Jennifer Giesbrecht’s debut, THE MONSTER OF ELENDHAVEN, delivers in its darkness. A monster without a name wanders the bleak city streets of Elendhaven, taking what he wants from who he wants. When he finds his life missing something, he stalks his next target, a secret sorcerer. Instead of robbing the man, he chooses to make a business proposition. Once hired, the two work together on a sinister plan to bring ruin, misery and murder down upon the city and its inhabitants while trying to uncover each other’s motives for doing so. But a mage hunter lurks in the shadows, hot on the sorcerer’s trail, and could be the duo’s undoing.

"This twisted tale is most definitely not for the faint-hearted. Parts of the book are gory, violent and quite dark, but there are also moments of warmth sprinkled throughout."

Giesbrecht’s prose draws you in from the first page. The world and characters of Elendhaven are rich and immersive, accompanied by gothic imagery so vivid that you can picture each scene in every bit of detail. Giesbrecht writes with a distinct voice that transports you into Elendhaven. The dialogue is lively, which is a nice change of pace from the grim setting, and I appreciated the dry, dark humor. The banter between the sorcerer and the monster is very entertaining, and their quirks and personality clashes make for an interesting dynamic.

I enjoyed the book so much that I wish it had been longer. For some of the parts that were summarized, I would’ve liked to have gotten more scenes, such as how the sorcerer perfected his plan or how the monster collected things for the plan. I also felt that it needed a bit more conflict to really hammer in the struggle that the monster and the sorcerer undergo as they execute their plot. Despite these reservations, the novel ultimately comes together in a satisfying conclusion.

THE MONSTER OF ELENDHAVEN is a quick read, about the size of a novella at approximately 150 pages. This twisted tale is most definitely not for the faint-hearted. Parts of the book are gory, violent and quite dark, but there are also moments of warmth sprinkled throughout. Lovers of horror, dark fantasy and gothic stories will want to add this one to their TBR list.