Genre: Paranormal, Thriller
LGBTQ+ Category: Ace, Pan/Bi, Gay
Reviewer: Sherry
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About The Book
Haunted woman claws her way back to reality by reconnecting with her magical powers in The Talking Cure, a supernatural Yuletide follow-up to The Big Cinch.
Committed to an insane asylum, Violet Humphrey is isolated on the Illinois prairie with only her own thoughts and a persistent new voice in her head for company. When she is accused of murder, Violet suspects her road to both freedom and recovery lies through confronting her painful past and solving the crime. Magically summoned, Sean Joye skids through an ice storm to help Violet, but can they catch the killer and defy an eldritch horror before Violet loses her tenuous grasp on reality?
“The Talking Cure is a marvelous story—an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery infused with a strong sense of the Weird… and a hearty dose of magic on the side. It’s ideal for all fans of the sinister, the surprising, and the strange.” —Cherie Priest, award-winning author of Boneshaker
Warnings: suicidal ideations, references past harm to child.
The Review
“My brain said Violet was way out of line. My gut told me something else.”—The Talking Cure
This is an engaging noirish ghost story. In many ways, it reminded me of an old HBO series called “Cast a Deadly Spell.” It’s also an eldritch horror story with some touches of historical fiction like this story is. Brown’s The Talking Cure is a well-crafted, atmospheric, Lovecraftian novel that I almost didn’t read because it had a trigger warning.
That warning aside—those are references to the murder of a child from Book 1, The Big Cinch (the Sean Joye Investigations series)—the story was both riveting and creepy. The main character, Violet Arwald, has a somewhat tenuous grasp on reality. She’s a witch who has been criminally committed to a mental health institute – an asylum – as a result of the previously mentioned death. The death was a quite grim blood sacrifice.
Now, months after her commitment, there’s been a murder at the asylum. Violet seems to be implicated, requiring her to reach out to a private eye, Sean Joye, to help absolve her of the murder. But he’s a ghost, and an ex-IRA gunman too.
Although the two are linked by enchantments discussed in the previous book, and the murder may be somehow connected to Violet’s unhappy past, you won’t need to read The Big Cinch first since The Talking Cure is standalone. The oblique references to Violet’s past do, however, explain why Violet is so very trusting and dependent on Sean’s investigatory skills. And it’s a good thing too, because soon enough there are a host of problems to be dealt with – more murders, the possible appearance of Cthulhu, an Indian burial ground, and New World fairies.
The noirish and Lovecraftian aspects of the story are accentuated by the differing points of view, and a clever use of nursing notes and psychiatrist notes as part of the narrative. I especially liked that part because I’m a former psychiatric nurse. It gave the story a touch of realism that many won’t appreciate, although they will surely appreciate the intent.
Four-and-a-half stars for a spooky, eldritch horror story cleverly written in noirish style.
The Reviewer
Sherry Perkins has worked as a licensed practical nurse for more than thirty-five years and has experience in psychiatric/addictions nursing, nursing-care coordination, and risk management. She earned a BS in health sciences from Campbell University and has spoken at public health functions on topics such as addiction prevention and treatment, prevention of teenage opioid deaths, and connecting patients who are resistant to treatment with appropriate services.
A mother of four, Perkins lives with extended family on the Delmarva Peninsula, where she enjoys collecting shells and sea glass; reading and writing mysteries, science fiction, and fantasy; doing organic gardening; and following the Dave Matthews Band around the East Coast