Publishers Weekly
★ 06/13/2022
This powerful novel from Ward (The Last House on Needless Street), originally published in the U.K. in 2018, won the August Derleth and Shirley Jackson awards. Justifiably so, as Ward’s skillful weaving of horror and mystery forms a dense, rich tapestry. In 1921, Little Eve commits a mass murder so heinous that, a quarter-century later, the villagers of Loyal still whisper about her attack on those with whom she shared the island of Altnaharra: cult leader Uncle, who ruled with honeyed fingers and the bite of a captive snake; Nora, perpetually pregnant; Dinah, tempted by the wider world; and Baby Elizabeth, a mute and filthy 11-year-old. Multiple narrative voices fill in the details of what happened, which initially appears to be a familiar, albeit exceptionally well-told, description of an incestuous cult devolving to its horrific end. Then Chief Insp. Christopher Black, in an improbable white suit, meets Eve on a woodland path, and the expected trajectory shifts deliciously. Ward works in so many motifs—Bible resonances, colonialism, science versus faith, and the pall of war, to name just a few—that the play of imagery is as engrossing as the plot twists, making this a rewarding outing from any angle. Horror fans won’t want to miss this. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Ward’s skillful weaving of horror and mystery forms a dense, rich tapestry....The play of imagery is as engrossing as the plot twists, making this a rewarding outing from any angle. Horror fans won’t want to miss this.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"Ward is back with a proven winner ... disquieting, atmospheric ... impossible to look away." —Booklist, STARRED review
"Little Eve is the sort of book that will both surprise and shock you...It’s delightful and disturbing by turns, and almost impossible to put down once you’ve started." —Paste Magazine
“As elegant and strange as it is dark and complex. …One of Ward’s best books, and that’s saying a lot. …[I]t’s a book every lover of dark fiction should read.”—Locus Magazine
“Told in dual timelines, Little Eve is a deliciously spooky book, with prose like whispers on the wind. This one is for fans of cult stories (like me) and the gothic (also me), with dynamic characters and intense pseudo-religious psychology.” —Tor.com
“Haunting, stunning, Little Eve offers a grand tension to shatter the world. Ward is consistently brilliant, and her deft hand once more guides us into humanity's deepest shadows. Atmospheric and unforgettable.” —Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth
“A wonderful literary gothic tale.” —Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes
“A smart and moving examination of self delusion and the lengths people go to to keep faith.” —Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
“A sublime, utterly compelling tale which grabbed me by the lapels and wouldn't let go.” —Irenosen Okojie
“Brilliantly plotted, wonderfully well written and full of surprises.” —Andrew Cowan, author of Pig and Worthless Men
“Little Eve brims with dark energy, full of haunting, surprising turns. You will be guessing and gasping till the end.” —Philip Womack
