"Ninth House," Leigh Bardugo, 2019 (No Spoilers)

This is a supernatural murder mystery set in and around Yale University.  I found the book to be delightful, with interesting characters and a serpentine plot that featured some great surprises.  Though the book feels very contemporary in writing style, pacing, and characterization, the thematic elements reminded me of some of the fine work by Tim Powers (see, for example, his 1983, award-winning book, The Anubis Gates).

In Ninth House, protagonist Alex Stern has been all but crushed by life and by the side-effects of her own unique talents.  She’s offered a second chance and she seizes it, but even as she tries to make the most of an unprecedented opportunity, she is plagued by self-doubt, self-loathing, and horrific memories. Her unusual abilities land her a full scholarship at Yale, but that award is is contingent on far more dangerous activities than lectures on British Literature or Conversational Spanish. 

She must work for the “Ninth House” a small organization that provides oversight of eight secret societies — groups of great wealth and power whose members epitomize privilege and entitlement. Once on campus, she finds herself surrounded by people who have never known insecurity or want, and she tries to hide her past from everyone around her.  And though she is bright and street-smart, Alex is ludicrously unprepared for the level of academic performance expected.   To add to her problems, she is frequently up all night, acting as an observer and safety monitor for occult rites.

As she struggles to keep herself afloat, the Yale community is shocked by a violent crime.  On top of everything else she faces, Alex is drawn into the investigation.

Some reviewers complained about the book’s structure and point of view shifts, but I had no trouble following the story.  In fact, I thought these features added to my enjoyment.  There were really only two POV characters — hardly excessive!  Oh, and I tried, unsuccessfully, to hold back — to set the book aside and do something else for a while.  That turned out to be too difficult for me, and I pretty much gobbled the book up.