The Vine That Ate The Starlet by Madeleine Swann
Swann’s writing oozes atmospheric vibrations brought forward in time straight from 1920s New York. The Vine That Ate The Starlet is full of mystery, intrigue, and vines that feed on humans.
Dolly is a gossip columnist who quickly gets swept up into a conspiracy when she stumbles upon the husk of an aspiring actress she had met just hours before at a party. She notices the circumstances surrounding the girl’s death seem odd, and Dolly takes it upon herself to figure out what exactly happened. It’s not long before she finds herself being followed by a shadowy figure, and the deeper she find herself wrapped up in the conspiracy, the more dangerous things become for her and anyone unlucky enough to have made her association.
Like Swann’s stories from her collection Fortune Box, this novella is a quick and compelling page-turner that is full of quirks and enough weirdness to keep you satiated, unlike the man-eating vines.
Purchase: The Vine That Ate The Starlet
Evan St. Jones 