Janice Y. (jai) reviewed on 12/4/2006 + 310 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 5

I think this leaned more towards horror for me than fantasy, the murders in this book were very graphic and chilling. I had to pause every so often before I could move on. The idea is very genre-bending : in a midieval castle setting with fantasy elements thrown in (ghosts, magic items, a curse), the head of security Dubric has to use primitive forensics and detective work to determine who the serial killer in the castle is. As a sub-story there is a romance between a poor chambermaid and a young noble. A very gritty tale with a lot of hard characters in it. Siler Jones is sparing with her character's backstories, it takes chapters into to find out why so-and-so feels strongly about something, and it also takes that long to understand the hierarchy in the castle and to understand more about the world and religions in it. I suppose that is just good world building, though I feel almost like the story could have begun earlier in some aspects. I also felt some frustration at the mob mentality in the book and how everyone was quick to blame head of security Dubric for not finding the killer and how he got very little respect in a stressful job. Again - kudos to the writer for making me respond emotionally. Anyway, recommended if you would like to try a book that is not formalaic.

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