Hannibal meets Mistborn in Marina Lostetter’s THE HELM OF MIDNIGHT, the dark and stunning first novel in a new trilogy that combines the intricate worldbuilding and rigorous magic system of the best of epic fantasy with a dark and chilling thriller.
In a daring and deadly heist, thieves have made away with an artifact of terrible power—the death mask of Louis Charbon. Made by a master craftsman, it is imbued with the spirit of a monster from history, a serial murderer who terrorized the city.
Now Charbon is loose once more, killing from beyond the grave. But these murders are different from before, not simply random but the work of a deliberate mind probing for answers to a sinister question.
It is up to Krona Hirvath and her fellow Regulators to enter the mind of madness to stop this insatiable killer while facing the terrible truths left in his wake.
i enjoyed this one. So much. it’s so underrated.
This is going to be a fascinating series, and i’m already extremely excited to see what happens next. The Helm of Midnight has one of the most complex and interesting magic systems i have read about in a while, or maybe i should say it has 4 very interesting magic systems. As any first book in a series like this one, it’s alot of world building and information thrown to the reader, but i felt like Mariana Lostetter did it perfectly. I never felt overwhelmed or bored. The story gets a bit slow in the middle, but i was attached to all the characters so i had no problem just spending time with them and following the investigation. The story gets dark and disturbing at times, which is something i always enjoyed in my stories!
We get 3 POVs. Krona is our main girl. I really like her chapters. She was strong and smart and i love her relationship with her sister. I always enjoy a good sibling connection. I also adored her interactions with Thibeau. i need to see more of him, and more of them together. Next, we have Melanie, it took me a little while to get hooked on her story, but once i did, i couldn’t wait to be back in her POV. but what really made this book standout is Louis Charbon’s POV.
Holy crap. Those chapters were incredible.
I seriously LOVE how she constructed Charbon’s back story. We know from Krona’s chapters that he is a terrifying serial killer, but seeing it unfold in his own chapters added a layer of complexity to the storyline.
And i have to mention her writing style too. There’s like a million quotes i’ve underlined.
Go read it. It’s a great book, and i’m sure the rest of the story is going to be an amazing ride. The Helm of Midnight can easily be read as a standalone, but there’s still alot of secrets to be uncovered.
THE HELM OF MIDNIGHT : 4.5/5
Sarah in Zombieland 
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