So far, this has been the hardest of the Alleyn books to get through for me. It's set around a winter solstice dance that has been carried out for centuries and passed down through generations of families in a sort of mix of folk superstition and tradition. I found it a heavy slog; and that's before the classism, xenophobia, and ableism (or whatever you'd call its inaccurate portrayal of epilepsy) that lard it throughout. Alleyn makes quick work of the mystery, and so does the reader (it's always pretty easy when there's only one dislikable character...)

Still small bits of interesting character work, amidst the stereotypes. It's not quite a 1* book. But if it'd been the first book I read in the series I doubt I would have continued.