I enjoy reading Rosemary Jones' Arkham books, and this one, "The Bootlegger's Dance," was quite good. It features a young woman who, with her hearing aid, starts to hear a strange male voice. I found some parts of the story confusing, but no wonder since the chapters were narrated by a character who has some problems with memory and seemed to jump from time to time.

Another great book in the Arkham 'series'. It's a real pleasure to return to Rosemary Jones' characters, and this book resonated with the strength of women fighting against the situations they found themselves in. From physical illness and impairment to social survival, this seemed one of the most 'real' of the Arkham books to me. Yes, there was cult activity, monsters and time travel, but while the Men in Black stuff was happening, I found myself wanting to spend time in the company of Nova Malone and her group of misfits. The Not-A-Speakeasy-Honest sounds like the perfect place to spend an evening (and certainly a Yuletide season!), and the joy of the performers finding their place and chosen family was a true pleasure to see.

Even without the Lovecraftian elements, this would be a great book. With action, social commentary and genuine human emotion, this is another I'll be recommending gladly.

There is a man lost to time, pulled from moment to moment, from year to year. For months or decades or centuries hounds, if hounds they can truly be called, have chased him through forests of trees that snatch and bite. His only respite the moments when the world goes thin and he finds himself, however briefly, returned to the world he once called home, called by a song just barely beyond recognition. Raquel Gutierrez has chosen to spend Christmas with her Aunt Nova Malone, unwilling to burden her parents or siblings with her personal tragedies. Unwilling to face what her future might be now that a fever has stolen much of her hearing, leaving her dreams shattered, leaving her with no job. Thanks to her aunt’s love of technology, and Nova’s deep generosity towards the people she cares about, Raquel has the latest in hearing aid technology, a chance at independence going forward. But the hearing aid picks up strange distortions, the sound of hounds baying in the distance, voices singing snatches of Jingle Bells, and the voice of a man long lost. The more Raquel hears, the more horrors she sees. The more she hears, the more Raquel feels like she has to help this lost man, has to free him from the hounds, and the forest, and still silent sea that hold him captive between times.

I find myself both taken with, and just a touch frustrated by, Rosemary Jones’ The Bootlegger’s Dance. The story cuts between Raquel trying to figure out what is going on in Kingsport with her aunt’s new dancehall slash radio station, and further what might be causing the strange distortions from her hearing aid, and Paul’s desperate struggle to survive in the space between times and find a way out. And that cutting between is super solid, but also where I have the bulk of my notably few issues.

The thing is, as usual for Jones, the character work is really good. The various personalities around the Diamond Dog are bright and fun and feel like they have their own stories going on. Jim Culver, the mysterious trumpet player, is especially someone that I want to read more of. The various one-off characters that Paul meets across his brief trips back into the normal world are used brilliantly to help guide him into being willing and ready to fight to survive the space between and find a way out and back into a real life. Nova Malone is an absolute delight, still larger than life, still caring but willing to do whatever it takes to make a profit and see her people taken care of.

But then, as well written as she is, Raquel can feel like she is retreading a fair deal of stuff. Which is strange, Raquel’s sections of the book are the meat of things. She is where the reader meets everyone that they are meant to feel for. Raquel has most of the actual story, in the slow build of more and more horrors leaking over her hearing aid, the desperate contact from Paul that winds up letting him pull himself back together. But she also has the sort of repeat story of Nova’s bootlegging, something that a returning reader will already be familiar with, and her path to finding out about that can feel like it is just filling time. She has the on-going uneasiness with her hearing aid. Her worry about her future now that she has lost her hearing, and more her worries about how that will affect her family back. Which is all reasonable, but it can get to feeling old even as it is important. Raquel carries a lot of the story and leads to the reader caring about all of these lovely side characters, but she can feel like she is being dragged around by the story rather than taking part in it. Like she gets the more everyday moments that add up to bigger parts of the story, but it can feel like she is a little too out of step from it. Paul gets these big set pieces where he stumbles out of time, where the reader can slowly piece together some of the details about his being trapped through his stories, where he runs into people who are actively investigating the occult parts of the setting or fighting against them. He stumbles into being the crux of several key moments that allowed the story to happen. He is the one who gets warned about the impending horrors and told that he must do something to stop them. He is the one actually getting dragged around by whatever cosmic whims grab him, but he is the one stuck in the time loop, the one who might be able to change things for the better if he can just reach out and communicate.

