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Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, her mother doesn’t allow Cordelia to have a single friend, and the only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with her mother’s beautiful white horse, Falada. It’s more than simple eccentricity that sets her mother apart, though. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.
When a man in their small down dies quite suspiciously, Cordelia’s mother insists they ride off in the middle of the night, leaving behind everything Cordelia has ever known. When they arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester, it quickly becomes clear that Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage. This can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.
Meanwhile, Hester has seen the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother. She watches how the girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. She knows something is amiss. If Hester hopes to save her brother from bewitchment and rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to find a way to face down the horrible sorceress, with only her wits and a little help from her closest friends.
A Sorceress Comes to Call retains all the symbolism of a darker retelling of The Goose Girl, complete with the roles of the princess, the maid, fancy geese, and a horse named Falada. However, its realistic Victorian setting and new trajectories make this an unexpected tale (even for readers who are familiar with the original story).
If there are any other readers like me who love fairy tales but shy away from books with horror labels, don’t be afraid to at least give this book a try. I found A Sorceress Comes to Call more creepy thriller than scary dark. Sure there’s that one scene with a horse. But other than that, do you want to know the scariest part of the story? Kingfisher uses the already twisted fairy tale of The Goose Girl as a base for presenting a horrifying story of domestic abuse and coercive control. The steadily building tension had me turning pages late into the night.
Overall, A Sorceress Comes to Call is an unconventional and inventive little tale. Its main characters are refreshingly real (like 51-year-old Hector, the no-nonsense reluctant heroine with a bad knee) and readers can’t help but fall in love with them. And, throughout it all, Kingfisher masterfully balances eerie and unsettling elements with satire and comic relief.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 11 uses of moderate language, 42 uses of mild language, 2 uses of the name of Deity, and 3 uses of British profanity (bl-). Sexual content includes two characters lying naked in bed together and reference to them being together for the night. Violence includes one gory and terrifyingly creepy scene with a horse. A woman is trampled to death. Trigger warnings for domestic abuse and coercive control.
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