BELLADONNA

In this gothic fantasy, a girl must negotiate her relationship with Death.

Signa Farrow has spent 19 years pursued by Death, starting with her first party at the age of 2 months, at which every other guest drank poisoned wine and died. Death attempted to take Signa that night as well, but while she cannot die, she can see him. Now 20 and only months away from receiving her inheritance and taking her longed-for place in society, Signa deliberately poisons herself with belladonna in hopes of confronting Death. After a slow and confusing start—that poisoned party is never addressed again—Signa finds herself living with previously unknown relatives at the beautiful but haunted Thorn Grove, where one person has recently died and another lies in bed, mysteriously wasting away. Gothic trappings and a vaguely 19th-century pastiche of England provide atmosphere; Signa’s decision to discover the poisoner propels the often languid plot. Most of the action is between Signa and the two men who help her, Sylas, a mysterious stableboy, and Death, who turns out to contain surprises. Signa’s character arc—she goes from wanting to be a proper young lady to an independent, freethinker—is propelled largely by her burgeoning sexual desire. Secondary characters are mostly White with a few expressly stated exceptions among the well-to-do.

Lots of mood, less substance.