Some of the later books in that James III series (for instance, Dido and Pa and Is, particularly) are rather grim. Generally speaking, Aiken has got a healthy ability to allow some of her characters to die rather than all of them to be miraculously saved - the baddies in particular often come to very sticky ends - but it gets a bit over the top later on.

I re-read Midnight is a Place recently (not in the James III series) and it is very grim and gritty indeed. Again, a bit off-puttingly so, I thought.