Every person has two souls in one body. Special Inspector Christopher Morden shares a body with his feckless musician brother Alexsander. They've always rubbed along together, but his latest case will put that to the test. Christopher is called to the city jail to see a young boy. He tore his own eyes out and teeth grew in their place. He quickly rules it to be the work of a witch and asks someone else, someone younger, to take the case. There's no such luck for him and he's forced to travel to a small village of Drekenford. A strange place that really doesn't want him there. It's up to him to discover the witch before they finish what they've started, with deadly consequences for everyone.

I love genre-bending books and Equinox is just that. It had elements of fantasy, magic and mystery combining to make an original and gripping read.

The story was quite dark and gritty, which I'm a huge fan of. There was also a tense and unnerving atmosphere over the story that gave it an extra dose of creepiness, which I enjoyed.

The two souls in one body is what drew me to this novel. I was thinking it was going to be some sort of Jekyll and Hyde situation, but it was more gentle than that. One person went to sleep, then the other would wake. Not that it didn't have its problems. Both people were very different. Alexsander was a musician and carefree spirit, whereas Christopher, as a Special inspector, was more uptight and serious. It was interesting to see their relationship and how each soul affected one another.

I did mention earlier that this had some mystery in it, but I will warn you it's not as strong as the other elements of the story and felt a little slow paced at the beginning.

Equinox is a dark yet enthralling fantasy novel, packed with atmosphere and peculiar characters.

I went a little out of my comfort zone for this read. I’m not usually one to choose a horror or detective genre book. And this one was a mix of both! Yet, I’m extremely thankful that I did! Equinox is a brilliantly executed tantamount world to our own that had me bewitched and unable to put the book down. David Towsey has managed to combine a true crime detective story with the supernatural in the best of ways.

Equinox has many unique aspects going for it. One in particular that I loved and really want more of is how all of mankind has been given multiple personalities. I use the word ‘personalities’ loosely because it seems clear to me that these duel minds living in the same body are actually separate persons altogether. We can even see this by the multiple POV style it is written in with the two MCs being each a half of this one body yet completely different in every way. David’s ability to write 2 personalities for every person in the story made this a mind bending story that really had me guessing the entire time.

On a similar line of thought, David’s characters were really enjoyable to read. Having to deal with the constant tension of someone else in your body half of each day really comes through and helps the dialogue become much deeper. My favorite character probably being Alexsander, was really fun to see his character development throughout. Plus the other interesting people met along the way.

You can imagine how this dual souls situation makes for some very interesting detective concepts. I truly was stumped throughout the entire book. I had theories but I failed in the end! In my mind that means this story succeed in this genre! I think if you like detective shows or books you would very much enjoy this even with the horror side of it!

Speaking of the horror side, I feel like I need to speak on that side of this story some. In a way I don’t want to call this horror but I just don’t know what else you would call it. With supernaturally horrid things happening causing death and all sorts of stuff, I feel like it must be. Yet, I did struggle to find any of the situations truly scary. But this may also be because I’m not a horror reader and am not used to reading such things. Yet, David’s execution of these was on point. The entire book there certainly is a tension that the characters feel and you as the reader experience. This ultimately trumped any negatives just because of how well that was written into the setting and dialogue of the story.

The only negative I have for Equinox is that at times I felt like the pace felt a little slow. However, some of that was because of the mood of the book. You definitely need to be in a darker and moodier mindset when you go into this book or else you mind find parts a little dry. I have been in a reading slump recently and I think this actually helped me back up because of how different it was from so much of the other stuff I read! So even though some scenes were dragging a bit it hardly affected my enjoyment.

Finally I wanted to talk about some of the major themes I picked up throughout! The largest being, in my mind anyways, the constant inner struggle that everyone has with themselves. We all have a dark side and a light side, a serious side and a care free side, etc. Sometimes these bump heads throughout our life and cause issues. This was certainly true in the story and I think you’ll find the expiration of this very interesting. You’ll also find a lot about how our actions affect others besides ourselves. Other smaller themes being the consequences of war, is mankind really worth saving, evidence doesn’t always lead to guaranteed truth, and can kids be trusted?

As you can see, I really enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of any of the things you read above then I really believe you will like this book! So go take a look on amazon by clicking the link on this review and give it a shot!

