Two wildly dysfunctional pairs of adult siblings find the paths of their lives colliding with volatile results in this quiet psychological thriller.  Anthony Verey, a once-successful and sought-after London antiques dealer whose life is now on the decline, takes refuge in the company of his sister, Veronica. Veronica now lives a happy, quiet life in the Cévennes region of southern France with her lover, Kitty, an amateur watercolorist.  Anthony’s trespassing on their lives causes friction between Veronica and Kitty, who cannot understand Veronica’s unswerving loyalty to the unpleasant and arrogant Anthony.  When Anthony, seduced by the landscape, determines to sell off the remains of his life in London and buy a house in the area, Kitty is dismayed. Anthony’s rigid perfectionism means that only one house fits his standards…the Mas Lunel, owned now by aging Aramon. Aramon’s sister, Audrun, lives in a ramshackle house on the same property. The two have a long and brutally abusive history and Audrun is simply waiting for Aramon to die so that she can claim the Mas. But Anthony’s interest in purchasing the building and land threatens that goal, and only disaster can result.

Deeply flawed characters and a vivid, though untamed and arid setting perfectly complement Tremain’s tale of dark secrets and years-long grudges come to a head.

Jack is five years old. He’s spent his entire life living in Room, an 11’x11’ space he shares with his mother, Ma.  Jack is happy with his life. Ma teaches him reading and tells him stories and lets him watch just a little bit of TV and breastfeeds him when he wants it and at night, he sleeps in Wardrobe just in case Old Nick comes in the night. Old Nick is the keeper of Room, and he brings their food and occasional treats, and at night he sometimes visits Ma and makes the bed squeak.  Though Jack doesn’t know it, the whole world he sees on TV is actually real and his Ma came from there originally. Old Nick took her seven years ago and put her into Room and now, with Jack getting so big and old, Ma knows they can’t live in such a small space together much longer. Ma tells Jack the truth and Jack doesn’t want to believe it at first. But then, he has to be very brave and help save his Ma from Old Nick. The outside world is very scary and other people are very strange, but Jack is smart and strong and he thinks he can handle it. But can Ma, after seven years locked away from her own Ma and father and brother?

Donoghue’s latest novel is intense, frightening, and, at times, surprisingly funny. Told entirely from the perspective of Jack, whose voice is simultaneously naïve and amazingly mature, the reader is distanced slightly from the misery of his mother. In some ways, this makes the story easier to bear. And in others, it is far more creepy. Jack’s complete acceptance of his strange world is at times chilling. An important book in many ways.

Young Marya Morevna has watched her sisters married off, each to a man from a different strata of Russian life.  Awaiting her own husband, she is surprised when Koschei the Deathless, the mythical Tsar of Life, shows up at her door to take her away to his lands as his bride, asserting his power over her at every step.  At first repelled by the land of Koschei, in which everything is alive and fountains spout blood rather than water, she soon finds herself at home as its mistress.  But in her need to prove herself to Koschei’s frightening sister, Baba Yaga, Marya inadvertantly overturns the balance between Koschei and his brother the Tsar of Death and must spend many years leading Koschei’s troops in the never-ending war between the two.  When, finally sick of spirit, she allows herself to be seduced away from Koschei by a seemingly uncomplicated human man, Ivan, and returns to the human world, her problems are far from over. For she has returned to the city of her birth, now renamed Leningrad, in the midst of the worst of the famine and horror of Siege of Leningrad. She must struggle for her own life, the life of Ivan, and the lives of her friends. And when Koschei comes for her once more, the power balance between the two shifts alarmingly as Marya asserts her own control over her immortal lover and husband.

Author Valente seamlessly and fascinatingly blends 20^th century Russian history with Russian folklore in her most recent novel.  The details of the Siege of Leningrad are painstakingly researched and painfully depicted, as is the history of political turmoil which turned St. Petersburg into Stalingrad into Leningrad, dragging its citizens unwillingly along. Those unfamiliar with the rich tradition of Russian folklore will find much of interest here as well.

Robin Hobb is one of my favorite authors, and though I knew she also wrote under the name Megan Lindholm, I had never read Lindholm previously. This anthology is a wonderful introduction to both of the author's signature styles. Standouts in the Lindholm section include the delightfully odd tale of “The Fifth Squashed Cat,” and the first story, "A Touch of Lavender."   The real standout in the Hobb section was, again, the first story, “Homecoming.” Sure to appeal to any fans of Hobb’s Liveship Traders series, “Homecoming” provides a fascinating glimpse at the early years of Rain Wilds settlements.

Over all, this is a most satisfying collection. Whether you're a Lindholm fan, a Hobb fan, or a fan of both, you will find much to enjoy here!