Will I love The Promise of Plague Wolves?

My first book from Hall's Dorin Toth historical horror series but by no means my last. The world we are plunged into in Promise is grimy, war-ravaged and harsh. Toth is investigating a supernatural affliction on a town whose roads are out of bounds and, soon after his arrival, the evil that resides in this place begins to reveal itself.
The main character, as well as the supporting cast, are fantastic. The sense of place and time are wonderfully, vividly realised. The research which has evidently gone into the story must have been enormous, but the value of that research… show more.

This is a darker kind of historical fiction. Dorin Toth is a representative of the church who travels with his dog, Vinegar Tom, to investigate occult occurrences.

Taking place in Austria 1686, this story absolutely drips atmosphere; the menace and the horror are expertly layered in so that you are absolutely ‘there’. Toth also has to fight the prejudice against him because of his Romany background, and it is this, his desire to do right by folk who would rather see him dead, that makes him such a compelling character.

Utterly atmospheric, you couldn’t better this if you like historical… show more.

The Promise of Plague Wolves is set in 17th century Austria, a time when plague and pestilence ruled the world. But it’s not just smallpox that ravages the countryside here; there’s a second plague, too. One whose origin is occult in nature, a plague that preys on the minds and souls of its victims

Coy Hall manages to set a story deep in the past yet make it accessible to a modern audience, while at the same time retaining the feel of the era in which it is set. Truly admirable!

The historical research is impeccable, too, but that’s not… show more.