It winds up frustrating in a way that I have a hard time putting my finger on Raquel is deeply important and carries a lot of the parts of the books I really enjoyed, but she can feel too lost in mundane horrors to really be doing much. Meanwhile, Paul is steeped in horrors beyond the ken of mortal men and cannot escape them, has been running from them so long that he has forgotten his own name and much of his own life history. He has no say in what happens to him, but feels like he is the one set up to have to pull through and find a way to save the day. Which makes both protagonists feel like they are sort of flailing around with none of the answers they really need and no adequate way of finding them. The climax of the book feels like it was the only way things could have been resolved, but it also feels like Jones needed the disaster to happen so that it could be prevented and for that she needed Raquel to act in a way that felt out of line with her characterization prior to that. It is not, I will note, a bad ending but the direct set up just felt really off.

The only other complaint I have is a bit of a spoiler, Jones seems to enjoy ending her books with a hint at the female lead and one of the significant male secondary characters having a romance blossom between them. The Bootlegger’s Dance has more than hinting and I just cannot buy it. Certainly, I can from Paul’s side, I can see him loving the person who somehow reached out to him and gave him the start of a path out. But I have trouble seeing it being as mutual as it seemed like it was meant to be. Both protagonists would absolutely be major parts of each other’s lives, but it felt like they hardly knew each other. It felt like it did not have enough room to breath and developed, like it could not have had that while still being as well written a book as it was.

So, yeah, while I have a lot more thoughts about the parts that did not work for me on The Bootlegger’s Dance than on the parts I greatly enjoyed, that might be due to the nature of needing to take apart and try and figure out those parts where the good bits are just really good. I really enjoyed seeing Nova Malone, former antagonist, presented as this jovial doting aunt, as a woman in love with progress and fascinated by technology. The descriptions of Billy Oliver’s piano playing and the rest of the house band’s music made me want to listen to it for my self so badly, the descriptions made it sound absolutely delightful. Jones makes her settings put in so much work, with the atmospheric shifts in Kingsport when the horrors start to leak in around Raquel and the snippets of radio as Paul is dragged from year to year doing a lot for the tension in the book. The things that frustrate me make me want to dissect them. The things I enjoyed about the book I want to roll around in and experience more of. The Bootlegger’s Dance gets a four out of five from me and, romance or not, I will be keeping an eye out for Jones’ next book.

Rosemary Jones is an exceptional writer of tales. Here characterization, mood really stand out against more mediocre authors. I look forward to more eerie tales and the fantastic hopefully for many years.

I love getting to step into the world of Arkham Horror with each book I read from this universe. I think Rosemary Jones did a wonderful job giving us a Christmas novel for this universe. The way the chapters were set up added a good twist as well. The only thing I would have loved to see is more of a backstory for Paul.




Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Raquel has lost her hearing due to an illness, and as a result also lost her position as a music teacher. She goes to live with her aunt, a wealthy business owner in Kingsport who owns a dance hall. Her aunt gifts her a hearing device, but Raquel soon starts hearing sounds that no one else does – are they simply mechanical malfunctions, or could she be picking up on something more sinister and otherworldly?

Probably the best thing about this work was the setting. The author really did their research. I loved how names of 1920s artists, musicians, printers, etc. were incorporated throughout the story. Similarly, there were some nifty inventions included that were historically accurate, including a hearing-aid device. These things were super cool and added much to the setting, though there were times when I think the author got a little too excited about the research and included too much, which slowed down the story. I did enjoy the author’s note that discussed their inspiration for the characters and setting, though.

Something else that drastically slowed down the plot were the interludes between chapters. They did slowly become plot-relevant, but they just didn’t add enough intrigue to make it worth their inclusion. This work is also set in winter near Christmas, but that atmosphere never came through in the setting or writing in a meaningful way. Similarly, the Lovecraftian horror feelings and atmosphere weren’t present in the writing in a way that created an immersive read.

