Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - What Moves the Dead

I can’t put into words how much I loved this book. The characters, the plot twists, world building, everything about this book kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to put it down several times to digest what I was reading, so I didn’t read it in one sitting but definitely could’ve. Please read this if you like eerie, gross but cool stuff in your books. UGHHHH READ THIS BOOK ITS SO GOOD.

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cwu's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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magellen's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Love a Poe, love Kingfisher's retellings!
This book squicked me out worse than Mexican Gothic when it came to fungus - and OOF was I skin crawling within a couple chapters. Even so it was a fun quick read, rounding out the existing characters and story. Kingfisher brings in neopronouns tidily and as a nonbinary Alex myself it was a nice presence.

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keylime3_14's review

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No

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atlas_shruggs's review

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

2024 review
Reading this book again had me glaring skeptically at the fine hairs on my arms. Shivers. Easton is still so fucking funny holy shit, they are fully me if I was in a horror novel, constantly firing out sarcastic quotes and beautifully stereotyping Europeans and Americans. I'm still sad that it isn't longer but now that it has a sequel I can't complain.

2022 review
This was just a well written, eerie read that I could barely put it down.
Essentially, the book is a retelling of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, but I felt like it was so so much more than that. Just before reading this I listened to the audio book of the original story, and it definitely felt like it was lacking in so much substance. I get that it's an older short story, but much like T. Kingfisher, I felt myself wishing there was more to it than just "Guy visits creepy house, people die," and this did exactly that.
Easton was such a great narrator, having ka as the main character gave the reader more of a soldier's insight into what was going on, and getting the flashes of the horrors Easton experienced in the war really added to the gory factor of the story itself.
Also, just having a nonbinary character in a horror story set in the 1890's is such a rare occurrence, but having them be the main character? It felt revolutionary. It added so much in regards to gender roles, which Miss Potter's character did as well.
This was also way way funnier than I expected. Easton's sarcasm was so hilarious, I found myself openly laughing more than once.
If there was anything I would change, I would have wanted the book to be longer, but I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

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