Welcome back to Case Files! This week gave me some great reads—from continuing our Read Herring Book Club pick for May, to finally reading the 2012 smash hit Gone Girl (and watching the movie).

PS, did you know you can now get a personalized book rec from me? Just visit my Bindery homepage and click the “Get a Rec” button in the top right corner.

Let’s get into the clues and evidence . . .

This week’s reads:

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (finished): I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, considering I already knew the big, mid-book twist. It’s psychologically sharp and deliciously tense, the audiobook is well-performed, and the movie is spot-on (probably because Flynn herself wrote the screenplay).

• Murder Most Delicious by Danielle Postel-Vinay (finished): This cozy murder mystery will make you want to fly to Paris immédiatement. The mystery is solid, but I actually most enjoyed the descriptions of the French neighborhood and its close-knit community. Look out for a Cluesletter interview with Danielle on Tuesday! 😊

• The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley (currently reading): Witty and fun! Really enjoying Roger Sheringham and his compatriots. The mystery is delightfully perplexing and the story moves along at a decent pace. This is for our Read Herring Book Club.

• Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (currently reading): I’m making myself read this before seeing The Sheep Detectives! I loved the sequel, Big Bad Wool (for which I interviewed author Leonie Swann), so it’s no surprise I’m enjoying the sheep’s escapades in this first installment. The audio is delightful and infused with Irish charm.

This week’s book mail:

• That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall (out now): A supernatural thriller set at a luxury resort in Hawaii, with themes of colonialism, horror, and the true cost of paradise.

• Murder by Design by Lee Goldberg (out Jun 1): A new series starring a brilliant (but rude) insurance investigator and a struggling actor hired to keep him in line.

Yours mysteriously,

Manon

Now for the full book discussion. Reading the last of this book made me so angry. Even though this is the 3rd time I've read this book, the "school" just seems so incredibly cruel. What was the point? It just seems like torture to make these mothers "parent" dolls for a year and then take away the doll too.

The last line hurts me in the same way that the ending of 1984 does.

Let's take a final look at our identified themes:

Us vs. Them

I think that the dolls highlight this theme. Are they human? Are they treated better than those that are? I'll admit I chuckled when someone said to "believe women" when they were talking about the accusations of the doll.

The Expectations on Mothers

It's abundantly clear that nothing short of absolute perfection is okay. This same message is found in our culture, if less overt. Just take a look at the Mother's Day advertising, so many lifting up sacrificial motherhood as the standard.

Misogyny in a Patriarchal Society

If a woman is just a mother, she isn't a person. She only exists to serve others and deserves nothing in return.

What did you think of the book?

Surviving the Unsurvivable in We Were the Lucky Ones

There is a specific kind of ache that comes with reading a story you know is true. When Georgia Hunter published We Were the Lucky Ones in 2017, she wasn’t just writing a Holocaust novel; she was uncovering the miraculous survival of her own ancestors, the Kurc family.

With the 2024 Hulu miniseries adaptation, this sprawling, global odyssey has been brought to life with startling intimacy. But how does the screen version hold up against the meticulously researched prose? Let’s dive into the heart-wrenching comparison.

The Heart of the Story: The Kurc Family

Both the book and the series center on the Kurcs of Radom, Poland. At the start, they are a family of successful, cultured Jews architects, musicians, and entrepreneurs.

• The Book: Hunter’s writing is remarkably disciplined. She balances five siblings’ perspectives across continents from Siberia to Brazil to Italy without losing the emotional thread. The book excels at detailing the internal resilience and the luck that often felt like a burden to those who survived while others didn't.

• The Series: The show leans heavily into the visceral emotion. Joey King as Halina and Logan Lerman as Addy deliver performances that bridge the gap between historical figures and living, breathing people. The series manages to make the family’s separation feel more claustrophobic and urgent through its haunting cinematography.

Comparison: Book vs. Series 

Pacing

The Novel: Spans nearly a decade; feels like a slow, epic marathon of endurance.

The TV Series: High-stakes and propulsive; 8 episodes create a sense of constant peril.

Historical Context

The Novel: Rich with research and Author’s Notes that clarify real-life timelines.

The TV Series: Uses visual cues and subtitles to help the viewer track various global locations.

Character Focus

The Novel: Gives equal weight to the internal monologues of all five siblings.

