Wasp Oil

Wasp Oil by A.G. Flitcher is a dark, spellbinding work of fiction that plunges readers into a dystopian world of supernatural horrors, political intrigue, and psychological torment. One of the greatest nightmares of Halburton has been Chelsea Tygrah, and now she is gone, but is she really? Something new, horrifying, and utterly sinister replaces her, like a shadow left behind. There is an evil eating into the hearts of those it can penetrate, and the strange orange light that follows everyone’s move is a being with sinister intent. Rosaria Castilla is a dedicated detective who becomes embroiled in a series of bizarre, violent events linked to Frankie Branza and a series of gruesome murders. As Rosaria unravels the tangled web of corruption, dark secrets, and supernatural forces, she confronts her own fears, and the city no longer feels like a place to be. It is on the edge of chaos. Does she have what it takes to face the revelations that are about to upend her career, even her life?

There was so much to enjoy in this book, and the first thing that captured my interest was the beauty of the prose. A.G. Flitcher has that economy of word, even in his descriptive prose, that is enjoyable. He beautifully captures the unsettling atmosphere in the bleak, snow-covered city of Halburton, a place rife with abandoned apartment buildings, underground tunnels, and corrupt institutions. The premise is introduced with Chelsea, a character who is not alive in this book, but whose presence can still be felt, one who speaks of evil, and the transition from her to Frankie Branza is superb, introducing the horror that characterizes the story. You will feel as though you are thrust into the world of Gotham, a dark, disturbing world where you are never sure of the what the next horror might look like. The characters are sophisticated, starting with Rosaria, whose gritty determination kept me watching out for his fate, to Geneva’s secretive nature, to Frankie Branza’s perverted wealth and the sinister forces lurking beneath the city’s surface. Wasp Oil deftly handles themes of power, control, and the corrupting influence of secrets, alongside explorations of trauma, revenge, and the supernatural. The novel’s dark, moody atmosphere and detailed settings make it a suitable read for horror fans. It is well-paced and tangled in the plot, as suspenseful as I like my reads to be.