Starred review from December 11, 2023
Arden (The Bear and the Nightingale) blends a meticulously researched WWI epic, an eloquent family saga, and a touch of the supernatural in this breathtaking historical fantasy. Nurse Laura Iven returns home to Halifax, Nova Scotia, after being wounded on the Western Front and honorably discharged from the medical corps. When she learns in early 1918 that her soldier brother Freddie—her last living family member—is missing and presumed dead, she’s overwhelmed with questions, so she volunteers to return to Belgium, where she’ll work at a private hospital and seek answers in her limited spare time. The narrative shifts between Laura’s perspective and Freddie’s own, a year prior, as he falls in with a mysterious and potentially mystical new friend, adding captivating depth and tension to an already intriguing premise. Arden’s carefully constructed plot makes each unexpected twist feel as inevitable as it is shocking. Through resonant prose, she literalizes the apocalyptic qualities of WWI while dwelling in moral complexity and delivering vibrant, fully fleshed-out characters. The interwoven supernatural elements lend the historical details greater weight. The result is a powerful page-turner. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.
Starred review from June 1, 2024
Arden's (The Winter of the Witch) latest follows heroic army nurse Laura Iven, who is honorably discharged from her position in Belgium and sent home to Halifax. There she receives her brother Freddie's soldier trunk; the mysterious contents lead her to believe that he may not have died in battle as she had presumed. Hoping to find answers, Laura volunteers to return to the front. Alternating chapters relay Freddie's story months earlier, wherein he and a German soldier named Hans form a bond after being trapped in a German bunker. The three characters independently meet an ominous figure named Falond, a fiddler of local lore said to steal men's souls. Is he just a man, or perhaps the devil himself? As Laura's search deepens, the characters' stories intertwine until the shocking conclusion. January LaVoy is adept in her portrayal of Laura, who is desperate to find her brother amid the horrors of World War I. Michael Crouch skillfully portrays the lost Freddie, who is transfixed by the supernatural world and may be too far gone to save. The audio production is superb. VERDICT The combination of a riveting story and excellent audio narration makes this a must-have for most libraries.--B. Allison Gray
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