Review of Thirteenth Child

The Thirteenth Child is a dark retelling of the Godfather Death Grimm fairytale. This gender-bending, eerie novel is complete with dysfunctional family dynamics all around (which Craig does well in all her books!) and a surprising (but not shocking) villain reveal.

This is set in the same world as her House of Salt and Sorrow “series” (and Craig even reveals origin stories of a few characters mentioned in House of Root and Ruin) but this a standalone book. The god mythology is a mixture of Greek history and some that Craig has created herself.

The creativity that Craig shows in gender switching this Grimm fairytale makes this an intriguing and engaging read. The pacing does slow down a bit at times but for the most part, readers will want to continue to find out what is happening next. In The Thirteenth Child, we have a difficult and traumatic childhood, romance. healing skills, a (probably toxic) close relationship with a godfather, and a surprise HEA.