One of the things about the fantasy genre is that it is extremely malleable and can take in a plethora of different styles and different templates for what can be termed ‘fantasy’. As an author, you can bring in multiples of differing influences, put them in the mangle, and subsequently come out with something new on the other side that still looks like fantasy, and with Equinox by David Tovey, we certainly get an alternative take on the fantasy genre.

The story itself is set in a world where people have two individual personalities encapsulated within in single body. A diurnal personality that may have differing dreams, goals, and even lives from their nocturnal personalities.

In amongst this we have a tale of folk horror and detective tale. The story is set off by a strange set of events in which a young man who is held in a prison in the capital, far from his home of Drekenford, is afflicted by a strange phenomenon in which his eyes are filled with teeth (cast your mind back to the Corinthian in the Sandman and that pretty much sums it up). As a result, dour King’s special investigator Christophor Morden is called upon to reluctantly investigate the cause of this and believing that this is a case of witchcraft is sent to the rural village of Drekenford. However, this assignment ultimately disrupts the life of his opposite, his musician day brother, Aleksander. This ultimately rends Aleksander from his life of frivolity, carousing and social climbing to lead him to an environment that is what he sees as backwards and is, let’s say, not particularly keen.

Equinox is set in an interesting world, that in some ways parallels our own. It appears to be set in a quasi – 17th Century world with all its ideals and missteps and is built upon the Christian faith. Whilst the narrative never explicitly does any intricate world building, Towsey shows us a world of dark, sinister forests coupled with technological advancements that are reminiscent of the period. In addition, there is no explanation for the reasons why the human race have become the way they are. There is no lore that you normally see in fantasy books mapping the trajectory of development that may enlighten the reader as to why things have developed the way they have. As a result of the lack of this background information, the reader simply has to accept this world and adjust to this seemingly familiar world with no more information than the fact that in order to ease the transition from diurnal to nocturnal personality, the people employ the aid of a plant called Ettiene.

I have to say that it is an interesting premise and when I was adjusted to the fact that characters that see sawed between differing aspects of personality, I was quite on board with.

I very much enjoyed the story, that reminded me of an amalgamation of Angel Heart, The Wicker Man and the Name of the Rose, especially as Christopher with his analytical piety reminded of William of Baskerville in Name of the Rose.

Much like the people of this world, the book is a tale of two differing halves, with the first portion of the book given over to the investigative aspects of Chrisophor and his search to find the witch responsible for the apocalyptic events that he feels have been set in motion. Throughout the story he is attacked supernaturally and experiences nightmarish visions purporting to the end of the world as we know it. In this half of the book, the pace is contemplative and methodical as Christopher carries out his investigation. However, the second half of the book, which sees the world from Aelksander’s point of view, is much more fast paced, as the story shows the emotive side of the two personalities, as the book races towards its climactic end.

I must say that I found this splitting of the story into two differing personalities initially quite jarring, but when I have absorbed it a little more and am now writing these thoughts on the book, I actually found it to be an interesting technique that I found to be quite an absorbing method that works well. Especially, as I think that it split the pace of the book.

For me, one of the drawbacks to the book was that I had some difficulty in connecting with some of the characters in the book. I found it fine that Christphor is quite difficult to engage with, as the writing reflects his personality and kind of highlights his investigative aloofness to the world around him, but it was the supporting cast that I had some difficulties with. I didn’t find that amongst the many inhabitants (and if you consider it, there are double the amount of characters in this world) that I actually connected with any of them, they felt more of a device for the plot to reach its ultimate goal.

However, David Towsey’s prose was superb. He was able to bring the two differing characters together well and showed some really interesting imaginative action sequences that I could never have predicted happening. Added to this, he does instil as sense of creeping foreboding in the narrative as the story slowly peels off its intricate layers. Added to that, there is some entertaining dark humour that made me chuckle. I am sure he managed to get a Peter Kay joke in there, and if it wasn’t deliberate, it certainly made my mind jump to Peter Kay in one of his routines saying ‘It’s that fine rain that wets you through’.

With Equinox, David Tovey successfully blends folk horror, fantasy and murder mystery to bring a melting pot of a book that strays well off the beaten path of traditional fantasy.

