After witnessing the horrors of N’kai and being threatened by a being who wears the face of a man but could hardly be further from human, professional thief Countess Alessandra Zorzi has turned over a new leaf. Alongside her new apprentice, Pepper Kelly, she has made it her business to collect as much of what she has stolen over the years to be safely hidden away in Miskatonic’s Orne Library. But when a meeting with one of her contacts goes awry and Pepper is taken hostage, Alessandra must track down a singular eldritch tome at the behest of a former target turned deadly enemy. Even if she can dodge the monsters on her trail and recover the book, will she be able to stop the Comte d’Erlette from unleashing horrors from below upon the world?

Shadows of Pnath, Josh Reynolds’ second Arkham Horror novel, is a book that I have been very much hoping to see happen since finishing Wrath of N’kai. It did not disappoint. This is both a return to Countess Alessandra Zorzi and her larcenous leanings as well as a fun combination of her past coming back to roost and that next step into the hidden world of horrors for her and Pepper both.

The contrast between Alessandra and Pepper is a delight here. Both are trapped by the Comte d’Erlette, Pepper very literally and Alessandra by her unwillingness to abandon Pepper. How they go about dealing with their situations and the people around them is where the contrast comes in. Alessandra is as much on the run as she is on the hunt, ghouls on her tail demanding that she find the book for them and threatening her seemingly twice a conversation. She is willing to use threats to make things work faster, but just as ready to try and avoid people being harmed. She has a little room to make deals. This versus Pepper who has no does not have that space for deals, but she has lived in Arkham long enough to have a level of familiarity with the hidden world and the sort of people who go poking around into it that the Countess lacks. She is physically trapped, but ready to put what she has learned from Alessandra to use in trying to escape. This leads to some nice moments of her digging for information when the Comte is talking at her, or getting information from his right-hand man after she has managed something unexpected. It leaves Pepper feeling scrappy, she knows that she is in a terrible spot but that she can fight the fear from that by being proactive and fighting back as she can.

The pacing here is solid and fairly equal attention seems to be shared between the protagonists. The solid pacing means that we get really good building tension and some solid characterization between most of the characters. The three day time limit that the Comte imposes on Alessandra helps with this a lot, there can be no wiggle room and anything that gets in her way potentially risks Pepper’s life. Meanwhile, the Comte’s plans get bigger and bigger as more is revealed and sorcery is supplemented by artillery. The build up is pretty fantastic there.

More even than the build towards this story’s climax are the bits and pieces that build towards an over arching story. The almost soft haunting that latches onto Pepper and catches her flat footed at times is wonderfully creepy. I am more than delighted to see what comes next and that there is more coming.

When it comes down to it, my only real complaint with Shadows of Pnath is Madam Bera. Reynolds usually does a fantastic job with his characters, so when the book has this antagonist who seems to be almost working against her own goals it becomes frustrating. Bera makes threats and demands and feels so much flatter as a threat when compared to the Comte d’Erlette. She and the ghouls following her are physical threats and, unfortunately, Alessandra can be frightened by them and put off by them but she cannot really be threatened by them which takes a lot of the bite out of them. Bera is also terribly one note compared to the Comte or Alessandra or any of the other notable characters in the story. She feels under baked, foolish in a way that can be explained but feels out of step with the explanation.

Ultimately, I quite enjoyed Shadows of Pnath, Reynolds writing continues to be incredibly solid and his character work here is quite nice overall. It leaves me very much looking forward to his next Arkham Horror work as well as making me want to go back and read Wrath of N’Kai again. So, while I am disappointed in Madam Bera as a character, she is a notably minor complaint. Shadows of Pnath gets a five out of five from me.

Shadows of Pnath reads like a Call of Cthulhu campaign novelization, and I mean that as a good thing as a fan of CoC.
I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this book, not having ready anything by Reynolds or in this series. It was a good time though lacking the horror aspects that draw me to Lovecraftian stories. This reads more like an Indiana Jones adventure novel with cultists. Great if you are down for that sort of journey.
I loved the characters and felt like they had a lot at risk - was worried for them throughout the book and thats what kept me reading long after I realized this wasn't exactly the genre or subgenre I was expecting.

