Returning to an MC from book 1 and other unexpected cameos with a mystery driving the plot. As charming as this installment is, It didn’t have the same impact that many of the other novellas do. Solid, but not special, despite moments and discoveries that felt earned and long-time coming, the brunt of the story was obligatory more than revelatory.

“I know it’s not the darkest month, and I know it’s not the coldest or the snowiest month, but February is gray in a way I can’t explain.”

I read this book for the Literally Dead Book Club March selection.

This “literary horror” opens in such a quiet way, slowly exploring the grief of two widowers. They fish, and provide companionship through simply being together. I really that as an opening. Horror books that explore grief are some of my favorites. It felt cold, sad, unsettling, and in addition to all of this: books that feature water are just my “thing”.

Unfortunately, the more plot we get the less I cared. I struggled to feel invested the way I had at the opening of the book and felt too distant from the grief that had pulled me in. Some of the “folky” or “ghosty” aspects were intriguing but I struggled to ever fully reinvest myself in the narrative. The author does seem to be a talented writer — and yet… I don’t think I actually liked the writing. I could allocate it to being a male author but I’ve loved horror written by men, in the past. This doesn’t seem terribly helpful BUT perhaps you can pick something out of this reflection. This should have worked for me so I’m genuinely not sure what happened, I might even attempt a reread in the future to see if it was a timing issue. It almost has a 4 (and the majority of the ratings are 4) on Goodreads so clearly I’m the problem.