Juniper Wiles Does Not Want to Be Queen

Juniper Wiles #3

by Charles de Lint

Anyone who knows her wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Jilly sees the world through a prism of faerie tales. It was years before I came to understand that she wasn’t just being whimsical when she talked so easily about hobs and brownies and various kinds of faerie creatures.

They were real.

Faerieland, otherworlds, and all the denizens and creatures you might imagine to live there.

It was all real.

And so were ghosts.

I remember when I first realized this. I felt like my head was going to explode.

* * *

Juniper left her life as a Hollywood actor to live quietly back home in Newford. The last thing she wants is to be involved in the media circus that is the Newford ComicFest. But when Galfreya, the seer of the local Faerie Court, comes to her with a prediction (“If you go, there will be trouble. If you don’t go, the result will be catastrophic.”) she feels she doesn’t have much of a choice.

Turns out the distance between trouble and catastrophe isn’t as wide as Juniper and her friends hoped.

Sometimes you just can’t win.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2025

About the author

Charles de Lint is the much beloved author of more than seventy adult, young adult, and children's books. Renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre, he is the recipient of the World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others. Modern Library's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century poll, conducted by Random House and voted on by readers, put eight of de Lint's books among the top 100.
De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. He has written critical essays, music reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and he's been the main book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. De Lint served as Writer-in-residence for two public libraries in Ottawa and has taught creative writing workshops for adults and children in Canada and the United States. He's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.

Born in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant. The family moved often during de Lint's childhood because of his father's job with an international surveying company, but by the time Charles was twelve—having lived in Western Canada, Turkey and Lebanon—they had settled in Lucerne, Quebec, not far from where he now resides in Ottawa, Ontario.

In 1980, de Lint married the love of his life, MaryAnn Harris, who works closely with him as his first editor, business manager and creative partner. They share their love and home with a cheery little dog named Johnny Cash.

Charles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. His skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from peers, reviewers and readers.

Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.
—Holly Black (bestselling author)
Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.
—Alice Hoffman (bestselling author)

To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways.
—Quill & Quire

His Newford books, which make up most of de Lint's body of work between 1993 and 2009, confirmed his reputation for bringing a vivid setting and repertory cast of characters to life on the page. Though not a consecutive series, the twenty-five standalone books set in (or connected to) Newford give readers a feeling of visiting a favourite city and seeing old friends.
More recently, his young adult Wildlings trilogy—Under My Skin, Over My Head, and Out of This World—came out from Penguin Canada and Triskell Press in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Under My Skin won 2013 Aurora Award. A novel for middle-grade readers, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, published by Little Brown in 2013, won the Sunburst Award, earned starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Quill & Quire, and was chosen by the New York Times Editors as one of the top six children's books for 2013. His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (2009), is a fascinating ghost story about love, passion and faith. It was a finalist for both the Sunburst and Evergreen awards.

De Lint is presently writing a new adult novel. His storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. He and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which can be heard on de Lin

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still a good read but the previous two were definitely my favorites so far. I think as much as I like Juniper and I know she's the main character I just find myself wanting a little more Jilly, and a little more Newford.

[Lady Mockingbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good next installment of the Juniper Wiles stories. Silly, and Wendy only have tertiary roles, but we get to see Juniper and Christiana kick some supernatural evil where it hurts.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I moved my review from a 5 to a 4. As series mysteries go (and I read a lot of them), the Juniper Wiles books are excellent. They are not, however, as good as de Lint at his best, in books like Trader, Someplace to be Flying or The Wind in His Heart. Those books are Literature with a capital L, books that push the reader into contemplation. This one is a great yarn that reads propulsively, though it does raise the question of when violence is a necessary response and to what degree. It is just not for me as immersive as the others mentioned.

Still, a middling de Lint is at least as good as most people's best, and I am looking forward to others in the series. Seeing Jilly as someone in her sixties is jarring (how did we all get here?), but watching her move into her Crone years will be interesting.

[Jo Anne]

Yes, you do need to read books 1 and 2. But they are both fun and quick reads, so no complaining.

Once Juniper left LA and acting behind for good, she happily settles back into her life in Newford. She hangs with Jilly and the Stanton Street group, paints, reads, plays with her newly adopted dog and also solves supernatural mysteries, since she can talk with ghosts.

