Candice Reads's Reviews > Black River

It will come as no surprise that this book ranked HIGH on the Holy Shit Scale of Book Recommendations. Not just high. 10 out of 5 stars high.

I have been one of Will’s biggest fans from the early days of Dark Pines being quietly released into the world. I found Dark Pines (and Will) on book Twitter, where the book caught my interest and I figured I would just order a copy in from the UK and see what it was all about.

Cut to - we are on book three of the Tuva Moodyson series and this is now my SINGLE most recommended series that I demand people read, over and over and over and over. I LOVE THIS SERIES - LOVE IT. I could not say enough times how much I love it, and more, how the series just gets better and better as it goes.

For those who love the Tuva books as much as me, we are back in Gavrik this time around - the town Tuva swore off once and for all, luring her back with the one thing that truly matters to her: Tammy.

Let me tell you guys, the thing I love the MOST about Will’s books are his fierce, female, badass, flawed, wonderfully human characters in EVERY. SINGLE. BOOK. Tuva is not only queer, but also deaf, and riddled with her share of personality flaws that make her equal parts lovable and relatable . I cannot get enough of this character.

I love that she is a journalist who is time and again, focused on digging out the truth of any story (despite some of her more dangerous decisions to get there), and I love that not one single thing that she ever does is really outside the boundaries of reality. She doesn’t possess amazing ninja fighting skills, she doesn’t pack a gun around with her, she doesn’t ever get herself magically out of trouble using some James Bond-level skills that appear out of nowhere. She is so believable because Will writes her as so terrifically human - she does what she can, with the skills she is best at - investigating and reporting.

And in this plot, I love that the one thing that gets her back to Gavrik, after finally escaping it, was the disappearance of Tammy. Tammy, being of course, yet another incredible female character that I love (and therefore was entirely mad at Will for putting her in danger). However it was a plot that not only made sense, but also opened up Gavrik to another suite of incredibly bizarre and wonderfully strange characters.

Because that is thing two I love the MOST about Will’s books - he writes the MOST INCREDIBLY STRANGE supporting cast of characters, who are STILL somehow entirely believable and seriously, this is a skill set that does not get enough applause. I didn’t think I could love anyone as much as I love the Troll Sisters (creepiest characters EVER), but in this story I will take Sally, queen of snakes, as a close second. This terrifically strange woman who lives by the river and breeds snakes unapologetically. Who refuses to conform to what would be considered normal or even polite. Who gave me the heeby jeebies every time Tuva encountered her…..and somehow……you still end up with a bit of a soft spot for this completely insane woman. I wouldn’t mind having her as a friend, and I’m pretty sure she would know how to dispose of a body if needed (coughsnakefoodcough).

And that brings us to thing three I love the MOST about Will’s books - I defy you to find me another writer who can craft such stunningly atmospheric prose, that utterly TRANSPORTS you to the setting of the story. I feel like I have visited Gavrik in person, repeatedly. I feel like I KNOW that town. When I read these stories, I can smell the spaces, I can feel the heat, the rain, the damp, the fog. I can taste the food, it’s literally an echo of a dream that repeats in my mind. There are few writers that can truly paint a space for you to become fully immersed in, but Will is one of those writers. A talent to behold.

Ultimately the way Will weaves these characters around the missing persons plot is perfection - you never quite know what is coming next, but the tension is high page after page, the suspense chasing you and forever just out of reach of the answers. I am forever convinced I have the answer and Will forever proves me wrong. Three books in and three times over I had no idea where the story was going until it got there.

I could sit here and wax poetic about all the reasons I love the Tuva Moodyson series, but you don’t need me to tell you these things, you just need to get copies of all three books (Dark Pines, Red Snow and Black River) and join me on this bandwagon of some of the most incredibly satisfying reading you will ever do.

Go order them today - and thank me tomorrow.