Doreen Sheridan

Professional book critic, amateur cellist, full-time polymath. Occasional game designer, perpetual game enthusiast. Mom of 3. Arsenal till I die. I like a good story. My other mystery reviews can be found here: https://www.criminalelement.com/author/dvaleris/

Most commented posts

  1. Deathless (Leningrad Diptych #1) by Catherynne M. Valente — 12 comments
  2. A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) by Arkady Martine — 10 comments
  3. Sweet Tea by Piper Huguley — 7 comments
  4. I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley — 6 comments
  5. Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich — 5 comments

Author's posts

A Perfect Day To Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama

A Perfect Day To Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama

translated elegantly from the original Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood. Looking back from my grand old age of mumble mumble, I can safely say that the transitory years to adulthood, when you’re no longer a student but expected to be able to mostly fend for yourself and make good decisions are genuinely some of the roughest …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/30/a-perfect-day-to-be-alone-by-nanae-aoyama/

The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen (EXCERPT)

We have a fun excerpt for you this week, readers, as we dive into a comic take on your usual Scandinoir crime thriller. Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston, this darkly funny novel is the perfect balance of thrills, twists and laughter. Middle-aged Anni Korpinen is the top salesperson at Steam Devil. She’s worked …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/29/the-burning-stones-by-antti-tuomainen-excerpt/

Three Thieves, Vol. 1: Tower of Treasure by Scott Chantler

What a terrific way to kick off a Middle Grade fantasy adventure comic series! Dessa Redd is a circus acrobat whose two closest friends are likely her co-workers: the juggler (and thief) Topper and the one-headed giant and strongman Fisk. Their circus isn’t super successful, barely scraping by with enough for all the hands to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/28/three-thieves-vol-1-tower-of-treasure-by-scott-chantler/

Tantalizing Tales — April 2025 — Part Three

In which we check out some of the most interesting books to be released here at the tail end of the month before turning our attention to May! First up, we have a newly published memoir, Ana Hebra Flaster’s Property Of The Revolution. A family of Cuban revolutionaries found themselves growing increasingly disillusioned by Fidel …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/25/tantalizing-tales-april-2025-part-three/

Live Fast by Brigitte Giraud

Winner of the Prix Goncourt, and translated from the original French by Cory Stockwell. There is an unusual form of French novel, of which this is a prime example, called the recit. It’s a sort of self-aware narrative, in which the narrator knows that they’re telling a story, with all the inherent discomfort of self-consciousness. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/24/live-fast-by-brigitte-giraud/

The Power Fantasy Volume 1: The Superpowers by Kieron Gillen & Caspar Wijngaard

with Clayton Cowles and Rian Hughes on letters and design. Am I getting jaded? I love mythologies and the ways that comic books spin up brand new gods and pantheons and legends and dramas, but reading this book — that feels very much like a cross between Kieron Gillen’s prior The Wicked + The Divine …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/22/the-power-fantasy-volume-1-the-superpowers-by-kieron-gillen-caspar-wijngaard/

Tectiv Vol 1: Noirtopia by Richard Ashley Hamilton & Marco Matrone

with Dave Sharpe on letters. What a clever post-apocalyptic spin on the noir genre! Bingo Finder is a scavenger in the utopian farm village of Ellay, venturing into the ruins of urban neighborhoods to find anything that might be worth bartering. On one trip with her best friend Fenn, she finds what, to her, is …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/18/tectiv-vol-1-noirtopia-by-richard-ashley-hamilton-marco-matrone/

Captains Wanted by Andres Schabelman

What an odd and interesting metaphysical novel! Told primarily in the second person, this tale of magical realism flits between fantasy, science fiction and the everyday as it explores what it means to truly be in charge of your own life. The “you” addressed in this novel is the frustrated, fake-it-till-you-make-it everyperson (tho tends to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/17/captains-wanted-by-andres-schabelman/

An Interview With Kyle Casey Chu, author of The Queen Bees Of Tybee County

In conjunction with the publication of the first book in Kyle Casey Chu’s debut middle-grade duology, The Queen Bees Of Tybee County, we have a fabulous interview to share with you, dear readers! Also known as the drag queen Panda Dulce, Ms Chu was unwittingly thrust into the global spotlight in 2022 when far-right extremists …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/15/an-interview-with-kyle-casey-chu-author-of-the-queen-bees-of-tybee-county/

All The Noise At Once by DeAndra Davis

Even if one of the supporting cast wasn’t named after an Arsenal Football Club legend, I would still rate this sensitive, witty and heartbreakingly realistic exploration of the effect of police brutality on a Black autistic teenager very highly. All Aiden Wright has ever wanted to do is play football on the same team with …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/14/all-the-noise-at-once-by-deandra-davis/