Review: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you enjoy gothic horror, I highly recommend this. This book is on the shorter side, but Kingfisher does a great job packing all of the creepy punches into this unique story. This is a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher: An Edgar Allan Poe Short Story, which I listened to right after finishing this, and while this is longer and has it's own unique spin it does keep faithful to the original work.

The Usher house is in complete disrepair much to Alex Easton's surprise when they come to visit childhood friends Madeline and Roderick. Easton received word that Madeline had fallen ill and may not have much time left in this world. Easton is not prepared for what they find on the Usher property from strange wildlife, oddities in the lake, as well as Madeline and Roderick's conditions. Easton is aided by Roderick's friend an American doctor and a woman who studies fungus. I enjoyed all of the characters, which is rare in a horror novel. Easton is a wonderful character who takes center stage trying to figure out what is wrong with Madeline and Roderick and a way to save them both. Ever a soldier, Easton always keeps their wits about them despite the strange happenings in and around the Usher house. I don't want to give too much away because it would spoil the story but this weird little book is great! I loved the dark, ominous feelings I got from the descriptions. The world building is excellent, Kingfisher does a great job describing things.

If you are looking for some other creepy books with a similar feel I also recommend Sorrowland and Mexican Gothic.

I was provided both a print and audio arc of this book via Netgalley, thank you to the publishers for allowing me to read this in advanced. As always, all opinion are my own.

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