A darkly thrilling paranormal murder mystery with high stakes and a lackluster romance.
A resurrectionist involved in a police hunt for a serial killer might become a target herself.
Selene Shade is a resurrectionist, a woman able to raise the dead, but only for the right price. While her ability is rare enough to earn her the nickname “Zombie Queen,”she’s not the only supernatural being existing among a wary human population. Goat Hill is just one of numerous towns forced to coexist with the witches, vampires, elementals, and other creatures since they revealed themselves decades ago. When a brutal serial killer begins to terrorize the town, local police ask the resurrectionist to assist on the case by reviving the latest victim. Although she’s reluctant to help, the recent death of her colleague and only friend, Dot, has increased Selene’s loneliness and desire to feel useful. The discovery that one of the lead investigators, Det. William Marlow, is a vampire, a group that has a complicated history with resurrectionists, leaves Selene more intrigued than she expected. As the investigation progresses, however, a doorway may be opening that will allow the entry of powerful, malevolent beings. As Selene reaches out to old contacts, forges new connections, and tries to avoid becoming the next victim, she’ll have to adjust to working with others again and learn to understand how her powers fit into these gruesome events. Will she be able to trust Marlow? In Dalpe’s thriller, the immersive worldbuilding brings to life a realm not that different from our own (despite the omnipresent otherworldly beings). The novel, told mostly through Selene’s perspective, gets a slow start as readers learn about the lead and her universe in a long infodump. Once the stakes are introduced, however, the pace accelerates, especially when Selene begins interviewing her network, and we learn more about her. The romance doesn’t progress as naturally as the clue-gathering, but Dalpe’s storytelling compensates for a so-so love connection. Overall, this is a strong, charismatic series opener.
Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781960988324
Page Count: 278
Publisher: Clash Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.
After the events of Book of Night (2022), Charlie Hall is forced to hunt down the perpetrator of a terrible massacre.
Charlie Hall is the Hierophant: It’s her job to be tethered to a powerful, independent shadow—a “Blight”— and hunt down other Blights for the Cabals, the heads of their respective shadow-magic specialties. The Cabals use the difficult job of Hierophant as a punishment, but Charlie agreed to take it on so she could be the person tethered to Vince, aka Red, the Blight who posed as a human and ended up dating and falling in love with Charlie. The Cabal leaders used magic to steal the part of Red’s memory that contained his relationship with Charlie, and so Charlie is determined to steal Red’s memories back. And she needs to move fast, because if Red doesn’t remember loving her, he just might be OK with Charlie being killed if it means his own freedom. Meanwhile, Mr. Punch, a terrifying Cabal leader who specializes in using shadow magic to possess other people’s bodies, has a job for Charlie: He wants her to find the culprit behind a terrible massacre that was attributed to a cult. He suspects that the people were actually killed by a Blight, and he doesn’t want the Cabals to face the blowback if the truth becomes public. Mr. Punch could do terrible things to Charlie if she fails, but if she succeeds, he’ll help Charlie and Red be free of the Cabals for good. The sophomore novel in a series is always tough, but this sequel proves that the second book can be even better than the first. Black turns the screws on the magical world she set up in Book 1, creating complicated political motives between Charlie and the Cabal leaders and making the question of what it means for a shadow, like Red, to have their own consciousness more interesting. Veteran con artist Charlie makes some truly brilliant moves, especially toward the end, where the last few chapters have one terrific surprise after the other.
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250812223
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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