Reanimatrix

Rawlik (A Lonely and Curious Country), student of all things H.P. Lovecraft, takes readers on a kaleidoscopic terror ride through Arkham and Dunwich, layering the cosmic weirdness of Lovecraft’s world over a compelling mystery and name-checking characters from the mythos with abandon. WWI was a house of horrors for Massachusetts State Policeman Robert Peaslee, and the nightmares have chased him well into the 1920s. When Megan Halsey-Griffith, a family friend whom he met as a young girl, is found dead, he fixates on her life and vows to find her killer. Through Megan’s diary entries, Robert learns of the diabolical experiments Megan’s mother, Elizabeth, was connected to before she disappeared; Megan’s search for Elizabeth took her to a den of otherworldly erotic pleasures and led to the discovery of plans to raise an undead army. The format of letters and diary entries feels disjointed (many sections would work perfectly as short stories, and in fact some have appeared in anthologies) and the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach may alienate readers who aren’t familiar with Lovecraft’s complex universe. Lovecraft connoisseurs, on the other hand, will find much to love in this frequently gruesome and, at times, quite racy tale. (Oct.)