I picked this up for two reasons: First, I'm reading all the award winners for this year, and this novella won a Locus award (and I won't be surprised if it won a Hugo, too); second, I was on a T. Kingfisher kick. That's all to say, I didn't really look into this book before I read it if I had...I probably still would've read because of the award-winner thing, but if not for that, I would've skipped because I don't really like re-tellings of classic literature. This is not a judgment on them, just not my personal favorite. I was about 15% in when I was like, "Oh wait. This is The Fall of the House of Usher." One of the main reasons I don't enjoy retellings is that then I know how it is going to end, and it takes some serious storytelling to make the story interesting to me again. This is why myth and fairytale/folktale retellings tend not to bother me as much; they are already designed to be retold and adapted, and changed for specific cultural moments.

On to the actual book, I did enjoy it. The things Kingfisher added were enough to update the story and give it just enough of a change to still keep my interest. But because the story is supposed to be spooky, knowing how things are going to go takes some of the dread and suspense out of it. Although I did read the climax of the book in the dark, and that definitely added a spooky factor that gave me a singular creep. I'm going to guess if you go into this not knowing much about the source material, it will be much creepier. I did really like the narratorial voice and the way Kingfisher managed all the world-building. I know there is going to be a sequel, and I'll probably read it based on the narrator and world, but I'm curious to know if it is going to be another retelling or an original story. 

I would recommend this book for people who like retellings of classic/gothic literature and/or for people who like distinctive narratorial voices.