The Shadows of Pnath by Josh Reynolds is a fun and engaging book that has the feeling of an old pulp novel.
The plot and the quirky characters are all enough to keep the book moving along at a steady pace with just enough creeps and crawls to keep you and the characters looking towards the shadows.
From the description--"Adventuress Countess Alessandra Zorzi has a new vocation: reacquiring the occult artifacts she stole to put into the safer hands of Miskatonic University. With her new apprentice, Pepper Kelly, Zorzi tracks the infamous Zanthu Tablets to Paris. But the city is rife with spies and the countess has many enemies. When Pepper is kidnapped, it becomes clear that someone is out for revenge. Zorzi must rescue her apprentice, find the tablets, and prevent an old enemy from summoning an army of vengeful ghouls from the depths of the catacombs. Stealing relics is a lot harder the second time around…"
This is part of a series, but I never really felt like I lacked information or back story that spoiled my enjoyment of the book.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #AconyteBooks, and Josh Reynolds for the copy of #ShadowsofPnath.

I did not realize that when I requested this book it was from a series, I think I still understood and was able to keep track of all the characters I did feel like I was missing some information. Had I been reading the series and been up to date I probably would have enjoyed it more. I will say that Renolds is a great writer and despite coming in without really knowing anything, he kept me engaged. I will be seeing what other books he has written and be looking into the Arkham Horror series.

I received a copy of this work from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Shadows of Pnath is the first book from Josh Reynolds that I have encountered and is the latest book from a shared world series called Arkham Horror. I have not read any of the previous works, however I am an avid H.P. Lovecraft fan, and have read all of his works.

I can't say that this novel captures Lovecraft's atmosphere. While there certainly is arcane horror, it doesn't feel eldritch, overwhelming or cosmic. There isn't a sense that mankind is teetering on the edge of a pit that leads to something worse than eternal damnation.

Shadows of Pnath is a serviceable fantasy horror, and the various characters are interesting but overall I was left with a feeling that Lovecraft would be cosmically horrified to discover that he was tied to this novel. 6 out of 10.

Shadows of Pnath: An Arkham Horror Novel by Joshua Reynolds is another great installment of the Arkham Horror series. I'm so glad I started reading these because they are right up my alley. I've never played the game, but the books are just my speed. I love the setting, the tone, and the overall atmosphere - and that's no different with this newest installment. It was good to see Countess Alessandra Zorzi and her adventure in this installment is pretty fun especially considering she's helping to put things that she had stolen into the safer hands of the university. In order to do that though she's going to have to steal them back and let's just say that proves to be a lot tougher and more dangerous the second time around. Also, it was really cool to see more of the wider world in this installment as well since we get to see the catacombs of Paris! I'm looking forward to reading more from this series in the future.

I love seeing new titles from the Aconyte Arkham series - because there has yet to be a bad book among them. I'm glad to say that this episode is no different.

I've enjoyed Josh Reynolds' writing for many years, and it only seems to be improving with his horror work. This book is all about atmosphere, but with a fair bit of action as well. I kept thinking 'this would make a great movie!'

I suspect that the similar comparisons will come up in different reviews of this book: notably 'Lara Croft' and 'Indiana Jones.' Because yes, there's an adventuress seeking treasure and encountering danger. Beyond that, though, the tale is its own.

Countess Alessandra Zorzi and her Boston former-cabbie companion Pepper are hunting for an artifact that turns out to be far more than just an ornament. It's mentioned by the Miskatonic University, and strange hooded figures are after it too - clearly the Great Old Ones are involved somehow!

While the heroes are brave and the baddies are rotten, every character in this is entertaining, if not necessarily likeable. The villains are insane or in thrall; everyone is working for someone else, with mysterious societies apparently pulling strings behind the scenes.

It's GREAT.

Fun from start to finish, with boat chases, fires and explosions, escapes across rooftops and chases across the globe.

It really would make an excellent movie!

As with all the other books in this series, it's a stand-alone, but definitely consistent in quality with its supernatural brethren. If you like the Mythos with a good dose of Things HPL Definitely Wouldn't Like (ie strong non-white, non-heteronormative, non-male characters) then go pick this up and enjoy.

Alessandra Zorzi and Pepper Kelly are back in another fast-paced adventure, this time far from Arkham but not free of eldritch horrors. Zorzi has begun stealing back the various occult objects she acquired for dodgy clients, hoping to bring them somewhere they won't be used. This brings her and Pepper into the orbit of a former client with plans to start a war between humans and occult monsters, a war humans are unlikely to win. Shadows of Pnath brings together characters from the short story collection Adventures in Scarlet with our heroes, expanding the Arkham universe while laying out an excellent adventure story.

arc very kindly provided by the publishers via netgalley!

