A Sweet Sting of Salt

I received a digital advance copy of A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland via NetGalley. A Sweet Sting of Salt is scheduled for release on April 9, 2024.

A Sweet Sting of Salt follows Jean, a midwife in 1830’s Nova Scotia. She hears a cry in the night during the middle of the storm and finds a young woman in labor, unable to communicate in English. Jean delivers the woman’s baby, and realizes she must be the new wife of her only neighbor. The man’s interactions with his wife raise worries in Jean, which only grow as she gets to know the stranger and her new baby.

This novel is a queer retelling of The Selkie Wife, a folktale I was not familiar with before reading this novel. Sutherland has captured the feeling of folktale in this story, giving us a mixture of recognizable character types, complicated relationships, and a touch of the magical. While I did figure out the bit of mystery in this novel almost immediately, I still enjoyed following Jean as she worked her way to the truth.

We spend the novel with Jean, and get to know her fairly well. I would have liked the characters around Jean to be a bit more developed. There were characters that Jean had long-standing relationships with that I had trouble keeping track of or understanding as we didn’t get to know as much about them. In particular, the antagonist of the story became a bit of a caricature, as he made choices that felt extreme for what we knew of his character and the world of the story.

Overall, A Sweet Sting of Salt delivered the feel of a folktale laced with more modern themes. It will likely appeal to readers who want the cozy feel of older tales with a touch of mystery.