Actual rating 4.5/5 stars. This is the first instalment in The Five Penalties series.

There are some books that make me shake my head, whilst reading them, in sheer bewilderment at the innovation of story design and unique constructions, in terms of magic system and world building, that it contains. This is a shining example of one of them.

The Helm of Midnight features a famed serial killer, whose crimes are being replicated through a stolen artefact, a healer, who has risen in station and has more secrets than just her knowledge for herbs that she keeping close to her, and a Regulator, tasked with restoring order to a place plagued by fears from both within and without.

What immediately captivated me was how magic was constructed in this world. Death masks were fashioned to retain some of each individual's essence after their passing. Through new individuals later donning these masks, they would be able to harness the skillset of the former. Sometimes though, far more sinister elements of the deceased's character also clung to this last semblance of life.

There was a multitude of perspectives, from a variety of different timelines, used to narrate this tale. It ensured mysteries were continually appearing and all were solved at various junctures before new ones arose in their place. I loved exploring them all, as well as casting my suspicions over each character, who all had something they hid from both the reader and each other.

Despite the grittiness and darkness these elements brought to the book, there were also many protruding moments of hope and faith, life and light. This was a story with veins of blood running entirely through, yet it retained a core of goodness, or at least hopeful goodness, despite it all.

The Helm of Midnight was a book I felt like had a lot of good things going for it, but pacing issues, unresolved plot threads, and a lack of character development just made the execution of the book fall short for me. The book features three POVs, each interesting in their own right. I was very invested in Melanie's story in particular, as well as the sisterly bond between Regulators De-Krona and De-Lia. The dynamic between Thibault (who is arguably the best character this book has to offer) You can tell how much work the author has put into her world-building and magic system, both of which are very well-developed and unique. I've never imagined what mask based magic system would look like but Lostetter does a really good job showing me. I appreciated many of the moral questions this books asked. Throw in a good set of muder mysteries, religious cults run amuck, and greed, and The Helm of Midnight sets itself up to be a really interesting story. That being said, the same worldbuilding that is this book's chief strength is also a weakness in a way. There were times when I felt like the attention to detail was too much, and I felt lost in everything I needed to know and all that was going on. This contributed to a slower feel in terms of pacing despite the amount of action moments, which made reading this book drag on so much it felt like a major chore. By the end, I just wanted to be done with this book. And that ending mixed with very little character development in ANY of the characters? It left me dissatisfied. But The Helm of Midnight is a tale of power and fanaticism, and a story of the lengths people are willing to go for the people they are close to.

In short: imaginative magic and plot, but lacking the connection to any of the characters needed to truly pop. Krona was an interesting character, but I truly never felt like I knew her. Honestly, the most interesting and nuanced character was the serial killer himself. I felt like his motivations and backstory were the clearest. Lostetter really worked with the page count she had for him, and I would say she did for Melanie too, but Krona's POV was lacking in comparison. Other than propelling the main plot forward, her chapters were dull by comparison. Problems aside though, I found the structure of this new and interesting and also enjoyed the complexity of the magic. We got a taste of it here, but there's so much more to explore in future books.

A fast paced, intricately woven fantasy novel that promises an engaging series to come. It took me a minute to grasp the magic system/world that was being woven, but I could not stop reading it after I got into it. The multiple perspectives are all super interesting, and I really felt like I understood the character motivations by the end of the story. This book can get pretty gritty and gruesome, but if you can stomach it, I highly recommend giving this book a go!

One of the main reasons I love Urban Fantasy is that they are a sort of mixed bag, when we talk about genre. All fantasy is a sort of genre container because it can have so much inside it, but this is even more true for the Urban Fantasy, because we usually have more mystery or romance in there, but we get to keep the fantasy setting. So this is not the only reason I love UF so much, but it is one of the main ones. And so I cannot really understand how the idea of a serial killer in a fantasy setting (something more high fantasy than your usual UF) never crossed my mind. (I am not speaking about it in a sort of “why I haven’t tried to write it myself?”, absolutely not. But I am talking about it as a reader, it happens sometimes to think about the kind of books we want to read, or what we would love to see in our next reading, for example) So… this took me by surprise, but I had no doubt that it would be good. And I was not wrong.
Thriller and “high” fantasy work really well together and now I am eager for more. I really hope to see more of these two tropes combined in my next reading!

