Book Review: The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White

Title: The Fox and the Devil
Author: Kiersten White
Pages: 368
Publication Date: March 10, 2026
Publisher: Del Rey
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy
Synopsis:

An obsession with a beautiful serial killer entangles a vampire hunter’s daughter in an immortal sapphic romance in this enthralling gothic fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lucy Undying.

Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, Abraham Van Helsing—doctor, scientist, and madman devoted to studying vampires—up until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. A woman who leaves no trace behind, other than the dreams and nightmares that plague Anneke every night.

Spurred by her desire for vengeance and armed with the latest in forensic and investigatory techniques, Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch her mysterious serial killer. Because her father isn’t the only inexplicably dead body. There’s a trail of victims across Europe and Anneke is certain they’re all connected.

But during the years spent relentlessly hunting the killer, Anneke keeps some crucial evidence to infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to Anneke, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola. Devil. The obsession is mutual, and all the more dangerous for it.

The closer Anneke gets to her devil, though, the less sense the world makes. Maybe her father wasn’t a madman, after all. Diavola might be something much worse than a serial killer . . . and much harder to destroy. Because as Anneke unearths more of Diavola’s tragic past, she suspects there’s still a heart somewhere in that undead body.

A heart that beats for Anneke alone.

LINKS: Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon | Bookshop.org

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I have mixed feelings about this one. I love the author’s writing style and the found family vibes, but I struggled with the time jumps and the pacing. I think I expected a different story when I first began, and instead of a dark, vampire romance, a lot of it felt more like a horror mystery.

The first half of the story was much slower-paced than the second half. It also didn’t focus much on the supernatural aspects of the story, which disappointed me. Initially, it felt like a Jack the Ripper-style story with graphic descriptions of murder scenes and lengthy investigative dialogues. This isn’t really my preference, and I was impatiently waiting for more of the romance and vampire elements mentioned in the blurb.

I did really enjoy the found family aspect of the story, as well as Anneke’s mother’s story. I kind of wish they went more into her experiences because she was such an intriguing character. I also wish it delved more into Diavola’s backstory a bit earlier. I get why it didn’t, as there was an air of mystery about her and what happened in the past, but I never felt overly attached to her character because of this.

I think I was about 40% into the book when it started to pick up for me, and I’m pretty sure it’s because that’s when the supernatural elements were at the forefront of the plot. The pacing definitely picked up at this point, and I became much more invested in the story. That being said, I never really emotionally connected to it or the characters. I did like the direction the story went after Anneke learned some shocking secrets and revelations, and I found the second half entertaining and engrossing, but overall it was just an ok read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.