HERE LYETH by Johanna Frank is a historical supernatural novel that proves family drama hasn’t changed much since the 17th century—though modern family counseling sessions rarely include ghostly uncles. Set in the Germanic villages of Avondale and Vereiteln Dorf, Johanna Frank’s genre-bending tale weaves together two narratives in a mind-bending journey through life, death, and beyond. At the heart of the story is Lexxie, a young woman who discovers that her entire life is built on a lie when she learns she was kidnapped as a baby. Eighteen years earlier, young Meginhardt—Lexxie’s uncle—is killed by his abusive father following an act of rebellion, and finds himself in a supernatural realm where celestial beings guide him through a journey of understanding and redemption. Their stories intersect as Lexxie seeks to unravel the tangled threads of her identity while her murdered uncle’s spirit observes from beyond.
The historical elements shine in Frank’s attention to period detail and social dynamics. Village life emerges through precise observations and vivid descriptions: “Rows of white dwellings also with red-tiled roofs surrounded the church in each direction. Several even planted halfway up the mountainside lodged in between groves of wild greenery.” The novel’s greatest strength lies in its complex characterizations. Even minor figures emerge as fully realized individuals with clear motivations. Lexxie’s adopted father Harmon, for instance, could have been portrayed as a villain or saint, but is instead a flawed man doing his best under impossible circumstances. And the local priest, despite his antagonistic role, maintains a consistent internal logic that makes his actions believable, if not sympathetic.
What works best in HERE LYETH are the characters and their relationships. Frank does a marvelous job of making readers care deeply about Lexxie’s and Meginhardt’s fates; Meginhardt’s progress from abused child to vengeful spirit to enlightened being is particularly moving. The pacing can at times be a bit uneven—the early chapters set in the physical world are so immersive and compelling that the metaphysical interludes with Meginhardt can feel sluggish in comparison—and the novel’s sprawling canvas can occasionally cause its intertwining storylines to lose focus. But Frank ultimately manages to tie up all the loose ends in a poignant and emotionally satisfying way while leaving room for interpretation.
Fans of mind-bending, metaphysical odysseys like Richard Matheson’s What Dreams May Come or Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones will find much to savor in this novel’s elements of historical fiction, fantasy, and horror.
With its vividly drawn characters and compelling blend of earthly drama and metaphysical intrigue, HERE LYETH by Johanna Frank is a compulsively readable entry in the historical fantasy genre—exploring profound themes of love, loss, betrayal, and redemption.
~Edward Sung for IndieReader