A sorceress comes to call / T. Kingfisher.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes A Sorceress Comes to Call --a dark reimagining of the Brothers Grimm's "The Goose Girl," rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic.

*The hardcover edition features a foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.*

Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn't have any doors between rooms-- there are no secrets in this house --and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.

But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don't force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren't evil sorcerers.

When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.

"Kingfisher never fails to dazzle."--Peter S. Beagle, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning author of The Last Unicorn

"Kingfisher is an inventive fantasy powerhouse."--BookPage

Also by T. Kingfisher
Nettle & Bone
Thornhedge
What Moves the Dead
What Feasts at Night
A House with Good Bones

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Cordelia's mother is an evil, murderous, self-centered sorceress who has decided to entrap a rich squire and set them up in style so that Cordelia can trap an even richer husband with her magic. But the sorceress has picked the wrong mark, and it will be her downfall. It's not the squire she's up against--it's his sister. Hester sees right through the sorceress, with some surprising assistance from an increasingly desperate Cordelia. Together, they marshal their forces in the hopes of defeating the sorceress and winning freedom. This is another one of Kingfisher's marvelous works (like the Hugo-winning Nettle & Bone) that takes elements of fairy tales, myths, and legends and blends them into a story that feels both familiar and new at the same time while subtly weaving a novel where women play the parts that men traditionally filled, and men serve as helpmeets, sidekicks, and love interests. Even better, the middle-aged heroine both saves the day and gets her happily-ever-after. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers who enjoy reimagined legends.--Marlene Harris

Publishers Weekly Review

With this riff on the Brothers Grimm's "The Goose Girl," set in a fantasy world inspired by Regency romances, Hugo Award winner Kingfisher (Nettle & Bone) continues her hot streak of deeply compassionate, thrilling, and often laugh-out-loud fairy tale retellings. Cordelia, 14, grows up in a house without closed doors. Her mother, Evangeline, is a dangerous enchantress who regularly compels her into total obedience. The first time Cordelia's allowed some privacy is when Evangeline moves them into the home of her suitor, Squire Samuel Chatham--a home Evangeline means to seize and remake to her specifications by whatever means necessary. The Squire's sister, Lady Hester, feels an awful presentiment of doom and is on the defensive around Evangeline, but only Cordelia knows the true, murderous extent of her mother's powers. Can Cordelia speak up against a mother who controls her so completely? Would Hester even believe her if she did? The dual narrators--terrified fish-out-of-water Cordelia and tenaciously sensible Hester--are nuanced, distinctive, and frequently funny. Kingfisher's remarkable skill for crafting scene-stealing secondary characters is also on full display in ruthless cardsharp Imogen Strauss, über-competent butler Willard, merry widow Penelope Green, and the mysteriously magical horse Falada. Expertly blending humor with folkloric horror, this incredibly satisfying fantasy will delight Kingfisher's fans and newcomers alike. (Aug.)

Booklist Review

Kingfisher's newest novel (after What Feasts at Night, 2024) melds a fairy-tale retelling of "The Goose Girl" with a bit of Regency-style romance. Like the Brothers Grimm fable, there are geese, a magical horse named Falada, and a young girl abused by her caretaker. But the girl is not a princess, nor does she tend any geese. Her mother, Evangaline, is an avaricious sorcerer who will do anything to get what she wants--including commit murder. Unfortunately, 14-year-old Cordelia has always been subject to her mother's insidious control. By using sorcery, Evangeline can make her child's body obedient to her every wish, controlling everything Cordelia says and does. When her current benefactor spurns her, Evangeline moves them to another town and sets out to seduce an elderly, wealthy Squire. What she had not planned on was the Squire's geese-breeding spinster sister, Hester, who is able to sense the approach of evil. When Cordelia is instructed to distract Hester, she begins to grow closer to this new family that has so readily accepted her. But she is terrified of what will happen if her mother's scheme fails. Dark fantasy fans will be enraptured by the descriptive narrative and well-developed characters.