This is my first venture into this author and series, and I really enjoyed it!

I think this isn't necessarily as scary as I anticipated, but it actually ended up working in the favor of the story. I would definitely say this is more noir with horror elements. Which was so incredibly interesting to me!

As someone who has not read the other Arkham Horror novels, I can say with certainty you really do not HAVE to read the others in order to enjoy this story.

Zorzi was a strong female main character along with Pepper, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her as she outsmarts many a men. To me, they are THE definition of a "good for her!" character!

This read like a movie, and could easily picture everything that was going on. I applaud the author for setting up a world and characters that leap so vividly off the page.

Overall, I very much enjoyed my time with this and would recommend if you are looking for something different!

A review of Shadows of P’nath by Josh Reynolds
cover by Daniel Strange…

First off, thank you to Aconyte Publishing who provided a preview copy of this release for a review. Per Aconyte’s site…

“An expert thief outwits foes old and new to defeat a sinister summoning, in this hair-raising noir-thriller from the bestselling world of Arkham Horror
Notorious thief Countess Alessandra Zorzi has a new vocation: reacquiring the occult artifacts she once stole in order to put them in safer hands at Miskatonic University. With new apprentice Pepper Kelly by her side, Zorzi heads to Paris to find her next target. But the city is rife with spies and the countess has many enemies. When Pepper is kidnapped by an old foe with a grudge, Zorzi’s plans are thrown into chaos. Now she must rescue her apprentice, recover the ancient tome Cultes des Goules, and prevent her former flame (and newfound nemesis) from summoning a ghoulish horror from the depths. Growing a conscience has never caused so many problems…”
Since first reading Josh Reynolds’ “Wrath of N’kai”, the 2020 debut release in Aconyte’s Arkham Horror product line, I have been looking forward to returning to the perspective of the Countess Alessandra Zorzi and her cohort Pepper Kelly. With his pulp adjacent thriller style writer Josh Reynolds always provides an enjoyable story arc of humanity’s exposure to the arcane within Fantasy Flight Games’ Arkham setting. Reynolds has returned each year to provide a new take on the setting. With “The Hounds”, part of 2021’s collection “The Devourer Below”, he gave readers the first detailed look into life with Phillip “Wolfman” Drew, who features in the LCG’s core box, while 2022’s “The Red and the Black”, part of the “Secrets in Scarlet” collection expanded upon Trish Scarborough’s entry in 2017’s “The Investigators of Arkham Horror” release. With this week’s release of “Lair of P’nath” Mr. Reynolds uses the opportunity to build upon his prior work in the setting to deliver a continent spanning thriller about relationships in the greater world that Arkham Massachusetts inhabits.

“Lair of P’nath” picks up a year after the events of “Wrath of N’kai” and, as stated in the marketing blurb, we find Countess Zorzi and Pepper tracking down occult objects that Zorzi had previously acquired for her clients. After her time in Arkham the Countess has had a change of heart and seeks to make sure objects of power are kept safe moving forward. To do this she has tasked herself with removing items from collections that she had a hand in providing in the past. As Zorzi and Pepper reestablish themselves in the setting the story quickly advances as threads from the first novel are called upon and the two leading ladies find themselves separated from each other.

The split story the readers are then presented with allows for the characters to interact with both new and returning associates. Trish Scarborough, picking up shortly after where “The Red and the Black” left off, joins the Countess in the hunt for the macguffin allowing for several interesting beats between the perspective of the government spy and Zorzi the intercontinental thief. Those that enjoyed Chauncey Swann’s interactions with his fellow acquisitionist in “Wrath of N’kai” should be excited for his additions to this much large story too. It is clear that Mr. Reynold’s enjoyed his exposure to the secret societies of Arkham from his work in “The Scarlet Keys” as the actions of those societies play a significant role in this story. Our antagonist is the awesome Henri-Georges Balfour, the Comte d’Erlette. Readers learned in “Wrath of N’kai” that the Comte d’Erlette was someone who had ill will towards Countess Alessandra Zorzi and in this sequel Mr. Reynolds gives space, to great effect, for the Comte to develop and readers to understand his hatred for Zorzi. Readers learn the details of Henri’s life, how he got to this point and why he has chosen the path ahead. This gave me the benefit of understanding just how broken the Comte had become when this story reached its violent conclusion. When it comes time for me to give this book a second read it will be to revel in the lunacy of Henri-Georges Balfour, the Comte d’Erlette. Mr. Reynolds’ use of his character’s interactions to expand the world and provide narrative background on the actions taking place is really well done. The context he provides to ghoul society is of particular note in my opinion as it will have an impact on how I see ghouls develop in the immersive game play of my plays of the FFG game line going forward.

