Claire DeWitt #2

The second volume of this Dutch series sets an unmistakably dark tone: Fred de Heij's cover places a pale, bandaged woman — a trickle of blood running down her face — in the foreground, while a looming red devil figure lurks ominously behind her. "Aan de poort van de Hel" ("At the Gates of Hell") promises exactly the kind of tense, atmospheric thriller that Willem Ritstier and de Heij have crafted together, blending crime and the supernatural into something genuinely unsettling. If the first volume left you curious about Claire DeWitt's world, this 2016 installment from XTRA looks ready to push her somewhere much more dangerous.