Wolf Worm

Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher, 288 pages

Scientific illustrator Sonia has just taken a new job illustrating insects for the reclusive Dr. Halder, and even upon her arrival into town, she has misgivings. The locals talk of devils and "blood thieves" in the woods, while Halder is cold, short-tempered, and mysterious. Oh, and his wife disappeared with no trace, and nobody wants to talk about it.

This is a ridiculously gross and gothic horror novel, one that you definitely shouldn't read while eating (two words: screw worms). That said, it's also compelling and keeps the reader guessing. Really, my biggest issue with it is that **SPOILER ALERT** the ending seems to happy for a horror. Still, it was a good read.

Wylding Hall

 Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand, 176 pages.

Windhollow Faire is sent to the country by their manager to try and record a new album in the wake of a personal tragedy in London. The acid-folk band is initially delighted by Wylding Hall, the extremely old manor they have rented, and by the isolation that allows them to totally focus on their music. But the strange and unexplainable occurrences keep piling up, until they culminate in the disappearance of Julian Blake, the band's heart and lead singer. Now, decades later, a documentary filmmaker is trying to recreate what happened that summer, and everyone has their own stories.

I listened to this book, and I think the full-cast audiobook did a great job making this feel like a real retrospective. The strange incidents sometimes felt a little too episodic, as most of the characters never talk to each other about anything strange that happens, but they still come together to form an ever-heavier sense of unease. This felt quite a bit like Daisy Jones and the Six, except in this case the bad thing that everyone is talking around feels like it is terrible enough to justify the tension. I would definitely recommend this for fans of that book that want something a little darker, or for people interested in something a little bit gothic and modern-ish. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Mexican Gothic

 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, 320 pages.

Noemí Taboada isn't known for being serious. She is a Mexican heiress and a glamorous debutante, flitting between men and other amusements. But when her father receives an unsettling letter from her cousin, Noemí is sent as her father's emissary to make sure she is alright. What she finds is a crumbling mansion way out in the mountains and an equally decaying family obsessed with their own legacy. The house is silent and moldering, and the hostility she feels immediately soon begins to give way to something more ominous. She went to see if her cousin needed an asylum, but she soon starts to wonder if she may as well.

This book was a little slow hitting it's stride, but once it did it was extremely atmospheric and spooky. I enjoyed seeing the pieces come together as the mystery slowly unspooled into something darker and darker. I think this was a really solid choice to kick off my fall reading, and I'll probably read more by the author. 

But Not Too Bold

But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo, 128 pages

When her predecessor messes up one too many times, housemaid Dalia finds herself promoted to keeper of the keys at the manor home of Anatema, a huge spiderlike creature who eats those she finds objectionable (RIP former keeper of the keys). On her first day attending to Anatema, Dalia learns that someone has stolen a precious item from Anatema, and her life is on the line if she doesn't find the culprit. However, as she spends more time with her strange mistress, Dalia finds herself becoming more and more drawn to the creature.

This is an unnerving short novel that's very atmospheric, and particularly creepy if you fear spiders as I do. However, it's also almost an odd love story (or Stockholm Syndrome, depending on who you ask), which makes it hard to categorize. No matter what, however, it's captivating and impossible to put down.

Blood on Her Tongue

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen, 368 pages

Lucy has always been close to her twin sister, Sarah, so when Sarah's husband informs her that Sarah is unwell, Lucy rushes to her side. Once she arrives, she finds that Sarah's much worse than Lucy thought — she's on the verge of death, starving but refusing to eat, and ranting like a madwoman. However, as she attends to her sister, Lucy learns that this mysterious disease seems to stem from around the same time that a body was found in one of the peat bogs at Sarah's estate, making Lucy curious about the bog body as well as its effects on her sister.

Van Veen is a native of the Netherlands, and she has found a fantastic setting for her gothic historical horror novels in her homeland. Much like her first book, My Darling Dreadful Thing, Van Veen uses the landscape to create an appropriately creepy atmosphere in Blood on Her Tongue. By marrying the supernatural horror associated with the bog body with the true-to-life dangers of being a headstrong woman (or worse, a lesbian) in the 1880s and throwing in some truly gruesome body horror, Van Veen has created an excellently creepy and twisty novel. Recommended for fans of Dracula and Shirley Jackson who don't mind a wee bit of cannibalism.

