atmospheric

Review: Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran

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Spoiled MilkSpoiled Milk by Avery Curran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Spoiled Milk is a engaging Gothic Horror novel set in 1928 at the Briarley School for Girls. Our MC is Emily, and we follow her and a group of her friends after one of them, Violet, plunges to her death following her birthday celebration.

Emily and her rival, Evelyn, are in agreement that Violet’s death was no accident. They believe she was pushed purposefully and they have a particular suspect in mind.

They believe the French Schoolmistress, to whom Violet had recently become quite attached, is the one to blame, but how can they prove it?

Violet was the sun in Emily’s sky, she would do anything for her, living or dead. No matter what it takes, she’s going to prove Emily was done dirty. Let the investigation begin.

This isn’t your standard murder mystery, however, as the ladies turn to more unconventional methods to get the answers they seek. They turn to spiritualism, and even invoke the help of local medium to assist them.

To their great surprise, they’re actually able to summon Violet’s spirit, who chooses Evelyn as her host to convey her important message: the danger has just begun.

An evil presence is infecting Briarley and its grounds. It starts with simple things like rotten apples and spoiled milk, but soon escalates to much more dangerous levels.

As the body count rises, and students begin to get plucked from the school by worried parents, Emily, Evelyn, and their friends, must double-down their efforts if they wish to defeat that which haunts them.

I was so pleasantly surprised by Spoiled Milk. I loved all the occult elements and the overall tone of this private school story. Even though I have a hard copy, I ended up listening to the audiobook and highly recommend that format.

The narration by Charlotte Ryder fit the story perfectly. Her accent and delivery sold me on Emily’s character and made the story feel believable and realistic.

I always tend to love private school stories, and this had just the right amount of school elements to help build out that backdrop. The young women we follow are on the cusp of adulthood, and this does focus a bit on that as they explore things like identity and sexuality.

It definitely went deeper into the occult and supernatural than I was expecting and I loved it all within the historical context. I’m hoping Avery Curran stays in this lane. I’d love more stories like this.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys lush, historically-set Horror novels, or stories with seances and the like. Additionally, those seeking Sapphic representation could enjoy this as well. I’m looking forward to more from this author.

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Review: Bone of My Bone by Johanna van Veen

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Bone of My BoneBone of My Bone by Johanna van Veen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️

Bone of My Bone is a historically-set Religious Horror novel set during the time of the Thirty Years’ War. It’s Sapphic, contains a lot of gore, and also some really interesting elements stemming from Germanic Folklore.

We follow Ursula, a nun, and a peasant girl named Elsebeth. Both women are fleeing from marauding soldiers. Ursula has fled her convent, and Elsebeth, after the loss of her entire family, is trying to make her way to her Aunt’s home.

They meet on the road after Elsebeth jumps in to protect Ursula from an attacking soldier. Once they’re safe, the women have a chat, and decide it would be safer for them both if they travel together. Safety in numbers, and all that.

Keeping to the woods in the hopes they won’t be spotted by any more soldiers, they happen upon a dying man. He’s clutching a glass box, within which lies the gilded skull of a Saint. Ursula immediately recognizes it for what it is, and also knows that it’s said that if you reunite the Saint’s skull with it’s body, you’ll be granted a wish.

In these horrific times, both women have a lot to wish for. They discuss it a bit, and decide they have nothing to lose. It’s worth a shot. Thus, they scoop up the reliquary and begin their quest.

There’s a map to where the Saint’s body is said to be, but there’s certainly a lot of ground to cover. Unfortunately, the dangers on the road are plentiful, and it’s not just the soldiers they need to fear. There’s also a Necromancer, drawn to the power of the skull, who is hot on their heels.

Will they be able to survive the dangers of the road, dodge the Necromancer and be able to reunite the Saint’s skull with her body? There’s only one way to find out.

Johanna van Veen has done it again!

This is such an excellent blend of Historical, Religious and Folk Horror. The setting is rich with detail, gritty and brutal. There’s dirt, grime, gore, blood, and everything in between.

Ursula and Elsebeth were both well-developed and I found their quest to be gripping. Gore is mentioned-above, and I loved how gory it was, but I also appreciated the softer character moments than van Veen included.

