I say pretty consistently that I’m not a horror person, although given how many times I’ve read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, that’s probably a lie. I’m not a visual horror person. I don’t like horror movies. And I don’t like the way that prejudice is often used as the source of horror - the encroaching other is often just another person, but one of another skin color or religion or sexuality.
So, as with romance, I’m picky and I avoid most film versions, but it means I really have GOT to stop being surprised when a novel by an author I love is an excellent experience merely because it’s horror.
Kingfisher is fantastic here and knows her genre and tropes extremely well and if you are a person who scares, you will be scared in the best way.