Leaven of Malice

How it reads

Leaven of Malice is literary fiction (comic small-town literary fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is funny. The humour is the point, not garnish. It's a slow burn: character-driven, with a payoff that comes from accumulation rather than twists. It rewards attention and suits unhurried reading more than five-minute gaps.

It's set in a small town setting, in the historical past, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are class and society, secrets and love. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.

It's a later book in a series — you'll usually want to start earlier. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 272 pages it's a quick read. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.