I did not find the characters compelling. This was massively disappointing, as I was so excited by the premise and that the protagonist had hearing loss. But it really felt like her hearing loss defined her as a character rather than only being a portion of her development. This led to her feeling a bit flat, as did most of the secondary characters.

While I started off loving this read, it quickly became a chore to finish. If you enjoy stories set in the world of Lovecraft’s Arkham, you might enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Aconyte books for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

As an avid lover of board games, specifically Arkahm Horror Files, and a reader I was very excited to give this book a try for my first Arkham Horror Files book.

It intrigued me to see that the main characters was a disabled woman who used an early type of a hearing aid, and I ended up being very pleased with the representation of a recently disabled individual as someone with a disability. The author caught the rage and heartbreak that comes with giving up a life you had planned for yourself due to a disability outside your control and watching it take things you loved about yourself and the world away bit by bit. The slow heartbreak of losing yourself to it, and the stubborn refusal to let it completely over take you.

While reading this book I enjoyed randomly coming across places and characters from the games and learning new tidbits of information about Arkham and the world around it. Seeing Pete Ashcan and Duke was a nice little touch as he is one of my favorite investigators to play as.

From the Lovecraft perspective I found this book to be the right blend of slow building dread of the original and fast paced action of the games. The first 3/4s of the novel read like a slow building suspenseful mystery, and the last 1/4th was an action packed resolution with all the twists slowly expanding.

I would recommend this to fans of the games, and those just looking for a good Lovecraftian Christmas adventure.

I received an advance review copy of this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.

“So let me begin with a proper beginning, the beginning to the stories we whisper in the dark to comfort children. … Let me speak it out loud and drown out the baying of the hounds and the whispering of the trees. “Once upon a time, something happened. If it had not happened, it would not be told.”

My thanks to Aconyte Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Bootlegger's Dance’ by Rosemary Jones.

This is Book 22 in the Arkham Horror series of novels that tie-in with the game of the same name. It is a loose sequel to Jones’ ‘The Deadly Grimoire’ (2022) as it features Nova Malone, the proprietor of the Purple Cat cafe in Innsmouth. I had enjoyed how Nova was portrayed in ‘Deadly Grimoire’ and had hoped for a sequel. So I was very pleased to read this book.

Nova has now relocated to Kingsport where she has opened a new, larger dance hall, the Diamond Dog, where she is still undertaking her bootlegging activities.

1st December 1926. Raquel Malone Gutierrez arrives in Kingsport, Massachusetts to stay with her wealthy Aunt Nova, her family’s black sheep. Raquel had recently recovered from a virus that has left her with hearing loss. As a result she had to give up her job as a music teacher and is now seeking a way to retain her independence.

She reached out to her aunt, who has offered her a position at her Kingsport dance hall, the Diamond Dog. There Raquel stumbles upon a mystery when her new hearing aids begin picking up conversations that no one else can hear.

As Christmas draws closer, Raquel realizes that the voice belongs to a man who is lost in time. He is being hunted by monsters and she decides to do everything she can to free him before the monsters catch him and break through to everyday reality.

Between the chapters narrated by Raquel there are ‘Interludes’ from the point of view of Paul, the man so tragically lost in time. He records his experiences, each on December 24th yet in different years.

I enjoyed this so much, especially the bootleggers’ dance of the title, which was so joyful.

I found this was quite a gentle tale compared to some of the Arkham Horror series, though I felt it suitable for a Christmas-themed tale. I welcomed not only the return of Nova Malone but also the mentions of Betsy Baxter, the actress who plays the Flapper Detective.

Overall, ‘The Bootlegger's Dance’ was another excellent addition to this Lovecraftian-inspired series of pulp horror fiction.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a digital e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was such an engaging, creepy, fantasty-ish delve back into the world of Arkham Horror. Rosemary Jones is my favorite author for these, and I think it's the way she writes. She has a very unique way of writing, with minimal contractions, that just hooks me. I love learning about Raquel, and learning about hearing loss and hearing aids at this place in time. I love the creep, I love the dread, and I love that it is near the holidays! This was fun, and I love the easter eggs for past Rosemary reads throughout.

This latest installment in Aconyte's Arkham Horror book series ties back to the author's previous work in the line, but foreknowledge is not necessary to enjoy this new story. And if you've ever thought Christmas ought to be a bit more eldritch, this is the book for you.

