by Kate Milford (Author)
Nothing is what it seems and there's always more than one side to the story as a group of strangers trapped in an inn slowly reveal their secrets in this new standalone mystery set in the world of the best-selling Greenglass House, from a National Book Award nominee and Edgar Award-winning author.
The rain hasn't stopped for a week, and the twelve guests of the Blue Vein Tavern are trapped by flooded roads and the rising Skidwrack River. Among them are a ship's captain, tattooed twins, a musician, and a young girl traveling on her own. To pass the time, they begin to tell stories--each a different type of folklore--that eventually reveal more about their own secrets than they intended. As the rain continues to pour down--an uncanny, unnatural amount of rain--the guests begin to realize that the entire city is in danger, and not just from the flood. But they have only their stories, and one another, to save them. Will it be enough?
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As rain and the Skidwrack River's rising make "new rivers that had once been roads," 15 stranded individuals alternately spin stories in this deliciously folkloric, carefully plotted compilation that has roots in—and similarities to—Milford's Greenglass House. Interspersed with interludes in the Blue Vein Tavern and bearing repeating references and themes, the individual stories focus on "peddlers, tricksters, gamblers, and lovers"; keys, maps, and portals; and roads of ice and of old. In the moments between the tellings, the inclusive array of worldly and otherworldly guests—brothers with facial tattoos, a shawl-swathed woman, a child traveling solo—and the tavern's staff rotate across a great room's stage, manipulating physical objects (cards, an hourglass, whittled animals, music boxes) and engaging in continual patterns of movement (bookbinding, dancing, firekeeping). At once a deeply satisfying standalone and a smart addition to Milford's expansive world, this elegant feat of telescopic storytelling serves as both map and key, offering singular stories of consequence that slowly, artfully reveal an immersive mystery—one that will dazzle seasoned Milford fans and kindle new ones.
Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission."Milford has created one of the cleverest children's books of the year."—Betsy Bird, Fuse #8
"At times wryly humorous and at others marvelously unnerving and superbly menacing, this novel delights. Deliciously immersive and captivating."—Kirkus, STARRED review
"The wide-reaching world building of Milford's Nagspeake novels gets even more expansive.... The stories are purely enjoyable, playfully toying with folktale conventions, offering a compelling variety of genres, and allowing each teller's voice to clearly come through in their tale."—Booklist