And the Other One

So I've got some "what I'm planning to read" posts for you because I'm trying to do a few in one day and get ahead while I get ready to leave. Yep, High School Reunion Countdown begins. And as I write this on Thursday, I'm hoping I still get to go.

If so, another recent release that has reserved space in my carry-on is Rhodi Hawk's debut, A Twisted Ladder. I've been waiting for this book for what seems like ages now. I first heard about it on the ITW site in their list of upcoming titles. A southern gothic tale set in New Orleans, I'm totally there!

Here's the PW review for you:

Hawk's promising debut, a Southern gothic thriller, introduces Dr. Madeleine LeBlanc, a staff psychologist at New Orleans's Tulane University with a special interest in cognitive schizophrenia. Maddy's father, Daddy Blank, suffers from the disease, as does her brother, Marc, whose suicide leads Maddy, who fears she may also be schizophrenic after psychic visits from a devil-child, to probe her family's past. Tulane neurologist Ethan Manderleigh provides support as terrible secrets surface about the family sugarcane plantation. Maddy's discovery that a creepy childhood friend is a murderer complicates her quest. Flashbacks to Prohibition-era New Orleans chart the early life of Maddy's clairvoyant, mean-spirited 114-year-old great-grandmother, Chloe, who's rather too spry for her age, despite her magical gifts. Voodoo and scientific research into neuroplasticity make an intriguing, if not always easy, mix.

I really prefer to be able to write my own synopsis for you, but as I read PW religiously and make many additions to my TBR stack based on the reviews, I find that they're pretty trustworthy.

But know this, the only reason I'm not reviewing it myself is because I've been holding this one for the past few weeks (since my order arrived) with the specific intention of taking with me on the plane. I can't get enough of gothic lit and I HATE flying. How are these two connected? Well, I figure if I bring a book I'm bound to love to totally absorb me and make me forget just how frustrating flying is, maybe I can turn my negative experience into a positive one.

I've done it before, brought a great book with me and not even noticed the time go by on the flight. Mario Acevedo has been my companion sitting in a plane that never left the runway. Clive Barker waited with me while a flight was delayed for eight hours for lord only knows what reason. Jasper Fforde kept me company while I sat in two different airports, flight and connection both delayed.

Yep, having a good book with you can make almost any situation bearable and Rhodi Hawk is going to be my companion, along with Alex Bell, on this trip. Here's hoping everything runs smoothly, but I think I'll be well prepared in case it doesn't.