REVIEW: The Devil and Mrs. Gooch: A Novel by Oliver Darkshire
From the best-selling author of Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil, a new, hilarious novel in the Household Gramarye universe.
In the storm-drenched city of Verdigris, home to indolent sorcerers and undead hotels, something is dreadfully wrong. Buildings are starting to crumble due to the kidnapping of their hobs, the many-legged house spirits that keep each home in order. In such times, one would ordinarily blame the Devil, but he has been enchanted by a new and enticing evil: The jackbooted villainy of Gwendolyn Gooch, who has taken the hobs for her latest diabolical scheme—apartments for rent. As the hobs retrofit the gaudy Gooch Towers, the fate of the city lies in the hands of the arboreal Professor Green; his rare, complete set of the Household Gramarye; and its famulus, the prim Mrs. Bobkins.
A delightful new novel in a series “perfectly cut to fit the Pratchett-shaped hole in my heart” (C. M. Waggoner), The Devil and Mrs. Gooch is witty, imaginative, and brimming with charm.
The Household Gramarye series may be read in any order you wish, as wizards care little for strict sequentiality.
Dear Mr. Darkshire,
I will confess that I liked “Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil,” part of the Household Gramarye series, but I didn’t love it unconditionally. Still when I saw this new addition (which can be read in any order) I decided to request it. Here is the request – “I enjoyed the first book in this universe and fell in love with several of its characters but most especially with Gwendolyn Gooch. This is a woman who Gets Things Done. She’s the type of person you both love and love to hate – depending on which side of her schemes you’re on. I will fully admit that the footnotes in “Isabella Nagg” weren’t my favorite part of the book but the universe is one I’d love to delve into more.”
Full disclosure time – in this book Gwendolyn is definitely someone to hate. And yet, you’ve got to admire her sheer greed, her determination to Have It All and by All I mean All. Gwendolyn has A Plan to grip the city of Verdigris by the throat and shake every last coin or bit of a person’s treasure from the situation. Even if that might cost one of her many children to suffer. What is a child for but to further her mother’s plans after all? Fair Warning here.
I also found myself, and this is astonishing, sympathetic for the Devil. The Devil is captivated, dare I say smitten, with Gwendolyn as he’s never met someone as ruthless, someone so single minded and wrapped up in her schemes of triumph. Her greed astonishes the Devil and her many schemes and plans put his best efforts almost to shame. Soon he’s almost her pet lapdog, helping her to make life for everyone in Verdigris simply horrible and helping make Gwendolyn even richer. All the gold in the world is too little for this woman.
In the mix is Professor Green who is a Green Man, one of the few left. He loathes teaching his wizard classes and wants nothing more than to slide into retirement in the scriptorium but on a “seek and find” mission to a remote monastery he finds the Holy Grail or rather a complete set of the Household Gramarye. Filching – um, I mean taking it back to Verdigris to be studied, he realizes that its keeper has come along for the ride and Mrs. Bobkins is a strict taskmaster.
The creatures who Gwendolyn has seized on – well, just seized – to assist her are the household hobs of Verdigris. Every building has one and they are what holds these buildings together. Once Gwendolyn sets her plan in motion, not only does she get free help (honestly, did you think she’d pay them??) but, when the unseized hobs go on strike to free their fellows, the houses they’ve left also begin to rot, forcing the inhabitants to seek shelter at Gwendolyn’s new Gooch Towers. And you think your HOA or landlord is harsh? Try living in a standing room only oubliette beneath Gooch Towers after having to hand over everything you own of value to get even this.
Weird and clever are two words that I think describe this book. I moaned about how much description and footnotes “Isabella Nagg” has but either I was ready for these in this book or they’ve been scaled down a touch. Either way I breezed through this book even if at times, such as when ‘eventually not so random’ bits of information which can be found in a Gramarye are eased into the story, I was a touch confused. Do I understand everything now that I’ve got to the end? No, not everything. Am I amazed that I was rooting for the Devil to escape the wrath of Gwendolyn? You betcha. At the end, I thought that the information stating that these books can be read in any order might not be correct before – Ooooh, a twist.
The Devil and Mrs. Gooch is a bit campy, humorous, witty, and twisty. Readers need to be ready to just keep going and not worry about understanding the plot if there even is a plot. It’s the journey and the characters here. If reading the second sentence of this paragraph makes one think “Uh, no.” then this is probably not the book for you. I must be getting used to the writing style because I’m giving this one a B. And yes I kept wondering if Gwendolyn Gooch is supposed to remind me of ruthless 0.1% multibillionaires. Judge for yourself.
~Jayne
AmazonBNKoboBook DepositoryGoogle
Leave a Reply