Witches and dark forests have had a strong relationship from the time when the concept emerged in the literature. Duva is the name of the place which is being described in the novel. The place has some horrifying secrets linked to it. It was said that the forest near the town had some dark forces hidden in it. Whenever a girl used to roam near the forest at night, she was eaten up by the mysterious forces present in the forest. Thus the people of the town stopped going to that place of great danger and sin.
Leigh Bardugo has invested a lot of time in this novel to describe the scenery of the town and the forest present nearby because the author wanted to mesmerize the audience first. Later the listeners feel that they too are moving with the girls of the town who are later eaten up by the forest. We can feel the grief and horror of the people who are present in the novel.
Local people get so much upset and afraid that they even stop talking about the matter because they think that the monsters can hear their whispers too. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom kind of concept gets scarier in this novel.
The issue linked to the witch is not revealed initially and the woods seem to have a monster or a beast hidden in them. After the middle of the novel, the entire concept is brought to light and the audience finally understands what is going on. Lauren Fortgang has a heavy voice which the narrator has molded in a different way in order to adjust it perfectly with the spooky novel.