Violent, profane, caustic, grisly, and pitch-black—but all in a good way.
A brilliant teenage sorcerer takes on the case of a beheaded bishop in this supernatural noir debut.
When the police drag 15-year-old Frank Sampson into a murder investigation, he immediately suspects that something is off (other than the cleric’s absent head). But since the detective in charge hates him, superstitious mobs are after him, and his own society is ready to expel him, not to mention the feminine distractions of plucky, perceptive DC Marvell and the bishop’s beautiful, enigmatic niece—well, Frank’s a bit bollixed, all right? Hounam skillfully integrates classic hard-boiled–mystery conventions with the baroque flair of occult horror. Frank’s mordantly hilarious narration elliptically conveys all the bleakness of this Church-ruled Britain, where industrialized magic coexists with Victorian technology and epidemic presbyopia by age 30 thrusts children into adult responsibilities. While the main characters are all working-class white, the background displays significant ethnic and social diversity. Raymond Chandler–esque antihero Frank is simultaneously supremely arrogant about his skills and rubbish (and self-sabotaging) in his personal life; his cynical, iconoclastic veneer barely conceals his vulnerability and romantic idealism. Despite the frenetic pace and meandering asides, the engrossing central mystery pays off with a twisty reveal that—in the best noir tradition—is both predictable in its tragedy and satisfying in its rough justice.
Violent, profane, caustic, grisly, and pitch-black—but all in a good way. (Horror/mystery. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-3232-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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