Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet. Today I’m sharing my review of the short story What The Dead Know, story number four in the Into Shadow collection. You can find my reviews of the previous stories below:
- The Garden (#1)
- Persephone (#2)
- The Six Deaths of the Saint (#3)
Synopsis
A woman posing as a medium who can channel the spirit world comes face to face with the truth in this short historical fantasy by Hugo Award–winning author Nghi Vo.
The Fogg River Seminary, a girls’ school in a small Illinois town, is supposed to be just another stop on Maryse and Vasyl’s endless travels. They’ve made lucrative use of Maryse’s “foreign” looks in their melodramatic séance act — and an act is all it is. Then, during their performance, a blizzard sweeps in and cuts them off from town completely. In the freezing halls, there’s a voice speaking the secrets of the dead, and Maryse has no choice but to listen…because this time, the voice is real.
Review
This was a really creepy read, with the undertones of racism and sexism to match the time period it is set in. When the real ghosts start pulling the strings behind their act, all Maryse can do is allow them to take control, and hope they will spare her.
But it’s not her that the ghost’s anger is aimed at, and while she is used as a vassel to put across a message, it is the man who chases her through the corridors who should be afraid. Because this ghost is angry, and haunted, and back.
Written with a bluntness that cannot be avoided and a beauty that will leave you aching for more pages, this is the perfect addition to a story collection with this title. Meryse and Vasyl work in the shadows, hide in the shadows, and will now forever be followed by shadows. A wonderful short read.
Thanks for stopping by for this short story review. I can’t recommend this collection more highly, and my reviews of the last few stories are to come.
And On She Reads 