Our Wicked Gifts is an unputdownable YA thriller with these brilliant horror and speculative elements. Think Succession with a Faustian pact by way of Knives Out and know that you are in for one hell of a story.
Kathryn Foxfield consistently delivers excellent concepts, layered characterisation and interesting twists. I have enjoyed her work for a long time and am so delighted to see her getting the love she deserves. Her work builds on those brilliant ideas and turn them into chilling stories that leave a trace on your skin. This latest book continues that trend with possibly my favourite story from her yet.
This is a thrilling read with a well-constructured plot and whodunnit at its core. Foxfield carefully paces it with an atmosphere that keeps bearing down on you. It feels relentless and you cannot tear yourself away, mirroring Cicely’s increasing desperation to beat the clock and unveil the truth. This also felt like such a rich world with plenty more stories you could wander off and uncover. For example, I really loved the magic system in this book. It feels ancient and sprawling with this intensely privileged family exploiting this for their own ends. There is this history that we tap into a little but feels like there’s further depth to explore. With the magic, the way each gift manifests and informs that person’s way of navigating the world is fascinating. The characterisation is intertwined with their gift and that speaks to the way the power we hold shapes us.
Cicely’s gift is the perfect choice to place her as the protagonist with the ability to uncover secrets. While this may make her the perfect detective, it has far-reaching consequences for the way her family view her and her relationship with each of them. The journey she goes on through this book is delectable and something that I hope will land with the readers who need it. I also enjoyed the various relationships she has within the story and how they shift. Around her is this complicated, fractured family of the incredibly wealthy whose hands are drenched in blood. They are all fully aware of the cost of their luxurious lives and the power they wield. Foxfield has a fascinating thread of the idea of complicity and the way guilt affects us all in different ways. Cicely’s investigation unearths a lot of buried secrets and forces confrontations with actions that they would have rather ignore. It takes a familiar trope and takes it to totally new territory. There is also a romantic thread that I enjoyed and it adds even more emotional intesnity to the story. It feels believable and grows into something that makes your heart flutter but also exposes it to new danger.
Of course, the Winter family then starts meeting their demise in rather gruesome ways. There is this sense of dark humour that I thoroughly enjoyed and Foxfield balances it well in terms of tone. The horror is palpable but it is also evident in the sheer monstrosity of humanity you are grappling with, before you even start weaving in the speculative elements. That deal may end up being more of a curse and requires reckoning with your own place in the world, specifically what was sacrified for you to stand there. Everything builds to a brilliant conclusion that shatters your heart but may also give you a little hope.
Our Wicked Gifts is a brilliant mix of genres and delivers this wonderful Gothic romantasy thriller that puls you into its dark heart.
