Maplecroft

Starred review from July 28, 2014
Lizbeth “Lizzie” Andrew Borden wields her axe against Lovecraftian entities in this terrifying and powerful series launch by fan favorite Priest (the Clockwork Century series). Two years after Lizzie infamously slew her mother and stepfather, she and her consumptive, scholarly older sister, Emma, remain in their hometown of Fall River, Mass., in an isolated and modified home called Maplecroft. Lizzie spends countless hours in her basement laboratory, trying to understand what transformed the Bordens into horrifying creatures, while protecting and caring for Emma and conducting a love affair with actress Nance O’Neil. Then Emma, who poses as “Dr. E.A. Jackson” to contribute to the men-only world of science, sends a biological sample to colleague Phillip Zollicoffer at Miskatonic University, with terrible consequences. Readers will be intrigued by the weird monsters and 19th-century science, but the story is really carried by the characters’ emotional dynamics, especially those between the Borden sisters. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Agency.

August 1, 2014

What if Lizzie Borden actually did kill her father and stepmother with an axe, but she had a really good reason? Lizzie and her sister, Emma, still live in Fall River, MA, ostracized despite Lizzie's acquittal years earlier. The townspeople don't know that Lizzie might be their only defense against ocean creatures who can possess their souls and change their bodies. This clever premise combines genuine horror and a legendary historical character for an entertaining read. As in the best horror, the exact nature of the threat is left a little vague, allowing the reader's imagination to fill in the details. VERDICT One could wish that the mechanics of the infection and the goals of the creatures were a little more (can I say it?) fleshed out, but this is apparently the start of a new series from Priest (Boneshaker) so we will surely learn more about the Lovecraftian horrors lurking off the New England coast.

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