morawynsmom's review
5.0
Wow, what an amazing book! I LOVE historical/gothic horror that is not over-the-top cheesy or littered with sleazy sex-scenes and pointless gore. This book centered around a medieval serial killer, Gilles de Rais, and it had just enough history and horror to keep me frantically turning the page to see what would happen next. There were things I disliked, sure, but they were extremely minor, like use to language and the repetition of adjectives and nouns, but that is just a personal pet peeve of mine. This was told from multiple points of view, which usually I do not get into, but it worked in this case and I really dug all of the characters, from the peasant girl, Jeanetta, to the cook, Colette, to Gilles and his horrible guard. The ending was a surprise as it REALLY just went from historical horror to just plain horror, and at first I did not think I would be into it, but I totally was. Can't wait for her next book.
claben's review against another edition
2.0
I was excited to read this, and the premise - besides being a classic case of true horror - was set up well, with an appealing main character and the seeds of some fascinating themes about duty, complicity, and freedom in a highly stratified society. Unfortunately the pacing was clunky and repetitive. As a result the latter half of the book fell apart, with characters developed at length being (in some cases literally) tossed aside in favor of an ending that was neither conclusive nor meaningfully ambiguous, but just sort of... there, as a set piece.
claben's review
2.0
I was excited to read this, and the premise - besides being a classic case of true horror - was set up well, with an appealing main character and the seeds of some fascinating themes about duty, complicity, and freedom in a highly stratified society. Unfortunately the pacing was clunky and repetitive. As a result the latter half of the book fell apart, with characters developed at length being (in some cases literally) tossed aside in favor of an ending that was neither conclusive nor meaningfully ambiguous, but just sort of... there, as a set piece.
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