“Shadows of P’nath” surpassed my expectations as a sequel to my first exposure to Aconyte. The story arc allows readers to see just how much both the Countess and Pepper have been changed by their initial experiences with the Mythos while also driving forward additional development as they handle their new ordeal. As excited as I was for “Shadows of P’nath” I find myself even more excited for a potential 3rd novel from Mr. Reynolds after enjoying this release.

I hope you enjoyed this look at “Shadows of P’nath”. If you would like more updates about the history of Arkham, its residents, and the events tied to the area please check out @arkhamhistorian on Twitter and bookmark this site for future updates. If you have any questions or wish to request specific content, please use this contact form.

Best regards

Dude in progress

Alessandra Zorzi is a countess, adventuress, and thief. Even if she’s trying to leave her “job” behind her, she finds herself contacted by three different people looking for the same relic, one that she’s stolen before. With threats to her life and her trainee's life as motivation, she attempts to track down the item with the enemies she’s made during her career.
I really enjoyed the characters. Their personalities, backgrounds throughout the entire cast is so fascinating. I enjoyed how action packed this work was without feeling overwhelming. The author did a fantastic job at weaving a spectacular book like this and I loved the monsters in this book.

If are looking for some easy and entertaining reading, check this out!

This book is a fun adventure set in the world created by H. P. Lovecraft. It would be most enjoyable for those who are somewhat familiar with the works of Lovecraft or the game Arkham Horror, as they provide good background information to many of the organizations mentioned, the entities discussed, and the world itself. It could probably still be enjoyable if you go in knowing nothing about these things, but I don’t necessarily recommend that.

I quite enjoyed the characters. There was a great range of personality, background, and depth throughout the entire cast. As this isn’t the first book in this series, there wasn’t much active character growth/development for the protagonist within this book, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the read. I enjoyed how action packed this work was without feeling overwhelming. The author did a fantastic job at weaving elements of Lovecraft’s original writings into this work without feeling clunky or forced, and I loved the lore surrounding the main "monsters" of this book.

If you like the world of Lovecraft, atmospheric noir reads, or are looking for some easy and entertaining reading, check out this series! You can read this book as a standalone without losing any enjoyment, though this work did reference events that occurred earlier in the series.

Another great addition to the Arkham Horror novels. I have never played Arkham Horror but I buy every novel that comes out and am never disappointed. This is exactly what I expected and loved every step of it. I’m awaiting my physical preorder to arrive to add to my physical collection.

Shadows of Pnath is a spiritual sequel to Reynolds' prior Arkham Horror novel Wrath of N'Kai. While neither of these characters are directly in the Arkham Files board game series yet the inclusion of Trish Scarborough helps nail down fans of the game and gets them invested in the characters they might not yet know if they haven't read Wrath of N'Kai.

Countess Alessandra Zorzi, with her new apprentice Pepper Kelly, is tasked with recovering an occult tome that she previously stole. A book that she stole from Compte d'Erlette, Henri-Georges Balfour. In exchange for the kidnapped Pepper, Alessandra is tasked to retrieve the "Cultes des Goules" tome which was written by the Compte's ancestor. Suddenly everyone is interested in this book and keeping it out of Henri's hands. But Alessandra needs it to save Pepper.

Shadows of Pnath was a different animal from the rest of the Arkham Horror novels that I've read. While all of the books have the eldritch horror vibe I love that they bounce around in genre. Shadows of Pnath is an adventure heist and was pretty fun to read. It did drag a tiny bit around the 60% mark but nothing really felt entirely unnecessary. I hope to read more books with these characters in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aconyte Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m new to the Arkham Horror universe/games and I had no expectations when I started reading Shadows of Pnath. The book didn’t take itself too seriously—think Bond villain, hordes of smokers and cheesy dialogue. Don’t get me wrong, the book was a noir story, but it was also cliché and very reminiscent of Indiana Jones. I don’t think Shadows of Pnath is intended for a broad audience and is probably a good read for fans of 1920s, stand-offs, and heists. Albeit a bit slow, I still enjoyed reading the story.

