Tuesday Mooney is comfortable with her life. She has a job she excels at, her own apartment, a couple close friends, and lots of introvert time. Part of her knows that she’s just a teensy bit bored with the routine, probably why she jumps at the chance of a treasure hunt when an eccentric old man dies and leaves a trail of clues that should lead to his fortune…

I’ll admit that I was wary going into this book. Racculia’s previous book, Bellweather Rhapsody, was a favorite of mine several years ago, and I wasn’t sure how well Tuesday would live up to it. The title didn’t particularly appeal to me. Nor the cover, nor the setting (Boston, ugh), nor the plot synopsis. But I had to give it a shot, right? I loved Bellweather Rhapsody, after all.

Opening chapter/prologue: quite intriguing, and with a bit of a spooky paranormal vibe. Totally my thing. After that first chapter, the book started a bit slow. The crux of the book, the whole treasure hunt bit, doesn’t start until roughly 50 pages in. Before that, you have characters. But here’s the thing, y’all: Racculia does characters right. There were so many reasons I was willing to try out this book and put it aside before I began, and then Racculia just came in there and began writing the realest of real characters with fascinating prose, just like she got to me the last time. The woman can write. I didn’t even like some of the characters, but I loved them at the same time.

Tuesday Mooney. She was an awesome narrator. Even though I’m nothing like the woman, I can relate to her in so many little ways. Tiny things. Very specific things, like how The Cask of Amontillado was the one Poe story I found extremely disturbing, too. Because Tuesday isn’t simply a broad character with relatable emotions; she’s a real person, with specific likes and fears and memories and history. All the characters were like that, grounding the story with solidity and realism, which was particularly important on a backdrop of mild absurdity (the whimsical and sometimes dangerous treasure hunt) and supernatural elements (are there really ghosts? or are they just tricks of the mind?).

I loved this book so much. It was the first book in AGES that I’ve taken with me everywhere, to pull out in every little downtime moment I had to read. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump for the last month, and Tuesday made me excited about books again. PLUS, I discovered a hidden code in one of the messages that was never addressed in the story. It makes me wonder what other little Easter eggs I missed in the reading. My code-breaking mind says that I’ll probably need a reread or two to go find some. And perhaps a great discussion with some fellow likeminded folks who enjoyed the book as much as I did.

PS – I gotta say it: Thank you so much Kristen for alerting me to the publication of this book, and for introducing me to Kate Racculia’s work in the first place.