Set in a world where everyone has a dual personality that experiences only the day or the night, Equinox is a mystery set in a fantastical second world. We follow Special Inspector Christophor Morden and his day brother, Alexsander, as they attempt to solve a gruesome matter of witchcraft in a remote town on the borderlands of the kingdom, shortly to be an important site in a war of expansion.

What I loved most in this book (in which I loved most things!) was the world-building. The fantasy elements were more fantastical than I would normally read, but the world building was so complete and detailed that it was fascinating to look in on this other world. In particular, the specifics of two people sharing one body but never speaking or interacting was fascinating — how these people work with marriage, parenthood, shared or unshared occupations, and travel was all thoroughly thought through, but the delivery of these details never felt expositiony.

The mystery was the aspect that first attracted me to Equinox. A petty felon pulls out his own eyes when teeth start to grow in his eye sockets. Right up my street! And the process of investigation and, again, the detail of witchcraft in the world are both interesting to follow. As Alexsander is drawn into the mystery, he and his night brother start to cling to very different suspects, both of whom are plausible.

This brings me to my only complaint, which is the resolution of the mystery. A police procedural or contemporary mystery would provide a neat ending, explaining all the clues the reader might have missed along the way. Equinox doesn’t do this — at all. Following an utterly fantastical final sequence, the reader is left with a resolution, but also with a lot of questions, including the fate of one of the main characters. I personally would have liked more resolution, but it’s possible Equinox will have a sequel which tells us a little more about how things end up in the town of Drekenford.

As an exploration of a second world with an intriguing premise, Equinox works brilliantly and provides a fully rounded world. The mystery is intriguing, and will happily carry the reader through the book. If, however, you’re looking for a complete story with no loose ends, you may find Equinox a little frustrating.

Written with thanks to the publishers and Netgalley.co.uk for a free e-advance review copy.

Equinox by David Towsey is out now, and can be purchased directly from its publisher Head of Zeus in your preferred format.

Instresting idea, with lots of potential. The story is very slow pace and hard to get into. Better format for an audio book.

I found the concept of this book incredibly intriguing - the idea that everyone has two different identities, one for the day and one for the night - is very different to anything I have come across in my reading before this. It feels quite eerie and boy did this book encompass that feeling! Dark magic, rituals and murder do make for quite the interesting story! The differences between Christophor and Alexsander actually shocked me - i wouldn't have thought that the same person (albeit with different identities) would differ as much, but somehow it worked.

Another really great aspect of this book, at least in my opinion, was the combination of a murder mystery and magic. Fantasy and crime novels are not always the first to be put together but Towsey seems to make it work.

However, sometimes I did find that the magical system was put on the back burner a bit, as a bit of an extra within a murder mystery book. This was a shame because the concept is brilliant and what drew me to this book in the first place, so i would love to see it become more developed. Perhaps that is just the lover of fantasy in me coming out.

There were also some quite gruesome scenes that weren't really my cup of tea, so just a warning for any new readers.

The pacing is quite slow for this one, making it a little difficult to get through and when it really picks up, the ending feels rushed. Yet, despite this, I would like to read more of Towsey's work in the future.

Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.

A murder mystery and a really interesting premise - people change with the rising and setting of the sun. By night, one person and by day, another. It makes solving mysteries just that bit more difficult when when personality clashes with the other.

Well written and with a really unique concept, I was looking forward to delving into the world of Equinox. And while I thought some parts worked really well, I don't think the story quite lives up to the overall idea. I liked the juxtaposition between the two protagonists. They really do embody their night and day personalities, one the party play boy and the other the stoic investigator. However, it's almost as though the story is built up around this two person concept rather than really spending time developing the story and plot. The pacing is also really off, meandering at times to the point where nothing at all happens for a long time in the first half of the book. It meant I really struggled at times to get into this, and become invested in the characters.

Really intriguing concept but I feel this lacks a bit of depth and world building.

This is not the first story we’ve had lately that takes a Fantasy setting and set a murder-mystery within it – see also Richard Swan’s The Justice of Kings (reviewed HERE.)

However, that is where the similarities end. This one does have a Pride & Prejudice level of costumery and a complex set of social moirés, not to mention a feeling like it is set in ancient Bavaria, but also has the novel set-up that this is a place where two souls share time in the same body.