I'm afraid I had to DNF halfway through... I was so excited to read this as I love the Arkham universe and this story wasn't terrible (if terribly cliche lol) but the formatting makes this impossible to read. For three months I have tried again and again to go back to this but it is, essentially, a giant wall of text because the line spacing and indentation are too subtle. Literally the only breaks are the chapter breaks! I'm unsure if this is also an issue in the print version but I am likely to try it out, if it goes on sale - this issue IS present in the ebook, however, and no amount of fiddling with the settings my ebook apps (Kindle and NetGalley Shelf) helped to fix it.

But I would still like to comment on what I did manage to read - a fun, pulpy tale of adventure where the femme fatales are the main characters. My only issue with the content is that Reynolds leans far too hard into cliche era-speak, idioms, and metaphors. I did occasionally cringe because of it, but in the end it really leant to that pulpy feeling and I think it's intentional, given the setting and story.

I'm sad I wasn't able to finish it...

I was given a copy to review via Netgalley and Aconyte Books. My reviews are always honest and all opinions are my own. #ShadowOfPnath #ArkhamHorror #JoshReynolds #Netgalley #AconyteBooks #BookReview

The Wrath of N’kai by Josh Reynolds was the first book by Aconyte I read and I am so glad I did. When I learnt that Reynolds was back writing for Arkham Horror but more importantly my favourite expert thief, Alessandra Zorzi was back I was more than I little excited. Thankfully Shadows of Pnath did not disappoint.

We see Zorzi return with a new vocation, securing occult artifacts she had once stolen to put in the safer hands of the Miskatonic University. With her new apprentice Pepper Kelly (another reason I adored this book), Zorzi is on the trail of the Zanthu Tablets which leads her to Paris. The task is not an easy one made more difficult when Pepper is kidnapped by an old enemy of which the countess has many. In a race against time Zorzi must rescue her apprentice, find and secure the tablets and stop an old enemy from summoning an army of vengeful ghouls from the depths of the catacombs. But if anyone is up to the task it is Zorzi.

I was overjoyed to have Alessandra and Pepper back on the page again. This dynamic duo make for such a fun noir-esque read. Add into this the horrors that only Arkham can provide and you have a rip-roaring thriller that will keep you hooked. Reynolds is brilliant at combining the historical setting and melding it with the occult horror you come to expect from the Arkham Horror games. It was a joy to see Alessandra taking Pepper under her wing and Pepper coming more into her own as a character from the previous novel. The relationship between the pair also added to the story by giving a feeling of tension of if Alessandra would be able to rescue her apprentice and friend in time.

The novel is well paced and while it is not exactly hard to see some twists coming it fits the pulpy noir genre perfectly. I also enjoyed the more sinister aspects of the horror in this one. It is more true to the genre and Lovecraftian horror than the general horror tropes. I certainly wasn’t expecting to end up liking a ghoul for example but here we are.

I loved reading this one and hope we get more adventures of Zorzi and Pepper in the future. I’d definitely read them!

Wow amazingly well written, loved the writing style. Loved the setting, period and characters. Really enjoyed it so I’ve now purchased the other book in the series to read Wrath of N'kai.

Posted on Goodreads and will post on Amazon and Kobo when released

This is what fun fantasy is all about. If like me you like books with the style and humorous vibe of Raiders of the the Lost ARC and The Mummy then you’ll enjoy this as much as I did. Contessa Alessandra Zorzi, thief extraordinaire in both her skills and the things she steals, is trying to keep herself and her friend/protégé safe from Eldritch horrors. Thank you to Aconyte Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

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This review was originally published on NetGalley.com. I was given an ebook freely by NetGalley and the book’s publisher in return for a voluntary and honest review.

Shadows of Pnath: An Arkham Horror Novel
By Joshua Reynolds

I had fun reading this book. It blends pulp and horror in a great yarn. It’s definitely book 2 in a loose trilogy. Joshua Reynolds does a wonderful job of mentioning events from the previous book so you as the reader aren't lost.

Reynolds has three strong women playing the major roles in the book which is always refreshing when most of the time the women in pulp need to be rescued.

The characters had some depth but not as much as I prefer and the plot was easy enough to see coming with several obviously stupid decisions. That said it’s pulp horror and not Updike so you ignore the wrinkles and enjoy the journey. I loved the scenery of Europe for the story and wasn’t disappointed in the monsters or creepy crypt.

I will be reading the first book and hopefully the third. I give it a strong recommendation for fans of the genre.