• Author: David Annandale
• Series: Standalone
• Genre: Sci-fi/Horror
• No. of pages: 288
• Year published: 2019
• Publisher: Black Library
• Dates read: 19.11.2019 – 25.11.2019
• Rating: 4 stars

Another Warhammer 40k book and another impressed India!

Thank you, Black Library and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Plot: In a bleak corner of the city of Valgaast, the House of Malveil awaits. A place of darkness, its halls throb with a sinister history. Its rooms are filled with malice. Its walls echo with pain. Now it stirs eagerly with the approach of an old heir. Colonel Maeson Strock of the Astra Militarum has returned home to his ancestral mansion. He is a man broken, both by the horrors of war and by personal loss, and has come home to take up the mantle of Planetary Governor. He hopes he can purge his home world of political corruption and reforge connections with his estranged children. He hopes he can rebuild his life. Malveil will feast on these dreams. Strock believes he has seen the worst of the galaxy’s horrors. Malveil will show him how wrong he is.

I thought that I would need to know everything about this world to enjoy these books but that is not the case!

I liked the political storyline that weaves its way throughout this novel. While the story focuses more on our main characters experience with the house I felt that including the political storyline added some variance to the story and kept me engaged. I really enjoyed watching our main character trying to take down the corruption of his hometown as I feel corruption is so prevalent in today’s society.

The writing was really good but I found that I enjoyed it the most when I read chapters that included our main character exploring and spending time in the titular house. Especially, the chapters when it was set at night. The atmosphere created had me looking over my shoulder or leaving the light on before I went to sleep as it was incredibly creepy and conjured up very scary images in my mind. Not something you want to be thinking of before you went to sleep.

I loved that we had this mystery surrounding the house and surrounding Eliana, the main character’s wife, who passed away before the main events of the book. I love a good mystery so I was really invested in finding out the truth.

I also felt that the ending was incredibly satisfying. It happened exactly the way I wanted it too!

The next book I will be reviewing is Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon. Another cosy murder mystery for the winter. I just absolutely love them!