Issue: August 1, 2024 After Oz. By Gordon McAlpine 240p. Crooked Lane, Readers confronting this novel—especially if they're unfamiliar with McAlpine's work—might wonder whether this is a tiresome retread of Frank Baum's masterpiece, wordplay, or a pseudo- scholarly bore. But no! Author McAlpine's last novel—sadly, he recently passed away—is a blast of enchanting writing, straight-ahead storytelling, and a murder mystery too. The setting is a little prairie town on a Kansas plain late in the nineteenth century. A tornado has wreaked havoc, and eleven-year-old Dorothy is missing. She's found eventually, rattling on about a tin man and red slippers and murdering a wicked witch. Damningly, a town woman is murdered in distressingly similar circumstances, and townspeople conclude that Dorothy's a crazed killer. A young woman psychologist, having none of it, examines the evidence, and suddenly, we're in Sherlock Holmes territory, realizing the importance of previously unimportant details. Then a skip to the Golden Age of mystery as the psychologist-turned-detective explains what's happened to the stunned townspeople. Golden Age, golden prose—it's a smart, classy reading experience. — Don Crinklaw

A clear shot of the night sky in Indonesia. Captured while playing around with my phone last night!