When Mother Crone comes to Jupiter's house, she is very surprised. Also a little annoyed when Mother tells her something bad is going to happen soon but it will go a little bit better if Juniper is there. "There" is the Convention Centre and the event is the Newford ComicFest. Jupiter hates these events but agrees to join her former castmates from the Nora Constantine tv show.

Partway through the panel discussion of the show, Juniper gets called away to a crime scene where she sees a man leaning against the wall in a restroom, his brain missing since the top of his head has been bitten off. Thus begins the mad adventure to discover the culprit which consists of, well, you'll have to read the book. Great action, fast paced, creepy and scary and as always, Juniper's kind heart and anger when innocent people are harmed.

By the way, if you are a de Lint fan, this book is also available in a signed, limited edition hard cover. It may be sold out by now, but it doesn't hurt to check. It's quite gorgeous.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles de Lint is an artistic treasure of massive story-telling skill. All of his books are worth reading. Some are better than others. But the quality over the breadth of work is astounding. The Juniper Wiles books land somewhere in the middle for me. They are a little heavy on violence (brain-eating elementals in this volume) than I would otherwise expect from a de Lint novel. But that's a minor issue because the plot and the characters are spot on. In theory, someone who hasn't read any of the Newford books could read the Juniper Wiles books, but there is a lot of character history that would be missed. But to have Juniper interact with some of the best characters in literature (I'm talking about YOU, Jilly Coppercorn). I do like the format of a supernatural detective solving crimes and her adventures and struggles. This volume is excellent and worth reading.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juniper Wiles and her friend Jilly Coppercorn are PIs and also work for the Newford Police investigating woo- woo stuff in this third book in the series. Juniper is told by Mother Crone go to a sci-fi convention or there could be trouble. If she doesn't go things could get catastrophic. Read on Kindle. I have a ‘rule’ that I read or reread a de Lint book first, for my reading year to be happy.

[Georgia Tumbleweed McNabb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Great Juniper Wiles Story!!

I just love reading about the Newford Stories. This is the 3rd book I've read in the Juniper Wiles series and looking forward to more, hopefully soon. This is a book I planned to read for an hour and then get some chores done. Instead I read the whole book in 1 sitting, guess chores get done tomorrow.

[Ted Henderson]

Another great read from one of my favorite authors!

I'm always happy to see Charles publishing a new book! It makes me want to re-read some of his earlier stuff. I guess him and Niel Gaiman are my two favorite authors. Thanks again for giving us the pleasure of your excellent imagination!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing

I think Juniper might be one of my favorite Newford residents. She's sort of like what might happen if Nancy Drew were dropped into Buffy or Supernatural.

I read almost all of this in one setting

[Darrel Melvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book I have read by Charles DeLint has been gift of good reading in a special world. Juniper Wiles Does Not Want to Be Queen is the newest of these books and another immersive and entertaining read. I highly recommend the 3rd book in the Juniper Wiles series.

[Christie M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five out of five

They always are. Charles DeLint never disappoints. I'm 40 years in, and I leave every story with the book hugged to my chest, holding my breath a little, feeling the magic and waiting for the next one. Cheers

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantasy

It's urban fantasy and it's Charles de Lint. What's not to love? He has a way of making the fantastical seem normal making it easy to believe, if only for a while, that fairies and boggans really exis. Also, that good can, eventually, triumph over evil.

[Cynthia Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delight.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a pleasure!

It's always a great pleasure to read something new by Charles de Lint. He's been my favorite author for years and this book definitely doesn't disappoint.

[Sas astro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent chapter in the Juniper Wiles series

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always wonderful to visit Newford and its inhabitants. I like Juniper Wiles's viewpoint quite a bit.

[Mai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Charles de Lint, love Juniper Wiles. This book does not disappoint. Loved it!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great new Juniper story

I like where the Juniper Wiles stories are going. She’s a great character, and brings some much needed muscle to Newford scene.

[Khi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading about Newford again with Jilly, Joe and Juniper and their friends. The comic convention-setting was an interesting twist.

Not happy reading about the gang in the mountains. For me the descriptions about the trafficing part of the gangs doings were too close to the news in the real world, and I wish the sexual violence, and the sinister feeling it gave, was left out, even tho it was fortunately not scribed in detail..

[Karen Quintiere · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will never, ever, go wrong if you pick up a Charles de Lint book. He’s a master of the urban fantasy genre. I love his Newford books…and it’s so fun to see one of my favorite characters from Newford in this series.