House of Frank

 

House of Frank is a beautifully and gently written indie-pub debut fantasy (not particularly *cozy* although marketed as such) by Kay Synclaire. Released 15th Oct 2024, it's 320 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. 

This is a sensitive and moving story about loss and found family, grief and the often messy and non-linear way the grieving process goes. There's a lot of loss and anger as well as a surprising amount of hope.  It's tagged/marketed as a mystery, there's really very little mystery involved, ditto cozy, there are some terribly raw and distressing depictions of grief which are difficult to read in places. 

That being said, there is a surprising amount of catharsis, and the overall impression readers go away from the book will probably be hopeful and positive. I wonder if the author is writing her personal loss into the story, because it reads with a great deal of verisimilitude. 

Four stars. This is an indi-pub book, so possibly not on acquisition folks' radar. It would be an excellent choice if available for public library acquisition, maybe even for grief groups or fantasy/SF book club discussion. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.