m ys t e r y
the killer weighs in in overwrought asides—and Young is forced into too much explanation and exposition. She’s determined to shine a light on a real problem—the destruction of family farms to feed corporate greed—but the book’s overly complicated narrative gets in the way of her ability to simply tell a good story. A complicated plot overshadows solid character development in this gory debut.
JANE AND THE YEAR WITHOUT A SUMMER Barron, Stephanie Soho Crime (336 pp.) $27.95 | Feb. 8, 2022 978-1-641-29247-4
Troubled by ill health, Jane Austen repairs with her sister, Cassandra, to Cheltenham Spa for the waters and finds the place anything but restorative. The volcanic ash from an Indonesian volcano is blanketing Europe, making 1816 the year without a summer. Things are equally bleak for the Austen family, still recovering from recent financial losses. Having lost his ship, the Phoenix, which his navigators ran aground, Jane’s brother
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kirkus.com
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mystery
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1 december 2021
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