I was a bit intimidated by this going in, but instantly found it so accessible. I had concerns it would be challenging, I think because I found the synopsis a little confusing. Nevertheless, I had nothing to be concerned about.

Having the quest gave the story great focus, and also allowed Ursula and Elsebeth to bond more quickly due to their reliance upon one another for safety.

I’ve heard some people mention it’s too heavily-focused on religion, and understand people having those opinions, but I feel like it makes sense due to the historical context of the story, and Ursula’s role within the church as a nun.

The Thirty Years’ War is such a horrible period of history, and it’s not one I’ve read a lot about in a fictional way. I liked that van Veen chose that time period. It’s certainly made me more curious about that war and to imagine what life was like during that time is truly horrifying.

This is only the 2nd-novel I’ve read from van Veen, but she’s quickly jumped the ranks of my go-to authors list. I still need to read My Darling Dreadful Thing. I have a feeling I’m going to love that one just as much.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to get a hard copy of this for my shelves!!

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Review: The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

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The House SaphirThe House Saphir by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

The House Saphir follows Mallory Fontaine and is set in historical, and also a wee bit magical, France. The atmosphere is steeped in occult elements and we love to see that. Mallory comes from a long-line of witches, but her one actual power is being able to see ghosts.

Mallory makes her living giving tours of an infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place. She’s considered a bit of an expert on the murderer, Count Bastien Saphir, aka. Monsieur Le Bleu, who murdered three of his wives over a century ago.

Mallory is shocked when she ends up meeting Bastien’s great-great grandson, Armand, on one of her tours. The heir to the Saphir estate, Armand offers Mallory and her sister a large sum of money to rid his estate of Le Bleu’s ghost.

He believes the sisters are as talented as their reputations purport them to be when it comes to dealing with spirits. To him, they’re the perfect solution. To them, he’s the perfect mark. A deal is made.

The two women travel to the palatial country manor expecting their same ole’ smoke and mirrors routine. However, when murder once again comes to the House Saphir, their ghost investigation turns into a real-life murder investigation. Will they be able to solve the crime and banish the ghost before more lives are lost?

I knew nothing about The House Saphir prior to picking it up except for the fact that it was written by Marissa Meyer. I’ve had nothing but great success with Meyer’s works in the past and I love picking up her latest releases.

I had the pleasure of Buddy Reading this one with a friend and we both had so much fun with it. I actually read it in a day, which surprised me because it’s over 400-pages. I was completed invested the entire way through though. I couldn’t put it down once I started.

Apparently, it’s a Bluebeard retelling, but I didn’t go into it knowing anything about that lore, so can’t attest to this novel as a retelling one way or another. I have looked up information on Bluebeard since, and it does seem like it would be a fun ride for fans of that story.

What I do know is how consumable Meyer’s writing is. I always love her quirky characters, and she brings just the right amount of humor to her stories for my tastes.

Mallory is such an incredible MC to follow, and I loved the banter between her and Armand. She’s extremely witty and fast-thinking. You can tell she’s had to take care of herself. It shows, she’s tough and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. She’s a hustler. LOL

The murder mystery was such a bonus for me. It definitely added another layer of enjoyment. In that regard, it reminded me a bit of Belladonna. I do think Readers who enjoyed that, would enjoy this as well.

I also loved how many ghosties and monsters there were. I wasn’t expecting all that. Where I could see some Readers being disappointed, is if you go in expecting Romantasy. I don’t read a ton of Romantasy, but to me the Romance is very much a secondary-plot point compared to everything else that’s happening.

If you go in expecting big romance, you make walk away feeling let down. It exists in here, but yeah, it’s certainly not the star of the show, IMO.

I think this novel will hit best with Gothic Readers, or Readers who enjoy witches, ghosts, murder and other paranormal things, but also love humor and compelling characters. The setting of this gothic manor is super well done and it’s certainly action-packed.

Finally, I would recommend the audiobook. The narration from Rebecca Soler, unsurprisingly, was perfection. She brought Mallory to life and made me love her even more!

Thank you to the publisher, Feiwel & Friends and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Marissa Meyer is just so freaking talented!

