Until characters face the complications that the writer has set before them, there is no conflict, often no story at all. By extension, the same holds true for readers on the hunt for new books this week. But when it’s her alter ego on the cover — pen name: T. Kingfisher — the prolific author leads readers down a decidedly darker path. An NPR reviewer, writing about a previous novel , compared Kingfisher to the Brothers Grimm — so it makes sense she’s now tackling one of their best-known fairy tales: Snow White. Expect twists aplenty as this hybrid thriller hurtles jerkily forward on the destabilizing momentum of its central mystery.