01/06/2020

The eerie, enchanting third Welcome to Night Vale novel (after It Devours!) offers up a Shakespearian revenge drama that doubles as the origin story of one of Night Vale’s most mysterious residents. Born in 1792, the nameless protagonist grows up with her father on their Mediterranean estate until a tragic encounter with the enigmatic Order of the Labyrinth leaves her an orphan. She dedicates her life to a long-con revenge plot, infiltrating the Order’s ranks to bring them down from within. As years pass, she grows impatient, leading her to accidentally stumble upon a vast conspiracy with herself at its center. Scenes set in present-day Night Vale, where the protagonist haunts residents’ homes, are interspersed throughout this swashbuckling adventure. With this tightly plotted adventure, Fink and Cranor successfully expand their universe beyond Night Vale’s desert setting. The protagonist’s matter-of-fact descriptions of the strange and horrible, meanwhile, will draw in readers. Newcomers need not be familiar with the Night Vale podcast to enjoy this standout tale. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Mar.)

Eerie, enchanting . . . offers up a Shakespearian revenge drama that doubles as the origin story of one of Night Vale’s most mysterious resident….With this tightly plotted adventure, Fink and Cranor successfully expand their universe beyond Night Vale’s desert setting. The protagonist’s matter-of-fact descriptions of the strange and horrible, meanwhile, will draw in readers. Newcomers need not be familiar with the Night Vale podcast to enjoy this standout tale.” — Publishers Weekly

“A chilling ghost story. . . . A decades long, globe-spanning saga of adventure, betrayal, love, and fate [about] one of Welcome to Night Vale’s most enigmatic and terrifying characters. . . How these stories converge and how the narrator becomes immortal are merciless in their ingenuity and immensely satisfying. . . . A funny, terrifying, and unpredictable slice of Night Vale's macabre history.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A cinematic tale full of endless twists, The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home is a unique horror story with a rare swashbuckling and complex female protagonist I couldn't get enough of. The writing throws you into a colorful, intelligent world of ups and downs, scares and laughs, and nuanced heroes and villains that keeps you gripped with anticipation for an ending you know will horrify you. Just when you think you know what's happening, the Faceless Old Woman will flip you around and make you question morality with a delicious, fun, well-crafted frustration." — Gaby Dunn, New York Times bestselling author of I Hate Everyone but You

“The distinctly spare and precise weirdness of Fink and Cranor’s writing (It Devours!, 2017) will please even readers completely unfamiliar with the sinister town.” — Booklist

"For fans of the podcast and the other Night Vale novels, The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home likely feels long overdue. Equal parts running joke and legitimate character, the Faceless Old Woman’s history has been rarely alluded to, but here she—and her world—comes alive, tempting readers with sweet oranges, the smell of the sea and the bitter taste of betrayal." — BookPage

"Fink and Cranor are masters of the long narrative game. They have a clear vision in mind, and every element of the book builds toward it, with emotionally devastating, sometimes brutally funny, results. The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home is an excellent, absorbing book." — New York Journal of Books

“Lavish, dark  …. This novel, like the town called Night Vale, is sinister and foreboding. It is filled with treachery, duplicity, love, passion, and resounding, pulse-pounding dramatic license. Told in first-person singular, this novel is terrifying, thrilling, humorous, well-paced and completely unpredictable.” — New York Journal of Books

"Fink and Cranor are masters of the long narrative game. They have a clear vision in mind, and every element of the book builds toward it, with emotionally devastating, sometimes brutally funny, results. The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home is an excellent, absorbing book."

"A cinematic tale full of endless twists, The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home is a unique horror story with a rare swashbuckling and complex female protagonist I couldn't get enough of. The writing throws you into a colorful, intelligent world of ups and downs, scares and laughs, and nuanced heroes and villains that keeps you gripped with anticipation for an ending you know will horrify you. Just when you think you know what's happening, the Faceless Old Woman will flip you around and make you question morality with a delicious, fun, well-crafted frustration."

The distinctly spare and precise weirdness of Fink and Cranor’s writing (It Devours!, 2017) will please even readers completely unfamiliar with the sinister town.

"For fans of the podcast and the other Night Vale novels, The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home likely feels long overdue. Equal parts running joke and legitimate character, the Faceless Old Woman’s history has been rarely alluded to, but here she—and her world—comes alive, tempting readers with sweet oranges, the smell of the sea and the bitter taste of betrayal."

The distinctly spare and precise weirdness of Fink and Cranor’s writing (It Devours!, 2017) will please even readers completely unfamiliar with the sinister town.

Narrator Mara Wilson reprises her role as the titular faceless old woman from the popular “Welcome to Night Vale” podcast. This audiobook examines the character’s origins and delves into her motivations. The story alternates between short sections in present-day Night Vale and long historical sections recounting how she came to be said faceless old woman. Wilson deals effortlessly with the long monologues, and since there is minimal dialogue, it’s not difficult to keep track of the characters. With a less experienced performer, this audiobook could easily become a tiresome slog. While Wilson is deft in her performance, the novel may prove to be too opaque for those not already invested in the world of Night Vale. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

★ 2020-01-13
One of Welcome to Night Vale's most enigmatic and terrifying characters reveals how she came to be.

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home is one of the outlandish podcast's most popular characters, partially due to writer/actress Mara Wilson's evocative portrayal. In Night Vale, the character is a specter of sorts, visible only in glimpses, who takes great fun in toying with the town's citizenry, living in all their homes simultaneously. Here, Fink and Cranor (It Devours!, 2017, etc.) diverge from the style of their previous books to craft a chilling ghost story. The book alternates between two timelines. The first concerns the life, death, and afterlife of the unnamed narrator, born in the Mediterranean in 1792 to an idyllic childhood with her beloved father. When her father is murdered by a covert criminal ring called The Order of the Labyrinth, she swears revenge and is recruited into a life of crime by her Uncle Edmond, a ruthless outlaw. What follows is a decadeslong, globe-spanning saga of adventure, betrayal, love, and fate as she becomes the swashbuckling captain of her own pirate ship, with a crew that includes a master of disguise, a bloodthirsty neophyte, a rakish comrade, and a giantess, among others. Robberies, schemes, battles, treachery, and a vicious conspiracy to destroy a rival ensue. In the storyline set in the present, the old woman adopts Craig, a struggling copywriter, as her pet project. While she does leave him the occasional dismembered animal to keep him in line, she also pays off his debts and steers him toward his wife-to-be, Amaranta, and a heavenly life to come—perhaps. How these stories converge and how the narrator becomes immortal are merciless in their ingenuity and immensely satisfying. As the Old Woman tells Craig, "There's a thin line separating humor and horror, and this was that line."

A funny, terrifying, and unpredictable slice of Night Vale's macabre history.