BOOK REVIEW: Murder at Big Ben

MURDER AT BIG BEN
by Michelle Salter
Available now

It's April 2, 1911: the night of the census. Coral Fairbanks and her fellow suffragettes break into parliament overnight so it will be recorded as their address. After all, it's the only way women can be seen to exist in government. But the demonstration goes awry when an enthusiastic American member of the movement, posted up in Big Ben's iconic clock tower, is found dead the next day. The weapon? Poison. The suspects? The members of two of Mayfair's highest ranking families.

Once again, Coral finds herself alongside the handsome Guy Flynn: artist, detective, and potential paramour. But even though they both care for each other and long for love after being so long without their late spouses, the life of a suffragette is too dangerous for a detective to ignore. As things warm up between the two, the case grows more complicated. The case's most prominent suspects appear to be tied up in a long-standing forgery scheme, not to mention a mysterious disappearance and a tragic death. Cracking the case may well mean digging up a few literal skeletons along the way.

This is the second Fairbanks and Flynn mystery I've read, and it's very true that a reader can jump in anywhere. While Coral and Guy's slow-burn romance is always a treat to follow, it's the deep dives into history and society that make these a treat. Salter brings all angles of Edwardian London to life, highlighting both the hopeful and the frustrating facets of the era. And, as ever, these cases aren't cut-and-dried: catching the killer doesn't always mean justice is done. These continue to be satisfying reads, and will hopefully continue for quite some time.

TEA PAIRING: At the Waterfront
Initially inspired by Little Women, this floral mint tea is both bracing and comforting: perhaps the sort of thing Coral and Guy might have enjoyed together while staked out in parliament overnight? Use my code KARA15 for 15% off this and other literary-inspired teas from Chapters Tea & Co.!

MANGA REVIEW: Fruit of the Underworld Vol. 1

FRUIT OF THE UNDERWORLD Vol. 1
by Aya Kanno
Available March 31

For the last ten years, Seiji has endured one life-threatening accident after another. That could be because of the pomegranate he brought home from the underworld and has kept in a can ever since. In an effort to put an end to death's vendetta against him, he eats the fruit. But that only makes things worse.

Like so many mythical figures before him, the teenager now finds himself traversing the underworld to find the best friend he swore to protect. And as he does, he'll discover the skewed power struggle between Heaven, Hell, and the space between when souls are judged. Fortunately, the fruit he ate gives him a powerful (and kind of gross) ability. But the longer he stays in the underworld, the more of himself he risks losing.

Fruit of the Underworld is a generally fun read and, for better or for worse, it follows the example of a lot of shonen-geared manga before it. The art is great, Seiji as a character is interesting, and fans of mythology from all over the world will enjoy certain name checks. Unless you have a very specific interest in these topics, or in action manga in general, it's not one to move to the top of your reading list immediately. It's fun enough, but future installments will tell whether this title makes good on its promising start.

TEA PAIRING: Porch Stories
For lack of a literal pomegranate tea, this peach and apricot one does the trick. It's a bold, fruit-flavored black tea originally made for summer, and works well both hot and iced. Use my code KARA15 for 15% off this and other teas from Chapters Tea & Co.!

New Doctor Who-ish things

 

There are a few things in the works writing-wise (things which I should be working more closely on now that I'm not traveling for a while), but there are at least a couple of things to tide people over until more announcements go live.

First up is the latest Celestial Toyroom... or should that be Sealestial Toyroom? There's a definite focus on The War Between the Land and the Sea for this issue, which sadly I can't yet say much about because it's still in Disney+ jail. However, I did do some reviews as usual: one on 15th Doctor book Spectral Scream and one on the DWAS's own Fifth Doctor-centric annual. Plus, there's a very lovely review of my Mawdryn Undead Black Archive in the mix (which is always a relief when you send something out into the world).

Check out the Celestial Toyroom page to download the new issue as a free PDF or to put in an order for a print copy.

Second, and something I've been wanting to talk about for ages, is the new installment of The Benton Files. I was originally supposed to be in the sixth book with my Altrix collaborator Paul Driscoll, but his story ended up warranting a stand-alone book of its own! So instead I've been paired with the equally lovely James Middleditch.

My story, Wiltshire Drift, takes place during Benton's "retired but still UNIT adjacent" era and takes more than a little inspiration from Initial D. (Because if there isn't at least one anime fingerprint on it, it might not be mine.) An old acquaintance gifts UNIT a very special car, which immediately goes missing. Meanwhile, a mysterious racer is doing the impossible on Wiltshire's roads late at night. Big thanks to my long-time friend Rob Lantz for being my brainstorming partner on this story.

You can pre-order this new installment, or go all in and get the full collection of every Benton Files story!

Thanks as always to everyone interested in my Whoniverse and Who-adjacent work. There will be more coming in future, and I am very much looking forward to talking about it once I can.

MANGA REVIEW: Statues: Junji Ito Story Collection

STATUES
by Junji Ito
Available now

There was a time when your only hope of reading the complete works of Junji Ito was surfing around Tumblr or other blogs and hoping you hadn't outpaced every scanlation group. Fortunately, the horror manga master is finally getting some well-deserved attention in the US, and Viz continues to release print editions of his short horror collections. The latest is Statues, containing a mix of stories ranging from psychologically haunting to outright gory.

This collection contains ten stand-alone short manga, including (of course) "Statues." While none of these is as famous as the "Tomie" stories or as infamous as "The Enigma of Amigara Fault," it's a good showing of strong pieces.

