WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 47Review_FICTION
The Truth That Lies Between
W.D. McComb. TreaShore, $27.99 (310p)
ISBN 978-1-7340904-0-6
McComb neatly combines a coming-of-
age story with a whodunit in his promising
debut. In 1985, Mississippi teenager Case
Reynolds and his two best friends, Jack
Masterson and Jet Townsend, decide to
build a secret cabin on the property of the
best friend of Case’s late grandfather. That
venture turns much more serious after
Case discovers a pile of human bones. The
remains are suspected to belong to a local
itinerant known only as the Vagabond,
but when Jet examines them more closely,
he finds clear indications that the person
they belonged to had been shot through
the shoulder blade. The mystery of who
was killed, and by whom, is compounded
after Jack’s stepfather vanishes. And those
puzzles may connect with questions about
the late Alton Hall, a county sheriff who
resigned after being charged with narcotics
trafficking and embezzlement, and whose
fatal shooting three years earlier was
deemed a hunting accident. McComb
maintains suspense without sacrificing
characterization. Believable portrayals
elevate this above the typical tale of ado-
lescent amateur sleuthing. (Self-published)
SF/Fantasy/Horror
The Buried World
Jeff Wheeler. 47North, $14.95 trade paper
(374p) ISBN 978-1-5420-1503-5
After charming young warrior Bingmei
inadvertently released the evil Dragon of
Night into the world of the living in The
Killing Fog, the engrossing second fantasy
of Wheeler’s Grave Kingdom series finds
Bingmei on the run. As “the phoenix-
chosen,” Bingmei is the only person capable
of stopping the dragon Echion from taking
over the world,
much of which
he has already
conquered. She
flees those who
would sacrifice
her at the Death
Wall, where it is
prophesied she
will die to stop
Echion, but fate
keeps pushing
her back. Meanwhile, in the Grave
Kingdom, Echion plots to revive his queen,
Xisi. Bingmei’s only hope of survival
should Echion succeed is to forge an alliance
with deadly adversaries. Though action-
packed, Bingmei’s flight takes up a dis-
proportionate amount of the narrative,
postponing the meat of the tale. However,
Bingmei’s eventual confrontation with
Echion is satisfying, and Echion’s Grave
Kingdom is chillingly described and loaded
with a strange allure. Fans of Wheeler’s
work and Asian-influenced fantasy will
find this a worthy outing. (June)Tomb of Gods
Brian Moreland. Flame Tree, $25 (288p)
ISBN 978-1-78758-414-3
Moreland (The Devil’s Wood) delves into
Ancient Egyptian secrets in this suspenseful
but underwhelming adventure tale. In the
1930s, British explorer Harlan Riley is
driven mad by what he finds in the tomb
of Nebenteru, leaving his adult grand-
daughter, Imogen, an Egyptologist, des-
perate for answers. She accompanies Dr.
Nathan Trummel, her former lover, and
photographer Caleb Beckett, to Egypt to
retrace her grandfather’s expedition to the
tomb. There they find a technologically
advanced relic amid a cavern of horrors
that may be the pathway to the underworld.
Their discoveries will change the course of
history, if only they can make it out alive.
Though Moreland’s tale is nicely paced
and laced with palpable tension, the
characters hew too closely to type: Imogen
is the plucky heroine, fighting against
1930s sexism; Trummel is the self-
important, pompous academic; and Caleb
is the dashing, sensitive artist who wins
Imogen over with his thoughtfulness.
Horror fans will be pleased as the terrors
of the tomb force each character to confront
a past trauma, but the final reveal of the
tomb’s secrets is predictable. For those
familiar with the genre, this will feel like
a retread. Agent: Betty Anne Crawford,
Books Crossing Borders. (May)★ Ghost Money
Stephen Blackmoore. DAW, $7.99 mass
market (304p) ISBN 978-0-7564-1296-8
Necromancer Eric Carter returns in the
breathtaking fifth urban fantasy from
Blackmoore (after Fire Season). More than
100,000 people died in the firestorm thatravaged Los Angeles and was sent to
punish necromancer Eric Carter for
defying the demands of the Aztec god
Quetzalcoatl in the last installment, and a
new threat emerges from the devastation
left behind.
Another mage
has found a way
to weaponize
the sudden
influx of ghosts,
yanking the
spirits through
the barrier that
separates the
living from the
dead and in so
doing threatening the stability of both
worlds. The PTSD-wracked Carter is the
only one with the power to stop him.
Tracking down the mage takes Carter into
the world of a Chinese Triad and forces
him to confront the otherworldly destiny
that he’s been trying to escape for years.
Carter’s wry voice is amusing as ever, but
the grief he carries is palpable, adding
depth and a sense of desperation to this
action-packed adventure. Readers will be
eager for more after this thrilling, emo-
tionally fraught installment. Agent: Lisa
Rodgers, JABberwocky Literary. (May)I Come With Knives
S.A. Hunt. Tor, $18.99 trade paper (400p)
ISBN 978-1-250-30646-3
Hunt’s Malus Domestica series loses
steam in this convoluted sequel to Burn
the Dark. The tale gets off to an exciting,
action-packed start as witch hunter Robin
Martine—still reeling from discovering a
demon guarding her late mother’s house
in Blackfield, Ga.—formulates a plan to
eradicate the Lazenbury coven and reunites
with her mentor, Heinrich Hammer, but
the numerous narrative threads soon
become difficult to track. Unbeknownst
to Robin, the demon prowling the house
is an incubus who had an arrangement
with her mother, the fallout from which
threatens her relationship with Heinrich
and draws an order of magicians to her
aid. Meanwhile, the Lazenbury coven
commits numerous atrocities using a pair
of crooked cops and a serial killer known
as the Serpent as instruments of their
bidding. Though the conceit of this fantasy
universe remains inventive and inviting,