Hammers on Bone (Persons Non Grata, #1)

I love Cassandra Khaw's writing, so I was excited to finally read this little novella after buying it ages ago and keep forgetting to read it! I wasn't sure quite what to expect from it, but I had so much fun. While it follows a cosmic horror storyline, the narrator's mannerisms give it a very different vibe at times as the narrator uses a lot of old slang and often comes off similar to a (sometimes corny) detective from a 40s/50s noir film. I can see how that might not work for everyone, but I found it amusing and a bit charming, so it endeared me to John right away. This is such a short and odd little novella that it's difficult to describe without spoiling, and I certainly don't want to do that. What I'll say is that it's incredibly unique from other cosmic horror stories I've read and I really loved the fleshing-out of John's character, though I'm still not completely certain I understood the backstory (I'm assuming we'll get more of that in the next novella). I'm excited to continue/finish the series and happy to see that I can enjoy Cass's writing so much even when they're writing something entirely different than what I'm used to from them.✨ Representation: John is Black, multiple BIPOC side characters✨ Content warnings for: pedophilia, self-harm for magical purposes, brief body-shaming, racism and racist slur usage (challenged) ———twitter booktok bookstagram blog