Raquel Malone Gutierrez's life has changed after illness, causing her to lose her hearing. She's moved on to help her Aunt Nova at the Diamond Dog, a dance hall famous for its jazz music—as well as more illicit business. But bootlegging isn't the scariest thing hiding under the surface of Raquel's new life. Sometimes, her bulky hearing aid picks up the voice of a stranger: Paul, a man lost in time, seemingly attracted to different times and places by a certain festive tune. As Christmas Eve approaches, Raquel takes it upon herself to find a way to save him.

Even with the knowledge that previous books would likely offer more context, this book stood well on its own. Most impressively of all, Jones handles two narratives—one moving ever-forward, one constantly unstuck in time—while leaving the reader with only the intended amount of confusion. Our bewildered time traveler, despite much of his story being a blur, is still just as sympathetic and interesting as Raquel herself. And, in the spirit of scary stories for Christmas, this makes a perfect holiday read.

I am a huge fan of Arkham Horror (the games and the tie in fiction) and Lovecraftian fiction (hopefully with less racism and problems) so these novels are amazing. The Bootlegger’s Dance is slightly different from some novels in the series focusing a bit more on the mystic aspects of Arkham and Lovecraftian fiction, namely time (and time travel) and space. It is a perfect blend of speculative, mystic and Christmas horror though so if you enjoy those things or the previous Arkham books I think you will enjoy this one.

I really enjoyed the introduction of Raquel who has lost much of her hearing and I adored how Jones used that element of her character to create the connection. Thanks to her Aunt Nova she has the latest technology for earring aids and through this device she begins to hear voices and conversation no one else seems to hear. She slowly pieces together the voice belongs to someone trapped in time and wants to save him before it is too late.

I really liked the mixture of timelines and time in general in this one and it was nice to see refences and character’s from Jones’ other novels make appearances as well. It’s hard to pick a favourite out of Jones’ work and characters but I do think Raquel is right up there now. I loved her so much and the cover art is a brilliant way to put a face to a character. I honestly loved this one and the fact it ties in to Christmas is a total bonus. If you love the previous novels by Jones or if this is your first one you are sure to get hooked!

I never seem to be disappointed with the Arkham Horror novels. I was extremely curious when reading the setting of this story because it is a Christmas setting which is odd to me for a horror story. I actually loved it being set during Christmas. Christmas time made feel the cold and dark atmosphere of the typical New England location that the Arkham Horror book usually take place in.
The main character has lost most of her hearing and is gifted a hearing aid and can start to hear strange thing’s through it. We all know this is going. After finishing this I would like more holiday set horror stories because I could really feel the atmosphere.
I can’t wait to add this one to my Arkham Horror collection with all of the rest.

Raquel Malone Gutierrez is living with her aunt Nova in Kingsport. She lost most of her hearing after suffering a fever and her well-off aunt has provided her with a state-of-the-art hearing aid; a battery operated microphone attached to a pair of headphones. After a bit of tweaking to the device from an employee at Nova's dance club, Raquel starts to hear a strange voice belonging to a man named Paul.
As the Christmas dance comes closer Raquel realizes that this voice belongs to a real man who is lost in time and must try her best to save him, her bootlegging aunt, and the whole club from horrible hound monsters as well as government interference.

So this was the first time I was a bit wary about an Arkham Files book. A Christmas story? Christmas rarely spawns good horror vibes and that remains true but this pulp mystery novel is SUCH A FUN TIME. Raquel learning about time travel and trying to piece together all the tidbits of the mystery through brief, and changing, interactions with Paul was really interesting. I LOVED the interlude chapters from Paul's perspective where things keep shifting and changing all towards a new future.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the other Arkham books that Jones has put out prior to this one that I haven't yet read. Definitely an author I now trust to infuse their stories with interesting pulp fiction vibes that the Arkham line are known for while also peppering in the investigators that we know and love from the Arkham Horror board game libarary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aconyte Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Written by Rosemary Jones with cover art by Dan Strange and published by Aconyte books.

Audio release Nov. 7th, Kindle and paperback Nov 21st.