Spitting Gold

Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis, 290 pages

Now that she's safely married to a baron, Sylvie believes that she has fully escaped the life she left behind, one in which she and her sister, Charlotte, conned grieving families by posing as spirit mediums. But when Charlotte comes calling asking for help with one more con that could help pay the medical bills for their dying father, Sylvie can't say no. However, once they start the con, Sylvie quickly realizes that not everything is as it seems. Either Charlotte's pulling something on her own, or there actually is a spirit in the house.

Set in Paris in the 1860s, this gothic story is full of atmosphere and nods to the French Revolution (as that's when the spirit they're supposed to be reaching died). It's also full of intriguing twists and a bit of commentary about the constraints placed on women at the time. A good gothic read, one in which I hesitate to mention anything else for fear of spoiling it.

The Third Wife of Faraday House

The Third Wife of Faraday House by B.R. Myers, 338 pages

Emeline Fitzpatrick is determined to marry her beau, a dashing lieutenant in the British Navy, but her guardians instead ship her off to be the third wife of wealthy Captain Graves, whose first two brides died in childbirth. Or at least that's what Emeline's told, as when she arrives at Graves' remote island home, she finds that the second Mrs. Graves, Georgina, is still alive, though just barely. Sure that her Navy suitor is coming to rescue her, Emeline is determined to keep Georgina alive as long as possible, and see if she can't figure out what's actually killing her.

This gothic tale has tinges of Jane Eyre and more than a little Rebecca, though it pales in comparison to both of those classics. This was suggested to me as a mystery, and while it's definitely mysterious, it's not A Mystery, if you will. Still, it's a fun gothic romp (if that's not too much of a contradiction!), with a helping hand from a ghost.

The Shadow of the Wind

 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (trans. Lucia Graves), 506 pages.

Daniel Sempere's bookseller father takes him to a mysterious building called The Library of Lost Books, a safe haven for lost and forgotten books underneath Barcelona. Here Daniel is given guardianship of a novel called The Shadow of the Wind, but his search for the author spans decades and draws him into ever darker mysteries in a city recovering from civil war. 

This book was recommended to me more than a decade ago by one of my best friends, and I'm so glad I finally got around to it. Even better, I imagine I appreciated it more now than I would have as a teenager. This is a dark and moody mystery with a distinctly gothic tint. The novel takes its time and revels in its sense of atmosphere, and I found myself completely immersed in it, not dissimilarly from how Daniel felt about his precious book. It is easy to forget that this novel is historical fiction and not Ruiz Zafón writing from the 1940s. This historical Barcelona feels so comfortable and lived in that it's hard to believe that the author was born decades later. Although I'm very late to this party, I would definitely recommend this book to a whole wide range of readers. 

All the Murmuring Bones

 All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter, 367 pages.

In times long enough ago that they have fallen into family legend, the O'Malley family made a deal with the Mer, trading one child in each generation for wealth, power, and protection from the sea. But the O'Malley family isn't what it once was and Miren O'Malley is the last true descendent, bearing the heavy burden of her family's dark history.

I really enjoyed this dark fairy tale, and I enjoyed even more discussing it with Orcs & Aliens this week! I found the characters compelling, even if it wouldn't be strictly accurate to call them good. I also liked how full and rich the world felt, and I definitely plan to read more books set in this same universe (luckily there are several). This book reminded me in many places of T. Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone, which I would consider high praise. I would definitely recommend this for people looking for a gothic novel (with a happier ending than is standard in the genre) or for people who enjoy a dark twist on fairy tales (with a sadder ending than is standard in the genre). 

All the Murmuring Bones

All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter, 367 pages

I first read this Irish-tinged gothic fantasy back in 2021 and, at the time, found it thought-provoking, lived-in, and atmospheric (see my initial blog post here). That has not changed. I'm happy to say that the Orcs & Aliens book group agreed with me when we discussed it on Monday night, though we also agreed that it's a bit light on mermaids for a book with a giant tail on the cover. But the wealth of other creatures from Irish folklore more than made up for that. Glad I gave this one a second read-through, and I'll definitely be looking into more of Slatter's books in this world.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

 The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi, 289 pages.

