nell found an old gas station map at the Library and after showing her father, was immediately fired. Fired, by her own father. Now, Nell has received the devastating phone call that her father has died in his office and that seemingly worthless map that ruined Nell’s life is hidden in his desk. Determined to find out why this particular map is important, Nell sets off on a dangerous and unbelievable journey that uncovers long held family secrets and just may lead her to a second chance at happiness.

This is one of those tricky books that I feel describing the best parts ruins the wonderful surprises found within. If you really want to stay spoiler free, just walk away now and read this book. It truly is fabulous. If you don’t mind some very minor spoilers, pull up a chair.

The map that ruined Nell’s life is highly sought after by a mysterious group known as The Cartographers. The maps go for unbelievably high prices online and those that claim to have copies are warned off from trying to sell them. It is through this map that Nell discovers more about her parents’ college days and the events that led to her mother’s death. While trying to discover the significance of the map, Nell adds it to an online database and very quickly, she discovers the devastating consequences of her seemingly benign actions. As Nell tries to continue researching her map, she finds herself calling in one last favor to her ex, Felix, who worked with her alongside her father, before the map incident. What I really liked about these interactions is that Felix and Nell both still have feelings for each other, but it’s far from a smooth transition back into a relationship. They both hold old wounds from their first time together and neither one wants to be hurt again. It all felt very real how they were drawn together and fall apart again throughout the novel.

I struggle with books where flashbacks are heavily used because I find myself getting pulled out of the story. I never felt this with The Cartographers. The story flowed so easily between the two timelines and it never felt unnecessary or clunky. The way the plot is slowly revealed is really well done and I was enthralled from the very beginning.

I absolutely loved this one, highly recommend it, please read so we can talk about all the things!

If you would like to add this wonderful novel to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

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It’s a bit too long for me to realize that I tend to bring dark, creepy books set in the woods on vacation. Nearly all of our vacations revolve around hiking and staying in remote cabins. Coincidence? Maybe. I have always loved the woods and spend as much as my free time walking trails and looking for new parks. Luckily, I’ve never come across the level of weirdness found in A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw.

Set in the wilds of Northern California, Travis Wren is searching for Maggie St. James, a woman missing for 5 years. Using his unique ability to glean memories from objects, Travis finds more than Maggie’s last location, he finds the location to the mysterious village of Pastoral. But immediately after finding it’s location, Travis also disappears.

What began as community of free thinkers wanting a simpler way of life, has become something far darker. A severe sickness seems to plague anyone who leaves the border of Pastoral and the rains bring illness and death. When a child is born premature, the village becomes divided over taking the baby to a hospital or allowing nature to take its course. As tensions rise, the tightly knit community slowly begins to unravel, revealing the key to many, many mysteries.

A History of Wild Places is dark, twisting, and utterly compulsive. I was immediately drawn to the characters and invested in their journeys and their very survival. From the beginning, you can feel an underlying tension that builds throughout the novel, culminating in an explosive reveal. Ernshaw has crafted an interesting world within Pastoral where you can understand the allure and sympathize with the characters living there, but you can also feel that there is something just not right with their idyllic way of life. I am an absolute sucker for the book-within-a-book and we get that with the Maggie’s book series that she writes for children and may contain clues about and where Maggie disappeared. This is by far one of the most atmospheric novels I’ve read in quite some time.

If you are interested in adding this intriguing and compulsively readable novel to your collection, you can find ordering information here:

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own.