Book Description 

Faolan Kelly’s grandfather is dead. She’s alone in the world and suddenly homeless, all because the local powers that be don’t think a young man of seventeen is mature enough to take over his grandfather’s homestead…and that’s with them thinking Faolan is a young man. If she revealed that her grandfather had been disguising her for years, they would marry her off at the first opportunity.

The mayor finds a solution that serves everyone but Faolan: He hires a gunslinger to ship her off to the Settlement, a remote fort where social outcasts live under the leadership of His Benevolence Gideon Dillard. It’s a place rife with mystery, kept afloat by suspicious wealth. Dillard’s absolute command over his staff just doesn’t seem right. And neither do the strange noises that keep Faolan up at night.

When Faolan finds the body of a Settlement boarder, mangled by something that can’t possibly be human, it’s clear something vicious is stalking the palisades. And as Settlement boarders continue to drop like flies, Faolan knows she must escape to evade the creature’s wrath.

My Review 

This book has elements of fantasy and paranormal, but then there’s also the Western setting, resulting in a highly original story. 

Faolan is an intrepid narrator, a girl disguised as a boy for her own protection. She is mourning her grandfather and would have been perfectly content to remain on her beloved homestead, but must learn to adapt to living in the Settlement, unsure of who to trust. 

The suspense builds slowly, although there are clear signs from the very beginning that Something Is Amiss. The characters are somewhat archetypal, but that’s more forgivable in YA. 

The ever-present feeling of dread kept me engaged while reading, wanting to find out what was going to happen next or if we were finally going to get to the Big Reveal. 

I would recommend Red in Tooth and Claw. I’m looking forward to reading more from McBride in the future. 

I received a digital ARC of this book from Penguin/NetGalley.