A man who has spent his life studying fairy tales, and also believing in them, marries a wealthy but strange heiress, and together the two live on the boundary between fantasy and reality. The one promise she extracts from him is that he never look into her past, or it will destroy their marriage. But when they have to go back to her childhood home to tend to her dying aunt it becomes harder and harder not to pry, as the house holds secrets it desperately wants to be known. Meanwhile, decades in the past, two little girls sharing the same soul descend down an ever darker path. 

This novel had an extremely gothic feel. The prose was lush, and the general atmosphere is of a slowly strangling dread. It was compelling and terrible to see how things inevitably fell apart. I would strongly recommend this to fans of dark fairy tales, modern gothic books, and people who enjoyed Starling House by Alix E Harrow. 

The Man in the Picture

 

The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill (2007) 145 Pages

LOVED this quick but effective ghost story. Genuinely spooked me while reading before bed.

Oliver, an academic, is visiting with an old professor at Cambridge before school is back in session. Dr Theo Parmitter begins to share with Oliver a story about one of his framed paintings, specifically of a Venetian carnival scene. The painting catches Theo's eye at an auction and he soon cannot stop thinking about it. However he soon learns that the painting has some sort of capture on him and everyone who has owned it in the past. He comes in contact with the painting's previous owner, who sends a mysterious message that she must speak to Theo at once. An old countess, the woman begins to tell Theo everything that has happened in her life because of the painting. The man in the center of the painting, who has a horrible look of dread and fear, almost like trying to escape the scene, is an exact resemblence to the countesses' late husband. She believe the painting is cursed and traps men. As the story within the story unfolds, Oliver himself beigns experiencing nightmares about the painting and other strange occurances. 

The story ends after the full curse is revealed, Theo tragically passes away (maybe due to the painting's curse?) and leaves the painting bequeathed to Oliver. The story ends with Oliver's newly wedded wife continuing his writings as a plea to figure out where her husband disappeared to..........

Under the Pendulum Sun

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeanette Ng, 412 pages

After several months without a letter from her missionary brother, Catherine Helstone is determined to travel to find him and assist him in his work spreading the word of Christianity. Unfortunately, Catherine's brother is on a mission in Arcadia, land of the fae, where the people aren't strictly human (and so may not have souls to save) and even such simple things as time and space pay no heed to "civilized" rules. Yet after him she goes, ending up in the tower room of the manor house in which he lives, accompanied by only a ravenous changeling, a seldom-seen fire spirit, and the one Christian convert in the land, a gnome that handles the manor's landscaping.

While the worldbuilding is suitably confusing (in a good way!) and the gothic atmosphere is on point, there are some plot twists and turns in this book that left me nothing more than unsettled. I finished reading this more than a week ago, and I honestly still don't know what I think of it. However, I can't wait to discuss it with the Orcs & Aliens on Monday, as I'm sure they'll have plenty to say!

All the Murmuring Bones

All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter, 367 pages

Generations ago, Miren O'Malley's family made a deal with a sea witch to keep the family prosperous and healthy in exchange for the sacrifice of a child every generation. Well, it worked for a long time, but over time, despite some frankly incestuous marriage practices, the bloodlines have thinned and spread out, leaving Miren as the final O'Malley in a now-crumbling estate with few pennies to her name. Upon learning that the parents she thought were long dead are alive and just very far away, Miren runs away from the cousin she's supposed to marry, seeking out the only other O'Malleys who were able to leave the ancestral home in hopes of ending the brutal tradition. But it turns out that some things are hard to leave behind.

This is a wonderfully atmospheric and haunting bit of gothic fantasy. Slatter has created a fully realized — and fully creepy — world for Miren to navigate, while making our main character both strong and sympathetic. This is a book for those who prefer the original bloody versions of fairy tales, not the singsong Disney version. I'll be mulling this one over for ages.