W = What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher
We're back for another story of Alex Easton, who is headed to her family lodge and is in for a surprise. Upon arrival she and Angus find the caretaker Codrin has died in their absence and the town talks of a demon of nightmares that stalks the grounds.
T. Kingfisher was inspired by Edgar Allen Poe. Now some people like Austin or Dickens, but I hold Poe to be one of the best classic writers of time. It all comes down to atmosphere. A good Gothic Horror should have a setting as ghostly as its monster and as much a character as its hero, and Kingfisher delivers.
In the opening pages, it's implied that Alex is a she, which surprised me. (I'd been calling her he, up until she announced that her father had no sons.) She is an interesting character, war heroine, naive skeptic, and altogether force to be reckoned with when pressed. Her chaperone/sidekick Angus is always steadfast in his support and Miss Potter, a quirky companion, returns to analyze her mushrooms in a new location.
Kingfisher writes a second fast-paced, gripping mystery as good as the first. You can read it one sitting if you've got the time or savor it slowly if you don't.
Wow! I love novels like this!
ReplyDeleteOh, this does sound good. And I just checked my library and they have both this and the first book in the series available - a double win.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy them!
DeletePoe was an awesome poet too. Here from the A-Z . All the best for the end days of the challenge.
ReplyDeletePoe was pretty good all around. good luck with the end of your challenge
DeleteThis sounds awesome -- thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for A-Z Challenge Wise Baba Yaga & My Languishing TBR: W #AtoZChallenge2025 #Books #Bookreview