The TV Series: Centers slightly more on Halina and Addy as the emotional anchors.

Atmosphere

The Novel: Hopeful but grounded in the grim reality of logistics and survival.

The TV Series: Deeply cinematic; uses sound and silence to emphasize the trauma of war.

Key Differences & Adaptations

1. The Passage of Time

In the book, the years of hiding and labor feel heavy. Hunter captures the monotony of survival, the waiting, the hunger, and the slow-burning fear. The TV series, by necessity, condenses some of these timelines to keep the tension high, which makes the Kurcs' narrow escapes feel even more miraculous and at times, breathless.

2. The Visual Impact of the Diaspora

One of the series' greatest strengths is its ability to show the geographic scale of the story. Switching from the frozen wastes of Siberia to the sun-drenched, yet anxious, streets of Rio de Janeiro helps the audience visualize just how far the Kurc family was flung. While the book describes this beautifully, seeing the stark color palette shifts on screen adds a layer of sensory storytelling.

3. The Lucky Element

The title is a bit of a paradox. Both mediums grapple with the guilt of survival. However, the series uses the chemistry between the actors to show what was at stake. When you see the family together in the first episode's Seder, the tragedy of their separation in the subsequent episodes hits harder than it does on the page.

Final Verdict: Which Should You Experience First?

It is a story of the indomitable human spirit, but more importantly, it is a story about the power of family as a North Star.

• Read the book if: You want the full, intricate historical record and the internal thoughts of every family member. It is a masterpiece of genealogical research turned into narrative art.

• Watch the series if: You want a poignant, masterfully acted tribute to survival that captures the heartbeat of the Kurc family in a more immediate, visual way.

My Recommendation: Read the book first to ground yourself in the family’s history, then watch the series to see those memories breathe. Both versions serve as a stunning reminder that even in the world's darkest hours, hope is a form of resistance.

❓️Have you watched the series or read the book yet? Which Kurc sibling’s journey moved you the most?

Hello Star and Galaxy members! Below you'll find the form link to opt-in for the MAY Mail Club and provide your mailing address <3

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Welcome to Friday Faves! Each week I plan to share my favorite book I read during the past week, as well as any other stuff I've been enjoying. I would also like to invite you all to join my Discord channel, where there's a place for you to share your own Friday Faves. Let's fill each others' lives with wonderful things!

This week's fave read is a real "hey guys have you heard about this massively popular book??!" situation. It's HAMNET by Maggie O'Farrell.

This is the most devastating book I've read in years. Just absolutely a tear your hair out and lay on the floor crying kind of book. I didn't want to keep reading it but I also couldn't stop reading it. Somehow, it feels like the events of the book are happening to you as you read it.

I particularly loved how it both mattered and didn't matter at all that Agnes' husband was William Shakespeare. Who cares, when you're that in the depths of grief? Agnes' touch of the supernatural also added another beautiful, painful layer to her story. I think I can say I've never quite met a character like Agnes.

A non-bookish fave thing for me recently is the video game Date Everything! I've been slowly playing this through over the past few months and it's so delightfully weird. It's a dating sim, but the twist is that the dateables are all of the objects in your house. It's silly, and punny, and voiced by all your favorite voice actors.

Now, I invite you to share your Friday Faves in the Discord chat! See you there!

What Feeds Below e book is on sale for $3.99 for a limited time!

help us to get 1,000 preorders and grab your copy today, folks!

I’m currently traveling but I have so many cool updates to share coming soon!

I don't storyboard, or plot, or plan—at least not at the beginning. Storytelling, for me, starts with people, and I form the story around them. Because of this, my approach to writing is very different from most of the tips and techniques I see people promoting. And that's ok! What works for me might not work for you, and what works for you might not work for me. But I did think it would be fun to share some of my process, as I bring you along on my author journey.

The Plan

In brief, there is never a plan. My ideas for pieces of writing are born when characters pop into my head. From there, I word vomit everything that they tell me. I had actually planned for the WIP that I'm sharing with you all (going to have to come up with a code name for it until I release the title 😀) to be a literary fiction novel, but the way Penelope and Brie were interacting made me realize that I was actually writing a romance.

