Recommended: Rare Birds by L.S. Johnson

I've been quite vocal about how much I enjoy L.S. Johnson's writing in past blog posts, and her second collection of short stories did not disappoint.  I'd read most of these stories before in the publications where they first appeared, but that didn't stop me enjoying them a second time around.  In fact, it was worth buying the book just for the two tales that were new to me: Marigolds (a tale of love and witchcraft among the women working in a Parisian brothel), and The Properties of Obligate Pearls (about a doctor who harvests misery).

As a taster, why not check out the excellent podcast of We Are Sirens (one of the standout stories from Rare Birds), which was narrated wonderfully by Abra Staffin-Weibe on Podcastle.