From the publisher: “In this world, two souls inhabit a single body, one by day, one by night. But though they live alongside one another, their ends do not always align. For Special Inspector Morden, whose hunt for a dangerous witch takes him far from home, this will be a problem...

Christophor Morden lives by night. His day-brother, Alexsander, knows only the sun. They are two souls in a single body, in a world where identities change with the rising and setting of the sun. Night-brother or day-sister, one never sees the light, the other knows nothing of the night.

Early one evening, Christophor is roused by a call to the city prison. A prisoner has torn his eyes out and cannot say why. Yet worse: in the sockets that once held his eyes, teeth are growing. The police suspect the supernatural, so Christophor, a member of the king's special inspectorate, is charged with finding the witch responsible.

Night-by-night, Christophor's investigation leads him ever further from home, toward a backwards village on the far edge of the kingdom. But the closer he gets to the truth, the more his day-brother's actions frustrate him. Who is Alexsander protecting? What does he not want Christophor to discover?

And all the while, an ancient and apocalyptic ritual creeps closer to completion...”

Although set in the 18th century, this feels like it has wandered out of the realms of the medieval, before the Renaissance. The world is grim and full of shadows, although there are attempts to leaven this a little. People still clearly fear the supernatural, and witchcraft is abroad.

Through this, our characters wander, with Christophor as the night-brother being appropriately dark, intense and broody as the King’s Special Inspector, whilst Alexsander is the more personable, likeable, even hedonistic musician that we see during the day. The differences between the “day character” and the “night character” are well done, showing an uneasy relationship between the two characters. Christopher’s uncomfortableness with social situations is mildly amusing.

But, whilst it was entertaining, the basic premise of two people sharing space did not quite work for me.

There’s a lot of practical elements that seem impossible, or at least unworkable, though Towsey does his best to cover the basics without going into too much detail. I couldn’t help feeling though that as entertaining as it was, the idea doesn’t really work. There are practical issues.* In addition, not everywhere in this world has such relationships, so I was left wondering over the bigger issues – how has this situation come about, and why? None of this is explained, and whilst you could just accept it as “it just is”, I felt that it was a situation that doesn’t really work.

Nevertheless, the murder mystery aspect is well done, if rather gruesome. Horse-lovers will be particularly revolted by one part of the story, whilst others will just be creeped out by the fact that the victim had teeth growing inside their eye-sockets. (My check of the Unexplained magazine shows me that this was an actual thing once upon a time.) The good news is that by the end of the book the mystery is eventually unravelled and (perhaps unsurprisingly) there is more to this than a mere murder.

In short, this is an original read, and an intelligent one, but has limitations that hampered my overall enjoyment**. I can’t say I disliked it, but there were elements that left me thinking more about the impracticalities than the main plot, which lessened my liking. It was good to read a one-off novel, which could be expanded to more, but for me it was a singularly interesting, if flawed, experiment.

An interesting world where everyone has two distinct identities - one by day one by night. By night Christopher is an investigator hunting witchcraft on behalf of the King. His day brother Alexander is an easygoing musician. When Christopher is called to a small town to investigate who may be the witch behind a terrible crime they both find themselves at odds with the town and in danger because of it.

A really interesting idea and for a standalone book there's a lot in here that builds a good story. Lots of superstition and suspicion, dark alleyways and candle lit rooms. If anything it could have done without the military aspect and instead perhaps more of the children Julia and Victor who were interesting supporting characters.

This is one of the weirdest and most curious books that I have read in quite some time. No bad thing as it really did make my brain work overtime keeping track of the day people and the night people, where the two halves, day and night, occupy the same body.

Imagine a world where everyone is schizophrenic, all of the time and those personalities are split permanently by day and by night.

Thus the main man in this story is the "night brother", an Inspector spending his life tracing and solving "witchy" crimes, whilst his "day brother" is a musician and a bit of a Jack-the-lad. One of the other folk is the mayor's wife by night and a bit of a loose living lady by day. Now extend this sort of schizophrenia to the whole world of this book and you start to get a sense of how wacky it is.

Boring it it certainly is not and well worth having close to the top of your "to read list" as it does have a very interesting story to tell.