First off, as always, thank you to Aconyte Publishing who provided me with a preview copy of this release to review. Per Aconyte’s site…

“Christmas comes to Arkham Horror in this action-packed eldritch adventure full of secret whispers, haunted streets, and a lost actor falling through time. Raquel Malone Gutierrez is running away, although she won’t admit that to herself. Suffering from hearing loss after an illness, the former music teacher wants to find a way to retain her independence, but only a wealthy relative offers any hope of that. Put to work in her aunt Nova’s Kingsport dance hall, Raquel stumbles upon a mystery when her new hearing aids begin picking up conversations that no one else can hear. As Christmas draws closer, Raquel realizes the voice comes from a hunted man lost in time. Now she must do everything she can to free him before the monsters chasing him can catch up and break through.”


The first thing folks will likely note about this release is the beautiful cover by Dan Strange. Mr. Strange, who has done roughly half of all the Arkham Files releases from Aconyte, uses a particular design strategy when producing covers for Ms. Jones’ releases. Although that design has continued to evolve since “Mask of Silver” it is still a wonderful iconic presentation that provides readers with not only a tone for the story but also a portrait of the primary characters and a visual throughline for Ms. Jones’ releases.

“The Bootleggers Dance” is the third release by Rosemary Jones in Aconyte’s Arkham Files line, making her only the second author to have done so. Whereas SA Sidor, the other author with three releases to their name, has used his work to follow the events surrounding Andy Van Nortwick stumbling through the mythos Ms. Jones has taken the opportunity, across her work, to give glimpses into different areas of mythos infected Massachusetts. Having started in Arkham, as the setting in her first release “Mask of Silver”, before moving to Innsmouth with “The Deadly Grimoire” and now “The Bootleggers Dance” has given the author the opportunity to expand her work to the Kingsport region. Ms. Jones leans heavily into the concept of “cozy horror” in this holiday set adventure that follows up on threads from her first two releases while introducing another fabulous female protagonist.


Raquel Gutierrez is a new arrival in Kingsport as the story introduces her. Having accepted an invitation from her Aunt Malone, a key figure in the author’s second novel “The Deadly Grimoire”, we find Raquel thinking over her next steps in life. As a former music teacher, her sudden hearing loss has categorically changed the course of Raquel’s life and she is unsure how to inform the rest of her family of the change and the challenges she now faces, let alone what she is to do with her future now that her life as a music teacher has been derailed. As the blurb suggests Raquel is soon thrust into mythos related events as a result of her hearing apparatus and from there Ms. Jones’ work within the novel draws inspiration from holiday classics. Combining the established family dynamic with the seasonal holiday setting Ms. Jones successfully leans into the world of “cozy horror”. My view on “cozy horror” seems to be in line with the standard understanding of the genre where the more heavily used instances of shock and gore, within the story, are set at a distance allowing the reader some comfort in their reading experience knowing that they will not be asked to contend with the more grotesque details. Ms. Jones demonstrates a great handle on this balance throughout her newest release. The prime example I want to highlight is the contrast between two separate scenes.

At one point several Hounds of Tindalos set upon a room full of characters trying to figure out some weird science on Christmas Eve. Things go terribly for those in the room as the Hounds demonstrate just how outmatched these folks are. The author had every opportunity to swing for the fences in terms of detailing the resulting attack, however, she chose a unique perspective as the point of view for the scene. Doing so allows the reader to fully grasp the horror and consequences of the moment without being subjected to a Stephen King like page detailing the smells of open wounds or the tone of the victim’s screams. It establishes the results of the actions while giving the reader a separate perspective on where the action was actually occurring. In contrast, there is a fully internal scene later in the book, provided from Raquel’s perspective, that shows the real strength of a well-done “cozy horror” tale. Due to the pacing of the story I was left with a level of comfort as I went from chapter to chapter only to have my jaw fall open when Raquel revealed to the reader a horrific experience she went through growing up in her household. The moment is so well crafted that it has stuck with me months later, as I write this review, as well as managing an effect I have not had in prior Arkham Files releases, true human tragedy without a hint of the mythos’ involvement. If a similar scene had been attempted in a standard Arkham Files novel I feel it wouldn’t have landed as perfectly as this. Due to the work Ms. Jones put into the celebratory and mysterious feel of “The Bootleggers Dance”, as well as the reader’s relationship with Raquel, I found myself engaged in the well-executed reveal.

