In this novel that draws strongly from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Christina Henry has created a haunting sequel that digs deeper into the tale of the Ichabod Crane, Brom and Kristina, and the Horseman.
It has been more than thirty years since the Horseman chased Ichabod Crane from Sleep Hollow. Brom and Katrina are married and are now raising their grandchild. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play “Sleepy Hollow boys” and reenact Crane being chased by the Horseman. But one day while playing, Ben and a friend stumble across a headless body in the woods. Could the Horseman have done this?
Ben is now determined to find out the truth about the Horseman, a being she longs to ride with. Why does he have such a pull on her? Could it be because her grandmother, Katrina, always wants her to dress like a girl and do girlish things even though she is a tomboy who loves to wear breeches and roam the woods?
She learns from her grandfather (a man she had no clue was her grandfather) about the Kludde, a creature he claims followed someone to Sleepy Hollow from Germany. Is the Kludde responsible for the mysterious deaths that have taken place?
The Horseman was unputdownable from the first page. I love The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and this book only adds to my pleasure of that timeless tale. It is the perfect sequel to that story, answering many of the questions it left in my mind while creating a few of its own. The setting is wonderfully creepy, the characters are well-developed, and the story is magnificent.
I was sent a copy of The Horseman by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. If you would like to read this unputdownable novel, I’ve provided an Amazon link for you below.
Amazon Link: The Horseman
Recommended Articles:
Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook – a Review
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: the Book, the Audiobook, the Movie, & the Series – a Review
Favorite Sentences:
The dark silhouette seemed to unfold—no, unfurl, sinuous and soft—and I thought how can an animal stand like a man?
It was like the Hollow was caught inside a soap bubble, or maybe a spell—always the same, never growing or changing.
For a moment, it felt like the wind and the leaves were trying to lasso me, trying to hold me in place, to keep me from moving forward.
Then it smiled at me, and the smile was something horrible, somehow so much worse than anything else.
Such a creature should never be revealed in sunlight, should never be touched by something as warm and good and wholesome as the sun.
New Words Learned:
coquette – a woman who flirts
diorama – a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale museum exhibit
insular – ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one’s own experience
horse apples – dried horse droppings
Kludde – A malicious spirit from the desolated parts of the Flemish countryside, the Kludde is said to have the ability to generally take the form of a winged black dog with a blue flame flickering around its macabre visage. Its wolfish nature had led many myth enthusiasts to define the Kludde as a werewolf or even a manifestation of the Devil himself.
http://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/26/10-bizarre-mythical-monsters
pique – a feeling of irritation or resentment resulting from a light, especially to one’s pride
About the Author:
Christina Henry is the author of the Chronicles of Alice books, Alice and Red Queen (The Chronicles of Alice), a dark and twisted take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook, an origin story of Captain Hook from Peter Pan.
She is also the author of the national bestselling Black Wings series (Black Wings, Black Night, Black Howl, Black Lament, Black City, Black Heart, and Black Spring) featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle.
She enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombie,s and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
You can visit her on the web at www.christinahenry.net, facebook.com/authorChristinaHenry, twitter.com/C_Henry_Author, and www.goodreads.com/CHenryAuthor.
