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Alex Easton, a sworn soldier, hurries to visit kan dying friend Madeline.

I usually love Kingfisher books, but I was quite indifferent to this one. A retelling of “The Fall of the House of Usher”, by Edgar Allan Poe, but Kingfisher gives various characters more depth.

I tend to avoid horror, as I’m either too terrified, or completely unmoved by the various ghastly happenings. “What Moves the Dead” falls into the latter category. I didn’t find it creepy at all, and there was no mystery to solve. However, I did enjoy the Gothic Horror aesthetic, and found the idea of Gallacian having seven sets of personal pronouns interesting, particularly the inclusion of a solider-specific one.

I’ll probably read the sequels eventually, but I’m not rushing off to do so. All in all, it was fine.

A father-daughter duo of “food detectives” sleuth their way to recreating beloved lost meals.

Felt more like tableaus flowing into one another than a novel. Nagare, is almost Holmesian in his ability to infer what clients desire from the interviews conducted by Koishi. Relentlessly cosy, but readers have zero chance at solving any of the “mysteries”. I found it unsatisfying as it’s short on detecting, focusing more on patrons’ often bittersweet stories. Not the book I thought I was getting, and I prefer something with more “meat” on its bones.

In a dystopic, corporate-run world, a trans girl is raised up by the CEO for a single purpose, only to find she is being replaced.

I really enjoyed this and was a bit miffed when it ended, because only then did I realise it was a short story. Great one, though. Excellent world-building and a compelling read. Will be reading more Cameron Reed as soon as possible.