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A review by ontheoffbeat
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 48%.
I just can’t be bothered to continue with such a floundering plot and meandering pace.
An Education in Malice doesn’t know what to do with itself. The dynamics between the main cast of characters is not dissected as tenderly as in Gibson’s previous work, A Dowry of Blood. The dark academic tone is light on the academia. Even the retelling aspect is weak. Aside from the names and the presence of vampires, this has nothing to do with the novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. (Having read Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth recently, I’m starting to think authors and publishers don’t actually know what a retelling is). The evocative setting of the Massachusetts-based college is all this book has going for it.
Did S.T. Gibson want this to be a mystery, a romance, a horror or a blend of all three? Seems odd that they maintained this balance brilliantly in one novel but not the other.
An Education in Malice doesn’t know what to do with itself. The dynamics between the main cast of characters is not dissected as tenderly as in Gibson’s previous work, A Dowry of Blood. The dark academic tone is light on the academia. Even the retelling aspect is weak. Aside from the names and the presence of vampires, this has nothing to do with the novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. (Having read Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth recently, I’m starting to think authors and publishers don’t actually know what a retelling is). The evocative setting of the Massachusetts-based college is all this book has going for it.
Did S.T. Gibson want this to be a mystery, a romance, a horror or a blend of all three? Seems odd that they maintained this balance brilliantly in one novel but not the other.