A review by keiraonyxraven
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When Mouse’s grandmother passes away, her father asks her to clean up the inherited house ready for resale, but this spiteful old woman held secrets and so did her long past husband. As Mouse begins to find clues and evidence of unusual events and strange phenomena, she begins to question if she and her beloved dog, bongo, are really safe in this old house and the land surrounding the property. 

This was a more slow-paced novel, but with copious amounts of suspense and mystery. I adored the build up of this story, it was creepy and unsettling and the use of repetitive language added another layer of eeriness. As with all their books, Kingfisher’s descriptions and settings really transported me within the story, and I cannot fault their ability to create an immersive and engaging reading experience. 

My only criticism of this novel was the ending. Unfortunately I felt that a lot of the threat was taken away at the 70% mark and it lost the unsettling factor from the build up that I really enjoyed. The threat was re-established in the last 5% and I enjoyed the very end, but I did feel that between 70% and 95% my interest dwindled at little. 

That being said, I still highly enjoyed this novel, the first 70% was almost flawless in terms of suspense and build-up, and the last 5% was adrenaline-filled and had a great twist. Overall, I would recommend this novel and would encourage any horror fans to give Kingfisher’s books a try.

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