Listeners of the eerie podcast Welcome to Night Vale know that in the town of Night Vale, there is a faceless old woman who lives in everybody's home. She might light a refrigerator on fire if it upsets her, or she might want the Wi-Fi password, but never has she revealed how she came to live there or what happened to her face.
Her story stretches back to the 18th century in a Europe that features several additional countries. An idyllic childhood ends in tragedy, setting her on a lifelong quest for revenge against a shadowy criminal organization. Adventure and humor blend with a fablelike tone reminiscent of The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Woven throughout the story are chapters set in modern Night Vale, in which she addresses a resident named Craig. She treats him sometimes like a roommate, sometimes like a son in whose life she meddles and sometimes as if she's the ghost who haunts his house. By the end, her particular interest in Craig will become chillingly clear.
This third Welcome to Night Vale novel from Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor (Welcome to Night Vale) requires no prior knowledge of the previous books or the podcast, although readers versed in the larger universe will be pleased to get glimpses of the history of other familiar characters and mysterious organizations that populate that world. Part Ruritanian romance, part horror story, The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home will enchant fans and newcomers alike. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library