Stephanie Parent's Reviews > Agnes and Cat

I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Agnes and Cat drew me in and kept me engrossed till the dramatic conclusion. Claire L. Smith excels at plotting and characterization, with the story and mystery never dragging, and plenty of compelling characters to follow. The novel uses a dual timeline, simultaneously taking us through Agnes's traumatic childhood, and the trauma that has come back to haunt her as an adult. The timeline is really effective in allowing us to get to know characters better, seeing them both as children and adults, and allowing us to understand what's truly going on in Redwood Forest along with the characters.

Agnes and Cat is based on very dark, traditional fae folklore which has much more in common with horror stories than, say, Tinker Bell. The author really captured the essence of this folklore, the way the fae have always felt to me like an embodiment of nature's capriciousness and cruelty. At the same time, this novel feels like a gritty, ultrarealistic crime novel, and somehow these two strands of dark realism and dark fantasy work together perfectly. This took a lot of skill on the author's part!

Agnes and Cat is a compelling, dark yet hopeful story that I highly recommend!