I fell in love with the book within the first 50 pages. The little description of the characters I got to read and the events that took place were enough to spark an interest for me to keep on reading. The chapters were short, something or the other kept happening, there were a myriad of characters to love and hate and the story had a mix of spookiness and thrill perfectly blended with mystery and supernatural elements. You couldn’t guess what was real or not. 

I loved the women characters. A man has written them and he put a good amount of effort creating a mix of female characters whose personalities did not overlap and who loved and supported each other! And the historical setting may not be accurate but the author didn’t shy away from depicting the accuracy of the rotten nature of men under the control of the worst vices. God it became so horrific when the devilry of men came into being. 

I loved Arent and Pipps! Such a sweet duo. Arent especially being a giant but actually a gentleman in heart. Making him a central character along with Sara was really the USP of this book! 

The book started as a 4 🌟 read for me. I was really worried that mid way I will get disappointed as a huge book can develop issues with the pacing but I have no complaints on that front. 

The climax and the reveal were great. I loved the characterisation that we got to see in the end. I would very much like to read another book centered around the five of them. 

My only qualms would be how the detective work of the book was handled. The mystery was built really well. The criminal atmosphere was built in such a way that it seemed there were multiple perpetrators involved in the crime. However the mystery solving part wasn’t shown very much and hence us readers were left grappling in the dark throughout. Some parts became guessable but only because of the knowledge one might possess about how such mysteries in books typically end.