In a world where every person has two distinct identities – one in the night and one in the day – Christopher Morden is charged with investigating a series of supernatural attacks in a remote village on the edge of the kingdom. However, as a night-born, Christopher has limited access to the activities of those during the day, and his day-brother Aleksander seems to have his own agenda.

The premise of every person having two separate identities for day and night was very intriguing, and quite well pulled off. The characters of Christopher and Aleksander are treated as two entirely separate people, and have interactions with alternate sides of other characters depending on whether it is day time or night time. This was well constructed and much easier to follow than I expected.

I won’t say much on the magical aspects because I don’t want to give away the plot, but I will say that Equinox is a very dark fantasy and contains some unexpectedly graphic scenes. This is a book of dark witchcraft and ritual, not a nice story of magic and spells.

The writing style is a tad meandering and the plot develops very slowly. It is a very good book, but it took a long time to really get into it and certainly won’t appeal to everyone.

I knew from the moment I read the synopsis for this book that I was going to enjoy it and I'm so happy to say it did not disappoint!

I love the idea of having one person but two different identities as the sun rises and sets. The thought of having someone who shares your body but might have a different personality just had me hooked and I loved that this story was told from the perspective of both Christophor and Alexander. With the former being a Special Inspector and the latter being a musician, the two couldn't led more different lives.

The premise behind this book is so unique and intriguing with witchcraft and war at its forefront.  With somewhat gruesome descriptions, this story was so well written and for me, quite easy to figure out this world that Towsey has created. 

This is a book I find myself thinking about and I recommend it to those who love historical fantasy with dark themes, a mystery to be solved and witchcraft.

The premise was what lured me in, and kept me going.
The two sides are so distinct, I never needed anyone to tell me who is who, because they were characterised in an amazing way.
The world building was great, but sadly, there was not enough view into the magic system for me. But because of the world building, the tone is set to just fit the story, especially the murder mystery part.
As engaging as this part was, it overshadowed the plot the reeled me in (2 sides in one body), and slowed the pace tremendously. I would have rather read this story with a character driven plot, than with one about a murder. But the murder kept me reading in the end, and it is definitely something for lovers of such stories.

The premise of this book is what caught my interest: two souls exist in one body, one awake/alive/in control during the day, the other at night. The protagonist is Christopher, a Special Inspector who lives by night, and Alexsander, a musician who lives by day.
I feel like the blurb misrepresents the focus a little bit (or, at least, I misread it) — this is effectively a mystery, with the focus on the investigation rather than the occult or conflict between the day/night-siblings. It might be your thing if you like slow-paced murder-mystery style detective stories with a dash of witchcraft and the interesting day/night concept to garnish it.
Rather surprisingly for a second-world fantasy, the worldbuilding was Christo-centric, with libraries held within cathedrals, witchcraft warded away by a crucifix, and the Christian King sending his armies to do battle with heathen tribes in the south. If this was a less than deliberate inclusion, I’d say the author has some considerable biases to examine; it was intentional, then my kindest interpretation is that the author wanted to spare readers the brainpower of understanding the societal structures so we could use it on the magical worldbuilding instead—which would display a glaring assumption about who will be reading this book (and anyway, we don’t actually get a lot of information about the magic system).

I love good worldbuilding, and this book has it! In this world each body is two distinct people, one during the day and one at night. Our protagonist(s) is (are?) Cristophor the methodical special investigator (witch-hunter) by night and his “day brother” Alexander the musician/libertine. It’s an interesting concept that the author fleshes out pretty well. As far as culture and religion, the world closely resembles an early 18th century Europe where malicious magic is most definitely real.

The plot revolves around Christophor’s investigation into dangerous witchcraft in a small border town where he is a stranger. The pacing is on the slow side for most of the book, which I don’t mind at all. However, the end felt extremely rushed and bombastic by comparison, leaving me a bit confused over the actual role and motivation of some of the characters. Notwithstanding pacing issues and a few loose ends, I enjoyed this (rather dark) fantasy and would highly recommend it to fans of the genre. I would love it if the author wrote more books set in this world!

3.5/5.

Equinox started with one of the most exciting and original concepts that I've read in a while - the idea of having a "day" and "night" person inhabiting the same body but one being in charge for the night and the day was so interesting to me. I also loved that witchcraft and magic were also twisted into it. It gave me a VE Schwab sort of vibe which is definitely the sort of thing I'm into. The concept was well-designed and the way it was written as though it were matter of fact was amazing to me - a lot of thought had gone into the narrative.

