T Kingfisher. Titan Books, (176p) ISBN: 9781803369709. Horror, read 21/09/25, Paperback ★★★★★

What Feasts At Night

As soon as I started reading this episode of the Sworn Soldier I remembered why I love T Kingfisher’s writing so much, barking with laughter within the first chapter whilst the gothic dread builds up in the background. A fine balancing act indeed.

In this episode we find Alex and Angus visiting a Gallacian hunting lodge that belongs to Alex having invited Miss Potter, Britain’s foremost mycologist, for a visit to study the fungus of the local area.

On arrival the lodge is empty and run down, the caretaker nowhere to be found and an eerie silence surrounding the area, more so than the usual dank Balkan gloom.

After finding out that the previous caretaker had died of a mysterious chest ailment that no one in the local village wants to talk about, they set about hiring help to fix up the place and provide meals for the visiting Miss Potter.

It’s here that things start to take a supernatural twist with an old folk monster at the centre of it all.

Written with pace and panache, T Kingfisher takes us on another fantastic gothic journey following the actions of the dashing(?) Lieutenant Alex Easton in solving the mystery at the core of the haunting.

This is full of gothic atmosphere that only a Balkan country can give to a story, dark misty looming forests, isolated villages full of reticent villagers, modernish priests with a doctor friend, and stolid companions.

I ripped through this not wanting to put it down but also not wanting it to end it is such a great read.