Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop – Review

Published: November 11, 2025

Publisher: Ace

Series: Isle of Wyrd #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 528 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
A young detective investigating crimes of the uncanny will learn that bargains can change your fate—for good or ill—in this darkly enthralling fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Others and the Black Jewels series.

Words have power. Intentions matter.

Most people come to Destiny Park for entertainment. They come to have their cards read to tell them a bit about their future. They come to walk through a beautiful park and to eat at the hotel’s restaurant. They come in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Arcana, the paranormal beings who rule the Isle of Wyrd.

But some people come to make a bargain with the Arcana—to change their fate. And some people come for dark purposes.

When Detective Beth Fahey is sent to Destiny Park to inquire about a “ghost gun,” she will begin a strange journey on which she must learn to navigate the Arcana’s unforgiving laws and dangerous attractions. Her search will draw her into seemingly impossible cases and the secrets of her own past as tensions rise between the Arcana and their human neighbors across the river.

For the Isle of Wyrd is a place where the dead ride trains to their final destinations, predators literally become prey, and seekers’ true natures are revealed in the ripples of destiny unknowingly stirred in their wakes.

Who will live? Who will die? And who will be lost in between?

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After enjoying Anne Bishop’s The Others series and one of the companion novels, I knew I had to check out the first in her new Isle of Wyrd series. Turns of Fate is set in an alternate version of our world where there are certain places that supernatural beings congregate. One of these is the Isle of Wyrd and humans regularly take trips there like its an exotic tourist destination with the added thrill of potential danger. Bordering the isle is the Fate River and six towns, one of which is the center for any investigative work that involves the uncanny – Penwych.

This story follows Beth Fahey, the newest detective in Penwych’s thirteenth precinct and on her first trip to Wyrd she makes quite the impression. Beth gets more answers from Lucas Frost, the de facto leader of the isle, than any of the other officers in the precinct would have thought possible. She also doesn’t come back looking haunted and her success is looked upon with some trepidation. Even the even-keeled Captain Forrester is somewhat shaken by this and is worried for Beth’s future safety. 

Though Beth is what I would consider the main POV in Turns of Fate, there are multiple other POV chapters that really help flesh out the many plotlines. This is a somewhat ambitious story, though it’s not incomparable to The Others series in terms of complexity. There are POV chapters from an author looking to escape her abusive partner, Captain Forrester, Lucas Frost, and many others though some are given only a few throughout the story. Each serves to broaden the worldbuilding in some way though not all truly serve to advance the plot.

I was completely hooked on Turns of Fate and read through it in what felt like record time, though it was actually more like three days. Each time I picked it up I found myself thinking ‘just one more chapter’ and I think reading this book versus listening to the audiobook let me overlook some of the odd word choices and sometimes simplistic phrasing that has previously bothered me in Bishop’s other books. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this to fans of The Others series or anyone looking for a supernatural detective story. I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel, though I suspect it’s at least a year away.