Abraham van Helsing is probably the most well-known vampire hunter in literature, and whereas he vanquished the Rely, he might not have been one of the best father. His daughter Anneke is on the hunt for the creature who killed her father (she occurred to be the one individual to see this haunting creature), which has helped to gasoline her drive to turn into an achieved detective in Amsterdam. She lives together with her mom, who refuses to depart her house. Anneke’s obsession with the otherworldly, stunning girl who she noticed standing over her father’s physique is akin to her father’s obsession with the undead depend. However who… or what… is the lady Anneke is looking?
Anneke has an advanced relationship together with her father, Abraham Van Helsing—physician, scientist, and madman dedicated to finding out vampires—up till the evening she comes house to seek out him murdered, with a surreally stunning girl looming over his physique. A girl who leaves no hint behind, apart from the desires and nightmares that plague Anneke each evening.
Spurred by her need for vengeance and armed with the most recent in forensic and investigatory methods, Anneke places collectively a crew of detectives to catch her mysterious serial killer. As a result of her father isn’t the one inexplicably lifeless physique. There’s a path of victims throughout Europe and Anneke is definite they’re all linked.
However through the years spent relentlessly looking the killer, Anneke retains some essential proof to infuriatingly coy letters, addressed solely to Anneke, sometimes soaked in blood, and all the time signed Diavola. Satan. The obsession is mutual, and all of the extra harmful for it.
The nearer Anneke will get to her satan, although, the much less sense the world makes. Possibly her father wasn’t a madman, in any case. Diavola may be one thing a lot worse than a serial killer . . . and far tougher to destroy. As a result of as Anneke finds extra of Diavola’s tragic previous, she suspects there’s nonetheless a coronary heart someplace in that undead physique.
A coronary heart that beats for Anneke alone.
Anneke pulls collectively some like-minded people who need to see justice served as a result of her father isn’t the one sufferer. She makes a connection on account of the more and more weird and disturbing nature of crime scenes she investigates. I discovered some parallels to the crime scenes within the film Se7en. Pulling Anneke alongside her quest for vengeance and solutions are letters addressed to her, with the nickname of “Little Fox” and signed “Diavola” (There’s our title!). Anneke and her crew, in reality a discovered household, journey throughout Europe following Diavola. This discovered household is a splendidly crafted set of characters: her one-time lover David; his colleague and particular buddy Maher; and the younger Inge; daughter of 1 Anneke’s colleagues.
Anneke has just a few issues stacked in opposition to her. Diavola is clearly one thing different and supernatural, however Anneka doesn’t imagine within the supernatural. Anneke has, to place it mildly, daddy points. Abraham was so obsessive about the vampire, couldn’t overcome the grief of shedding his son when the boy was very younger, that he all however ignored Anneke. Lots of her actions – as she tells us within the first-person narrative – are in service to creating him proud regardless of struggling internally with the logic she holds that he seemingly would by no means acknowledge her. Because the novel takes place on the finish of the 19th and first couple of years of the 20th Century, Anneke is preventing in opposition to very robust gender norms as ladies on the time had been sometimes not detectives. Her colleagues consistently check her in methods they’d not check a person of her expertise and data. Lastly, and maybe most significantly because the novel progresses in direction of conclusion, are her rising emotions for Diavola.
There’s quite a bit happening on this novel from a thematic standpoint – parental points, romantic points, sexuality points, gender points, belief points, and science/expertise v. supernatural/people tales to call only a few. White blends these points and extra collectively in a tantalizing smoothie of a narrative. In different phrases, all of it works collectively extraordinarily properly.
The character dynamic was plausible, every character felt distinctive. Despite the fact that Inge and Anneke had been ladies doing a job most intently related to males, and fiercely clever, White used these related character traits to light up their uniqueness from one another. I additionally loved what Maher dropped at the discovered household and the way he served as a bridge between Anneke and David.
Then there’s Diavola… what a delightfully charming antagonist! She proves a beautiful foil to Anneke… confounding, engaging, alluring, and as we study extra about her, tragic. As she and Anneke are drawn nearer collectively and discover extra in widespread than not, the narrative pressure will increase even when the flavour of that pressure shifts. Diavola awakens one thing in Anneke, and this quest together with Diavola herself provides Anneke the power to beat her daddy points, imagine in herself totally in each method of who she is.
The Fox and the Satan is a novel that ticks a field been excessive on my record of late – a narrative on the intersection of crime thriller and supernatural horror. Whereas the novel isn’t precisely straight up horror, the crime scenes are pretty grisly and we’ve obtained vampiric demons as integral to the novel so there’s undoubtedly some stage of enchantment to followers of horror. In any case, it’s set on the earth of Dracula. White has performed with Dracula previously (Lucy Timeless, which I haven’t learn) as properly Frankenstein (The Darkish Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, which I learn and loved) to nice impact. What comes by right here is White’s respect and love for the uber-vampire novel and that she had a whole lot of enjoyable answering the query of “What would a narrative that includes Abraham van Helsing’s daughter appear like?” Effectively, I completely loved the reply and there’s sufficient room right here on the finish of The Fox and the Satan for extra tales that includes Anneke and her discovered household. I’m not saying a sequel is critical as a result of as a standalone, this was a beautiful novel, however I positive wouldn’t thoughts studying extra of Anneke and her crew.
Additionally, kudos to Andrew Davis for the beautiful, eye-catching cowl. The picture is beautiful and I favored the interaction of the colours.
I tore by this novel in a few days, I used to be so taken with Anneke and her quest for data, the relationships White launched and allowed to stay and breathe, and the supernatural component was dealt with extraordinarily properly. I wouldn’t be shocked within the least if The Fox and the Satan will stay close to the highest of my favourite reads of the yr by the point 2026 attracts to conclusion.
Extremely beneficial.
© 2026 Rob H. Bedford
Hardcover | Del Rey
March 2026 | 368 Pages
Assessment copy courtesy of the writer, Del Rey
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