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A review by eshurricane
The Spider by Hanna Delaney
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is gothic horror done right.
The story is set in 1892 (mostly) and at first seems like a normal, run-of-the-mill haunting story, though it's subtle and focuses a lot on the characters and their inner demons. But things quickly take a turn and just hurtled me headfirst into insanity.
I love a good mystery, and the way this book was structured had my head spinning. Each new tidbit of information raised exciting new questions, and I found myself so delightfully confused as to what was really going on that the payoff was oh-so-satisfying in the end. I had so many 'OH MY GOD' moments during reading that my husband started asking me questions and I was updating him on the case and ruminating on all of the little details together.
I am a sucker for deep character introspection, and Delaney brought each and every one of these characters to life inside my head. Despite the extensive cast, I didn't have any trouble keeping track of them because they all have such clear voices and personalities. I also spent a lot of time on the fence over whether I found certain characters likeable because of the choices they made, which made them even more interesting and realistic. Even some of the minor characters (Jessops comes to mind) had great personality even with such a short time, and it made the world feel fleshed-out and lived-in.
I find a lot of mysteries seem to be wham-bam and follow a quick formula, but I loved the length of The Spider, taking turns to explore characters and enrich the experience. Playing with different moments in time and having sections of written letters allowed for plot to unravel in an interesting way that kept me questioning whether or not certain characters were reliable even in their own narrative.
Overall, absolutely adored this book, and can't wait for more Muldoon!
The story is set in 1892 (mostly) and at first seems like a normal, run-of-the-mill haunting story, though it's subtle and focuses a lot on the characters and their inner demons. But things quickly take a turn and just hurtled me headfirst into insanity.
I love a good mystery, and the way this book was structured had my head spinning. Each new tidbit of information raised exciting new questions, and I found myself so delightfully confused as to what was really going on that the payoff was oh-so-satisfying in the end. I had so many 'OH MY GOD' moments during reading that my husband started asking me questions and I was updating him on the case and ruminating on all of the little details together.
I am a sucker for deep character introspection, and Delaney brought each and every one of these characters to life inside my head. Despite the extensive cast, I didn't have any trouble keeping track of them because they all have such clear voices and personalities. I also spent a lot of time on the fence over whether I found certain characters likeable because of the choices they made, which made them even more interesting and realistic. Even some of the minor characters (Jessops comes to mind) had great personality even with such a short time, and it made the world feel fleshed-out and lived-in.
I find a lot of mysteries seem to be wham-bam and follow a quick formula, but I loved the length of The Spider, taking turns to explore characters and enrich the experience. Playing with different moments in time and having sections of written letters allowed for plot to unravel in an interesting way that kept me questioning whether or not certain characters were reliable even in their own narrative.
Overall, absolutely adored this book, and can't wait for more Muldoon!