April 18, 2016
The third and final book in Ringle’s Chrysomelia Stories (following 2014’s Underworld’s Daughter) opens with Sophie Darrow—the modern reincarnation of Persephone—in shock after members of the anti-immortal cult Thanatos kill her parents and destroy her home. Her would-be lover, Adrian, the reincarnation of Hades and the man responsible for reintroducing Sophie to the Underworld and her many lifetimes, is wracked with guilt over the carnage. Sophie and the other reincarnated immortals spend much of the book dealing with the repercussions of the attack and preparing for the next one. But this time, the Thanatos cultists have figured out a way into the Underworld itself, and they wield a magic that can be lethal even to immortals. Ancient memories from significant past lives are interlaced throughout the story, including the mystery of why the chrysomelia tree, whose fruit bestowed immortality, is dying. The lion’s share of this final volume is a slow boil, but while there’s more introspection than in previous volumes, Ringle provides a thoroughly satisfying thread-tying conclusion.