THE BRIGHTEST FELL October Daye, Book 11

Narrator Mary Robinette Kowal has nearly perfected her portrayal of the invincible October Daye. Her familiarity makes the opening of this eleventh adventure, in which Toby enjoys her one-of-a-kind bachelorette party, all the more enjoyable. The conviviality ceases, however, when Toby's mother, Amandine, appears, demanding that Toby find Amandine's oldest daughter--and kidnapping Toby's family as collateral. Kowal navigates the shifts in tone and energy in this book flawlessly, evoking Toby's fierce love for her menaced family, and her own lingering insecurities over her ability to save them, with aching clarity. Though her interpretations of the secondary characters are so elaborate as to make them sometimes difficult to understand, this story is so focused on Toby's actions and growth that it's not a critical flaw. B.E.K. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2018]