Ms. Jones also uses the IP itself to great effect by providing readers with familiar characters. For much of the book, the story jumps back and forth between Raquel and the man stuck in time, Paul, as Paul repeatedly appears at different points in time trying to find a way out of his predicament. These alternating Paul chapters are where readers are given fun cameos of the IP’s investigators as well as past characters Ms. Jones has crafted for her other Arkham releases. Ranging from a decades younger Agatha Crane to a future, adult, Wendy Adams by my count Ms. Jones managed to fit at least nine IP investigators into this story, possibly more, without making it feel forced. Towards the later chapters it becomes expected, due to the way the investigators are being used, but it is always a fun appearance and done in an interesting take with each appearance. Ms. Jones’ enjoyment of the Arkham Files IP is readily apparent through her use of the setting and its inhabitants throughout the story.

One of the aspects that has been universal across Ms. Jones’ Aconyte releases is her use of her personal enjoyment of the media of the 1920s era. This has allowed her to leave the reader with new insights, or a better understanding, of what life was like for people of color, the Hollywood machine of the time, or people learning to live and grow with disabilities in the roaring 20s. Having succeeded in achieving this across different styles, while bringing forward new characters, working within the setting, and dressing it all around the mythos shows why Aconyte has chosen to repeatedly turn to Rosemary Jones for their releases. The afterword of the book gives space for Ms. Jones to go into detail as to what inspired her for this particular story as well as the historical moments that she used as a reference in telling this tale. This provides perspective and a look into how the author achieved this arc as well as demonstrates how personal of a project this story was for her. Fans of the Arkham Files universe will likely look at this going forward as the definitive holiday Arkham tale.

I hope you enjoyed my look at “The Bootleggers Dance”. If you would like more updates about the history of Arkham, its residents, and the events tied to the area please check out @arkhamhistorian on Twitter/X and bookmark this site for future updates. If you have any questions or wish to request specific content, please use this contact form.

Best regards

Dude in progress

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this.

I was really intrigued by an Arkham Horror novel set at Christmas! I have read a few books from the Arkham Horror world and played the board game. I was looking for Christmas themed novels that weren’t romance or crime so I was really pleased to see an Arkham Horror Christmas book.

This book follows Raquel in the 1920s who has lost much of her hearing following a serious illness. She has moved in with her Aunt Nova who runs a club and radio station. Her aunt has bought her a hearing device and she starts to hear a voice through it. She discovers someone trapped and wants to help them.

This didn’t feel like typical Arkham Horror, it was less monsters, ancient horrors and cults and more speculative. It is exploring time and space. This certainly wasn’t a bad thing as it was an enjoyable and thoughtful read, it just might not be what you expect if you’ve read other books in this series.

I liked Raquel and the way her hearing device almost gives her a power. It’s was good to see her portrayed so positively. There’s a strong sense of community in this novel with the musicians and staff who work for Nova. There’s also themes of bootlegging, prohibition and conspiracy.

I thought this was a fun read and a good addition to Arkham Horror and a good Christmas read!

Bootleggers Dance marks the third Arkham Horror book by Rosemary Jones I've read, and while I've enjoyed them all, some I've enjoyed more than others.

Bootleggers Dance is, unfortunately, one I've enjoyed less than the others (Deadly Grimoire was incredible, and Mask of Silver is easily one of my favorite Arkham Horror books). The story stars Raquel Gutierrez, the hearing impaired niece of Nova, owner of the most popular establishments in Kingsport.
There are good things here. It's nice to have a hearing impaired female protagonist in the Arkham universe. Kingsport hasn't been used enough in the Arkham Horror books and Jones does a great job utilizing it and other popular locations from the Lovecraft universe. Also, the Hounds of Tindalos are such horrifying creatures that we don't see enough of and Bootleggers Dance makes full use of them.
But this book is severely brought down by a poor closing act. While I can appreciate Jones trying another tact rather than simply good guys shoot bad guys, I just wasn't feeling this. It seemed a bit silly, lessened the horror of the hounds too much, and bordered on the good guys winning through the power of friendship.
While I didn't enjoy the closing act, the majority of the book was still great and Jones never disappoints in the Arkham Horror universe and shows love of the source material and characters and locations from the AH card game. Definitely worth a read during the holiday season.