Character Breakdowns

Something else I don't do until draft zero (sometimes even draft 1) is complete is make character breakdowns. I tend to get really caught up in the idea that, once I create a document and attach certain traits/characteristics to a character, it's set in stone. I prefer to play around with who my characters are in the draft and use things like character breakdowns as a tool later on to stay organized.

Scene Breakdowns

If you've made it this far, it's probably not a surprise to you that early versions of my scene breakdowns are more interpretative than they are informative. I have two writing journals: one specific to the piece I'm working on and one that I jot general ideas/dialogue/word vomit into. The journal specific to my WIP basically looks like it was created in code.

But that two page spread is actually my storyboard. Well, not the whole storyboard, but, when I look at it, I see the entire falling action. Sometimes, I do go into scenes with an idea of their shape, but, more often than not, I just let the characters talk and go from there.

Drafting & Organization

I should clarify that, once the idea for the book is formed and the characters are born, I do get organized. That part usually comes in around draft two, and I do place a lot of value in it. However, I find that starting with too much structure feels limiting to me at the beginning, so I'm most successful when I fold that in later. Basically, I start with a vibe and cross my fingers that it'll make sense.

Finding an audience

Lastly, I want to end this by saying that I never worry about writing for an audience when I first put pen to paper. I start by writing for myself. If I find the story at all interesting, chances are someone else will too. I have lots of pieces of writing that will probably forever stay in my notebook because the story just isn't there. There are some that I might come back to later on and others that I borrow from for other works. I also have stories that I needed to write so that my brain would be free to tell others. The amazing thing about inspiration is that it's a renewable source. It never goes away.

...and that's my process :)

Hi Friends and Happy Thursday (night)!

I'm still working on which day(s) I will be delivering a newsletter to you all, but Trans Joy Thursdays just seems... needed and necessary, so for now, I believe this is when I'll write to you all. I seem to get my motivation and creative spark as a writer when the sun goes down, so forgive me for not getting it to you earlier in the day. (I realize I could plan things in advance, maybe future me will get my life together.)

If you haven't joined the Discord community yet, there are a few polls over there on the frequency of how many newsletters you'd like to receive weekly, what type of physical book (paperback v. hardcover) you'd prefer in future giveaways, etc. Plus there's access to the current book club chat for the remainder of Q2 on Merle Miller's On Being Different in addition to the two articles that took place prior to the book being created.

There have been two new trans books on my radar for the month of May that have recently been released that I cannot wait to read:

In no particular order, they are:

• Gender Queer: A Memoir The Annotated Edition by Maia Kobabe

• The House Of Now And Then: A Novel by Edward Underhill

In addition to trans books that bring me joy, (I know I'm missing so many trans books being released, by no means is my little list exhaustive), we reached 80 degrees one day this past week here in Green Bay, WI, and I was able to break out my freshly, newly acquired tanks! I previously didn't wear tanks due to body dysmorphia and all the many ways that consumed me, but with having top surgery in January, I was able to put on a tank and feel.. EUPHORIC. Y'all, I'm still finding out my "firsts" like wearing a brand new crisp white tee, but the trans joy of wearing a tank top just sent me absolutely reeling in excitement:

You can find this tank top here. The apparel company is Gay Pride Apparel, created by two first generation Mexican-Americans and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. I LOVE their shop and all they stand for. Go shop for Pride Month!

Another things that brings me trans joy is SoftBoys Club. They send out monthly trans snail mail, and it is the best thing to be subscribed to! Click here to check out their shop and monthly mailing! Seriously, I love, love, love the attention to detail and all the trans affirmations and inserts they send monthly. It's truly something I look forward to every month.

I have some very exciting news I'm waiting to confirm and cannot wait to share with all of you that is also bringing me trans joy, so stay tuned for that, as well.

In the meantime, I hope you all have a glorious Friday, and holiday weekend, and I will see you on Discord in the chats.

With all my trans joy,

Sawyer Cole

Hello everyone! I wanted to schedule a Zoom call for some time in the first two weeks of June to discuss BURN THE SEA by Mona Tewari together as a Bindery community! But first I wanted to ask if you want Mona, the author, to join or to do a discussion on our own—there are perks to either option and I would love to hear your thoughts!

