This was a truly creepy book. I really liked it. Lizzie Borden is a character I would read about again in a heartbeat. I love the twist on the original history. I loved the nasty creatures and Lizzie's bad ass ax. One of the creepier books I have read during the last year. It had a little of everything. Great characters, a love story, and things that go bump in the night.

Priest is a great writer. Her biggest talent is her ability to adapt and change styles to fit the story she is telling. She can put some mean sentences together and I found myself rereading paragraphs out loud because I loved the way the words sounded together. I might go back and listen to the audio book someday. One of my favorites this year and if you are in the mood for some creepiness this book is for you. ( )

Overall, 3.5, but I'm rating up here because the creep factor was off the charts good. I read while doing basically everything, including while brushing my teeth, walking down the street, cooking food, talking to people, and watching television. I could not read this while I was eating and I was apprehensive about reading it just before bed. It's not hugely gory, although there is a good deal of violence, but it's skin-shivering creepy. Many others have called it Lovecraftian, which is apt, except that Cherie Priest is actually a good writer.

Without getting too spoilery, I really loved the idea behind the story (Lizzie Borden had a really good reason for those 40 whacks) and I quite liked how the story unfolded in bits and pieces (dribs and drabs might be more appropriate given the it-comes-from-the-sea vibe). I liked how, despite nothing being really explained and the way the mystery seemed to only expand, I felt satisfied by the ending. I'm looking forward to the next volume.

Where this failed for me is the format. It's told in an epistolary fashion, with journal entries, correspondence, and so forth, which I generally love but it's a conceit that is not at all successful here. It reads like narrative, complete with dialogue, but it's difficult to forget that you're supposed to be reading a diary (mostly because the characters often reference that they are making journal entries). The great thing about epistolary novels is having to fill in the blanks, especially with journal entries that skew so heavily to that particular character's prejudices. If this had been strictly correspondence, all of the narrative would have made more sense.

This is definitely not going to appeal to everyone, because the pacing is quite slow and there is really zero resolution, but I think Gothic and Lovecraft fans would dig it. ( )

A very fun modern and creepy take on Lizzie Borden.

Ever since I watched the movie and the netflix series I have a sort of fascination with the character and was really glad to find a book by my beloved Cherie Priest, featuring her.

Loved the splatter, the demons, the anguish, the queerness, the lovecraftian vibes. I don't think a book could ever be more tailored to my likes -women writen with a feminist pen, splatter, creepy old houses, eldrich abominations, queer love, a plot. It has everything, while managing to stay true to some of the historical facts about the Borden sisters.

It is better than its sequel and really worth reading for any fans of the genre. ( )

I love the idea of a mashup of Lizzie Borden and Lovecraft, and the author clearly tried to evoke the Lovecraft epistolary "horror on the edges" style. But 2.5 hours into the audiobook I was still waiting for something to hook me. The 1st person diary/notes format was full of boring exposition and failed to develop any kind of mysterious horror tension. ( )

I'm having trouble picking a rating. I liked the commitment to the gothic mood and the premise that maybe Lizzie Borden had a Very Good Reason to make free with her axe. There were moments when the plot really took off for me. And then some other times when I tired of one or more of our epistolary narrating characters. But it certainly was new and different. So I'm giving it the 4th star for that. ( )