Review Detail

The Invocations is a supernatural mystery to catch an occult serial killer. The story flows between Emer Bryne, Jude Wolf, and Zara Jones’ perspectives. Each has developed backstories that are interesting, but as the story unfolds, you find out just how much their skills and troubles all tie together with the murders of other young women. They can’t solve their problems without each other.
Emer Bryne was young when witch hunters came and slaughtered her family. Demons helped her survive for years on her own. She grew into a talented cursewriter who helps other women reclaim power from the men that would abuse them with their deals with demons. Jude Wolf is a discarded heiress. Disowned from her billionaire family 2 years ago for a supposed drug addiction, but she was really suffering from a botched curse that is desiccating her soul from the inside out, and she needs Emer’s help to transfer the curse away from her. Zara’s sister was murdered one year ago by the serial killer, and she is stubborn enough to learn necromancy to have a proper good-bye and to learn about her killer.
Sutherland is a powerful storyteller whose story is engaging and haunting. The necromancy scenes are detailed and stomach-churningly graphic. If you have lost someone, then these scenes may be especially hard to read.
While the story is about magic, curses, and demons, there are clear references made to abusive men and the oppression of women. These angry girls are reclaiming their power from the patriarchy that would give everything to one gender and dismiss the other. There is also a strong sense of found family as these girls meet and support each other through some very ill-advised goals. There is a small spark of romance between two of the girls. It is there, but this is far from a story with a romance subplot.
Overall, if you like suspense, thrillers, magic, fantasy, occult, female empowerment, and found family, then this is a great choice. It seems to wrap up as a standalone novel, although it leaves room for a sequel if the author decides to in the future. This is an extremely well-written story that will keep you turning pages, staying up late, and having some disturbing dreams, so beware; it is not for the faint of heart.