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I so enjoyed A.G. Slatter’s All the Murmuring Bones a while back that I was hoping the author had written more. Sure enough, she has. And there are more stories set in the same world as Bones. So I picked up The Path of Thorns first.
Here, a woman in her late 20s travels to a remote but wealthy estate to become a governess to the Morwoods’ three children. Asher has her own reasons for going to work at Morwood Grange, and she keeps those secrets close. She gets to know the children’s father, Luther, and his wife, Jessamine. She also spends a lot of time with the grand old matriarch, Leonora. The latter has had weak eyesight for a few years and spent that time cooped up in her rooms. But Asher has skills with herbs and potions and uses them to cure Leonora’s sight.
Meanwhile, the village has some good people who respect the Morwoods and work for them in various capacities. But the woods hold fearful creatures, and a ghost has taken up residence at the estate.
Asher has to navigate all of these people and goings-on as she pursues her goals. But it may be more difficult to accomplish precisely what she anticipates.
The Path of Thorns, much like Bones, is filled with fairy tales and things that go bump in the night. It’s also filled with secrets from the past, magic, and peril. It’s a decidedly satisfying as a gothic tale. I just didn’t love it nearly as much as I did Bones, with whatever its precise mixture of elements was that made me so happy. Even so, readers who love dark fairy tales should appreciate it.
Rated: High. Profanity includes 8 uses of strong language, 15 instances of moderate profanity, one use of mild language, and one instances of the name of Deity in vain, as well as a few uses of British profanity. Sexual content includes one completely “off-screen”/closed-door scene and a few other brief scenes that have some detail. There are some mentions of nudity. Violence includes deaths and injuries and some blood.
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