Hemlock and Silver

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher

A retelling of Snow White with a creepy mystery and interesting world to drive the story.

Anja is an expert in poisons, often testing them out on herself to find cures and heal people.

She is recruited by the King to help his dying daughter, Snow. The Queen has been killed by the King for cutting out the heart of their other daughter. Now the King is desperate to save his remaining daughter, Snow, who is slowly dying of a mystery illness, which he suspects to be poison.

I was intrigued to read this book as it reminded me of the manga/anime “The Apothecary Diaries”. As I enjoy reading female leads and unusual horror stories, I thought this might be fun. I have also read other books by the author and enjoyed them all.

The world-building is full enough without being the focus of the story or distract your attention from the storyline. I did need to think about the description of how certain elements of the world worked but it’s also easy to just believe what the author is telling you and read away.

Recommend for those who enjoy fairytale retellings with a dark theme and creepy mystery. Although there is a love-interest it certainly isn’t the main theme of the book and is also not usually what the author writes about. So if you want to avoid a love interest, but still want a creepy read, then I recommend Hollow Places.

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher

Lorraine