I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This book had a fascinating premise centred around a historical set of playing cards and the obsessive and dangerous collectors who covet them. Mix in an element of the supernatural, a startling look into a treacherous gambling scene and you have a very interesting book.

The historical elements were balanced well, giving useful context for the story, appearing briefly interspersed with the main story, but never in a way that was distracting. It was interesting to explore the origin of the cards and the perils they caused even very early on.

The card collection was fascinating and the level of power they had over those who coveted them was intense. The way they became so addictive to the searchers, changing their personalities in quite a negative way was quite gripping to read.

The main character in this book I struggled to engage with, he’s quite morally grey which I usually like but I wasn’t hugely interested in him. His travelling companion though, and an older female character though were great. I enjoyed reading their parts!

A clever novel blending past and present really well, with a good use of the supernatural. It was a little long, but enjoyable overall.