I Come with Knives

March 9, 2020
Hunt’s Malus Domestica series loses steam in this convoluted sequel to Burn the Dark. The tale gets off to an exciting, action-packed start as witch hunter Robin Martine—still reeling from discovering a demon guarding her late mother’s house in Blackfield, Ga.—formulates a plan to eradicate the Lazenbury coven and reunites with her mentor, Heinrich Hammer, but the numerous narrative threads soon become difficult to track. Unbeknownst to Robin, the demon prowling the house is an incubus who had an arrangement with her mother, the fallout from which threatens her relationship with Heinrich and draws an order of magicians to her aid. Meanwhile, the Lazenbury coven commits numerous atrocities using a pair of crooked cops and a serial killer known as the Serpent as instruments of their bidding. Though the conceit of this fantasy universe remains inventive and inviting, the color and detail of the characters have diminished as the worldbuilding expands, taking on new, sometimes contradictory, rules. Series fans will be pleased to return to Blackfield but will have trouble untangling this one’s plot.