occult

Review: A Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

A Penance for CrowsA Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

A Penance for Crows is a modern Gothic Horror novel that feels like it’s been torn from the past. The novel takes place on the Irish island of Beanna Dubh, set off the Southern tip of the Beara Peninsula. The community is quite insular. They like to keep to themselves.

In fact, there are many on the island who have never even been to the mainland. Untouched by modern technology, the islanders live under strict rule of the church.

As a people, they adhere to many superstitions. The island is also home to thousands of crows, so that fact only enhances those creepy vibes, with the islanders believing the crows are harbingers of coming disaster.

Our MC, Grizela, fled to the island 40-years ago, leaving her native-Glasgow, and her unsettling past well behind her. Though Grizela has been on the island for decades, she’s still considered an outsider by many.

She has been able to forge some strong connections with the young folks on the island though, who she treats as her own. Many of them confide in her things they wouldn’t trust telling their parents, or other elders.

Our action kicks off when Grizela discovers the dead body of the island’s young priest with a diabolical symbol drawn on his chest. Crows darken the sky, and Grizela fears there’s a different kind of darkness now among them.

As the mysterious symbols continue popping up randomly, and more residents meet terrible ends, the islanders’ suspicious fall on Grizela. She’s the outsider, after all.

Mass hysteria quickly takes over and Grizela is scrambling to prove her innocence. During her investigations into these disturbing happenings, she begins to learn new, and startling, information about a group of young women she has previously taken under her wings.

If you follow my reviews at all, you may know that I’m an Atmosphere Girlie through and through. I read to escape, and I particularly love remote settings with an overriding ominous air about them. IMO, this novel delivered that to me exactly as I wanted.

I was so invested in A Penance for Crows. This Occult Horror novel with strong Gothic atmosphere swept me up in the drama of the small island of Beanna Dubh.

I loved the MC, Grizela, who is in her early-60s, which in and of itself was refreshing. I also related to her experience on the island, as far as ‘being from away’ and no matter how long she’s there, she’s still considered an outsider. As an island girl myself, I get it.

Morgan created a great cast of characters in this noveal and the intrigue is excellent. Things keep happening and there’s an awesome feeling of ‘is it supernatural, is it not supernatural’ about it that I always appreciate it.

There were so many twists and turns, and as soon as I thought I knew who, or what, was behind all the mysterious happenings on the island, something new would occur that would blow my theory out of the water.

I loved the Occult elements that Morgan included. I feel like those made the novel so much more beguiling. That type of element rarely gets executed like it was here, in a fully believable, non-cheesy, way and I was living for it.

I highly recommend this to any Gothic, or Atmosphere, Girlies in the crowd. If you’re looking for that atmosphere, this is absolutely going to deliver it to you.

Thank you to the publisher, Kensington, for providing me a copy to read and review. I’m so impressed by this and cannot wait to read more from Shannon Morgan. I really hope she stays in this lane, because it’s fabulous!

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Review: Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

~ megs14malloy

Fabulous BodiesFabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fabulous Bodies follows Poppy Stringer, a fashion influencer, who also happens to peddle in dead bodies at night. Hey, it’s hard to make a living in this economy. Don’t judge.

Poppy receives a call one night that prompts her to retrieve the body of one of her heroes, recently deceased rockstar and queer icon, Eddie Michaels.

She heads to the Medical Examiner’s office, where she’ll finagle access to his corpse, and then get him out of there. It’s all routine for Poppy. That is, until Eddie wakes up.

What follows is a Supernatural Adventure romp through one bloody night in Palm Springs. Poppy is along for the ride, whether she wants to be or not, and Eddie certainly has some surprises for her.

Fabulous Bodies was fabulously-creative, as I’ve come to expect all Chuck Tingle books to be. It’s an odd story, a bit chaotic and surprisingly thoughtful in its character work. I loved the journey Poppy had emotionally.

She was forced to come to a lot of important realizations about her life and relationships. We love that for her. Personal growth, yayee! All with the backdrop of trying to defeat a murderous and undead former idol of hers; NBD.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mara Wilson, and I felt like Mara’s voice was perfect as Poppy. It truly felt like I was just listening to her tell this crazy story about one f*ed up night. I would highly recommend that format.

I also liked how wacky and graphic Tingle made this. It’s campy and unhinged, but also written very well. It reminded me in some ways of books such as Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison, and My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie, both of which I enjoyed.

