Wisp of a Thing: A Novel of the Tufa (Tufa #2) by Alex Bledsoe

Series: Tufa #2
352p.
Publisher: Tor
Available Now
Source: From Tor for review

Alex Bledsoe’s The Hum and the Shiver was named one of the Best Fiction Books of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews. Now with Wisp of a Thing Bledsoe returns to the isolated ridges and hollows of the Smoky Mountains to spin an equally enchanting tale of music and magic older than the hills… 

Touched by a very public tragedy, musician Rob Quillen comes to Cloud County, Tennessee, in search of a song that might ease his aching heart. All he knows of the mysterious and reclusive Tufa is what he has read on the internet: they are an enigmatic clan of swarthy, black-haired mountain people whose historical roots are lost in myth and controversy. Some people say that when the first white settlers came to the Appalachians centuries ago, they found the Tufa already there. Others hint that Tufa blood brings special gifts. 

Rob finds both music and mystery in the mountains. Close-lipped locals guard their secrets, even as Rob gets caught up in a subtle power struggle he can’t begin to comprehend. A vacationing wife goes missing, raising suspicions of foul play, and a strange feral girl runs wild in the woods, howling in the night like a lost spirit.
Change is coming to Cloud County, and only the night wind knows what part Rob will play when the last leaf falls from the Widow’s Tree…and a timeless curse must be broken at last.

My thoughts:
I had read the first book, The Hum and the Shiver, which surprised me. I really enjoyed that book and it was a different kind of paranormal story. While you could probably get into the story without reading the first book, I do not suggest it. There are some subtle background to this world you understand better if you read it in order. It makes this book flow better.

In this book we are thrown back into the Tufa world though the eyes of Rob Quillen who looks like a Tufa, but isn't connected to them by blood. Having been sent to the area in search of a song to heal a broken heart he finds much more than he bargained. He also finds that helping others helps the pain to be less severe. He also stumbles on a age old mystery that has held a community captive. We also find out that there are even more mysteries than we first thought and through the story it shows us where the mysteries lie and how to solve them. The only question left is if they will be brave enough to use the solution.

I give this book 4 stars. It is a good second book and I really enjoyed the dark ethereal world. Those that like unusual and inventive stories of the fae and music will really like this series.