And now let’s look a bit more closely to the book in itself. The world is a fantasy setting with really strong dystopian vibes. And even if I am not a huge fan of dystopia because it is usually far more claustrophobic for my tastes, I enjoyed this mix quite a lot. It is balanced, at least, it is so for me, and it gives us an interesting world to discover. The religious element is really strong, and the magical system is intriguing. I enjoyed a lot the part about the masks, and since they have a big part on the story I was happy. But, as in every distopic setting, things may not be quite as they are told. And this is the driving force of all the book. And I really enjoyed how this is developed, because slowly you start to doubt everything, both what it was a “given” and both what is revealed as the “real truth”. Because we have schemes behind schemes and all is way more complex that how it appears. And I think that this part was well developed. And obviously now I am waiting for the next book, because I just have to know what is real and what is not.

In this book we have one MC, with a lot of other characters that are almost protagonist too, but not quite there. Krona is our MC, a Regulator (one of the police forces of this world) who is trying to solve a theft and a series of murders that are all linked with the most infamous serial killer of Lutador. And here the things take a really Jack the Ripper meet fantasy twist. And it was gruesome, yes, but also quite interesting. Anyway, back to Krona. She is the one tasked with this case. She and her team of fellows Regulators. But we get to see the story by her POV (except for the chapters in a different time line, but back to those in few moments), and she is interesting, she is strong willed and even if she is broken in some ways (her fears and secrets are crippling her, in some ways) she plunge forward, always forward. And I have enjoyed this side of her. But it was, sadly, not enough to make me really empathize with her. There was something lacking here. Mind me, I enjoyed her but… I didn’t really love her.
And I had somewhat a difficult time with all the other characters. My favorite was Thibaut, he is a rascal but an adorable one and a really resourceful one. He gave some more life to the story. Then we have De Lia, Krona’s sister, and she is another interesting character, I liked her, even if she is more cold than her sister, and she is even more strong willed than Krona, I have to give this to her, but again, there was something lacking.
And then we have the chapters that are set in two different timelines, with their characters. Or, better, these two timelines let us know how some characters are in the place they are now. And even if they gave us some interesting insight, and in the end all things come together beautifully, I was not always interested in them. Charbon’s chapter were a bit more intriguing (and I have to say that the author did a great job with Charbon’s story and character. He is quite complex and he has a lot to say, in his ways), while Melanie’s ones weren’t bad or boring, but I wasn’t so keen on them. But this was just minor, because the narration is balanced, and it’s pace is good. It is not a short book, but it kept me interested from the beginning to the end, and even if I am not back to my old self (reading wise) I have read it in no time!

So, I had some minor problems with the characters, I was hoping to feel more for them, to empathize more with them, but it is a really good story, with an interesting world-building and an original magic system that is worth exploring. Another minor complaint is about the thriller part. It is not bad, and we get to see Krona investigates and all but… but it is more like the clues are throwing them at her than the other way around. I think it could have been done a bit better the investigative part, but it is not as bad as it could have been, and I enjoyed this story quite a lot. If you are in for something different that would keep you intrigued, well, I dare say this book would be the right one for you!

A complex fantasy world driven by it’s character relationships and unique magic system. This had such a strong start plot-wise, but got too dense and hard to follow after the halfway point. I also felt like this could have just been shorter and a stand-alone to be a more impactful serial killer story.

