Red Glove by Holly Black
Following the events of White Cat, Red Glove (2011) finds Cassel, the protagonist of Holly Black’s series THE CURSE WORKERS, simultaneously dealing with no shortage of familial drama and direct fallout from his actions in the earlier installment. Red Glove is thus a direct continuation of the series that seeks to build upon the established characters, world, and particular circumstances revealed at the end of the first novel: with varying success.
Red Glove takes the time to let the reader engage more with the stand-out secondary characters of the series. Some of my favourites, like Cassel’s school friends, become more central to the mystery and in turn get more nuanced side plots of their own. I liked seeing the world grow in this way, and thought it brought a great deal more to the book to let those characters have more depth. In those characters I got more of what I liked about the first book: insight on the social landscape in a world where a natural talent (curse work) is prohibited. The time with the people outside of Cassel’s family furthered that exploration in satisfying ways.
The plot of Red Glove was somewhat simpler than its predecessor. Cassel is trying to solve a murder. I’m not a mystery reader per se, so this aspect of the story wasn’t as engaging as the central mystery of White Cat. I also found it a little too easy to narrow down who the culprit might be. Overall, the plot of this installment wasn’t as intriguing as the first book.
There is a distinct shift in tone between the first and second book of THE CURSE WORKERS and that is that this installment follows a more classic ‘whodunnit’ plot. Many of the mysteries of White Cat were internal to Cassel himself, whereas Red Glove places a clear, singular mystery in the wider community of curse workers to which Cassel belongs. This shift outside of Cassel himself proved to strengthen some aspects of the series, while weakening others.
I enjoyed Red Glove almost exclusively for the background aspects. The social setting built on the existing framework of the prior installment in new and interesting ways, the secondary characters took on new life, and the subplots were poignant and interesting. All of those aspects kept me going through a more simplistic main plot. I am certain I will get around to reading the next installment, Black Heart, to see how the series wraps up.
You like this series a bit more than I do, I think. I’m eager to see what you make of BLACK HEART. That will help me decide if I want to read beyond the first one.