T KINGFISHER Hemlock and Silver. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley

Poison, mirror worlds, a life in danger and a seemingly impossible task – T Kingfisher’s latest fantasy has them all. And a talking cat.

Healer Anja isn’t fully comfortable with being called a healer, as her main passion is studying poisons and their antidotes rather than dealing with actual patients. It’s not that she doesn’t care about them, she just knows that her bedside manner leaves something to be desired. But when the king appears in her workroom one day, requesting that she examine his ill daughter Snow – who is possibly being poisoned – Anja simply cannot refuse.

At the royal family’s country estate, Anja finds Snow’s symptoms to be so general, it’s not even certain they are because of poison. However, she gave her word that she would try her best to rule it out, and she also cannot resist a puzzle.

As Snow becomes more and more unwell, despite every possible means of poison delivery being ruled out, Anja makes the shocking discovery that there is a whole other, darker world on the other side of the mirrors in this house. Joined by a wisecracking talking cat, she hopes to find clues in the mirror world that will help her treat Snow before the girl wastes away entirely.

This enchanting story is full of very detailed world-building, told in Anja’s shrewd and witty voice, with a new funny tidbit around every corner:

We took a more direct route home, passing through several wide plazas, including the Plaza of the Quail’s Fountain, which features an enormous bronze quail with water trickling out of its topknot. It’s not good art. The quail has big goggling eyes, and the water runs down its back and over its tail and, by an unfortunate coincidence, makes it look as if the bird is peeing endlessly on the floor. You’d think that people would laugh when they saw it, but in fact, the first reaction is usually fascinated horror.

Even though it is set in a fantasy world, all the talk of humours and theoretical opposites of substances being antidotes as the characters try to understand their world without modern chemistry and technology lends it a certain historical realism. Never has such dark subject matter as poisonous plants and potential gruesome deaths been so much fun to read about:

It can kill a human or an unwise herbivore quite easily, and it isn’t a good death. Racing heart, high temperature, and then you stop urinating, which can kill you a lot quicker than most people realise. (Also, the delirium and the screaming and so forth.) …

’You’re scowling very fiercely,’ said the king, startling me out of my thoughts. ‘Not at me, I hope.’

‘I … no, Your Majesty. Of course not.’ I tried to turn the scowl into a smile, which probably ended up looking ghastly. ‘I would never scowl at a king.’

‘Not where he might see you, anyway,’ the king said dryly. ‘So what were you scowling at?’

The truth was easiest. I turned and pointed. ‘That plant there.’

‘Unlucky plant. What exactly did it do?’

I explained about common thorn apple and the delirium and screaming and lack of urination, while his eyebrows went up. On my other side, Javier made a tiny sound that might have been amusement.

Anja does generally understand other people quite well but most of the time just doesn’t know what to do with this knowledge. The main social skill she hasn’t mastered is simply being able to hide this behind inane politeness and harmless small talk. Anja also overthinks everything, especially conversations, which is a great source of hilarity throughout. This habit gives her more depth and makes her a more relatable character.

Her observations are always very insightful, especially about power imbalances and women finding their place in the world. It would be a great disservice to call this book merely funny and not also wise.

As revealed in the author’s note, there’s a touching story behind the appearance of the sassy talking cat in the novel, despite Kingfisher being wary of it as a cliché. It seems a bit unfair of the official blurb to call him ‘narcissistic’ when, for the most part, he’s just a cat being catty. He’s a delightful character; always ready with an appropriately cutting comment:

‘That’ll end well,’ said the cat. ‘Invite me to the stoning when they decide you’re a witch.’

Some of what’s in the mirror world demonstrates that Kingfisher can write horror just as well as comedy. The vivid descriptions are truly the stuff of nightmares, with some great surprises thrown in too.

This novel is not just for fellow plant biologists or anyone else fascinated by poisonous plants. It’s a great take on Snow White, even though it isn’t really about her at all. It’s hilarious and charming and heartbreaking in the way that only a good story can be.

T Kingfisher Hemlock and Silver Tor 2025 PB 368pp $34.99

Amelia Dudley has degrees in plant biology. But despite spending a lot of time in the garden, her plants still occasionally die.

You can buy Hemlock and Silver from Abbey’s at a 10% discount by quoting the promotion code NEWTOWNREVIEW.

You can also check if it is available from Newtown Library.

Tags: fantasy fiction, healers, mirror worlds, poisonous plants, T | Kingfisher, talking cats