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Book: “Snake-Eater” by T. Kingfisher
Publishing Info: 47North, December 2025
Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley audiobook!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: When Selena travels to the remote desert town of Quartz Creek in search of her estranged Aunt Amelia, she is desperate and short of options. Fleeing an unhappy marriage, she has exactly twenty-seven dollars to her name, and her only friend in the world is her dog, Copper.
On arrival, Selena learns Amelia is dead. But the inhabitants of Quartz Creek are only too happy to have a new resident. Out of money and ideas, Selena sees no harm staying in her aunt’s lovely house for a few weeks, tending to her garden and enjoying the strange, desolate beauty of the desert. The people are odd, but friendly, and eager to help Selena settle into her new home.
But Quartz Creek’s inhabitants share their town with others, old gods and spirits whose claim to the land long predates their human neighbours. Selena finds herself pursued by disturbing apparitions, visitations that come in the night and seem to want something from her.
Aunt Amelia owed a debt. Now her god has come to collect.
Review: I love how prolific T. Kingfisher is! Not only that, but she writes across a variety of genres, from fantasy to romance to horror! And here, while still including horror elements, she seems to be dabbling in the cozy subgenre as well! As such, this wasn’t perhaps my all-time favorite book of hers, but there was still much to enjoy!
For one thing, I very much enjoyed our main character Selena and the low-key exploration of emotionally abusive relationships and their impact on an individual’s self-esteem and ability to interact with the world. We often see examples of more overt forms of abuse, but sometimes these quieter versions are all the more horrific for the fact that they go unnoticed by others. What’s more, they are the sort where the victim often struggles to even name the reality of what’s going on, gaslighting themselves into thinking that as long as they aren’t being physically harmed, nothing could be wrong. Selena’s arc and slow recovery from this treatment was so well done.
Of course, her journey was much aided by the phenomenal cast of found family characters whom she meets and befriends in her new hometown. There was such variety and charm to all of these characters that I’d have a hard time picking a favorite! A few standouts would include the priest (a character who had some surprisingly reflective comments on religion) as well as the wacky radio DJ! I also enjoyed the villain of the story, in particular the rather tongue-in-cheek “monster romance” bits of it all!
The horror elements were quite light, so readers who enjoy Kingfisher’s darker books may need to temper their expectations here. There were a few chills here and there, but much less than in her other works. I also felt like the ultimate conflict was resolved a bit too quickly and neatly to be entirely satisfying.
Beyond that, while I think this is one of the better versions of a cozy, “day in the life” sort of book, I did struggle a bit to really invest myself in this story. Much of the page count is taken up by interactions between characters as Selena builds her found family and small, quiet moments in the desert and her home. Kingfisher is a talented author, so the character work was all high quality, but I simply enjoy more plot in my books than this sort of cozy work will often have.
Overall, this was a sweet book that explored themes of emotional abuse, religion, and personal agency. There were a few thrills here and there, but it definitely fell further on the cozy side of the spectrum. Fans of T. Kingfisher should definitely check this out, especially those who enjoy her less horrific books!
Rating 8: A lovely found family story that perfectly captures the wild strangeness of the desert, but a bit light on the plot for my particular taste.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Snake-Eater” can be found on these Goodreads lists: [ATY 2026] Bird on Cover and All the New Horror Books Arriving in December 2025.
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