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Review: Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka

~ megs14malloy

AccumulationAccumulation by Aimee Pokwatka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Accumulation follows Tennessee Cherish, who goes by Tenn, and her family; husband, Ward and their two children, Anders and Aisling. They also have an adorable dog, Gogo, who makes frequent appearances throughout the book.

Though she had some early success as a documentary filmmaker, by the time we meet her, Tenn is a stay-at-home Mom, a role shift she continually grapples with over the course of the story.

The family has just moved from North Carolina to New York state after Ward buys Tenn her dream home. The historic home is larger than anywhere they’ve ever lived, and the large property provides plenty of room for the active family to spread out.

It’s a huge move though, and both children begin acting strangely. Tenn assumes it’s the move throwing them off, but with Ward working around the clock, she feels very unsupported trying to deal with it all.

Other very bizarre things are taking place within the home, but Tenn’s so distracted just trying to get them all on track after the move that she hardly notices. That is until the disturbing occurrences turn dangerous. Soon Tenn feels like she’s fighting for her life and that of her family.

She needs to figure out what’s haunting this house, what’s haunting her, if she wants to stand a chance of protecting her sanity, and keeping her family together.

Accumulation had me gripped for the vast majority of the book. I found everything happening in the house to be fascinating. Additionally, I enjoyed Tenn’s perspective. I found it refreshing that she wasn’t your stereotypical, cookie-cutter, fictional Mom.

The set-up was giving me Amityville Horror vibes, the 2005 movie remake, starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George, specifically. I certainly wasn’t mad about that.

The young couple and their beautiful children moving into a historic home in New York. The unsettling little things kicking off pretty quickly. There’s a creepy doll, a babysitter scene, and a lot involving the attic. It was all so well done.

The vibes were solid, and I’m nothing if not an atmosphere girlie. I anticipated rating this very highly. I was completely invested, even getting angry at Ward’s behavior and her overall circumstances on Tenn’s behalf. Who was moving that doll around?

Unfortunately, the last 10% sucked that enthusiasm down a couple notches, and though I was sad about it initially, I know it’s just a personal taste issue.

If I had my way, the concluding scenes wouldn’t have wrapped up quite so quickly, or easily, after that nail-biting build. Nevertheless, for the majority of the book I was at the edge of my seat and loving the exploration of domesticity and motherhood.

Nevertheless, I would absolutely recommend this to Horror Readers who are atmosphere and vibes Readers like myself. Also, if you want a slightly different take on a haunted house, I feel like this would scratch that itch.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I really enjoyed Pokwatka’s character work and concepts. I’m looking forward to reading more from her in the future!

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Review: The Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace

~ megs14malloy

The Late-Night WitchesThe Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Late-Night Witches is a Cozy Paranormal story from Auralee Wallace. I really enjoyed Wallace’s Evenfall Witches B&B series and have been excited to read more from her.

When I saw this cover, I knew I’d have to read it. It’s absolutely adorable and I had no doubt that the story would fit the Halloweeny cover art. Spoiler alert: it definitely did!

This story, which is set on the atmospheric Prince Edward Island off the Eastern Coast of Canada, follows Cassie, her younger sister, Eliza, and the rest of their family, during the spookiest month of the year, October.

Oh yeah, and also, vampires have invaded the island and legacy dictates that they need to be the ones to defeat them. The set-up of this was a lot of fun and gave me heavy Practical Magic vibes, but not in a copy cat way, more in a comforting way if that makes sense.

I loved Cassie as a MC. She’s a typical older sister, but also a Mom to 3-kids, parenting by herself as her husband works overseas. Eliza is also a typical younger sister, and as a younger sister myself, I found it easy to connect with her.

The interactions among the family brought the cozy for me. They have an estranged Aunt, Dorcas, who due to the whole vampire thing, they end up reaching out to and unsurprisingly they a learn a lot from her about their family, and the special powers they may hold.

I also liked Cassie’s kids. I normally find children rather annoying in books, but I thought here the scenes with them ended up being more fun than trying, and I loved the banter.

The vampire bits were also fun, and I was laughing out loud in quite a few places. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Auralee Wallace’s other books, as well as fans of Lindy Ryan’s Bless Your Heart series. The humor and cozy level is fairly similar to that series, IMO.

Thank you to the publisher, Ace, for providing me a copy to read and review. It sounds like there could be a sequel to this, and I would absolutely pick it up!

