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REVIEWS

Every now and then, a book comes along which takes you, forcibly and totally, into another world. This is that book. It holds a fairground distorting mirror up to nature, showing the reader a twisted alternative universe which is terrifyingly different from our own – and even more terrifyingly similar. Close your eyes and imagine: werewolves are normal. Those who do not fur up on full moon nights are ‘Barebacks’, mistrusted, abused, and insulted. Different. Whitfield has produced a detective thriller, love story, work of psychological horror, fantasy tale and literary novel, all in one. Expect very good word-of-mouth sales as this kind of book, once read, is fervently pressed on to friends, family, and everyone who will listen.

— Claire Bott, Publishing News, 5 May 2006

. . .right up there amongst the best; entertaining, surprising, rich, intelligent and thoroughly enjoyable with a style that speaks of a veteran author in their pomp – I can only wonder at what she’ll be able to achieve with some practice under her belt. One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time and easily one of the best novels of the year to date.

— Owen Jones, SFFWorld

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Also read an author interview here.

Fresh and beautiful . . . Take your time reading it . . . It puts you in that reading bubble, ever sought, not often found.

Scifantastic

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Kit Whitfield creates a fully realised, believable world from the very beginning and takes a traditional genre – the noir crime novel – and changes it into something extraordinary.

Kate Atkinson, winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year Award

An impressive debut. Newcomer Kit Whitfield’s Benighted is a well-written and well thought out examination of prejudice, as told through the lens of a werewolf novel. As in all of the best genre novels, there is something in it for everyone – characters who could be walking in our world, events that keep us guessing, and enough respect for her premise that you'll never listen to a howling dog quite the same way again.

— Tananarive Due, American Book Award-winning author of Joplin’s Ghost

A new kind of Us and Them, fiercely imagined, as undeniable as grit in the eye . . . my congratulations on a finely written first novel.

— Nicola Griffith, winner of two Lambda Awards, the James Tiptree Jr Award and the Nebula Award

Kit Whitfield has created a unique and powerful twist on the werewolf mythos, an eloquent parable about the profound effects of prejudice and violence on both perpetrator and victim. Benighted will leave you thinking long after you've turned the last page.

— Susan Krinard, author of Touch of the Wolf

Kit Whitfield’s Benighted is a clever, well-told tale with engaging characters and sharp social commentary, all wrapped up in ancient myth applied to modern living. Impressive.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, author of the Saint-Germain series

A fascinating and unique tale in an alternate reality where being human is a hindrance. Kit Whitfield has created an astonishing read.

— Sherrilyn Kenyon, bestselling author of the Dark Hunter series