By EV Knight

The Fourth Whore was released on March 25th.
Kenzi is only seven years old when she witnesses her brother’s death, and The Scribble Man takes his soul. Sixteen years later, she does whatever it takes to survive. With few people looking out for her, she has no other choice. But when drug dealers beat her mother to death and mother-figure Gloria into a coma, Kenzi learns The Scribble Man is real, an angel who has been watching over her since he gave her an old, tattered rabbit’s foot. What’s more, Kenzi has released the demon Lilith from her prison, and she quickly becomes a pawn trapped between the two.

The Fourth Whole is violent, brutal and bloody. The book explores the sins regularly committed against women, focusing on Lilith enacting her revenge against the men who raped her, imprisoned her, and twisted her story into that of a demon rather than the first human woman. She gathers women around her, creating her Four Whores of the Apocalypse, and uses them to incite worldwide panic.

While Lilith recruits a prostitute and a family planning clinic doctor, and sows her seeds of destruction, Kenzi learns more about The Scribble Man and Lilith, drawing her deeper into their stories. The book alternates between various point of views, allowing us glimpses into all the characters and their motivations.

This book is dark. There is a lot going on, and where it delights in some of the violence issued out, other parts feel almost quick and necessary, while some are drawn in gritty, realistic detail, making for uncomfortable reading. And a lot of this was uncomfortable. Knight clearly doesn’t shy away from brutality, and while there are both demons and angels involved, the worst of the violence comes from the hands of mere mortals, especially mortal men.

At its core, The Fourth Whore feels very much about women taking back control, whether it’s participating in revenge against those who have wronged them, or Kenzi finding the strength to make her own choices, away from the influences that have surrounded her since she was a child.

The only slight criticism I have is with Kenzi, though it could also be considered a choice on Knight’s part, especially considering what she has gone through. Often, Kenzi comes across as younger than twenty-three, and reads more like a protagonist from a YA novel, in strong contrast to the actual events of the book. Still, it didn’t detract from my love of the book, or my love for the main character.

The Fourth Whore is not for the faint of heart. It is gruesome, and gory, and made me, for one, want to set the world on fire (and I mean that in a good way). It’s an exploration of how women’s bodies are used and abused, and not just by men. It shows the lengths people will go to, in order to control others, and how easy it is to blind someone to that fact. It’s powerful and disturbing in equal measure, feeling very much full of rage, but with Kenzi as the main character, there’s hope here, too.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Whore-EV-Knight-ebook/dp/B08463X2X5/

Raw Dog Screaming Press: http://rawdogscreaming.com/

Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter: @elleturpitt
www.elleturpitt.com

I received this paperback from the publisher for review consideration.