Ksenia's Reviews

Stacey Abrams is an established voice in literature, writing bestselling nonfiction about leadership and voter suppression as well as romance novels under the pen name Selena Montgomery. While Justice Sleeps is her mystery debut, and Abrams’s mastery of prose and talent for ingenious plotting is matched only by her insider knowledge of the US political and justice systems, making the book that much richer and more engrossing. I was hooked from the very first page. — Ksenia

Translated from the French, this genre-bending masterpiece revolves around a lonely cemetery caretaker, Violette, and a local police chief, Julien, whose recently deceased mother asked in her will to have her ashes be left on the gravesite of what is ostensibly a complete stranger. As Violette helps Julien unravel the mystery of why his mother asked for this, she also reflects on the mysteries, tragedies, and hopes of her past. Brilliantly plotted, haunting, unforgettable. — Ksenia

Perfect for whodunnit aficionados, the newest Swanson novel is a fast-paced, gripping meta-thriller with a great premise: a mystery bookseller's list of perfect literary murders is being executed book by book, and now the FBI comes a-knocking. But how exactly would one recreate The ABC Murders or The Secret History—and to what end? And what is it about the quiet, lonely protagonist Malcolm that makes someone want to dedicate a half dozen killings to him? — Ksenia

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a dark, country-noir eco-thriller, written by a Nobel Prize winner and set in a village on the border between Poland and Czech Republic. The protagonist, a retired teacher and an amateur astrologer, has a theory that the deaths of local hunters are caused by animals keen to enact revenge on those who abuse and murder them. But is her theory too far-fetched to be true? Gorgeous, haunting, and unputdownable, I highly recommend it for fans of quieter, stranger mysteries. — Ksenia

A slow-burning, tense, character-driven thriller from one of the most brilliant writers of our time. French is fantastic at setting the claustrophobic, surveillant atmosphere of rural Ireland, where everyone knows one another and seemingly nothing ever happens. Through her words, we see the world from the perspective of retired cop Cal, who immigrated from Chicago to look for peace only to find trouble knocking on the door of his dilapidated cottage. A must-read for lovers of literary mysteries and small-town secrets. — Ksenia

Set in 1990s Norway and written by a Norwegian avant-garde musician, this experimental stream-of-consciousness novel is simply an incomparable experience and no short summaries can do it justice. Part incantation, part time-traveling science-fiction novel, part rigorously researched feminist manifesto, it’s so radical, visceral, and wild!  — Ksenia

Based on traditional Japanese yōkai tales (conveniently summarized at the end of the volume), this collection of loosely connected short stories is a feminist, queer retelling that gives the ghosts a second chance at life and love. Life affirming and whimsical, these stories invite the reader into a world where becoming a ghost is but a beginning: of freedom from gender roles; of a fulfilling career; and of a death-time of happiness. Loved it!  — Ksenia

Every so often I come across a book that I want to buy a hundred copies of and give it to everyone I know, and maybe a few strangers. These are usually the hardest to review as I am simply at a loss for words. Punching the Air, a novel in verse about a wrongfully imprisoned Black teenager, co-written by one of the Exonerated Five, is one of those books—incomparably beautiful, radical, poignant, and so much more. Don't miss it! —Ksenia

A must-read for Agatha Christie fans! Structured as a series of short stories read and discussed by an editor and a writer, The Eighth Detective is one of the most unique mysteries I’ve ever read. The author of the stories, a reclusive mathematician, has written them to prove the existence of four permutations behind all detective fiction—but there are inconsistencies in his creations that may be pointing to a larger, more sinister mystery that has inspired them. —Ksenia

This book is part of our Fall Reading Challenge. Read more here.

Translated from the Russian, Three Apples is a story of an isolated, close-knit village community in the Armenian mountains, where all younger people have long since left or were lost to the famine and war, and only the older folks remain—until a budding romance between the only two single residents shakes everything up and breathes new life into this dying village. Soul-warming and endlessly charming, this fable-like novel is a trip to the countryside unreservedly worth taking. —Ksenia

This book is part of our Fall Reading Challenge. Read more here.