“This was like… fear at first sight.”
Author: T. Kingfisher
Cordelia is lonely and scared. In her mother’s house, she is forbidden to close doors. Her only friend and confidant is her mother’s beautiful white horse (Falada). The object of Cordelia’s every waking moment is to do everything in her power to keep her mother appeased so that she will not be made “obedient” again. You see, Cordelia’s mother, Evangeline, is a powerful and cunning sorceress, immoral and violent. Evangeline will do anything to gain wealth and riches. She will sell her own daughter to an elderly suitor. She will bewitch and deceive. She will kill.
When Evangeline’s latest wealthy conquest fails her, she sets him on a course to kill his own family. Then she leaves in the middle of the night with her beautiful horse and submissive daughter, seeking a new victim: Squire Samuel. When she arrives with a tragic tale at the Squire’s home, he is immediately in love and invites her to stay. But the Squire’s wily spinster sister, Hester, senses the evil influence that has come to her home. Together, Hester and Cordelia seek to end Evangaline’s reign of terror – but they are up against a supernatural force beyond their comprehension. As the situation escalates, people get stabbed, people fly out of windows to dramatic deaths, and headless horses haunt the night. With time running out, our plucky heroines are forced to take a daring stand.
A Sorceress Comes to Call has the delightfully morbid feeling of an old school fairy tale, likely because this is a loose retelling of The Goose Girl. Kingfisher’s usual sardonic humor and creativity are in play, making the tale her own creation. Hester is a grade-A Kingfisher character, smart and flippant, daring and intelligent, hopeful and cynical, compassionate and yet hard-edged. Hester is a take-no-shit kind of heroine with a soft spot, and the perfect antithesis for Cordelia, whose own power is limited by the continual abuse and fear that have so far defined her life.
Cordelia’s stories of being made “obedient,” where her mother takes over her body and speaks and eats through her, capture a true horror that even the headless horse in the night cannot touch. Cordelia’s description of being unable to blink, unable to take water, unable to speak, are horrifying and suitably set up what is at stake here. The idea that Cordelia could ever rebel is terrifying. What would Evangaline do to her then? Yet, Cordelia’s sense of justice, her abhorrence of her mother, compels her onward, building a character who will eventually be strong, but is currently conflicted.
Evangeline herself is a straight villain from the start. Some backstory would have been nice, yet her undiminished, unflinching evil is very much in the vein of a traditional fairy tale and makes her a villain we can love to hate. She can and will do anything, and she has eyes everywhere. This is where the horse, Falada, comes into play. The gorgeous creature is none other than a nefarious familiar – a demon held captive to Evangeline that also rejoices in evil and mayhem. Falada himself is, in many ways, more terrifying than the sorceress that controls him, setting up the story for a ghastly, action packed, and creatively gruesome ending.
As A Sorceress Comes to Call progresses, we are just as spellbound as the unfortunate Squire. The story is at turns clever and terrifying with high stakes events; lovable, intelligent, empathetic protagonists; and chilling, mysterious villains. The conclusion is suitably death defying, the costs of the fight real, and the happily ever after tainted by the understanding that in this world, anything is possible, and horror may arise again at any moment. Our plucky Hester has been forced to face her own internal villains and perhaps open herself to romance and human connection.
A Sorceress Comes to Call is another unparalleled T. Kingfisher classic, blending surreal horror with inventive schemes, myths with modern sensibilities, and imagery that will forever haunt us. Highly recommended.
– Frances Carden
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Other T. Kingfisher Books You May Like Include:
- Book Vs Movie: The Shining - April 6, 2020
- Thankful For Great Cozy Mysteries - December 13, 2019
- Cozy Mysteries for a Perfect Fall - October 20, 2019