I received a copy of “All Hallows Airship” as part of the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Competition (SFINCS).
Caz Coppersdown is sent to the country to spend the autumn (?) season with her great-aunt while her parents are away on business. Caz’s parents are overprotective, fearful of her weak health and allow her very few freedoms.
The story follows Caz as she engages in the preparations of a party at her great-aunt’s home, meets a romantic interest, struggles with self-doubt as she wants to pursue a career as a journalist and gets involved in a mystery.
All these plot branches were interesting, but I felt deflated when none of them turned into the main focus of the story. It would have been nice to have seen Caz and Hanson team up to solve the mystery, for example.
Still, it’s a cosy, whimsical Halloween tale for fans of the genre.