There are plenty of thrillers that mixes contemporary setting and fantasy but this is the first i read set in a fantasy world.
It was a pleasant and entertaining read, a gripping story that kept me reading and guessing.
The author delivers a well written story, the storytelling is good and the world building fascinating.
The characters are fleshed out and realistic and the different POVS makes the story more interesting.
I liked the mystery part that kept me guessing and it plays a relevant part in the plot.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last as I was fascinated by how well the mix of genres works.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Helm of Midnight by Marina Lostetter is a book about the things you will do for those you love. This story takes place in a world built by the gods and the magic that surrounds their land can be harvested through stones and enchanters can make them influence you with anything from joy to despair.
At it's heart this is an investigative story about two sisters who are Regulators (ie. police) who are investigating the theft of a powerful death mask that belonged to the killer Louis Charbon. Those that wear the mask can take on the skills or personality of the person who has been enchanted into the mask. Now that the mask has been stolen and the grisly murders that were previously committed by Charbon are now being committed again.
This book has a wonderfully constructed world and an interesting magic building system based on time and emotion. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will definitely continue the series as it comes out.
I think fans of police procedurals mixed with some fantasy would definitely enjoy this story.

Serial killers and a well-imagined fantasy world, this book was everything I had hoped it to be. Lostetter created a fully developed and realized world. I can't wait for the next in the series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to review this book. The Helm of Midnight has serial killer murder mystery with amazing magic systems. We follow 3 point of views in the story, which all ties in. This is a first adult fantasy read for me with this kind of magic systems and world building. It took me a while to get familiar with this world and the characters. I actually like this book and the Audiobook narrators is great. I would definitely will be recommending this book and will be rereading this next year for the sequel.

I found the book to be slow going at the start, but around 60% it picked up and I really wanted to keep reading to see what happened next. I don't feel like there was a ton of world building or character development, but it did have a good mystery element. I think the magic system was decent and will be built upon in follow up books. Overall a decent read.

ARC provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review.
3 Stars|Twitter @itsmohitd
The Helm of Midnight is a book with multiple magic systems and with many rules and a lot of world-building to it. It's like a duet of Crime mystery with a Fantasy story.

The prose is not smooth at the start but it gets better after few chapters. The Chapters are long and it takes some of them to get hold of the prose. The pacing is uneven. It starts slow but it gets high in the last 25%.
There were no characters for which I rooted. There are 3 POVs and the story goes back and forth in past-present according to the character's POV. The plot gets better only after 75% of the book.

This book has multiple magic systems, which I felt hard to grasp. It seemed like the author had many ideas and all were incorporated into the same book. The Magic system is not bad but it's a lot to keep in mind with 3 POV stories getting back and forth in time.

The Worldbuilding feels like France during the Age of Imperialism. There are Steampunk themes in it, which personally I do not find attractive. The currency is Time here which will take some chapters to understand the ideas behind it. The Religion built in it has 5 genders. The book also uses gender-inclusive pronouns for characters.

This book is for people who want something to read with Multiple Magic systems with rules and gruesome murder/horror mystery with twists at the end.

This was a good story. However, my main issue was the length. A good part of the book seemed repetitive with unnecessary details. As a result, I started losing interest at one point in time. However, it eventually redeemed itself.
The world building was done quite well. The creation story was interesting. My favorite magical item would have to be the death masks. I liked the idea of having one's consciousness left behind for others to use. If only there was a way to make that a reality. I have so much masks I would have loved to try on.
The story behind Charbon's deeds was so sad. If not for his evil deeds, I would have felt pity for him. However, I felt like he was led astray too easily and the murders were horrendous.
I did enjoy the side story with Melanie. I was not sure how she would fit in with the rest of the book but everything eventually came together in the end.
I would love to see how the rest of the series goes. I'm hopeful that the author would be a little more concise as that would have made this book perfect for me.
Due to the very gruesome descriptions of murders and adult situations, I would suggest that adults only read this book.

DNF at 25%. This book throws a lot at you very fast, and I didn't feel like I was keeping up. Specifically, the magic system and the world/society of the book. The magic seemed really interesting, but there were so many terms and ideas floating around that it was hard to know what was important, plus my attention would stray while reading. I wanted to love it, but I found myself just feeling like I didn't *quite* know what was going on. This was partially due to timing. Just not a good mood for picking up a book that requires so much attention. AND it is SO LONG. So, with with feelings of being left behind, I could not commit myself to nearly 500 pages of something that wasn't grabbing me and couldn't keep my attention.

I'm still interested in this book, and I could see myself coming back to when I'm ready to dive deeply into a high fantasy. For me, the mood wasn't right.

