The final instalment of the HMRC saga sees the end of the world. I mean, we saw it coming, but we kinda hoped…
Ciara had been unmasked as her sister Niamh’s killer, but she’d also rid the world of evil warlock Dabney Hale. And she’d managed to reconcile herself with Leonie and Elle at the last minute, undoing the terrible transformation that Elle had visited on her cheating husband. Things were undoubtedly messy, but the depths of these relationships had been laid bare, despite all the damage that had been done, suggesting that coven was thicker than blood and water both, and some way out might yet be possible.
But Lucifer is cleverer than that. Leviathan will rise, and he’s not the only one.
The conclusion to the story of the Hebden witches isn’t as cleanly plotted as the first two books, but then the end of the world is a mess, ok? Getting around the apocalyptic issues means more than one magical McGuffin getting shoehorned into the plot, and then an extremely Dr Who timey-wimey third act that struggles with its rigid determinism, but is at least faithful to the losses the trilogy has experienced ahead of it.
More vital to the impact of the ending is the emotional punches that start coming from page one and simply do not stop. No one is spared the pain of the battle with Satanis, but there are also a hell of a lot of satisfying endings as well.
The closing is *literally* a gem.
A very worthy end to a simply brilliant series. There is also a tantalising option for future stories right at the end: bring me the Fortress Files, witches!
I was sent this ARC by HarperCollins and I’m really grateful to Maddie Conlan and Juno Dawson for letting me have a look.
Damien Kelly 
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