Literary Brooding

The Invocations  Krystal Sutherland 390 pages, Paperback, First published January 30, 2024 Three young women find themselves bound together to battle a supernatural force. Each has their own agenda in the pursuit of magic and if they don’t find a way to come together the consequences will be dire. Jude Wolf has money and stupidly has bound a couple of demons to her soul, and it has not gone well. She has a gaping, festering, rotting wound that will not heal and if she can not find a way to reverse the curse, life is looking bleak. Zara Jones, sister was murdered, and she will do anything to have her back. She has thrown herself into learning everything about necromancy. Emer Byrne is trying to live off the grid and writes magical invocations that will provide protection for women in trouble. The problem is that someone is murdering the women Emer has provided assistance to and is removing their protective charms. It is here that the three women’s worlds collide as each needs assistance

Highway 13 Fiona McFarlane Paperback. first published August 13, 2024 A group of fictional short stories revolving around a serial killer and the murders that happened near the township of Barrow in Australia. This is not about the serial killer Paul Biga, this is not about solving the murder, this about how a crime can impact, influence and effect people. The stories are not told in a linear approach but jump around and it makes perfect sense. The first story, Tourists, explores how people believe they can walk into the scene of the crime and make important discoveries as they have a special connection with the place. That they can hear the voices of the victims call out to them. They have read all the books, they are across all the theories so therefore they have insight, knowledge. It is quite an unsettling read. Demolition was one of my favourites in the collection and I really do not want to give anything away. The story centres on the killer’s house being demolished, a woman who