Publishers Weekly
09/18/2023
Sayers (The Ladies of the Secret Circus) returns with a wonderfully creepy tale of ambition, loss, and the lure of an unsolved mystery. From a young age, Christopher Kent learned to take care of both himself and his unstable mother as they moved from motel to motel. Then she has a breakdown that he can neither handle nor conceal, triggered by seeing a photo of Gemma Turner, a Hollywood starlet who disappeared in the 1960s. Before this incident, Christopher had never heard of Gemma, but afterward, he makes researching her his life’s work, determined to uncover the connection between Gemma and his mother. This obsession lands him in film school—and, eventually, scores him an elusive invite to a private screening of Gemma’s final film, the experimental French horror flick L’Étrange Lune, a movie shrouded in intrigue. Gemma’s own timeline is interwoven throughout as filming for L’Étrange Lune goes horrifically awry. Sayers masterfully weaves a tale of multigenerational secrets, creating an enticing dance between past and present that will keep readers on edge. The psychological depth Sayers brings to the core mystery invites comparisons to Gillian Flynn, while the lost horror film at the center of the plot will put readers in mind of Sylvia Moreno-Garcia’s Silver Nitrate. Agent: Roz Foster, Frances Goldin Literary. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"Be warned! The Star and the Strange Moon will cast its spell on you. Constance Sayers has created a book of worlds within worlds. Like the main characters, the reader is irresistibly drawn into the dangerous intrigue and dark truth at the heart of the story. Highly recommended!"—Paula Brackston, New York Times bestselling author
"At once a sweeping tale of dark magic, artistic obsession, and a love unbound from the limits of time, The Star and the Strange Moon captivates with lush prose and moments of poignant, heartbreaking beauty. A soaring celebration of female agency and the power of free will, this is Constance Sayers at her finest."—Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain
"A wonderfully creepy tale of ambition, loss, and the lure of an unsolved mystery...Sayers masterfully weaves a tale of multigenerational secrets, creating an enticing dance between past and present that will keep readers on edge. The psychological depth Sayers brings to the core mystery invites comparisons to Gillian Flynn." —Publishers Weekly
"Obsession and dark magic collide in this labyrinthine blending of horror, fantasy, romance, and a touch of mystery." —Kirkus
"The mystery at the heart of the novel propels the reader through the story at a lightning speed, and it gets more and more interesting as the story goes on. With the atmosphere of horror and some fantastical elements, this multigenre read will speak to a lot of different readers."—Booklist
“Ambitious and teeming with magic, Sayers creates a fascinating mix of art, The Belle Époque, and more than a little murder.” —Erika Swyler, author of The Book of Speculation on The Ladies of the Secret Circus
"A spellbinding historical fantasy....Fans of Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus will love this page-turning story of dark magic, star-crossed love, and familial sacrifice."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Ladies of the Secret Circus
"At times decadent and macabre, The Ladies of the Secret Circus is a mesmerizing tale of love, treachery, and depraved magic percolating through four generations of Cabot women."—Luanne G. Smith, author of The Vine Witch on The Ladies of the Secret Circus
"A captivating tapestry of a tale, A Witch in Time weaves together the supernatural, historical fiction, and a humorous present day heroine, while traveling the macabre brambles of a dark curse-through lifetimes-with a compass to the heart."—Gwendolyn Womack, bestselling author of The Fortune Teller & The Time Collector on A Witch in Time
"Fresh and original... a narrative rich in historical detail, brightened by flashes of humor, and filled with colorful characters and fascinating settings. A most rewarding read!"—Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches on A Witch in Time
"A sweeping story of magical, star-crossed love, as glamorous as it is romantic. Prepare to be dazzled."—Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger on A Witch in Time
"Fans of Deborah Harkness will devour this page-turning tale of love, reincarnation, and dark magic. A highly unique and enjoyable read!"—Hester Fox, author of The Witch of Willow Hall on A Witch in Time
"Sayers traverses time periods effortlessly with lush, graceful descriptions....This spiraling narrative will appeal to fans of historical fiction and complicated love stories ."—Publishers Weekly on A Witch in Time
"With lush historical details and a wicked sense of humor, A Witch in Time fully immerses the reader in the story of Helen and her fated demon, unpacked like nesting dolls across time and lives, fortune and chance. From Belle Epoque France to modern-day D.C., from worlds pastoral, decadent, flashy to commercial, Sayers weaves a spell of love, lust and magic to create a page-turner like no other. All the thrill of a Discovery of Witches, with all the mystery and epic romance of Richard Matheson's classic Somewhere in Time."—Steph Post, author of Miraculum on A Witch in Time
author of Miraculum on A Witch in Time Steph Post
With lush historical details and a wicked sense of humor, A Witch in Time fully immerses the reader in the story of Helen and her fated demon, unpacked like nesting dolls across time and lives, fortune and chance. From Belle Epoque France to modern-day D.C., from worlds pastoral, decadent, flashy to commercial, Sayers weaves a spell of love, lust and magic to create a page-turner like no other. All the thrill of a Discovery of Witches, with all the mystery and epic romance of Richard Matheson's classic Somewhere in Time.
bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain Paulette Kennedy
At once a sweeping tale of dark magic, artistic obsession, and a love unbound from the limits of time, The Star and the Strange Moon captivates with lush prose and moments of poignant, heartbreaking beauty. A soaring celebration of female agency and the power of free will, this is Constance Sayers at her finest.
author of The Witch of Willow Hall on A Witch in T Hester Fox
Fans of Deborah Harkness will devour this page-turning tale of love, reincarnation, and dark magic. A highly unique and enjoyable read!
author of The Hunger on A Witch in Time Alma Katsu
A sweeping story of magical, star-crossed love, as glamorous as it is romantic. Prepare to be dazzled.
New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston
Be warned! The Star and the Strange Moon will cast its spell on you. Constance Sayers has created a book of worlds within worlds. Like the main characters, the reader is irresistibly drawn into the dangerous intrigue and dark truth at the heart of the story. Highly recommended!
author of The Book of Speculation on The Ladies of Erika Swyler
Ambitious and teeming with magic, Sayers creates a fascinating mix of art, The Belle Époque, and more than a little murder.
author of The Vine Witch on The Ladies of the Secr Luanne G. Smith
At times decadent and macabre, The Ladies of the Secret Circus is a mesmerizing tale of love, treachery, and depraved magic percolating through four generations of Cabot women.
author of A Secret History of Witches on A Witch i Louisa Morgan
Fresh and original... a narrative rich in historical detail, brightened by flashes of humor, and filled with colorful characters and fascinating settings. A most rewarding read!
bestselling author of The Fortune Teller & The Tim Gwendolyn Womack
A captivating tapestry of a tale, A Witch in Time weaves together the supernatural, historical fiction, and a humorous present day heroine, while traveling the macabre brambles of a dark curse-through lifetimes-with a compass to the heart.
Library Journal
09/15/2023
Actress Gemma Turner disappears while filming a horror movie in 1968. The movie seems to destroy everyone it touches, each and every time its mysterious owner brings it out of the vault. Christopher Kent watches his mother explode in anger at the sight of Gemma's photo. The mystery of how his mother was connected to the tragedy of the film is the obsession that powers his life. His ambition to solve the puzzle becomes a quest that makes, breaks, and separates him from the world around him. When he finds his answers, he ends up in paradise in a place that should be hell—and very nearly was for Gemma. This timeslip fantasy switches its perspective from Gemma's continued existence trapped in the film she disappeared from, with Christopher's life as he becomes increasingly obsessed with the cursed legacy of the film. Each story is riveting, but it's not until they start coming together that readers begin to see the manipulator behind the curtain, changing the meaning of everything that came before. VERDICT Readers who love timeslip fiction and twisty, puzzling stories will appreciate the latest from Sayers (The Ladies of the Secret Circus).—Marlene Harris
Kirkus Reviews
2023-09-09
Obsession and dark magic collide in this labyrinthine blending of horror, fantasy, romance, and a touch of mystery.
It's 1968, and at the ripe old age of 22, Gemma Turner, a fading star of American beach movies, finds her career in a shamble. She has one final chance at stardom when she lands a role in L’Étrange Lune, a French Nouvelle Vague horror film directed by arrogant and self-aggrandizing Thierry Valdon. Soon after shooting begins, though, Gemma vanishes from set and finds herself trapped within the world of the film as mysterious and malevolent forces pull the strings. Back in the real world, Gemma’s disappearance remains shrouded in mystery, and no one is more haunted by it than Christopher Kent, a Columbia film student in 1997. For more than 20 years, he been searching for reasons for his late mother's apparent hatred of the presumed-dead actress, and now he finds himself one of 75 people invited to attend a rare screening of L’Étrange Lune, with all the pomp and melodramatic circumstance one might expect of a secret society. While the book’s concept holds phenomenal potential, the execution drags. The awkward blending of genres may disappoint fans of horror and romance alike as large stretches of the book seem to completely forgo one or the other. The horror elements are never quite unnerving, and the romances suffer from a tell-don’t-show approach. Though the payoff connects all the loose strings, making for an entertaining section at last, the intriguing premise is hampered by the book's sheer length and uneven pacing. Sayers has demonstrated the importance of killing one’s darlings, as too many of this novel’s more than 400 pages would have been better off left on the cutting-room floor.
An intriguing, if scattershot, novel that would have benefited from substantial tightening.