But either way, I will be giving those who join the zoom some sneak peeks on the next book and maybe even the cover!! 👀

Ok, remember when I announced the amazing pre-order incentives we have running right now? That deal just got SWEETER! ✨

Thank you to Bindery for now offering $3.99 e-book preorders on all our Fall 2026 titles, including Twig's Traveling Tomes! This offer will last up until publication day in September, so if you've been back and forth on your pre-order decision, I hope this feels like a little nudge from the universe (or perhaps a particularly persuasive book witch ☺️).

But why do pre-orders matter?

Pre-orders are one of the biggest ways readers can support a book because they help show bookstores and retailers that there’s excitement and demand before a release even happens. Strong pre-orders can lead to wider bookstore placement, more marketing funding to help support the book, and greater visibility for the author and book overall. Pre-ordering tells the world, “people are eager for this story,” and that support can make a huge difference for a book’s success.

If you do purchase your pre-order, be sure to let us know in the incentives form so you'll be entered to win all the fun Twig's Traveling Tomes goodies!

ENTER TO WIN

Thank you again for supporting this book and Gryffin so beautifully. We couldn't do this without your heart!

xx,
Meg

While The Return is Rachel Harrison's debut, it was not the first book I read that she'd authored. That distinction belongs to So Thirsty. I have now read three of her books (including Play Nice) and am in the midst of reading her upcoming release Kiss Slay Replay so let's talk about what worked in her debut, what didn't, and her evolution as a writer.

WHAT WORKED (for me anyway):

• Tone

  • It was eerie, it was full of dread, and I ate it up. Think like the same sort of odd dread from Twin Peaks? Or the vibes of Haunting of Hill House (show, not book).

• Setting

  • A rural bed and breakfast with creepy ass vibes? SIGN ME UP.

• Horror elements

  • Gross depictions of standard horror imagery, the came back wrong trope, and man I swear I could physically smell some of those scenes.

• General plot

  • Came back wrong will always work for me as well as grief horror.

WHAT DIDN'T (again, for me!):

• Pacing

  • Most debuts struggle with pacing, so I can't really fault her here. It felt like it could have been tightened up in a few places, but wasn't a main detractor.

• Characters

  • Her characters are GOD AWFUL people. Lord I would hate to be friends with ANY OF THEM. Communication is key to any friendship, folks, and this friendship had, like, none.

  • Elise as an FMC was extremely relatable though! I too worry about being the odd one out on a near-constant basis lol

BUY, BORROW, OR PASS?

BUY. I think this is worth having on your shelves if you're a horror fan like me. Not to mention Rachel Harrison's way of writing makes you blow straight through the pages. Her momentum is great! This was a strong debut, and if I'd read it first, I certainly would have added her to my list of authors to watch. As it is, So Thirsty solidified that spot almost instantaneously. Loved it!

I think her evolution as a writer clearly shows; she found her niche with horror that has a humorous touch. Her debut doesn't have this, but you'll find her later novels do and it really works!

Have you read anything by Rachel Harrison? What was your favorite, if you did? If you didn't, please consider clicking the book widgets and ordering from us!

Till next time!

I’m so excited to share this here with you first.

Our next Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night anthology theme is officially…

🔪 SLASHERS. 🔪

I’ll be announcing it soon on social media and in the monthly newsletter, but you get to know before everyone else because I love giving this little haunted corner the first peek.

This collection will be all about slashers in every form. Classic masked killers, small-town massacres, camp carnage, final girls, revenge stories, suburban bloodshed, 90s and 2000s throwback vibes, weird slashers, psychological slashers, and stories that take the trope and carve something completely new into it.

So I want to know:

What kind of slashers do you love most?

Are you into the masked killer stalking a sleepy town? The revenge slasher? The summer camp bloodbath? The final girl who refuses to stay in her assigned role? The killer with a creepy gimmick? The kind of slasher that feels fun until it suddenly feels very, very scary?

Is there a specific trope, setting, or type of slasher you’d love to see in this collection?

One of the things I really love about having this space is that paid members get to give feedback I actually take into consideration during the submission and selection process. I want this anthology to feel scary, fun, sharp, and bloody in all the best ways, so your thoughts genuinely help shape what I’ll be looking for.

Also, a quick reminder that our second anthology releases in a little over a month! If you preorder, you’ll also receive the preorder exclusive sticker.

🔗 PREORDER HERE

With a little over a week left in May, I wanted to share some of the incredible AANHPI stories on my TBR to continue celebrating AANHPI voices all year long!

