The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

I would like to thank Nazia from Orbit for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Orbit

Published – Out Now

Price – £8.99 paperback £10.99 Kindle eBook

In the town of Night Vale, there's a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone's home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from . . . until now.

Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Woman is revealed, as she guides, haunts and sabotages an unfortunate Night Vale resident named Craig. In the end, her dealings with Craig and her history in nineteenth century Europe will come together in the most unexpected and horrifying way.

Origin stories for characters are a big draw in fantasy. Most series start with new characters and where they will go. More recently there is a trend towards telling us about those characters we don’t know much about. Welcome to Night Vale is a long running podcast blending horror, SF, social issues and comedy into an unusual mix and The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home has been a character with clearly many secrets and now Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor seek to tell us all in their self-titled ‘autobiography’ where the Old Woman herself finally tells us her long life story.

For those not aware of Night Vale The Faceless Old Woman is an entity who seems to cause mischief when she wants to and is then at one stage aiming to become a Mayor of Night Vale (I admit I’m a few years behind now). Fortunately, the novel is focused on The Faceless Old Woman telling her life story and also her being focused on meddling into the life of Craig a seemingly ordinary Night Vale citizen. We discover that our main character was born in the late 18th Century on the Mediterranean to a father involved with smuggling; tragedy strikes and finds our narrator alone and seeking revenge against a shadowy cartel. Revenge, heists and murders await but ultimately Night Vale will become her future home.

In some ways I was quite happy with this story. It surprised me with being in it’s first half more a swashbuckling heist tale with our main character forming a crew and having strange adventures. All slightly tongue in cheek but with moments of violence and emotional pull that worked. But it felt more cut and pasted from other tales than its own thing an curiously flat in worldbuilding. There are moment of Night Vale’s traditional wit and humour, but it is fairly predictable who is our lead’s nemesis. Eventually it becomes very much a spooky revenge tale and finding how Craig fits into this is satisfying but I did think this felt a much smaller story being expanded to full length.

I think those new to Night Vale may find this a solid but strange tale while those experienced in the ways of the place may find it a little disappointing in it’s approach. For me interesting but some secrets may be better off unknown.