Snake-Eater

Completely rewrote my mental image of roadrunners, and threw the (actually terrifying) bird's goofy cartoon reputation out the window. After reading the acknowledgments, it's safe to say this bird is uncomfortably intelligent and I can see where Kingfisher found inspiration for a horror novel in its beak and feathers.

BUT despite the fearsome bird, the horror was barely a sprinkle of salt on the meal. There were moments where this story verged on being unsettling but in all honesty, any hints at horror were lost in the small-town, gardening in the desert, petting my dog and reading a book of it all.

Snake-Eater was a love letter to the Arizona desert, and as a desert lover myself, I greatly enjoyed that aspect of it but this has been mis-marketed as horror and readers should go into it expecting a cozy fantasy.

As a cosy fantasy, this has lots of fun elements. It's Gilmore Girls in the desert, sans the Gilmores, complete with relationship drama, small town cookouts, and kooky neighbours. There's trans rep, autism rep, nature spirits, and an amazing dog who honestly was the best character.