Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill

Title: Five Found Dead

Series: n/a
Author: Sulari Gentill
Source/Format: Publisher; paperback ARC
More Details: Mystery
Publisher/Publication Date: Poisoned Pen Press; August 19, 2025

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

On a train, there are only so many places to hide…

Crime fiction author Joe Penvale has won the most brutal battle of his life. Now that he has finished his intense medical treatment, he and his twin sister, Meredith, are boarding the glorious Orient Express in Paris, hoping for some much-needed rest and rejuvenation. Meredith also hopes that the literary ghosts on the train will nudge Joe's muse awake, and he'll be inspired to write again. And he is; after their first evening spent getting to know some of their fellow travelers, Joe pulls out his laptop and opens a new document. Seems like this trip is just what the doctor ordered…

And then some. The next morning, Joe and Meredith are shocked to witness that the cabin next door has become a crime scene, bathed in blood but with no body in sight. The pair soon find themselves caught up in an Agatha Christie-esque murder investigation. Without any help from the authorities, and with the victim still not found, Joe and Meredith are asked to join a group of fellow passengers with law enforcement backgrounds to look into the mysterious disappearance of the man in Cabin16G. But when the steward guarding the crime scene is murdered, it marks the beginning of a killing spree which leaves five found dead—and one still missing. Now Joe and Meredith must fight once again to preserve their newfound future and to catch a cunning killer before they reach the end of the line.

Five Found Dead, the new murder mystery by Sulari Gentill, was a fun Agatha Christie-esque locked room case set in the isolated—if not claustrophobic—confines of the Orient Express while there was an all too familiar panic as Covid cases threatened to develop into an outbreak.

I had an inordinate amount of fun reading this novel.

The mystery was straight forward, whodunit style including a wrecked cabin, a missing body, and a host of characters who had an axe to grind with the victim. The story had a sense of urgency. The novel is aptly named.

The characters were personable and complicated. Joe, a novelist, and his sister, Meredith, a lawyer, were a highlight. They had a great sibling dynamic/rapport, and I thought it was interesting to see how that came into play once the mystery/sleuthing started and everyone was slightly suspicious of each other.

Overall, I had a wonderful time reading Five Found Dead.

 

About the author....

Once upon a time, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, ten historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist, the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world, and the Ned Kelly Award winning Crossing the Lines (published in the US as After She Wrote Hime). In 2014 she collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short story which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV. IN 2019 Sulari was part of a 4-member delegation of Australian crime writers sponsored by the Australia Council to tour the US as ambassadors of Australian Crime Writing. Sulari lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in Batlow where she grows French Black Truffles and refers to her writing as “work” so that no one will suggest she get a real job.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Poisoned Pen Press) in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

Title: Hemlock & Silver

Series: n/a
Author: T. Kingfisher
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Fantasy; Retelling
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor Books; August 19, 2025

Goodreads 

Synopsis from Goodreads...

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind...

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison. Not to die, but to save—seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on. But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her. Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat, and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick. Or it might be the thing that kills them all.

When it comes to T. Kingfisher’s novels, I’ve always been interested, but I’ve never taken the plunge until Hemlock & Silver.

I’m all for a good retelling, and Kingfisher’s latest scratched that particular itch with an imaginative rework of Snow White. While it wasn’t a one-to-one reimagining (and I wasn’t expecting it to be), the story pulled details from the classic tale and wove them around Anja.

Honestly, Anja reminded me of the main character of The Apothecary Diaries. She was aloof, not a people person, and she had this, like, hyper-focus on exploring poisons and remedies (it was her forte). She was smart, to a certain degree, but there were limitations to her perspective, because, for the aforementioned reasons, she could overlook some things.

She was in a situation that required dealing with a multitude of people as well as their expectations and understanding of social conventions. But, don’t expect too much court intrigue, because the story was centered on unraveling the mystery behind the cause of Snow’s illness. The situation wasn’t straightforward. There was complexity to the “how” and “why” things occurred, and I loved how the story came together in the end.

