From Powells.com
Our favorite books of 2020-2021.
Staff Pick
I had so much fun reading Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts! Racculia has created some of the quirkiest, relatable characters I've ever read; I care about all of them, which makes the book so, so hard to put down. It's smart-fun with streaks of mystery, romance, and just a hint of horror. Pairs well with a cozy blanket, best read on a rainy day. Recommended By Summer R., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A handsome stranger. A dead billionaire. A citywide treasure hunt. Tuesday Mooney's life is about to change . . . forevermore.
Tuesday Mooney is a loner. She keeps to herself, begrudgingly socializes, and spends much of her time watching old Twin Peaks and X-Files DVDs. But when Vincent Pryce, Boston's most eccentric billionaire, dies — leaving behind an epic treasure hunt through the city, with clues inspired by his hero, Edgar Allan Poe — Tuesday's adventure finally begins.
Puzzle-loving Tuesday searches for clue after clue, joined by a ragtag crew: a wisecracking friend, an adoring teen neighbor, and a handsome, cagey young heir. The hunt tests their mettle, and with other teams from around the city also vying for the promised prize — a share of Pryce's immense wealth — they must move quickly. Pryce's clues can't be cracked with sharp wit alone; the searchers must summon the courage to face painful ghosts from their pasts (some more vivid than others) and discover their most guarded desires and dreams.
A deliciously funny ode to imagination, overflowing with love letters to art, from The Westing Game to Madonna to the Knights of the Round Table, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts is the perfect read for thrill seekers, wanderers, word lovers, and anyone looking for an escape to the extraordinary.
Review
"Rarely does a novel so suffused with death radiate as much life as this spirited — in every sense of the word — genre-bending adventure. The author... has a deeper design in mind, which only becomes apparent with the book's immensely satisfying final bombshells. Racculia should win many new fans with this inspired effort." Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
"Thrilling, romantic, and charming as all get out, a love letter to former witchy girls and compulsive dreamers that will make readers reassess what — and who — they value... spooky, witty, and observant, Racculia's novel of friendship and bigger-than-life aspirations is a treasure." Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Review
"Racculia has created a curiosity cabinet of a novel here — brimming with wonder and surprise, and populated by a charming, somewhat haunted cast of outsiders. Clue by clue, page by page, Tuesday Mooney leads readers through an adventure that is bookish and spooky and compulsively fun!" Matthew Sullivan, author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
Review
"In Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts Kate Racculia has created a host of wonderful odd-ball and eccentric characters, not least Tuesday Mooney herself: smart, vivacious, and beguiling. I was swept up in her crazy treasure hunt through Boston, looking for ghosts — real and imagined. A book for the curious and spirited." Claire Fuller, author of Bitter Orange, Swimming Lessons, and Our Endless Numbered Days
Synopsis
A handsome stranger. A dead billionaire. A citywide treasure hunt. Tuesday Mooney's life is about to change . . . forevermore. Tuesday Mooney is a loner. She keeps to herself, begrudgingly socializes, and spends much of her time watching old Twin Peaks and X-Files DVDs. But when Vincent Pryce, Boston's most eccentric billionaire, dies--leaving behind an epic treasure hunt through the city, with clues inspired by his hero, Edgar Allan Poe--Tuesday's adventure finally begins.
Puzzle-loving Tuesday searches for clue after clue, joined by a ragtag crew: a wisecracking friend, an adoring teen neighbor, and a handsome, cagey young heir. The hunt tests their mettle, and with other teams from around the city also vying for the promised prize--a share of Pryce's immense wealth--they must move quickly. Pryce's clues can't be cracked with sharp wit alone; the searchers must summon the courage to face painful ghosts from their pasts (some more vivid than others) and discover their most guarded desires and dreams.
A deliciously funny ode to imagination, overflowing with love letters to art, from The Westing Game to Madonna to the Knights of the Round Table, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts is the perfect read for thrill seekers, wanderers, word lovers, and anyone looking for an escape to the extraordinary.
Synopsis
A handsome stranger. A dead billionaire. A citywide treasure hunt. Tuesday Mooney's life is about to change in ways she--and no reader--could never expect in this rollicking (Star Tribune), award-winning novel. A Kirkus Reviews Best Book - An Indie Next Pick - A Library Reads Selection - A New York Post Best Book of the Week - A Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week - A Buzzfeed Best Paperback - and more Tuesday Mooney is a loner. She keeps to herself, begrudgingly socializes, and spends much of her time watching old Twin Peaks and X-Files DVDs. But when Vincent Pryce, Boston's most eccentric billionaire, dies--leaving behind an epic treasure hunt through the city, with clues inspired by his hero, Edgar Allan Poe--Tuesday's adventure finally begins. Puzzle-loving Tuesday searches for clue after clue, joined by a ragtag crew: a wisecracking friend, an adoring teen neighbor, and a handsome, cagey young heir. The hunt tests their mettle, and with other teams from around the city also vying for the promised prize--a share of Pryce's immense wealth--they must move quickly. Pryce's clues can't be cracked with sharp wit alone; the searchers must summon the courage to face painful ghosts from their pasts (some more vivid than others) and discover their most guarded desires and dreams. A deliciously funny ode to imagination, overflowing with love letters to art, from The Westing Game to Madonna to the Knights of the Round Table, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts is the perfect read for thrill seekers, wanderers, word lovers, and anyone looking for an escape to the extraordinary.
About the Author
KATE RACCULIA is the author of the novels This Must Be the Place and Bellweather Rhapsody, winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award. She received her MFA from Emerson College and now works for the Bethlehem Area Public Library in Pennsylvania. You can find her at www.kateracculia.com or @kateracculia.