An Unkindness of Ghosts (by Rivers Solomon)

Read for the RHC category of "book by an intersex author" and it's about a generational spaceship, which is one of my favorite genres. Plus it's highly rated on Goodreads so how could I go wrong?  It's about a highly stratified society with an evil government and enslaved lower class, one of whom we follow throughout the novel as she tries to follow in the footsteps of her scientist mother.

I actually was angry when I finished this book because instead of a satisfying ending or resolution, it just leans more into the torture porn aspects of it, throws in an unearned moment between our leads (who have been yearning for each other silently throughout the whole book) and then abruptly ends.  

The lack of resolution made me angry, as did the endless suffering.  At the end it was almost like "oh wait she hasn't been sexually violated yet, let's make sure to throw that in!"  There's also a slow burn relationship that is resolved so unsatisfyingly...  really, the world building is interesting and you care about the characters but whatever the opposite of sticking the landing is... this was that. 

The Silent Appeal (by Janice Hallett)

The sequel to Hallett's novel The Appeal, also an epistolary-style murder mystery told through texts, letters, emails, etc.  About an amateur drama group (the same one covered in The Appeal although I remembered almost nothing from that book). 

Thoroughly enjoyable. She's great at vivid characterization and the book was very fair play, even though I didn't guess the ending. So far the solution in The Killer Question has been my favorite but still an extremely fun read. 

What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved (by John Mullan)

This was a fine read, with lots of short chapters exploring different "puzzles" in Jane Austen's novels.  I enjoyed looking a little more closely at how Austen pulls off her narrative tricks, but ultimately this felt a little more surface-level and less scholarly than I would have wanted.  Not stylistically, so much, but I wanted the chapters to be a bit longer and dig in a bit deeper to some of the topics.  

I enjoyed the analysis of how Austen uses the word "must," for example, to add unreliability to the narration, and other insights into her use of free indirect discourse. Worth a read for Austen fans but you might be left wanting more.