Hemlock and SilverReview posted May 21, 2026.
Macmillan Audio, 2025. 11 hours, 50 minutes.
Review written April 17, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
So far, I've thoroughly enjoyed every T. Kingfisher book I've read. This one has the added bonus of a self-described "middle-aged" heroine, and that's always nice for a change. This is cozy fantasy with a dash of creepiness - if mirrors in the dark already spook you, this could make it worse.
Anja is a specialist in poisons and studies them looking for antidotes. She keeps a venomous snake and regularly milks its venom to use to speed up the heart as an antidote for other poisons. Of course she tests it on herself - after roosters, but before trying it on patients.
And then, one day, the king walks into her workshop.
The king believes that his daughter Snow is being poisoned and wants Anja to find a cure. Snow has been unwell since the day the king killed the queen - when she was cutting their other daughter's heart out.
Anja doesn't feel skilled in working with people, and especially not 12-year-old girls. But she is good at solving mysteries and figuring out poisons. So she goes with the king to the palace where Snow is staying, along with two bodyguards, in case the poisoner doesn't want to be found out.
Anja finds Snow eating a strange-looking apple. Naturally, she tests it on herself - and then falls through a mirror into another, reflected world. It stirs her scientific heart, but there's still a lot of work to be done to figure out why Snow would effectively poison herself. And how does the mirror world work.
I wouldn't call this a retelling of "Snow White" - but many of the elements are there, and it does have that fairy tale feel. There's a dash of romance thrown in as well, along with some mystery and danger. I blame this book for me staying up far too late the other night while working on a jigsaw puzzle.