The commentary that Tingle included on fame and influence, were also well done. It’s light, but there, apt social commentary for our times. I appreciate Tingle allowing Readers the space to think for themselves, and in a story this wild, there’s plenty of food for thought.

At this same time though, you can just have fun with. I had a lot of fun listening to it. It’s certainly unpredictable. While I’m not sure how long the details will stick with me, in the moment it was pure entertainment.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio for providing me with copies to read and review. I always look forward to Tingle’s newest releases as you never really know what you’re going to get. We love a surprise!

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Review: Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran

~ megs14malloy

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: 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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Review: The Devil in Oxford (Ruby Vaughn #3) by Jess Armstrong

~ megs14malloy

The Devil in Oxford (Ruby Vaughn, #3)The Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Devil in Oxford is the 3rd-release in Jess Armstrong’s Ruby Vaughn series. These adventurous Gothic Mysteries have truly captured my heart.

This installment finds Ruby accompanying her employer, Mr. Owen, to Oxford while he attends an annual meeting of the Antiquarian Society of which he is a part.

Ruby is looking at the time in Oxford to serve as a bit of a holiday for her. She’s brought her housemaid, her cat and she’s excited to spend time with her old friend, Leona, who works in Oxford. As you may know, however, trouble tends to find Ruby wherever she goes.

That trouble arrives on a night out at an exhibition of artifacts amassed by the disgraced scholar, Julius Harker. How could an event like that possibly bring on trouble, you may ask? A bunch of stuffy old scholars, you may say.

Well, when Harker’s dead body is discovered amongst the collection, his business partner is quickly arrested. Ruby gets drawn in, mainly by her friend, Leona, who is close with all parties involved. The last thing Ruby wants, really, is to get dragged into another dangerous investigation, yet, that’s exactly what happens.

As all of this is happening, Ruan Kivell, the Cornish Pellar, Ruby is battling feelings for, arrives in town as well, insisting upon seeing her. Well, that’s just fine. They work great together. He can only aide in Ruby’s investigation, she just wishes he’d stop reading her thoughts.

Thus, Ruby sets out to discover the truth about what happened to Julius Harker, because she’s definitely not buying the story they’re being sold.

I think it’s fair to say that I’m really invested in this series at this point. I love how each installment feels like a completely new adventure. One of my favorite aspects is discovering where Ruby is going in each new book.

I also just love Ruby as a protagonist. She has such an interesting backstory, which I still don’t feel we know the true depths of. She’s stubborn as a mule, but so quick and determined. She’s like that friend you just want to shake sometimes, but you know what, she gets stuff done.

I was so happy at the start of this, just to be returning to this world and cast of characters, and of course, I squealed when Ruan entered the chat.

I liked how tense this mystery got. There was like this dark, seedy underbelly of Oxford that Ruby and Ruan were having to dig into. It felt dangerous, and since we didn’t know a lot of these cast of side characters from the previous books, I had no idea who to trust.

I’m glad that Ruan did end up showing up in the story, not just for the romance vibes he always brings, but also for the safety and steadiness he provides Ruby. Their personalities compliment each other well, and they do work well together.

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries, particularly if you enjoy those with occult elements and gothic atmosphere.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait for the next book. I’m really hoping we get to learn even more about Ruby’s past!

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Review: Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin

~ megs14malloy

Black FlameBlack Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

Black Flame is a Horror novella from Gretchen Felker-Martin. I’ve read two full length novels from GFM, Manhunt and Cuckoo, both of which I really enjoyed.

Unfortunately, this is my least favorite work from her and I can’t even really express why. It just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I never felt like I connected with the story enough to know what the hell was going on.

In fact, in the synopsis it’s described as being a historical horror novel, and I don’t even remember it being so. The story does follow a woman named Ellen, who works, I believe restoring, or archiving old films.

Ellen starts working on an infamous exploitation film called The Baroness, which was long thought destroyed in a fire by Nazis. As Ellen works on the film, the scenes, the essence of the film, begin to poison her mind.

She becomes convinced the film is real, and that it’s happening to her. She’s having visions, hearing voices, and unsurprisingly, her life begins to spiral out of control.

That’s a great concept. I love the sound of it. As I was reading this though, it was very hard to follow. I did get snippets of what’s described above, but it was a challenge to track what was going on, and difficult to visualize what Ellen was seeing, feeling and going through.