This refused to download on my Netgalley shelf until today, so my feelings towards this book were already not that generous. It failed to pique my interest and I felt like I was introduced to the world too fast. At this point, I'm just not interested in taking on such a fat book.

I want to thank NetGalley & Tor Books very much for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I think it deserves its own credit for taking a dark mystery and a murder story, and blending it perfectly with this fantasy world where magic also plays a supremely interesting role. I especially like the vibe that’s quite atmospheric, but dense at the same time, I’m not saying this negatively, but the author takes her time to develop everything in a very detailed way, which gives a lot of depth and context to everything that happens. Although confusing at one point, the construction of the world is super intriguing and fascinating to discover.

On the other hand, the magical or cursed objects, and the story behind them is great, as well as it’s a book that relies heavily on the history of each object and how it impacts today’s society. Also has a very complex and interesting look at society and its different social classes. I also want to emphasize that this book is very easy to read as a standalone so I love that, even so in a world that’s clearly very complex and gigantic, it’s to be hoped that the author has decided to continue a little more and explore more of it.

I should mention that it’s not an easy book to read at all, in fact, it’s quite slow-paced and the beginning can be confusing to understand, but once you go through it and understand better where you are located, then it unfolds wonderfully. One of my favorite factors is that the book is divided between several POVs and not only that, but we jump in time between the past and the prest.

Another point that has been super refreshing for me wasn’t only the characters, which I tell you are very complex and realistic but also the book itself has a perfect mix between the mystery that we follow as the main theme and the fantasy elements, which are highlighted and explained but almost to a lesser extent. I feel that this will not be for everyone, but I liked the idea that the fictional world such as the fantasy and magic aspects are put in the background since it gives it a new and original vibe where it focuses on more mundane things, but always with that paranormal vibe that I love, it’s a great touch that, although it seems minimal, gives the book a lot of character.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. Excellent fantasy/ mystery thriller. The world building and mystery elements are SO well done. I can't wait for book 2!

I think I can honestly say The Helm of Midnight has some of the most interesting worldbuilding I’ve ever read. I was fascinated at every turn, whether it was the “death masks” that people can wear to gain knowledge of people who have died, or the fact that the currency of this world is literal time that is taken as a tax from birth. I felt it was overwhelming at times, like it was trying to accomplish too many things at once. I think my favorite aspect was the idea of a serial killer in a fantasy setting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before, and the fact that we get to see inside his perspective and learn his motives was utterly captivating. I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series when it comes out.

I really enjoyed this start to a new and fascinating fantasy series. It has a definite modern edge with plenty of cast diversity - including some interesting use of pronouns and genders. It also has a murderish serial killer plot that adds a lot of tension to the plot. The world-building, complete with a unique religion, also adds to the richness of this first installment.

Broken up with three narrators and timelines, the pieces all fit together well, making this a hard one to put down. The characters come to life and while the plot here is nicely concluded - there's set up for where the next book will go and I am definitely looking forward to it!

The book has a sort of Jack the Ripper London feel to it, with some startling violence - but it's surprisingly balanced with the intricacies of the world created here. It throws the reader right into it- and so in the beginning, despite the action, takes a little while for the reader to catch up on the nuances of the magic and this society.

Ultimately, this is a fresh and exciting new fantasy that feels modern and inclusive. I am definitely interested to see where the series will go from here, too! The plot takes some surprising turns too that make this a real page turner! I am also interested in checking out Lostetter's earlier science fiction novels!

A murder mystery set in a dark world with vicious monsters, gods and enchanted items.

There are three point of views set in different parts of the timeline, and I just love that we take a dip into Louis Charbons head, the Jack the Ripper-esc murderer on a mission.
The three point of views feed you clues and information of the same mystery bit by bit, and it's so frustrating not knowing how it's going to go... that you just have to read on! And on. And on.

One of the main things in this world is the enchantments of masks, where the "skill" of a person gets transferred into a mask when they die. Then people can borrow or buy the mask and use the skill of the dead person. IT'S SO COOL!

I can't wait for the next book!