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Review: The Swamps by Seraphina Nova Glass

~ megs14malloy

The SwampsThe Swamps by Seraphina Nova Glass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Swamps is a Thriller Horror novella from one of my go-to authors, Seraphina Nova Glass. I very rarely read Thrillers in novella form, but since it was SNG, I absolutely needed to.

Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t disappointed by this one for a moment. Coming in at 200-pages, and rife with unsettling tension, I had no problem completing this in 1-sitting.

In this story we follow Ethan and Macy, husband and wife, who have a quickly-growing YouTube channel, Ghost Patrol. They’re paranormal investigators known for their batter, with him being the believer, and Macy playing the skeptic.

They’ve grown so fast, and had such positive buzz that Netflix is heavily considering them for their own show. Looking for something big to give them an edge with the popular global streaming service, Ethan and Macy assemble a small team and head to the bayou of Louisiana to investigate the disappearances of two local women.

Tasha and Max, another couple, who have worked with Ethan and Macy before, are the crew along on the shoot. They do behind the scenes stuff, such as filming and sound. Max’s brother, Robert, also ends up tagging along.

They rent a small cabin at the edge of the swamps that turns out to not be as advertised. That added with the stress of the bizarre landlady and her disturbing handyman, the excursion is not off to a strong start. Unfortunately, things only get worse from the shocking initial impression.

I was surprised by the direction this ended up going in. It dipped a toe into Horror territory much more aggressively than I had been expecting, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it. I love Seraphina Nova Glass, so seeing her explore that space is a real delight for me.

I thought she did a great job of setting the scene and building the tension in such a short number of pages. I was gripped, just thoroughly entertained. I’m sure it won’t be winning any Literary prizes, but I don’t need it to do that. That wasn’t what I was here for.

The e-book also has great illustrations at the start of the chapters. I thought that was a nice touch. It helped bring the story to life in my imagination.

I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick, thrilling read. It doesn’t require big brain energy, but is sure to keep you engaged the whole way through.

Thank you to the publisher, Podium Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I thought this was a smashing good time!

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Review: For Better or Murder (The Holy Terrors #4) by Simon R. Green

~ megs14malloy

For Better or Murder (A Holy Terrors Mystery Book 4)For Better or Murder by Simon R. Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For Better or Murder is the 4th-book in the Holy Terror Mysteries series by veteran author, Simon R. Green. I would argue this is a straight-up Cozy Mystery series, though the assigned genres for the books in the series seem to disagree.

I read a lot of Cozies, and this is a Cozy, but with slight paranormal vibes. This one is my favorite one yet, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m more attached to these characters than ever, or if it’s because maybe the author is more comfortable writing this type of story at this point.

Either way, I found this one highly-enjoyable. It’s the most Scooby-Doo feeling one yet, which def added to my enjoyment. The setting, at a secluded Cornish hotel, set amongst the Moors, definitely added to that vibe.

Alastair and Diana are set to be married, and in order to escape the prying eyes of the paparazzi, who have been plaguing them since their status as the Holy Terrors became public interest, have booked the remote hotel in order to maintain some privacy on their wedding day.

Their guest list is also extremely small. Diana’s parents, of course, as well as her oldest friend, Eliza, have been invited for her side. Alastair has invited his college friend, Giles, as well as his mentor, Crispin, who will perform the ceremony.

Besides that, it’s just Edward and Alice, the proprietors of the hotel. The rest of the staff having been sent home in order to ensure privacy.

So, when one of the guests is found murdered on their very first night at the hotel, their suspect list is small. However, a local legend throws a kink in their investigation.

Could the Pale Rider, feared by locals, and seemingly even the hotel owners themselves, possibly be responsible for the mysterious death? They did hear unexplained hoof beats shortly before, didn’t they?

Well, it was certainly hard to tell over the pounding rain of the extreme storm rattling the hotel. At this point, we know Alastair and Diana won’t be able to rest until the truth is discovered. Let the amateur sleuthing begin!

I had a lot of fun with this one. From the start I was hooked into the setting. I thought Green set the stage beautifully. I could picture it all in my head, and it made me want to be there with this small group of wedding guests.

