Old Firehouse Books has picks brimming with beauty and suspense

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins recommends an atypical romance, a speculative memoir and a closed-room mystery.

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From the publisher: With fires devastating much of America, Lark and his family first leave their home in Maryland for Maine. But as the country increasingly falls under the grip of religious nationalism, it becomes clear that nowhere is safe, not just from physical disasters but also persecution. The family secures a place on a crowded boat headed to Ireland, the last place on earth rumored to be accepting American refugees. Upon arrival, it turns out that the safe harbor of Ireland no longer exists either — and Lark, the sole survivor of the trans-Atlantic voyage, must disappear into the countryside. As he runs for his life, Lark finds two equally lost and desperate souls: one of the last remaining dogs, who becomes his closest companion, and a fierce, mysterious woman in search of her lost son. Together they form a makeshift family and attempt to reach Glendalough, a place they believe will offer protection. But can any community provide the safety that they seek?

From Teresa, bookseller: Departure from my typical romance genre, but this book deserves a spotlight shone on it. I picked it up after ugly crying through the last 4 minutes of Tyler Childers’ music video “In Your Love” because Silas House was a co-writer for that beautiful video. House writes so beautifully, and this book explores the bonds of family, both biological and chosen…I couldn’t put it down.

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From the publisher: In the groundbreaking tradition of ”In the Dream House” and ”The Collected Schizophrenias,” a gorgeously illustrated speculative memoir that draws upon the Japanese myth of the Hyakki Yagyo — the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons — to shift the cultural narrative around mental illness, grief, and remembrance.

From Allisson, bookseller: There is so much going on here, in the most effective ways possible. Nakamura Lin maps her own lifelong struggles with depression, grapples with her father’s cancer diagnosis, and weaves these together with both family history anecdotes and yokai folklore. (And of course, gorgeous illustrations from the author’s sister, Cori, which is why I’ll be buying a finished copy as well!) The end result is one of the most moving memoirs I’ve read, right up there with the works of Machado and Vasyakina.

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From the publisher: “Knives Out” and “Clue” meet Agatha Christie and “The Thursday Murder Club” in this “utterly original” (Jane Harper), “not to be missed” (Karin Slaughter), fiendishly clever blend of classic and modern murder mystery.

From Revati, bookseller: This is a fresh, funny new closed-room mystery perfect for a range of readers! Stevenson delivers a book that intersects Agatha Christie with “Knives Out” in spectacular fashion. I loved this fast-paced book filled with…interesting characters.

Type of Story: Review

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