Found this to be a genuinely fun and exciting title, perfect as the weather starts getting a little colder. I love the setting and characters, and I thought the monsters were extremely well-done.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Aconyte Books for an advance copy of this book of Yuletide horror dealing with bootlegging, dealing with disability, time traveling, corrupt bargains, finding oneself, and of course creatures that lurk at the outskirts of civilization, looking for more than chimneys to enter homes and devour minds, bodies, souls and any treats left for Santa and his reindeer.

Twas the month before Christmas and all along Massachusetts many creatures were stirring from Arkham, Innsmouth and especially Kingsport. The sound of jazz and people dancing fill the air carried by the wind and by radio wave, all broadcast from Kingsport's newest dance hall. Popular with many, considered a menace by a few all seems merry and bright in the town with snow falling lazily, the holiday coming closer and joy filling the world. However this part of Massachusetts has a reputation for dark things. A strange voice is being heard by a young woman new to town, along with the howling of what could be wolves, or something worse. Strangers are asking even stranger questions and even loved ones are beginning to doubt the stories they have been told, and the truth is like finding coal in a stocking. The Bootlegger's Dance: An Arkham Horror Novel by Rosemary Jones tells stories that take place in the Arkham Horror universe, this time taking place around the holidays, the most magical time of year, but not for the reasons people might be thinking.

Raquel Malone Gutierrez is at a loss, both in Raquel's ability to hear following an illness, and in what to do with her life, now that being a music teacher is made almost impossible due to her sudden loss. The idea of returning home to Colorado, defeated, fills Raquel with shame, so she has turned to her aunt, Nova Malone for guidance, and help. Nova is the black sheep of the family. Rich, powerful, full of vim, vigor and grit, Nova is from Innsmouth, but no one in the family is sure where the wealth she has came from. Nova owns a dance hall in Kingsport Massachusetts, which is doing quite well, though there are rumors about illegal liquor and other illicit affairs. Nova takes Raquel to the best of doctors and outfits Raquel with a modern hearing aid device, one with a large microphone and headphones so that Raquel can hear. However they work too well. Raquel can hear a male voice, giving her advice, or reading stories to her. Along with a growling noise, as if some beast is circling just outside her sound and vision. Soon Raquel is approached by members of the government, asking strange questions about Raquel's aunt, not about bootlegging as Raquel would expect, but about time travel, and other strange things. For not only is Santa coming to town, but something else, something far darker, and a Christmas dance broadcast for all the world to hear, is much to much of a draw for eldritch creatures to ignore.

A story that will leave on shaking like a bowl full of jelly. This is a lot of fun, with a lot of things going on. The story is split between Raquel and her slow realization of what the world is like, and a man who seems to be having a lot of different Christmases but always in the same area, with a strange creature always in pursuit. There are a lot of shoutouts to previous stories by Jones, which I enjoyed, and other Lovecraft based characters. The story is good, a little slow in the beginning but finds itself quickly in the middle and doesn't let off. I enjoyed the use of a hearing impaired person, and what her life was like before and after, and how she was able to deal with her new reality, in addition to the reality about her aunt, and the world of horror that exists. The cast is diverse as usual, with a surprising mention of how the South was still racist and backwards, which surprised me a I think this was a first. However it made the story seem more real, and of this Earth.

This series is very good and it is nice to see earlier characters have not been scarred from being in Arkham's shadow. Also it is a Christmas story, and a Christmas horror story that doesn't have a homicidal Santa is always a plus. A great read to find tucked in a stocking, or under a tree, and I look forward to more by Rosemary Jones.

I enjoyed this Arkham horror story, though it is not as action packed as previous reads. More a slow burn story set in the bootlegging era. A time travelling story of being stuck in the horror of the in between, neither here nor there. A story of being lost, searching to be found. A story of family secrets, which will explain a lot. A story of a romance that might not have happened except someone listened very carefully indeed. Thank you to Aconyte Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Nice to see a hearing impaired person as the protagonist.
This story had me invested until the final act. It was too silly to be believed.