I also liked the inclusion of the local lore and felt like the way it was weaved into our mystery left a lot of room for doubt, as far as whether or not a human was responsible for the tragedies that take place. Additionally, just being with Alastair and Diana again, seeing how far their relationship has come, that was also really comforting.

I’ll be honest, my initial impression with this series wasn’t the best. I felt like I had been marketed a Horror novel, which it certainly is not, but now that I’ve settled into it being a Cozy Mystery, I’ve really enjoyed them all. I’m glad I continued on and gave it another chance.

I’m not sure what the future for this series holds, but if there are further installments, I’ll definitely be picking them up. The series as a whole keeps getting stronger, IMO, and I would love more.

Thank you to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would recommend this series to Cozy Mystery Readers who enjoy a darker touch; something a bit more macabre. This series has turned into a lot of fun for me!

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Review: The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer

~ megs14malloy

The CaretakerThe Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Follow the rites…

The Caretaker is one of those books that I’m blessed enough to get a chance to read early, and then I can’t wait for everyone else to read because I need to talk about it!

This story captured my full attention and did not let up the entire way through. I read it in a day and it left me with A LOT to think about. I was doing mental gymnastics trying to keep up with everything Kliewer was throwing at me, and honestly, it was exhilarating.

Macy Mullins, our MC, is a young woman a bit down on her luck, who needs to scramble to support not only herself, but her little sister, Jemma. After a string of failed job interviews, Macy is still on the hunt when an enticing ad on Craig’s List catches her eye:

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY:
Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.

Macy applies and ends up securing an interview. She meets with the woman who she would be working for, and although it’s an unusual meeting, to say the least, Macy can’t afford to be picky.

As an outside observer, I may have been screaming at Macy to not agree to take the job, but I also can’t pay Macy’s bills, so she does what she has to do and she accepts.

It’s only 3-days work, where she’ll have to stay at the woman’s house in the wilderness of Oregon and take care of her house. How bad could it possibly get?

Y’all, it can get bad. I think we all know this. Even Macy probably knew this, but like I said, she really didn’t have much of a choice. The first thing that really captured me about this book was how realistic and well-developed Macy was as a protagonist.

While I’ve never experienced some of the things that Macy had been through, I couldn’t help by feel connected to her struggles. I had such empathy for her while she was just working through her own thoughts.

I also felt like I was going on this journey with her. The house, the property, the weirdness of the whole circumstance was seeping off the page and into my brain. It felt tactile to me. I was feeling it all; transported.

The synopsis describes this as a waking nightmare, and I can’t think of a better way to put it. There were scenes that played into some of my own fears and left me absolutely chilled to the bone and my blood pumping.

I need to get a physical copy, because I’ll be reading it again. It’s twisted, layered and I would love to take more time with it. Now that I know the end, I feel I could pick up more of the smaller pieces I may have missed on this first go.

Upon completion, I sat and just stared at the wall for a good 4-to-5 minutes. Yes, that’s a good thing. If this doesn’t leave you with an existential crisis, I’m not sure what will.

At this end of the day, I found this wildly-entertaining. It’s highly-consummable, gripping and disturbing. It’s going to stick in my mind for a long, long time.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is the first I’ve read from this author, but you better believe I’ll be picking up more.

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Review: The Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs

~ megs14malloy

The Night That Finds Us AllThe Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Night That Finds Us All is a Nautical Horror novel from John Hornor Jacobs. This story follows the journey of a century-old sailboat, The Blackwatch, as she makes her way from the shores of Washington state, all the way to England. This historic ship can’t sail herself though.

Thus, a hodgepodge crew is assembled to deliver her to her new owner. Our MC is Sam, and she gets invited on the project by a past crewmate, Loick, who believes Sam could be the only person capable of dealing with The Blackwatch’s complicated and moody engine.

Sam’s not thrilled by the idea. The head of the crew is someone she’s had issues with before, but she does care for Loick. It could be good working with him again.

The biggest motivator for her though is the money. Sam’s almost at rock bottom. Her drinking is out of control and she’s struggling to stay afloat on many fronts. Ultimately, she agrees to the job and the journey begins.

Sam’s committed to sobriety for the journey, and the withdrawels begin playing with her mind. At least, she believes it’s the withdrawels. The things she’s hearing, seeing, feeling on this ship, they can’t be real. Can they?

