Crystal Bell has written a humdinger of a gothic novel. The stage is set in the whaling village of Warbler that happens to have a seemingly malicious fog. But is the problem really the fog?   It has a lamplighting heroine who is ready to fight the patriarchy and give the devil his due, so to speak, but things aren’t always as they seem nor do plans turn out the way she plans them.

The pacing of the book is slow at times. It doesn’t reveal too much too soon, but does a fine job of putting one on the edge of their seat at the end. I do believe that the author could have developed the characters a bit more and given a bit of background to the ‘why’ of the creature, but all in all it is a very satisfying read.

I think it will sit well with any fan of the gothic genre and linger in one’s mind a bit after reading it. Now, where is my lamp and my chisel?

Many thanks to North Star Editions | Flux and NetGalley for the digital ARC!