Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
Rachel Harrison is one of my go-to authors in the Horror space. I feel like she brings her own special brand to the genre that I would generally classify as Cozy Horror.
Black Sheep is very similar in feel to her earlier works that I adored, Cackle and Such Sharp Teeth. Even though I enjoyed both of those ones a bit more than Black Sheep, this is still incredibly well done.
In this story we are following Vesper Wright, a cynical 20-something, who is estranged from her family and working as a waitress at a job she hates. Seriously, if she has to sing that birthday song one more time…
Sometimes things can go from bad to worse though, and Vesper ends up losing said job after an incident involving very hot nacho cheese. Don’t ask.
Unfortunately, worse is about to get even…worser? Vesper has received an invitation to her cousin, Rosie’s, wedding. Vesper dropped her family like a hot potato the minute she turned 18 and hasn’t looked back.
Sure, she couldn’t stand them, that’s why she left, but she was also told if she did leave their staunchly religious community, she could never return. Thus, she hasn’t. But this invitation; this could change things.
Is Vesper ready to return? Is she ready to face her past and her family’s dark secrets? Why not? She’s certainly not doing a heck of a lot of anything else.
Feeling like something inside her is compelling her to go, Vesper packs her bags and heads home for the first time. The toxic environment she left hasn’t changed much and Vesper quickly begins to question her choice to return.
Her mother, Constance, a former Horror film star is just as terrible, no maybe even more terrible than Vesper remembers. It’s not just her mother though. Everything seems more dangerous and sinister than before. The house, the community, what exactly is going on here?
This is such a great story. It was surprising. I definitely can’t say anything else about the plot without risking giving something away, which I don’t want to do.
I expected this to be a particular type of story and Harrison succeeded in flipping my expectations on their head. This was such a unique take on the poisonous family drama. I really loved the choices Harrison made in telling this story.
One of my favorite aspects of Harrison’s books are her believable and relatable main characters. They just feel so well developed and realistic to me.
Even though the things her protagonists go through are horrific, or even supernatural, in nature, they often make me shake my head in agreement and sympathy. I feel like I am connecting with them on a level that shouldn’t be possible.
Vesper’s experience in this story is vastly different than what any Reader will ever experience, trust me on this, no matter how bad you think your family is, but I still think so many people will be able to relate to her story.
I also love how Harrison brings a level of humor and candor to her stories that keep you chuckling, while simultaneously grimacing in disgust, or horror. That’s a talent.
As mentioned above, this isn’t my favorite one of her stories, but it’s still top notch. I just loved Cackle and related to it so much that it would be hard to beat, and I felt very similarly about Such Sharp Teeth.
I would recommend this to any Horror Reader, but particularly those who have enjoyed Harrison’s work in the past. This is 100%-true to her narrative style and offers up some stunning commentary on home and family.
Harrison has such a creative gift. I hope she keeps on cranking out stories like this for years to come. I will absolutely be picking up each and every one of them.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Harrison never disappoints. This was a fantastic read!