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The Raconteur's Commonplace Book

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

In this standalone mystery set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Greenglass House by an Edgar Award–winning author, a group of strangers trapped in an otherworldly inn slowly reveal their secrets, proving that nothing is what it seems and there's always more than one side to the story.

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?

"Will dazzle seasoned Milford fans and kindle new ones." (Publishers Weekly starred review)

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  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      November 1, 2020
      Grades 5-8 The wide-reaching world building of Milford's Nagspeake novels gets even more expansive in her latest. Fans of Greenglass House (2014) might recognize the title; it's the book of folktales about Nagspeake that Milo reads, and the stories within bolster just about every other book set in the world, with familiar characters, objects, and places periodically appearing. Beyond that, though, 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. Some are eerie, like "The Hollow-Ware Man," which tells of someone making a desperate bargain, or "The Game of Maps," about a house with violent tendencies. Others are sweet, like "The Ferryman," featuring a boy who desperately loves riddles, or "The Coldway," about a seemingly doomed romance. As the stories go on, touchpoints emerge that gradually shape into revealing truths about the travelers. Though the importance of those truths might be lost on readers unfamiliar with Milford's other novels, the marvelous descriptions, delicious tension, and palpable atmosphere are plenty appealing on their own.

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from December 15, 2020
      Rain pours down and waters rise as a group of travelers, trapped by the weather in an inn above the river Skidwrack, tell stories. Twelve guests plus innkeeper, maid, and neighbor Phineas Amalgam (compiler of these tales, according to the title page) make up the company of 15, including one child, Maisie, who is traveling alone. The stories, part morality tales and part facets of a drawing-room mystery, suggest a hidden conversation among the assembly: supplicating, surmising, interpreting, warning. Each guest is matched with an activity: dancing, building with cards, whittling, offering cigars, binding papers into books. Milford's rich, complex language hints of magic and connection, of interwoven fates and tragedies. The stories celebrate patterns, numbers, marvelous inventions, puzzles, and possibilities. Several stories of peddlers, choices, crossroads, and arcane clockwork devices point to the mystery, and maps, keys, and music figure prominently. Madame Grisaille, Maisie, Petra, and Gregory Sangwin have darker skin while others are assumed White or, in the cases of the beautiful young man Sullivan and the tattooed brothers Negret and Reever, possibly other than human. The inn is full of its own secrets. Its rooms and layout will feel familiar to Greenglass House fans, but it's set earlier in time, with a steampunk focus on cartography, gearwork, and combustion. At times wryly humorous and at others marvelously unnerving and superbly menacing, this novel delights. Deliciously immersive and captivating. (Mystery. 9-14)

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:6.9
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:5

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