As always, Gretchen Felker-Martin includes very heavy and important examinations of gender and identity, and those were certainly an important piece of this story. Ellen’s character arc feels like a real transformation over the course of the action, and I did appreciate that as well.

In fact, I buddy read this one with a friend, and commented when we were done, how I wished this had been longer, because the final bits were where it really started to come together for me. I wanted more of that clarity, not just for me, but for Ellen as well.

I guess the best way I can describe my experience with this would be uneven. I’m used to feeling more drawn in, and connected throughout GFM’s works, so I think that’s why I walked away a little unsatisfied.

Nevertheless, Gretchen Felker-Martin will always get extra points from me for her insane-levels of creativity and the fact that she always brings something new to the table. While not my favorite from her, I am glad I read it, and look forward to Felker-Martin’s next release.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. The audiobook was very well narrated by Dana Aronowitz. They definitely brought it to life!

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Review: The Legacy by Jere Cunningham

~ megs14malloy

The LegacyThe Legacy by Jere Cunningham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Originally released in 1977, The Legacy by Jere Cunningham has been lovingly-reissued by Valancourt Books as part of their Paperbacks from Hell collection.

I was lucky enough to be gifted the full set for Christmas a couple of years ago, and have been slowly making my way through them when the mood strikes. For the record, I’ve loved them all so far. There’s something about dipping into a classically-told Horror story that’s just so cozy!

In this story, we meet David Rawlings, an ambitious young doctor, and his lovely family, as they inherit David’s childhood home after his father’s untimely death.

When David is notified that his somewhat estranged father has passed unexpectedly, he is in a bit of shock. His father was always such a strong man. He seemed untouchable. What could have happened?

In order to see to the arrangements, and meet with his father’s attorney, David packs himself and his family, including his wife, Sandra, their young daughter, Melanie, and beloved Doberman Pinscher, Streak, into the family car and makes the journey to small town Mississippi.

The property is outstanding. Sandra is struck by its vastness and beauty. At first she’s hesitant to remain there for the 7-weeks asked in the Will, but eventually she comes around.

The family starts to settle in, but from the start disturbing occurrences are happening around the property, including another death. David becomes convinced his father’s death wasn’t from natural causes, or an accident.

Something is going on here, and he needs to figure out what, because now the rest of his family is at risk.

The Legacy captured my attention with the rich Southern Gothic atmosphere. I loved how it was slowly built through the descriptions of the property and surrounding area.

The way events rolled out, building the suspense and intrigue, I felt it was masterfully done. I grew to love this family and was so worried about them ((particularly, the dog, of course)), because things were feeling so dangerous and uncertain.

There was inclusion of a few local characters as well that only helped to enhance the story, IMO. You could tell that some of the locals, friends of his Dad’s, knew what was going on, but they weren’t sharing the info with David, which was frustrating.

The occult elements truly amp up as the story continues, and it all filled me with a complete, nail-biting, sense of dread. It really was a great build. Two thumbs up.

Additionally, the Southern Gothic atmosphere was chef’s kiss and the trope-filled plot kept me on my toes. I would have given it a full 5-star rating, if it weren’t for some animal content that made it less enjoyable for me. There were parts with the dog I had to skim…

Overall though, a great, slow burn, classic-feeling Horror story that I recommend to any true fan of the genre. I def need to read more from this author.

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Review: The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth

~ megs14malloy

The Haunting of Room 904The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Olivia Becente has the ability to commune with spirits, a gift she surprisingly inherited after the tragic and unexpected death of her sister, Naiche.

A few years after that heart-breaking event, Olivia has put her gift to good use, becoming the most in-demand paranormal investigator in the Denver area.

Even though her career is a success, the loss of Naiche continues to haunt her. When she gets a call from the owner of the Brown Palace, a landmark Denver hotel, saying he has a haunting he wants her to investigate, she jumps at the chance to explore the infamous property.

More specifically, the Brown Palace has a haunting in Room 904; where every few years, a young woman is found dead, regardless of what room she checked into the night before. These deaths hit very close to home for Olivia, and she vows to get to the bottom of it.

Her investigation leads her down complicated personal paths as past and present collide, she’s forced to face a possibly murderous cult, a vindictive journalist, potentially backstabbing friends, and the truth of her sister’s life.

The Horror Community is certainly being blessed in 2025. I really enjoyed White Horse by this author, and tend to enjoy Indigenous Horror in general, but this is even an improvement over White Horse for me, as far as the character interactions go and how quickly the story kicks off.