When one crewmate disappears and another is struck by a terrible, horrific accident, Sam’s confusion and fear grows. The Blackwatch is starting to feel a lot less like some rich man’s pet project, and a lot more like something sinister lying in wait to take them all out.

Interesting, interesting. This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, and I’ve been thinking on it for a while, trying to come up with the best way to explain my experience with it. The longer time goes by though, the more at a loss I find myself. Sadly, it didn’t leave much of a lasting impression. It was here one moment, gone the next, in my brain.

There were aspects I enjoyed, but there were also a few things that I thought were a little odd and out of place. Sam, as an MC, is not super likable, but that’s fine. That never really bothers me. I don’t need to like book characters.

I found the atmosphere aboard the ship to be my favorite part of the story. There was an overriding sense of dread that kept me moving forward quickly. Unfortunately, in many areas, it got a bit more fever dream than I tend to enjoy, and I had a difficult time sort of imagining exactly what was going down when the action scenes were taking place.

I did, however, enjoy how JHJ leaned into the historical nature of the ship, and even introduced some occult elements that I wasn’t expecting. Overall, I liked the tone and the ideas behind all that was happening, I just feel like for me, it lack a bit in execution.

This is the first that I have read from this author, though, and I would definitely be interested in picking up more. I would recommend this to Readers who enjoy Nautical Horror. It’s worth checking out. Just because it wasn’t a perfect fit for me, doesn’t mean you won’t love it.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was a fun time. I wish I could have imagined the action a bit more, but still a solid read.

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Review: Greedy by Callie Kazumi

~ megs14malloy

GreedyGreedy by Callie Kazumi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Greedy follows Edward Cook, a British-expat, living in Japan with his wife and young daughter. Ed is in serious debt due to his secret gambling addiction and finds himself without a job, leaving him with no way to pay back the dangerous individuals he owes.

It doesn’t take long for desperation to set in. Ed needs to make a move to increase his cash flow, and quickly. His life, and the lives of his family, depend on it.

It’s when he is at rock bottom that he stumbles upon an unusual help wanted ad: Chef wanted! Private chef needed for a high-profile businesswoman. One million yen per day.

What desperate man wouldn’t apply for this job? Sure, Ed’s no Michelin star chef, but he did spend time as a line cook once. That’s pretty much the same thing, right?

To his surprise and delight, after his interview, Ed is offered the job, which he of course accepts. Leaving his wife and daughter behind in Tokyo, he travels to the mountains to the lavish estate of his new employer, Hazeline Yamamoto, an eccentric and reclusive ex-socialite, where he will be staying during his work weeks.

Ed finds himself thrust into Hazeline’s mysterious world; secretive, extravagant and lush. As chef, Ed has a lot of interactions with Hazeline’s other household staff, and learns a lot of what is expected of him in his new role through them.

As I know you’re all guessing, something isn’t quite right at Hazeline’s estate. Ed hears strange noises and is plagued by unsettling dreams. He also sees Hazeline and others behaving oddly, as well as her frequent guests, whose behavior leaves a lot to be desired.

We follow along with Ed as he tries to navigate this new world. He just wants to pay off his debt. He just wants to do right by his wife and daughter, but will he succeed, or has he gotten in over his head?

Heck yeah, this was good. Intriguing and slightly-gruesome, I was pulled into the story very quickly. I think Kazumi did a great job of setting it up. It doesn’t take too long to get to the heart of the story, but she provided enough groundwork to make you feel settled and invested.

Ed’s story was captivating, the secrets he had been keeping from his family that propelled him into this ominous new career path, it was so well-imagined.

I also loved the way the tension increased as the story progressed, as more and more is revealed to Ed; his revelations were my revelations. I truly felt like I was on this journey with him. The atmosphere as well, I could feel it, it got under my skin. The mysterious benefactor, her odd and exuberant guests, it kept me intrigued throughout.

I do think some aspects were predictable, but just because they were to me, doesn’t mean they were to Ed. To watch Ed as reality slowly dawned on him, the horror and revulsion he felt, it was compelling.

And the ending, ohhhh my. I won’t forget this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would recommend this to Horror Readers, or fans of Dark Fiction in general. I can’t wait for more from this author!!

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