I loved the foreboding atmosphere running throughout the book especially with the bizarre horror elements - the horse being torn to shreds, the letters coming off the page in an attempted assassination were written with incredible detailed imagery and I couldn't get enough.

Unfortunately, I found the book quite slow and convoluted - it ended up turning into more of a murder mystery and less about the witchcraft, when really, the magic and witchcraft was what had initially drawn me in to reading this book. It felt more Agatha Christie and the first half of the book spent a lot of time on getting to know the characters when I felt like this could have been done simultaneously with the plot being driven forward.

Overall this was a really interesting read with an incredible concept! Definitely good for fans of Poirot or amazing worldbuilding.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley for the review copy.

When I read the blurb, I knew I had to read the rest of the book. The idea of two people sharing a single body as day/night brothers and sisters is extremely cool and makes for all sorts of complications. Add creepy, gothic elements, a dark village, and occult rituals, and you get a unique, dark thriller.

While I absolutely loved the concept, the execution wasn't for me. I know that it's important to have cool ideas serve a plot, rather than the other way around, but, in this case, I felt that the greatest potential for conflict lay in the relationship between night siblings, rather than in the odd occurrences that kicked off Morden's research.

The conflict and occasional begrudging cooperation between the grim inspector Christophor Morden, who only lives at night, and his day-brother Aleksander, a fun-loving musician, might only be possible in the realm of fantasy. Yet, it might resonate with anyone who ever had a sibling or housemate with a completely different schedule, personality, and set of goals.

It was particularly such conflict that I wanted to see explored further; the way Equinox went, I felt that the most interesting ideas were suggested, rather than explored. The raising of the day-siblings of children born by day, for example, or the way one navigated their day/night sibling's romance with someone they disliked were both concepts I would be keen to read more on. There was some information about the ways in which life in the setting of Equinox had to differ from life in our world, but I felt that those elements had to take a backseat, and, ultimately, they didn't feel very relevant to the plot.

I found the occult mystery less gripping than it could have been. This was partly because, once in the creepy village where everything unfolds, the story mainly involves investigations, dinners, and conversations in which first Christophor and then Aleksander participate. Apart from an intelligent and creepy little boy who shows them an angle they hadn't considered before, I didn't find the rest of the characters particularly interesting.

The mystery was well-done, but I couldn't truly care about the culprit or his victims much, because I couldn't see the personal stakes and motivations which could have made the story truly breathtaking. The conclusion was chilling as far as aesthetics were concerned but it wasn't really surprising or deep, as the antagonist wasn't thoroughly explored.

That being said, the world-building of Equinox was superb, and I would be interested in reading a different, more character-focused story in this universe.

Equinox
by David Towsey
#Equinox

Christophor Morden lives by night. His day-brother, Alexsander, knows only the sun. They are two souls in a single body, in a world where identities change with the rising and setting of the sun. Night-brother or day-sister, one never sees the light, the other knows nothing of the night.

Early one evening, Christophor is roused by a call to the city prison. A prisoner has torn his eyes out and cannot say why. Yet worse: in the sockets that once held his eyes, teeth are growing. The police suspect the supernatural, so Christophor, a member of the king’s special inspectorate, is charged with finding the witch responsible.

Night-by-night, Christophor’s investigation leads him ever further from home, toward a backwards village on the far edge of the kingdom. But the closer he gets to the truth, the more his day-brother’s actions frustrate him. Who is Alexsander protecting?

What does he not want Christophor to discover?

And all the while, an ancient and apocalyptic ritual creeps closer to completion...

Equinox is a book with a cool and unique concept, however, I find the slow pacing of the story had affected its quality, next just when things are getting interesting, I felt that the ending was rushed a bit, and finally I wished that the author had explained further how the magic system of the world works. Despite all this I would still recommend it to those who are looking something new and that is why I believe that it's still worth a try.