I love how Olivia, and her best friend/roommate, Alejandro, are a sort of an Ed and Lorraine Warren team in this story (IYKYK). I was drawn in from the start, learning what happened to Olivia’s sister was so sad, and hearing the history of the Brown Palace was uber-compelling.

I felt like I truly went on a ride with Olivia. I enjoyed getting a front row seat for her investigation, and watching as she started to put the pieces together. She certainly showed a lot of courage against everything.

There were other aspects I appreciated too, including a historical perspective that shined a light on the Sand Creek Massacre, which occurred in the 1860s, and is connected to this land and helped develop the history of the place.

There’s also some really fun mixed media elements that have to do with various potentially paranormal items on the virtual market. It’s hard to explain, but just imagine the owners of Annabelle put an ad on Craig’s List.

Those were such an entertaining little break among the darker narrative, and in fact, I felt like they gave the story an even stronger air of reality. People pay a lot of money for that type of object; it’s a niche market, but a ravenous one.

Overall, The Haunting of Room 904 was so good. I’m such a Wurth fan at this point, I’m already anticipating whatever she’s going to deliver next. I would recommend this to any Horror Reader, particularly if you enjoy Occult elements, or Paranormal Investigations.

For me, it did start to get a little muddled towards the end, nevertheless, a very solid Paranormal Horror story, with strong characters and a captivating plot.

Wurth does a great job of creating relatable characters with real emotions in them. Even when they’re experiencing things that you may personally have never experienced before, you can still FEEL it. That’s such a talent.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I definitely recommend the audio format and can’t wait for more from Wurth!

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Review: The Secret of the Three Fates (Ruby Vaughn #2) by Jess Armstrong

~ megs14malloy

The Secret of the Three Fates (Ruby Vaughn, #2)The Secret of the Three Fates by Jess Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Secret of the Three Fates is the follow-up to the highly-engaging Gothic Mystery, The Curse of Penryth Hall, which I really enjoyed last year.

These books are part of the Ruby Vaughn series by Jess Armstrong. I’d so been looking forward to being back with Ruby on another spooky adventure. Happily, this was just as enticing as the first book!

This installment brings Ruby and her employer/housemate, Mr. Owen, to Manhurst Castle in the Scottish Borders. Ruby believes they’re there to acquire manuscripts for the bookshop, but quickly discovers that’s not the case.

In fact, it turns out they’re there to attend a seance to be held that very night. Mr. Owen, up to his old tricks again.

Desperate to contact his son, lost to the Great War, Mr. Owen hopes the seance could help him get his wish, but he doesn’t want to do it alone. Hence, Ruby’s unknowing presence.

The seance is hosted by three mediums, going by the name of The Three Fates. As any of us could have guessed, things do not go smoothly, nor as planned, and Mr. Owen’s secret past looks close to being exposed.

Shortly thereafter, Ruby discovers one of the Three Fates has been murdered and she and Mr. Owen are immediately dubbed the prime suspects.

In order the clear their names, Ruby begins her own investigation, enlisting the help of Ruan, the folk healer she befriended in the first book during her time in Cornwall. You know, the handsome one.

My favorite thing about the first book was the atmosphere and Armstrong succeeded again in building out a lush, gothic-feeling setting. I am also loving how attached I am becoming to this set of characters.

Yet again, the chemistry between Ruby and Ruan was so well done. I enjoy Ruby so much as a lead. She’s plucky, smart and a little hard-headed. Once she starts investigating something, she doesn’t let anything get in her way, no matter how dangerous.

It was fun getting to know more about Mr. Owen too. There was quite a bit revealed about his past in this one, and I feel like I have more of an appreciation for him now.

I feel like the seance scenes were also really well-imagined. Thinking of the popularity of occult practices like that during this time period is so fascinating to me. It must have felt completely surreal participating in something like that, when belief was so high.

I love that Armstrong used that practice within this mystery. It was compelling and felt time period appropriate. It also helped to give the mystery an overall unsettling air.

I’m already anxious for news on the next book. There has to be one. There’s no way this is it for these characters. I shall sit back, patiently, and wait. Any by that I mean, I’ll be chomping at the bit to get my hands on it…

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Historical Mysteries with heavy Gothic vibes. The settings, the characters and the mysteries themselves, are all so well developed. There’s a lot to praise about Armstrong’s work.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with copies to read and review. I cannot wait to be reunited with Ruby and friends!!

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