The Void by J. D. Horn

The third of this series of books is perhaps the best yet, from a pure fantasy point of view.  The Line is much more prominent here with less real bickering between the families and the anchors and more time seemingly spent on Mercy and her unborn child and how the revelations of Peter's origins will affect them all.  To me the writing felt more intricate with less of "this happened and then this happened because of it", things are certainly more convoluted in this book and we learn so much more about the purported origins of the line.  The action is unrelenting and the only thing I was a little narked with was constantly being told that only a few months have passed during the telling of the tale from Book One to now.

The scene setting is extraordinary and you really get a sense of the locations in this volume that makes them seem almost the other side of Mother Jilo's Haint Blue Room.  Maybe this is just the accumulation of the knowledge gained from the previous two installments but I felt that this book moved everything up a level whilst stepping beyond the fairly straightforward tale of witches in Savannah and their rather complicated entanglements.

I did wonder how certain plot points would be resolved, particularly with Maisie but the way in which they are eked out and not telegraphed is really rather enjoyable.  The twist at the end was certainly unexpected and left me eager to reach for book number four but as that is the last in this series I am rationing myself and will have to wait at least another week before indulging.

I would caution that these books are read in order else little here will make sense, particularly at the end of the tale where you will be wondering who on earth is that and why have they made an appearance at the end.  I know some readers felt this was a let down from the previous two but I thoroughly enjoyed it, maybe because of the fantastical steps taken within the plot and the resolutions this has caused at this point.  The writing is vivid and sucks you right in to the damp heat and makes you feel like somehow you are now part of The Line.