FICTION

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library

by Hester Fox
Graydon House. Apr. 2023. 336p. ISBN 9781525804786. pap. $17.99. F
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This latest historical novel from Fox (following A Lullaby for Witches) begins in post–World War I England with recently orphaned Ivy Radcliffe learning that she’s inherited Blackwood Abbey and is, in fact, Lady Hayworth—descended from an ancient bloodline. To keep the inheritance, she must live in the abbey, where she finds prickly staff and a dusty library. Rumors abound about the property and the library’s secrets. Some say it is haunted, others claim the house on the Yorkshire moors is cursed. As a cult maneuvers for access to the library and its fabled holdings, Ivy learns the terrible truth of what she’s inherited and must act to save herself or become its latest victim.
VERDICT Fox excels at women’s fiction with a supernatural twist. This title has hues of gothic romance and horror, moving at a leisurely pace before exploding into furious action. Readers of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic and Sarah Penner’s The Lost Apothecary will be swept up in the story and find much to like.
Reviewed by Mara Shatat , Apr 14, 2023
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