Status Updates From House of Bathory

“Continue without embellishment. Get to the meat of the subject.” Yes, yes yes, I agree with Count Thurzo. The book has so many different characters, points of view, plot threads, and banal conversations. All of it superfluous.

Betsy still remembered the touch of his fingertips as he traced the line of her jaw, the contours of her shoulders. She felt his warm breath lingering on her, intoxicating. He smelled of pine needles and warm sunny hikes in the mountains.

‘The Nine of Swords is also called the ‘Lord of Cruelty,' said Gillette
I don't understand why this card would be singled out. It’s only Minor Arcana. Most of the Sword cards have unnerving pictures, but this is only from the Rider–Waite deck which is not that old. Since the Rider–Waite deck changed the meaning of some of the Major Arcana cards, I don’t consider it that deep.

My Hungarian father shared tales of Countess Bathory. Once when I was in Slovakia, we drove by the ruins of the Cachtice Castle and our tour guide briefed us on the events leading to Bathory’s arrest & confinement until her death. The book was a bit mind-boggling with dates and timelines for two plots and subplots, but it’s a novel full of castle intrigue, the terror of Royal Hungary, and travel into Transylvania.