Uncanny Vows: The Huntsmen, Book 2

Written by Laura Anne Gilman

Narrated by BJ Harrison and Patricia Santomasso

Following the events of the high-stakes and propulsive Uncanny Times, Rosemary and Aaron Harker, along with their supernatural hound Botherton, have been given a new assignment to investigate…but the Harkers believe it’s a set-up, and there’s something far more ancient and deadly instead.

Rosemary and Aaron Harker have been effectively, unofficially sidelined. There is no way to be certain, but they suspect their superiors know that their report on Brunson was less than complete, that they omitted certain truths. Are they being punished or tested? Neither Aaron nor Rosemary know for certain. It may be simply that they are being given a breather or that no significant hunts have been called in their region. But neither of them believes that.

So, when they are sent to a town just outside of Boston with orders to investigate suspicious activity carefully, the Harkers suspect that it is a test. Particularly since the hunt involves a member of the benefactors, wealthy individuals who donate money to the Huntsmen in exchange for certain special privileges and protections.

If they screw this up…at best, they’ll be out of favor, reduced to a life of minor hunts and “clean up” for other Huntsmen. At worst, they will be removed from the ranks, their stipend gone—and Botheration, their Hound, taken from them.

They can’t afford to screw this up.

But what seems like a simple enough hunt—find the uncanny that attacked a man in his office and sent him into a sleep-like state—soon becomes far more complicated as more seemingly unrelated attacks occur.

But their quarry may not be the only uncanny in town. Botheration and Aaron both sense something else, something shadowing them. Something old, dangerous…and fey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spotify Audiobooks
• Release date: Nov 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667076355

Reviews for Uncanny Vows

[Billie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Uncanny Vows
by Laura Anne Gilman
Huntsmen #2
Fantasy Mystery
Everand (Scribd) Audio
14+

Siblings Rosemary and Aaron Harker have spent the last few months worried that the circle may suspect the siblings had left out a few details in their report about their last hunt in Brunson. They suspect this because they have yet to be summoned to investigate any suspected Uncanny incidents.
That is until they get 'unofficial' orders to investigate activity concerning a Huntsmen benefactor.

The two can't help but wonder if it's a test, and that suspicion grows when they run into a fellow Huntsmen at their hotel. Knowing that if they mess up, their days of being Huntsmen could be over, and worse their Hound, Bother, could be taken from them.

The Uncanny that induced an unwakeable sleep in the brother of the benefactor's wife is a mystery, and while it's not unusual for more than one Uncanny to be in a town, Aaron begins to worry that the one he'd felt following him and Bother may be one of those the Huntsmen thought was in hiding.


Still reminding me a little of the TV show 'Supernatural', the brother and sister are once again looking for a creature. Because this is part of a series, I can't give too many details, but to sum up, it was good. The characters are well developed, the setting real, and the mystery is kind of a slow drawn-out search. Though unlike regular mysteries, the reader is pretty much at the mercy of the author because the Uncanny is a complete unknown but from the clues, I was able to figure out a few things, the Uncanny itself was unnameable. It's not a bad thing, but it takes a little bit of fun out of the 'solving' the mystery.

Thankfully this book had a little more backstory of the Huntsmen and magic, but sadly only two Uncanny were in this book, though only one was the main focus. The other, I had the feeling when something was talked about, and more than likely the next book will have more of this Uncanny.

And yes, I'll be looking for the next book.

Minor violence and blood, but suitable for readers 14 and older.

3 Stars