Hemlock and Silver is a reimagining of “Snow White” (with a small reference to the fairytale “Snow White and Rose Red”). Our Protagonist is a woman named Anja who is a Healer with a specialization in toxicology. Or, as close as you can get to toxicology when you are relying on the Four Humors to figure out potential antidotes. (And as close to being a healer as you can be when you have encyclopedic knowledge of poisons because you do medical research but can’t set a bone. And have no bedside manner.) She works at the temple of Saint Adder, who has “healing” under his purview, and tends to dress like a nun, much to the dismay of her sisters.
Anja is approached by the king, because his daughter Snow is extremely ill, and he’s starting to suspect poison. This is an offer for work that Anja cannot possibly refuse–due to the king being a king and all that–so she accepts the job. However, what’s going on is much more complicated than a simple poisoner. Anja’s investigation hits numerous roadblocks–and there is something very creepy going one with the mirrors. Creepy things that Anja doesn’t want to believe because that would be magic, and Anja is a scientist.
The “Snow White” elements are well integrated with the plot. (Which was not necessarily the case with A Sorceress Comes to Call, which was a good book, but a less successful retelling of “The Goose Girl.”) There are no dwarfs, but there is gray one eyed cat. (Anyone who has listened to Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap or follows Ursula Vernon on Bluesky will recognize Sergei The One Eyed (Possibly) Russian Blue.) “Snow White” edges slightly into the body horror genre, and I think I’m going to slightly creeped out about standing between mirrors for a while. (Thanks, I already have a Thing about mirrors: I don’t need another Thing.)
This book is a fast read, and there are some romantic elements that lightens the creepier moments. Anja is assigned two body guards, and one of them ends up pulled into the investigation. (Javier decides that if Anja is going to keep doing insane things, he should stick with her…and this leads to attraction and romance.) The romantic elements includes the traditional “Misunderstanding That Would Be Resolved if They’d Just Talk.” Fortunately, when this element appears in a Kingfisher work, the misunderstanding is generally a) legitimate and b) they actually do talk about it in an reasonable amount of time. This book has some interesting twists and turns.
This review is based on a galley received from NetGalley.
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