3/5 stars
Graveyard Shift, by M.L. Rio (2024)
I absolutely loved Rio's If We Were Villains, which I have read twice. So I was excited to see that she had a new book out. It's a slim little novella that was... fine. It's fine. Maybe I'm not a novella person, because I felt like it either needed to be way shorter, because not that much actually happens, or way longer, so, ya know, something can actually happen.
Like Villains, there is an ensemble cast of characters living in Academia. These folks all have insomnia, and meet up each night in a graveyard to smoke cigarettes (they're not allowed to smoke closer to the academic buildings, so it's the best option). The "action" of the book takes place over one night, where the group witnesses a mysterious person burying something, and all begin to - literally and figuratively - dig deeper to solve the mystery.
There are rats and bar fights, menacing scientists with nefarious experiments, a school newspaper, snarky academics, a homeless guy living in an abandoned church, and a lot of coffee (and cigarettes, of course). I've given it 3 stars because Rio is an excellent writer. The language and imagery are engrossing. The story just didn't ever cement together into interesting plotlines.
Like I said, I wanted more, or less. The whole thing felt a bit like an outline for an idea of a story, not the story itself.
UP NEXT: We Need No Wings, by Ann Dávila Cardinal
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