Thank you NetGalley for providing with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

One of the reasons I love science fiction and fantasy is that genre isn’t a narrow field it’s not just epic quests and travels to alien planets. The genres contain many flavours of comedy, tragedy and every other type of tale. Fantasy mixed with mystery we tend to think of belonging to contemporary fiction with various wizards and witches solving modern crimes with the odd quip but mysteries can appear in other forms. Pratchett’s Guards or RJ Barker’s Assassins move the case to more recognisably fantasy secondary worlds. In David Towsey’s novel Equinox we get a mystery to solve that brings danger, witchcraft and some truly innovative ideas to make a highly memorable tale.

It is 1721 in the town of Esteberg and a time of witches, magic, and imminent war with the realm’s neighbours. Christophor is a very experienced and sombre Special Inspector trained to identify the signs of the practitioners and ensure they receive swift justice. He is ordered by the King to inspect a young thief in prison who is discovered to have removed their own eyes due to the presence of teeth in the sockets. A new witch is at work. Christophor is then ordered to the thief’s hometown of Drakenford on the borders where war is looking to find this new witch amongst the towsfolk and prevent them getting more powerful. Christophor starts to fear an ancient ritual is being performed but he is also frustrated as he knows once the night ends that his day-brother Alexsander takes over his body living his life as musician and without the focus to solve the crime as various strange events start to take place.

I found Equinox a brilliant, strange, and often disturbing bit of dark fantasy. What for me makes this work is very little is explained in this world and instead the reader has to piece together clues. The great concept though is that everyone has a night and day side to themselves. A totally different person who often has different wants, needs and behaviours to their counterpart. Towsey gives us a world where prisons have to let the non-guilty party walk out during the time of their sentence, they’re not responsible for. People can have different relationships with different people and each can leave messages and instructions for their ‘sibling’ who also shares a dim remembrance of the previous day or night’s encounter.

Ultimately Towsey has created a late 20th century almost eastern European world where there are two different worlds occupying the same place but separated by the rise and fall of the sun. Some people do share the same roles but often people do not. For a mystery this works as our suspects may not be even aware of their other side’s guilt and tracking them down is harder. But on top of that this is a strange world where magic is real and to be feared from the moment, we see a prisoner whose eye sockets have teeth you know this is not going to be a gentle adventure. It is instead a world with secrets, where visions and ancient knowledge do exist to be used for good and ill and Towsey is not afraid to cerate strange and starting imagery often with forms of body horror or scenes where reality alters and feels oppressive and dangerous. . It is one of the creepiest fantasy reads I’ve read for a while.

I think adding to that feeling is our two main characters Christophor and Alexsander neither of whom are wise cracking heroes that we feel entirely safe with. The tale starts with Christophor’s narration and while we can see he is very knowledgeable on dark magic that he is also a man conscious he is getting perhaps too old for his work but at the same time his work is all he seems to be. No sense of humour, very much a loner and hates to share his feeling. In contrast with Alexsander we have a man who wants to play music and have fun; perhaps also getting conscious that his time to drink and seek romance is running out too but he also very little interest in the occult and his brother’s strange role – he feels the more human of the two but also probably the weaker in character. All of which makes him a wonderful fish out of water when they arrive in Drakenfield.

Drakenfield is just full of secrets and suspects. It’s a small town on the regions with its own cultures and no warm love for the remote King who may be making this a future battlefield. Without getting stereotypical we have people in power who appear shifty, children who appear strange and an overall sense of the brothers being in a little too deep. Christophor is himself the introvert who knows too much of dark magic being suspected while Aleksander just meets fellow drinkers and looks for a little romance to his brother’s despair. But you do slowly get a sense that this town is being played with by a very powerful foe and when we see the strange and horrible acts that the witch is capable of then we definitely don’t expect a fully happy ending. It’s a tale that is murky, nightmarish and the mystery is a good one full of twists, clues and revelations that keep us going until the final tense chapters.Even the two main characters get suspicious of the other’s motivations all leading to uncertainty over how this can end well. Towsey even adds strange visions with apocalyptic imagery to raise the stakes and get the sense of the world ending soon as war and disease all start to commence around this strange little town.

Equinox is a fine dark fantasy tale (and looks to be a standalone tale to boot); filled with mystery, unusual characters and a fascinating concept that never feels the need to explain itself too much. I was hugely impressed and gobbled this tale up. Hugely impressed and a name I’ll be looking out for in the future and strongly recommend you to pick this up if an unsettling fantasy mystery appeals