Hemlock & Silver was the first T. Kingfisher novel I’ve ever read, and it certainly won’t be the last.

 

About the author....

Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher is the author and illustrator of far more projects than is probably healthy. She has written over fifteen books for children, at least a dozen novels for adults, an epic webcomic called “Digger” and various short stories and other odds and ends. The daughter of an artist, she spent her youth attempting to rebel, but eventually succumbed to the siren song of paint (although not before getting a degree in anthropology.) Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, went to college at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state. Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in New Mexico, where she works full-time as an artist and creator of oddities. She lives with her husband and his chickens.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Tor Books) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

The Haunting of Bellington cottage by Laura Parnum

Title: The Haunting of Bellington Cottage

Series: n/a
Author: Laura Parnum
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Middle Grade; Paranormal; Horror
Publisher/Publication Date: Storytide; July 29, 2025

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

From the author of Peril at Price Manor comes a new spooky and bighearted stand-alone novel about two girls trying to figure out if they’re still friends who discover their vacation rental home is haunted.

It was the perfect winter break getaway . . . until the ghost showed up.

The last time Iris's and Violet’s families went on a trip together, the girls turned their rental home into an epic haunted house—and Iris has brought all her spookiest supplies to the cottage they’re calling home for the next week, ready to re-create the magic they’d shared. But in the years since, Vee (don’t call her Violet) has become closed off and short-tempered and wants nothing to do with anyone, especially not her mom’s new boyfriend.

Vee’s bad mood feels inescapable in the cottage. And soon strange things are happening that make it seem like the house itself is angry, too—doors are slamming, rooms that were perfectly neat a second ago are suddenly a disaster, and Iris hears pacing footsteps long after everyone’s gone to sleep. Iris and Vee soon discover that the cottage has a secret history and that there’s no need to stage a haunted house after all . . . because they’re already in one.

Middle Grade horror is a subgenre I’ve read periodically for a few years now, and there are plenty of novels to keep avid readers—especially those with a penchant for spookier tales—entertained. For example: Katherine Arden’s game/challenge themed series, Small Spaces; Give Me Something Good to Eat by D.W. Gillespie’s which was Stranger Things meets Hocus Pocus; and It Came From the Trees by Ally Russll that had an outdoorsy main character and cryptids. And now, with Laura Parnum’s latest, the subgenre has a new entry with The Haunting of Bellington Cottage.

The Haunting of Bellington Cottage was enjoyable and had many hallmarks of middle grade horror. The wintery scenery was the perfect backdrop for an isolated haunting. And the cottage’s storied history was detailed and provided material for the paranormal aspect to find its footing. This was also a story about friendship and change, and Parnum crafted a narrative which dealt with it in a way that the target audience would likely find relatable. After all, the story interrogated its themes through Iris’ character arc, notably with her struggle for connection in friendships she once felt secure in, which—when combined with the novel’s eerie atmosphere—resulted in a harrowing tale that will appeal to many readers.

About the author....

Laura Parnum is the author of the middle grade novel Peril at Price Manor. She writes stories that blend humor and heart with a touch of horror. When she’s not writing, she’s editing other people’s stories and helping out at local elementary school libraries. She currently serves as Co-Regional Advisor for the Eastern Pennsylvania region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Laura lives with her family in Philadelphia. They have a turtle that bites and a snake that doesn’t.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Storytide) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

July Hiatus

 

I wanted to drop by the blog for a minute and mention my break. I'll largely be absent this month (except for a review that's scheduled to go up later in July). 

Music Monday (319): Emotional Oranges & Jaehyun, Chapel Hart, Tetrarch

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I recently came across this music duo called Emotional Oranges. One of my favorite songs (from their 2025 album, Orenjii) is Call it Off featuring Jaehyun.

Adri: I'm still enjoying Tetrarch's Ugly Side of Me; so for today, my pick is Headspace.

Andrea: Hi all, this week I'm listening to If You Ain't Wearin' Boots by Chapel Hart. Have an Amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?