How does Kingfisher crank out so many books in a year? Also, what happened to her in North Carolina? I’m starting to suspect supernatural encounters.

In Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher, Sonia Wilson is struggling to make ends meet. She’s a skilled illustrator, but entering the male-dominated world of scientific research is extremely difficult, even with her father’s excellent research to give her own intellect some credence. However, she manages to secure a position with Dr. Halder, the reclusive but brilliant entomologist, so she travels to his home in North Carolina to begin work. Once she arrives, though, she finds there seem to be strange things in the woods. The residents murmur about “blood thieves” and some of the animals are acting strangely… and her employer appears to be keeping secrets, which might turn out to be treacherous, even deadly. Sonia is determined to discover the truth, but wonders if she’s meddling with dangers she can’t handle.

To be perfectly honest, I had completely forgotten the protagonist’s first name. It’s hardly used in the book, and I had to look up the book description online before starting this review. That said, I liked her well enough as the heroine. She’s not as amazing as Anja from Hemlock & Silver, or as witty as Alex from What Moves the Dead, but I still was rooting for her. She’s sometimes a little frustrating, as she’s often absolutely in denial about what’s going on, but I personally feel that this is more due to her being unaware of the genre of story she’s in. I may know this is a supernatural fantasy book with horror elements, but she doesn’t. And with her scientific mind, it makes sense that she would struggle to accept the rather un-scientific weirdness occurring around her.

As for that weirdness, I thought it was pretty cool, in a horrifyingly gross way. Obviously, the idea of small organisms being able to affect another being’s behavior is a popular and compelling idea (just look at books like Mexican Gothic or shows like The Last of Us). And here, it’s still got the usual spookiness and disgusting elements, but I think it’s somewhat overshadowed by the other stuff going on. This felt less like tiny creatures taking over a person’s mind and more an odd supernatural entity. The two ideas didn’t quite mesh the way I wanted them to, and made the lore feel a bit muddy.

That said, there are some solid moments of horror, filled with tension and creepy imagery. Kingfisher does a good job of giving the scary moments the gravity and darkness they need, while injecting the story overall with a sense of charm and humor at times. However, some of these moments are a little gory, even more so than the weird flesh creature in Hemlock & Silver, so be aware of that if you’re not looking to feel grossed out.

Beyond that, I liked all the characters. Kingfisher demonstrates her usual flair with creating lively side characters. Dr. Halder was awful, but in a way that a creepy old man antagonist should be. The other staff at the manor house were great, and… well, other characters are sort of spoilers, so I’ll just say that they’re solid too. And honestly, the side characters interacting with Sonia is where most of the fun is with this book.

In the end, Wolf Worm was enjoyable, but far from my favorite offering from this author (though the audio, narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal, was good). It has lots of elements I like that are signature Kingfisher things, but I feel like I’ve seen most of them executed better in other books. The setting is great, the entomology facts (sometimes twisted into fiction to suit the narrative) are interesting, the characters are excellent, and the plot is compelling. I just think that comparatively, this doesn’t stand up to the likes of What Moves the Dead and The Twisted Ones for me. Not that that’ll stop me from reading Kingfisher in the future; don’t be ridiculous. I just joined a small book club with my friend that’s dedicated to reading some of her old work, so brace yourself for me to keep talking about her for months, if not years, to come!

Wolf Worm will be published on March 24th, 2026!