Small Kingdoms and Other Stories – Charlaine Harris

Release date: 28 May 2019
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Small Kingdoms and Other Stories (Anne DeWitt, #1-4) blurb:

Principal Anne DeWitt knew her past could catch up with her, but she didn’t expect it would make her late for school. Killing a man does take time though; so does disposing the body . . . if you do it right.

After three relatively quiet years at Travis High School, it seems Anne is in danger of being exposed—even the baseball coach knows more about her former life than she ever imagined. Now, she must find out who else holds her secrets and who wants her to pay for them. . . without letting it make her tardy again. Anne still has a school to run, parents to manage, and a few students who might benefit from her unique—and deadly—experience.

There is no doubt about it, I am a Charlaine Harris fan. I have read pretty much every book of hers in existence, and even if I didn’t enjoy the previous book in the series, I will still get the next one. (Although I haven’t read the latest Aurora Teagarden because I really disliked All the Little Liars.)

So, when I saw this title up on NetGalley I crossed all my fingers and hit the ‘request’ button. Thankfully, the ARC gods were smiling on me that day.

This, like most Harris novels, starts off with a bang. The opening paragraph is intense, and while I’m not usually a fan of thrillers / mysteries, Harris’ writing style never makes me feel like I’m reading in those genres.

On this particular spring Tuesday, Anne DeWitt was thrown off her regular schedule. Between brushing her teeth and putting on her foundation, she had to kill a man.

It’s a collection of four short stories (approximately 100 pages), but it is chock-full of great characters, moral dilemmas and brutal stabbiness.

I quite like that all of the stories don’t follow the same rhythm, with some bouncing back into different aspects of Anne’s former life. I also really liked the glimpses into how orderly and thorough she is about every aspect in her life, particularly as remaining vigilant is what has kept her alive so far.

I sincerely hope that Harris writes about 100 more of these, as I can see DeWitt fast becoming one of my favourite of her characters.

I received an early copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are my own.