Review: House of Bathory by Linda Lafferty
About Book
In the early 1600s, Elizabeth Báthory, the infamous Blood
Countess, ruled Čachtice Castle in the hinterlands of Slovakia. During bizarre
nightly rites, she tortured and killed the young women she had taken on as
servants. A devil, a demon, the terror of Royal Hungary—she bathed in their
blood to preserve her own youth.
400 years later, echoes of the Countess’s legendary brutality reach Aspen, Colorado. Betsy Path, a psychoanalyst of uncommon intuition, has a breakthrough with sullen teenager Daisy Hart. Together, they are haunted by the past, as they struggle to understand its imprint upon the present. Betsy and her troubled but perceptive patient learn the truth: the curse of the House of Bathory lives still and has the power to do evil even now.
The story, brimming with palace intrigue, memorable characters intimately realized, and a wealth of evocative detail, travels back and forth between the familiar, modern world and a seventeenth-century Eastern Europe brought startlingly to life.
Inspired by the actual crimes of Elizabeth Báthory, The House of Bathory is another thrilling historical fiction from Linda Lafferty (The Bloodletter’s Daughter and The Drowning Guard). The novel carries readers along with suspense and the sweep of historical events both repellent and fascinating.
400 years later, echoes of the Countess’s legendary brutality reach Aspen, Colorado. Betsy Path, a psychoanalyst of uncommon intuition, has a breakthrough with sullen teenager Daisy Hart. Together, they are haunted by the past, as they struggle to understand its imprint upon the present. Betsy and her troubled but perceptive patient learn the truth: the curse of the House of Bathory lives still and has the power to do evil even now.
The story, brimming with palace intrigue, memorable characters intimately realized, and a wealth of evocative detail, travels back and forth between the familiar, modern world and a seventeenth-century Eastern Europe brought startlingly to life.
Inspired by the actual crimes of Elizabeth Báthory, The House of Bathory is another thrilling historical fiction from Linda Lafferty (The Bloodletter’s Daughter and The Drowning Guard). The novel carries readers along with suspense and the sweep of historical events both repellent and fascinating.
My Review
5 Stars
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
I have always been intrigued by the tales of Countess Bathory (also known as the Blood Countess). She would kill and torture young women then drain them of their blood so that she could bath in it to preserve her youth. (ICK!!)
This is a story of Countess Bathory along side a story in set in modern times following Betsy Path, a psychoanalyst, and her patient Daisy Hart. This historical fiction has a unique twist as both of these stories unfold.
Linda Lafferty did a fantastic job connecting these two stories together. The story line was easy to follow, which was a big plus since it jumps between two time periods and different characters' points of view. This was my first book by Lafferty but it will not be my last.
Would I read it again?
sure
Would I recommend it to others?
yes
Would I read other books by this author?
yes
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