While "Statues" is the title story, it's not the stand-out piece in terms of quality. It's still good, but some lesser-known ones are even better. Ranking in the top three for this reviewer:

The Circus Has Come to Town: One of Ito's more oddball stories, about a deadly circus that lures locals into becoming its performers for the chance to win the hand of one of its lovely acrobats. This one focuses less on body horror (though the cast is dropping like flies) and more on the human nature—in this case, the lengths some men will go to for a beautiful girl, and how one entity chooses to exploit that.

Scarecrow: A lo-fi predecessor to more Black Mirror-esque stories, this one is another take on grieving relatives and lovers attempting to bring their loved ones back from the dead. But instead of AI, they're using scarecrows... which appear to take on the likenesses of the deceased if placed on their graves.

Red Thread: A twisted take on the "red thread of destiny." When high schooler Ishii is dumped by his girlfriend, he's convinced fate is working against him. But then he discovers red stitches on his skin, which increase in number overnight. This one stands out because of its strange ending, which hints at more but leaves the reader to process what exactly is going on between Momoko and the jilted Ishii. It also plays more into the body horror angle, in a way we've seen Ito tackle once before.

An awfully close runner-up is "Suicide Note," a story of ghosts and revenge that has one of my favorite endings to an Ito short. I can't decide whether it's funny or tragic... perhaps a bit of both. It's a great note to close the book out on.

While Statues doesn't contain any of the must-reads of Ito's career, it shows many more angles to the horror master's talent than a Greatest Hits collection would. If you're only familiar with his more famous titles, this is a great way to start broadening your horizons in the Itoverse.

TEA PAIRING: Headless Horseman
A creepy story for a creepy collection! Originally released for Halloween, this spiced pumpkin tea is the perfect companion for a scary night in reading classic horror manga. Use my code KARA15 for 15% off this and other teas from Chapters Tea & Co.!

BOOK REVIEW: Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away

 

OLIVIA GRAY WILL NOT FADE AWAY
by Ciera Burch
Available now

Things are weird for Olivia as she starts seventh grade. Her parents are supportive of her older brother Malcolm coming out as gay, but she doesn't really understand why it's a big deal to be identified by who you like. Her friend group has moved from talking about their personal interests to the cutest boy in school, and the group chat has even moved to KruSsh: a social app focused on rumors and secrets. And when Olivia goes viral for inadvertently rejecting said cutest boy in school right before the fall formal, things start getting weird. As in, "she literally starts to vanish into thin air" weird.

From her brother spending all his time with his new boyfriend to her friend group drifting away, Olivia starts to feel invisible. Then she starts to be invisible. Talking to the new school librarian and Jules, a similarly-invisible classmate and fan of Olivia's favorite art streamer, starts to help. But their behests for her to study up on what it means to be asexual only frustrate her. Rather than be viewed as "broken," Olivia decides to blend in... but doing so just makes her problems worse.

Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away covers an aspect of growing up and finding your identity that previous generations never had to deal with: the idea of feeling invisible in multiple spaces. Older confidants, no matter how understanding they may be, didn't had to grow up in a world with social media: a whole extra battleground on which to chase popularity and feel excluded. Similarly, the book shows that being supportive and informed isn't always enough, and we can't train ourselves to be perfectly empathetic. It's a strong metaphor for a situation I personally don't have experience with, but one that resonates nonetheless.

TEA PAIRING: Wonderland Tea Party
Between Olivia's artistic tendencies and her desperate attempts to be seen, this colorful, color-changing tea felt right. It contains fruit, citrus, and butterfly pea flower, changing from pale purple to brilliant burgundy as it steeps. Use my code KARA15 for 15% off this and other teas from Chapters Tea & Co.!

BOOK REVIEW: Heiress of Nowhere

 

HEIRESS OF NOWHERE
by Stacey Lee
Available now

Lucy is the ward of the eccentric Mr. Sanders, a resident of the secluded Orcas Island on an estate he has dubbed "Nowhere." After arriving as a baby in a green canoe, she's gone from employee to collaborator on his scientific endeavors. And she's about to tell him she plans to move to Washington state to attend university. But before she can be on her way, he's found dead, his body found in a state eerily similar to that of another man's many years prior. But things get even stranger when his will leaves the estate to Lucy, with the employment of her fellow staff now in her hands.

But that's not all he's left her with. She's now armed with clues as to the identity of her father, whom it turns out her guardian knew well. With the help of Nash and Koa, two long-time acquaintances and rivals for her affection, she attempts to set the estate right while also solving a pair of murders. But standing in her way is a lingering belief that she might be the killer, shored up by her strange ability to communicate with the orcas who live near the island.

Set in the early 1900s in a part of the Pacific Northwest, Heiress of Nowhere puts me in mind of a darker, more windswept Anne of Green Gables. There's the same young adult confusion in matters of life, love, education, and one's place in the world. Combined with a heritage Lucy never knew she had, this story is as entertaining as it is educational. Beyond the fiction, it's a fascinating look into the history of an island many may not even know exists. Most of all, it has a wonderful character at its core: Lucy is strong but anxious, intelligent but with much to learn, and trusting in ways that both help and hurt her. She's believable and relatable, even for people not of her world.

TEA PAIRING: Poet's Study
A moody Earl Grey for a far-off, secluded setting—and a story that often takes place within the walls of an old home. It's a favorite, and one that fits this story well. Use my code KARA15 for 15% off this and other tea blends from Chapters Tea & Co.!