The Redwood Bargain

In a measured gothic fantasy, Grabo (Call Forth a Fox) offers a fresh take on “The Dwarf, the Fox and the Princess,” collected by the Brothers Grimm. Having gotten lost while hunting, Lord Barras of East Kernshire makes a deal with the Redwood Man, fabled sovereign of the forest: as compensation for the enigmatic entity’s safely guiding Barras out of the woods, the lord must send his stepdaughter, Lady Zaviera, as an offering. Zaviera and her sisters instead train a servant as an imposter. After the pretender’s violently murdered corpse is found at the edge of the woods—and two subsequent attendants meet similar fates—the siblings approach indentured kitchen maid Katrien, who agrees to the role following the ladies’ promise to free Katrien’s cousin, Helsa, from her own contract. Though the sisters’ training is grueling, Katrien finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Zaviera. When circumstances force Katrien into the woods ahead of schedule, though, Helsa endeavors to rescue her cousin from the Redwood Man. Following her departure, resolute Katrien’s sympathetic first-person narration seamlessly shifts to Helsa, whose wrestling with alcohol dependence and self-worth offers a cerebral counterpoint. Both are relayed via atmospheric prose underscored by visceral instances of body and ecological horror. Main characters read as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Tricia Lawrence, Aevitas Creative. (Apr.)