4.5* rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House for a digital review copy of "The Gathering" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

The Gathering is one of my most anticipate reads of 2024 and it didn't disappoint. A murder mystery with a horror twist, this is what CJ Tudor does best!

We're introduced to Deadhart in this book, a rural Alaskan town with many many secrets and its very own Vampire Colony. Yes, in this society the Vampyr is real and has established colonies dotted around the US. With a colony comes suspicions, mistrust and hate and discrimination.

This is not fantasy horror, there's no sparkling or other silliness, vampires are part of society, they're a fact and they're convenient scapegoats for everything that may go wrong, especially in Deadhart where the community are desperate for an authorised cull following the death of a teenage boy which raises tensions and memories of a similar incident 25 years before.

Our lead investigator, Barbara Atkins is brought in as an outsider and as a specialist from the Forensic Vampyr Anthropology Department aka the Fang Doc she is hoping to seek out the truth, wherever that may lead to ensure that whatever actions are taken are done lawfully and without risk of coming back to literally bite her or the community in the future.

The story twists and turns with secrets revealed and several characters adding to the death count. We have a number of standout supporting cast including Tucker, the disgraced ex-Deputy, Rita the town mayor and the local preacher, Colleen. The action builds rapidly and the book generally whips by as Barbara has to move quickly, in a heated and hostile environment to solve the case before the town takes actions into its own hands and before the storm completely isolates them all.

There's not as much horror as I was hoping for initially but I liked the balance that was reached, and despite the vampire presence this is classic murder mystery thriller overall that is well paced, well plotted and leaves us with a very hopeful sequel to come in the future.

The Gathering is available from April 11th 2024

4.25* (edging to 4.5*)

A very mixed set of stories - genre/tropes, subject matter, and in a couple of cases, quality.

This isn't a pure horror collection, there's elements of scifi in some stories as well.

Notable standouts for me include Dark Home, The Rider, Flicker, Hide & Seek, The Most Strogest Obeah Woman of  the World, and The Norwood Trouble.

Definitely read Jordan Peele's editors note as that captures the essence of what ties this collection together

Some of the standout essays- Jennifer's Body, Get Out, The Exorcist, Child's Play and Sleepaway Camp

4.25*

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan/Macmillan for a digital review copy of "Song of the Huntress" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

I read Sistersong in 2023 and loved that it took a different direction for historical fiction/myth retellings so I of course was immediately interested in reading Song of the Huntress. Compared to it, this is definitely a more grown up story. We still have three core narrators - this time all adults (Ine and Æthelburg - King and Queen of Wessex and Herla, Lord of the Hunt), but they are still navigating a rapidly changing society and battling to understand how to live, and love in communities that are torn between Christian and Pagan influences. The magic system remains the same and I loved the connections back to Sistersong but it's not a sequel by any means and can read as a standalone. I just felt that I got more out of it though because I had already immersed myself in the world and power dynamics of that society.

This novel has much more focus on the political elements but also wonderfully intertwines magic and folklore throughout. There are numerous plot elements that are introduced including betrayal, treason, and an ancient menace with a ticking clock element that propels the story forward. 

With all of these storylines and many characters the story does take a while to get going and it took me a while to feel connected to the story and the characters as at times I wasn't entirely sure who was who and what their motivations were. But about 40% in it all clicked and started building to its thrilling climax and for me the remainder of the book was an absolute winner.

For me Æthelburg was the heart of the story and her relationships and interactions were what kept the story moving. Ine was frustrating in his lack of ability to communicate but I loved his story arc in the end, glad to see Asexual representation and how he linked back to Dumnonia.

Herla is a statuesque giant in this book. Strong, tormented with fierce loyalty and love keeping her battling against the curses placed upon her. Her relationships and interactions all feel bittersweet as you feel from page one that everything related to her is ultimately doomed though you can't help but feel connected to her and wish constantly for her to succeed and find happiness.

Much like Sistersong all of these characters are very human, even amongst the magics and fantasy. They are fallible and fully rounded with good and bad traits so you cheer them on and then feel frustrated when they fail. Many of the periphery characters are lacking in characterisation and the villains of the piece do feel more one dimensional but they don't detract from the power of the core three narrators.

The slow build up for this book did pay off for the story and I loved it's focus on love, loyalty and navigating through uncertainty especially in relation to religion and societal changes. Fans of Sistersong will love that it takes the adult perspective this time and doesn't just rehash the same story but keeps the core magics and wonderful storytelling that we got in that book.

Song of the Huntress comes out 21st March 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books for a digital review copy of "Helle & Death" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Helle & Death is a fantastic modern homage to golden age detective fiction, especially the classic isolated country-house setting and all with a little touch of nordic noir. It's a locked room mystery that overcomes the issues the modern age brings (mobile phones, cameras etc) and is a good fun read the whole way through.

The story focuses on the reunion of a group of Oxford friends, all brought together to the North-East during the winter at the behest of one of the group - Anthony Dodd who has news to impart to them all. Unfortunately his untimely death and heavy snowstorm put paid to a weekend of fun and instead turns the focus inward as the group looks inwardly to try and figure out whodunnit and why.

I enjoyed this take on the locked room, country house mystery, especially after the first third when the action ramped up and the group started detecting. From minute one I did have my suspicions about the resolution and was correct but didn't guess the why, which did fall a little flat, but I enjoyed the twists and turns along the way as well as the meta referencing to classic mystery fiction of the 30s and 40s. 

The assembled group were generally inoffensive but I felt that for the most part I didn't really get to know them too well and most of them ended up as personality cyphers rather than being fully fleshed out. Our main character though, Torben Helle, was a fun character to get to know a little more and I appreciated the nordic detective touches that he brought to the story. 

Overall anyone who likes a classic mystery, an isolated setting and a locked room will enjoy this addition to the genre - think  And Then There Were None with a dash of The Secret History. It doesn't re-invent the wheel but it's a fun time and the affection for golden age detective fiction shines through and works really well.

Helle & Death is released January 18th 2024.