*Pitches from the publishers.

• Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow - Two scholars of magical veterinary science must put aside their lust and loathing to save the world in the first installment of this whimsical, romantic, dark academia duology. (Strange Familiars is also the July pick for Musings of the Nine Book Club! Keshe will join the club to comment insight about Strange Familiars and chat with the club as we read. We hope you join us!)

• For No Mortal Creature by Keshe Chow - In this romantic, gothic fantasy inspired by Wuthering Heights, a teen girl with the power to move between life and death must journey into the afterlife. But to survive, she’ll need the help of her two sworn enemies—both dangerously captivating, both hiding secrets that could destroy her.

• Unfinished Business by Clare Osongo - In this funny, warmly chaotic tale of love, a floundering office worker discovers her mother's ghost is trapped in the company Slack server, and must free her by resolving her own troubled love life.

• The Fast Track by Angelica Cheng - An ambitious racer who dreams of becoming the first female F1 champion finds her plans going off track when she catches feelings for her biggest competition in this dishy, delicious contemporary romance for fans of love, Lynn Painter, and Lewis Hamilton.

• The Revenant of Surolifia by Florence Chien - In the vein of The Traitor Baru Cormorant and The Unbroken, The Revenant of Surolifia is a gripping political fantasy of empire, identity, and impossible choices, where rebellion blazes in the streets, loyalty is a double-edged sword, and the price of peace may be too steep to pay.

• The Game of Oaths by S.C. Bandreddi - In this heart-pounding, richly imagined fantasy set in the Belle Époque, a trapeze artist fights to win a deadly tournament amid the glamour and illusions of a magical circus. But survival isn’t her only goal—she wants revenge.

• Witch Daughter by Tanaz Bhathena - In her adult debut, award-winning author Tanaz Bhathena expertly weaves a tale of love and loss in ancient Persia with her take on the timeless tragedy of Tahmineh, a temptress, a witch, a victim, or, perhaps, a woman trying her hardest to protect her loved ones.

• Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari - A fierce Indian queen must defend her country against both the colonizing monsters attacking from the sea and the cowardly manipulations of a neighboring king…who happens to be her husband.

• The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham - A lush and immersive queer “Sleeping Beauty” retelling about escapism, grief, and dreaming of a better world.

• A Kiss of Crimson Ash by Anuja Varghese - Inspired by medieval India’s most epic love stories, this debut Romantasy blends rich storytelling, lush worldbuilding, and spice of every variety. Perfect for fans of Nisha J. Tuli and Tasha Suri.

• The Book of Fallen Leaves by A.S. Tamaki - Shogun meets Game of Thrones in this epic fantasy debut of ambition, vengeance, and sacrifice.

• Coldwire by Chloe Gong - The start of a daring new dystopian series where humanity has moved to virtual reality to flee their deteriorating world, following two young soldiers who must depend on unlikely allies in their fight for survival.

• The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim - In this sly and dazzling contemporary fantasy, the most notorious nine-tailed fox in Korea pairs up with a trickster god–turned–detective to track down a wrathful demon . . . before it can destroy the mortal world.

• Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang - The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever, in this standalone dark fantasy from the author of The Sword of Kaigen.

• Double Happiness by Heather Eng - Caught between a relentless tech job, her adoring fiancé, and an unexpected new flame, Mei must learn what it means to choose herself.

• Brighter Than Nine (sequel to Darker By Four) by June C.L. Tan - The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets the Chinese underworld, drawing inspiration from diaspora folklore, in this epic, sweeping contemporary fantasy duology.

• Checking You Out by Jennifer Chen - XO, Kitty meets Dash & Lily in this rom com about two teens falling in love via letters left in their favorite library books—even if in real life they think they have nothing in common.

• Roar by Varsha Bajaj - The gripping story of a boy whose eye-opening trip to a tiger sanctuary ignites his desire to join those who are roaring to protect the animals.

• Babel by R.F. Kuang - A historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire.

• Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim - A mother and daughter must break their family’s curse through trials of war and immigration, love, loss, and redemption in this riveting multi-generational saga with a shimmer of magic.

• The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe - In this spellbinding fantasy debut set in a future where language magic reigns, a young Hawaiian woman must solve a murder to clear her name.

• Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker - In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds.

Happy AANHPI Heritage Month!