Known for captivating readers across genres, Kiersten White’s newest release serves up a deliciously dark blend of mystery, romance, and supernatural intrigue. The Fox and the Devil builds on her signature strengths—fearless heroines, richly immersive worlds, and stories that linger long after the final page. Trust us: This is the kind of book you say you’ll read for 10 minutes before bed… and suddenly it’s 2 A.M..
In light of release day, we sat down with Kiersten to talk about the thrill of writing a detective-style mystery, the irresistible pull of dangerous desire, and why the line between love and destruction can make for the most compelling stories.
For someone who has never read your work before, how would you describe your storytelling style?
I’m a bit of a chameleon. I write in a lot of genres, and am just as likely to use the third-person past tense as the first-person present tense. However, I always feature determined and complex heroines, use genre conventions to engage with real-world issues, and add a dash of humor even in my darkest books. The Fox and the Devil is a historical supernatural tale, with a deliciously immersive setting, a devilishly intriguing romance, and a disturbingly realistic trail of crime scenes.
What did writing The Fox and the Devil allow you to explore that felt new?
I’ve never written a detective or crime story before, and while The Fox and the Devil has supernatural elements, the mystery is a big part of it. As a long-time fan of Sherlock Holmes, it was fun to stretch those muscles. I’ve written historical before, but this era was recent enough that my research included photographs and even short video clips from the 1900 Paris World’s Fair. That was so fun and so helpful.
Another new aspect for me was the romantic relationship. I tend to write healthy romances even in my darkest books (unless they clearly aren’t meant to end up together), but this time I knew there had to be a level of obsessiveness and twistedness that I don’t normally include. I’ll be honest—it was a lot of fun.
If you had to describe The Fox and the Devil in three words, what would they be?
Thrilling slow burn!
We’ve seen so much about yearning lately. What does this novel explore about desire, especially desire for something dangerous?
For me, romance and horror are very similar things. They’re both about building tension up to a climactic release. I think the appeal of desiring someone who is dangerous (in Diavola’s case, a murderer and maybe something more) lies in wanting to be an exception—to be seen and valued by someone for whom life has very little meaning. In real life, it would be awful to be loved by someone like that. But in fiction? It’s delicious.
This book also explores obsession—on both sides. Why are we so drawn to stories where the line between love and destruction blurs?
When we fall in love, we give the other person the power to destroy us and hope they don’t. Adding an element of actual danger is a way of making that literal. So often, real-life romance feels like life or death! I just add a little more death than normal to this one.
Without giving spoilers, how would you describe the emotional experience of reading this book?
Immersive, gruesome, swoony, and stressful. You’ll hunt a serial killer across Europe over the course of five years, open menacingly flirty letters alongside Anneke Van Helsing, attend the 1900 Paris World’s Fair in search of a supernatural terror, and come up with your own theories about whether Diavola wants to kill Anneke… or kiss her.
What do you hope readers feel when they close the final page?
Whenever I finish a book I love, I feel like I’ve just said goodbye to a dear friend. The voice, the characters, and the world all linger. I hope you’ll long to spend a little more time racing around Europe with Anneke and her merry band of detectives, and that you’ll imagine what might come next for them. Because once a story officially ends, it belongs to you.
