xf_book_club | Rerun: "Strangers and the Strange Dead" by Kipler

Strangers and the Strange Dead, 7982 words, is genfic told from the PoV of an OC. The story was first recced here in 2009 but I thought I'd run it again, if only for the benefit of those who haven't read it before.

Author's summary: In which dead bodies and shivering people disturb the hilltown of Bradenton, and our young, orphaned narrator serves hot beverages to the investigating agents even as she ponders the peculiar, elusive nature of their relationship.

An extract:

The male agent smiled at the woman as he passed her the cream; she smiled back distractedly. Her attention was focused on a set of files she had spread open on the table. Her feet - in the high shoes - were bent under her seat, crossed at the ankle. Her partner's legs sprawled into her space; his feet rested inches from hers, settled there in a gentle fencing-in that she didn't know about.

I watched the man, saw the way his eyes did not leave the woman. It was the same as it had been in the library. It was as if she were a thing he was studying. I looked at his face and again at their feet in a snow-melt puddle under the table, and wondered what lines ran between them.

The story thoroughly exploits the outsider-perspective genre and gives its readers a ride they'll never forget. It's also one of the most original stories I've ever read. The atmosphere of the story is beautifully created, and really establishes the feel of a small town, reinforcing the status of the two agents as outsiders, a fine bit of world-building that fades into the background because of the stunning way the fic is orchestrated. I'll confess the end made me go right back to the beginning and start over, just to find the clues that I'd missed. If you haven't read it before, do ~not spoil yourself for the ending!

Read "Strangers and the Strange Dead".