Review of A Sorceress Comes to Call

This Grimm’s Goose Girl inspired tale is disturbing and creepy, and is now one of my favorite Kingfisher tales. She certainly knows how to weave a Regency-era tale that doesn’t fully dive into horror but certainly gives the reader enough unsettling details that warrant reading with the lights ON.

Of the original tale, we’ve got the princess, the mother, the maid, the geese tender/guard, the geese themselves, and Falada the horse. T Kingfisher has mixed all of the original characters and plot lines up, and what she created has a vague connection to the original tale but kept the grim part.

I love the inclusion of Hester, the 50-something year old, incredibly intuitive, unmarried spinster with a creaking knee and cracking sarcastic wit. And our main character Cordelia finding and embracing her voice is a fulfilling denouement.

Without giving too much away, I would caution that any reader interested in a sweet Goose Girl tale should instead pick up Shannon Hale’s version. But if you are curious about a darker retelling that is gritty and disconcerting, look no further than A Sorceress Comes to Call. (The audiobook version was good!)

Trigger Warnings: abusive and coercive control, violence, death