Review – Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction / Horror
Length: 283 pages
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Release Date: March 24, 2026
ASIN: B0F5PG3Y7Q
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed ebook from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator—but she is only able to follow her dream because of her father’s reputation as a renowned scientist. Such is the lot in life for a woman in science in 1899. And after his death, she is left without work, prospects, or hope.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on ebook from my library.

Thoughts: This was a well done historical fiction/horror novel by Kingfisher. I have read nearly every novel Kingfisher has written and really enjoyed the majority of them. This one was very creepy, a bit odd, and definitely gruesome.

We read the story from the point of view of Sonia, a talented scientific illustrator. Sonia is in a bit of a tough spot, she was able to follow her dreams to be an illustrator because her father was a renowned scientist, when he suddenly died she was left struggling to make ends meet. Getting this onsite assignment with an entomologist is a huge win for her. However, when strange animals start staring her out of the dark, and an odd secret shed in the woods is revealed, she is concerned about what she is becoming part of.

If you don’t like reading about bugs, especially parasitic bugs this is not for you. I had a variety of horrific nightmares about bugs while reading this and that’s part of why I finished it so quickly. The descriptions here are gruesome and fairly terrifying especially if you know anything about bot flies. I unfortunately worked at a veterinarian clinic during high school and got to see some of the things discussed here in real life action, so that may have been part of my revulsion…I could really picture all of this very accurately.

I really enjoyed the characters here, they are well done and strangely engaging. There is a theme of women trying to control of their own lives and escape the men that try to control them in the background of the story. There is also some discussion of discrimination, especially in the South. The entomologist is a jerk in this story but he is equally a jerk to everyone regardless of their sex or skin color which is strangely endearing.

The story is an excellent gruesome mystery with some fantastical, somewhat paranormal, elements to it. Some of these remain a bit ambiguous and you are left to determine if these fantastical things are a result of unknown or rare biology or something more.

This was a quick and entertaining read. Some parts were a bit too gut-churning for me and as I said bug nightmares were a thing while I was reading this. It was well done and entertaining through. I enjoyed learning more about these parasitic bugs, and also really enjoyed learning more about scientific illustration as well.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a well done, if gruesome, historical horror story with some fantastical elements to it. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery here. I liked some of the background themes as well. This was another Kingfisher win for me and I look forward to her future stories. Again though, if parasitic bugs make your squeamish, I don’t think you will enjoy this.