📕 Title: The Fox and the Devil
✏️ Author: Kiersten White
📖 Genre: Gothic Fantasy
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
📝 Standalone Novel, First Person / Third Person POV

Anneke Van Helsing’s father is many things—a doctor, a scientist, and obsessed with the study of vampires. When Anneka arrives home one evening to find him murdered, she catches only a glimpse of the killer—a mysterious woman—before she vanishes without a trace. Anneke’s investigation reveals a string of connected murders, making her even more determined to find this serial killer. Then, letters start arriving, addressed only to her, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola. As Anneka learns about Diavola’s tragic past, she begins to suspect that her father wasn’t crazy, and that the serial killer may be something more than human.

REVIEW

Thank you to the publisher for the digital copy!

This Gothic fantasy is inspired by the story of Dracula, following the daughter of the infamous Van Helsing as she tracks down her own vampire. The story is primarily narrated by Anneke, interspersed with Diavola’s letter and  third person perspective chapters focusing on other characters, including victims of the murder spree.

This sapphic relationship puts the slow in slow burn, but while Anneke and Diavola are rarely face to face the two are obsessed with each other, consuming each other’s thoughts even while they are apart. I especially enjoyed the letters from Diavola, and the women’s cat and mouse dynamic as they each hunted the other.

The supporting characters were well fleshed out and I quickly grew to care for them. The Gothic 1900s era world was immersive, especially in the way it drew on real world events such as the Paris Exposition Universelle, as well as real people and technology of the time.

While the overall pacing of this novel is slow, the gruesome murder cases and Diavola’s mysterious connection to the deaths kept me turning the page. I thought I knew where the story was going only to be pleasantly surprised by what I hadn’t even considered! This was an enjoyable read, and a story to take your time with.