dark

Review: Lone Women by Victor LaValle

~ megs14malloy

Lone WomenLone Women by Victor LaValle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤

Lone Women follows Adelaide Henry as she leaves her life in California behind and starts again in the wide-open spaces of Montana.

It’s 1915 and Adelaide is essentially fleeing from her previous life, leaving death and destruction behind her. At least that is what she is hoping.

In Montana, she’ll be a lone homesteader. On her journey, she’s conspicuously dragging with her an overweight steamer trunk. That’s not suspicious at all…

This story is steeped with mystery from the very first pages. A tragedy occurred on the Henry farm and Adelaide is on the run, but you have no idea what happened.

Adelaide is rushed and confused, she’s full of anticipation and doubt about her chosen path. Can she actually do this? It won’t be easy. The landscape is brutal, unforgiving.

Will she even be able to survive her first month on her own, let alone a lifetime? She feels ill-prepared.

Something is going on with the trunk. She’s so concerned about it. Double, triple-checking that it’s securely locked; that no one goes near it. It gave me anxiety.

What is in the trunk!?!?

As the Reader you follow along as Adelaide stakes her claim in Montana and begins to figure out a path to survival. She makes friends and begins to fall into a pattern.

She should know though, it won’t stay uneventful forever. She should know better, that soon enough, you know what is gonna hit the fan and boy, does it ever.

In addition, to Adelaide’s own secrets and demons, she also has to contend with those of others. It seems like a lot of people came to Montana running from something.

These homesteaders are essentially forging their own society. There’s going to be some good actors and some bad. Adelaide runs into them all.

I enjoyed this as a story of female rage, power, will and spirit. Adelaide is such an interesting main character to follow. I loved watching as the truth of her life slowly unfolded.

There were some interesting developments towards the end that I’m not quite sure what to make of yet. I feel like I could read this story a few times and pick up different points every time. LaValle packed a lot in and I’m sure a bit of it has gone over my head.

The dark elements in this were really well done, but I enjoyed them most in contrast to everything else. I liked how they added such an odd layer to the overarching plot. It made everything seem more perilous.

I also liked how those same dark elements made me question Adelaide herself; her nature, whether I really knew her at all. It was definitely compelling. I had to keep reading because I had to know more.

Additionally, I found LaValle’s writing style extremely fluid and easy to read. I feel he really succeeded in bringing a lush and historical atmosphere to this story.

In fact, the historical details were so well done, I felt like I was being transported to another time and place while reading. I was hungry, I was cold and I was scared once the sun went down. That’s a great reading experience.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys creative Dark Fiction, or Historical Horror stories. Even though this is a relatively short-story, there’s so much great content packed in here.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a ton of fun with this and look forward to reading more from LaValle!

View all my reviews

Review: Churn the Soil by Steve Stred

~ megs14malloy

Churn the SoilChurn the Soil by Steve Stred
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Churn the Soil kicks off with a bang and doesn’t let up; not once. In the beginning we have a murdered young girl, mutilated in a somewhat sacred area at The Border.

Basco PD officers get alerted to the gruesome crime and travel to The Border to investigate. At this point, you may be asking, what the heck is The Border?

The Border is an area outside of Basco and the border with the Yukon territory. There is a community of people there that have chosen to cut themselves off from the rest of society. They’re none too trusting of authority, particularly the local police.

When Officers Brown and Reynolds arrive, the Border dwellers are less than forthcoming about the dead girl. Luckily, Officer Brown actually was a resident at The Border when he was child and still has one friend within the settlement, a woman named, Nancy.

Nancy wants to help. She realizes something is off with the general flow of life at The Border. This type of thing hasn’t happened in recent memory. She wants to get to the bottom of it as much as the next guy.

Little do they know, it’s about to get worse. Wayy worse.

Churn the Soil is a high octane Horror story. Stred somehow seamlessly blended an Action movie with Folk Horror and a good old fashioned Police Procedural into one work. I’m not sure how he did it, but he definitely pulled it off.

I am not going to say too much more about the plot, because frankly, I feel like it is best going in knowing next to nothing, as I did. This story is full of surprises.

I will say one little thing for Readers who have tastes close to mine. There is a dog in this story. The most perfect Cane Corso that the world has ever seen. He is a K9 police officer named Bruiser and he plays a significant role.

If this concerns you, if perhaps animal content is triggering for you, please read the following: (view spoiler)

I was impressed with how quickly Stred hooked me. There’s no unnecessary build-up, or silly filler, and I was really digging his writing style from first few pages. I am looking forward to picking up more of his stories.

Additionally, this is one of those cold-weather Horror stories that will have you adding an extra layer to your wardrobe while you’re reading. I feel like Stred really succeeded in building-out a powerful setting. The backdrop of this landscape gets under your skin.

I’m not going to lie, this gets wild. W-I-L-D. The threat feels real. In fact, it almost seems hopeless. These characters are up against an incredible evil. I definitely wondered how anyone would make it out alive.

Overall, this story kept me up well into the night. It’s a creative and creepy Horror tale. Solid work from new-to-me author, Steve Stred. This was a lot of cringe-worthy, run-faster, don’t look behind you, fun!!

View all my reviews

Review: Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

~ megs14malloy

Delicious MonstersDelicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

She’s stretched her legs. She’s tied her sneakers and she is off, in the running for my favorite book of 2023!!!

Although there’s a long road ahead, I know Delicious Monsters has serious staying power. This was a darkly delicious story, which now lives rent free in my brain.

This story follows two young women, Daisy and Brittany, 10-years apart. Daisy comes first and I would say she is decidedly the star of this show.

Brittany is a host and co-creator of a popular web series, Haunted, who is interested in featuring a property owned by Daisy’s family on her show. Brittany would win the award for ‘best supporting actress’.

When the story begins, Daisy and her Mom, Grace, are living together in a small apartment in Toronto. Daisy has recently been dumped by her boyfriend and she’s admittedly struggling with moving past that.

It seems almost too good to be true then, when just when they need it most, Daisy’s Uncle passes away and leaves the family mansion to Daisy’s Mom, Grace. After a brief discussion, the two decide to pack up everything and move. Bye-bye city, hello, wide open spaces.

Set in a remote location, that’s extremely challenging to get to, the property is steeped in mystery. Grace refuses to enter the mansion, so the two actually take up residence in a bunkie, a smaller home on the property.

The goal though is to run the big house as a B&B, and Grace sets out to accomplish that right away. Daisy helps out, explores the property and even makes a couple new, intriguing friends.

As they settle in though, Daisy begins having disturbing experiences that make her question the history of the property and her mother’s story regarding it all.

Brittany’s sections are interspersed amongst the Daisy sections. It’s a mystery precisely why she is so interested in the property, like what exactly happened there, but you know it’s not good.

As things escalate with Daisy’s timeline, it feels like it is leading towards a violent end. From there you watch as the two timelines merge and all is ultimately revealed.

Delicious Monsters is a wild freaking ride. I was buckled in for it all and absolutely adored it start-to-finish.

Immediately, I was struck by how fantastic Sambury’s writing is. I knew this going in, but it’s been a while, so I guess I had forgotten a bit.

Let me tell you about it. Sambury’s writing is fluid as heck. It’s beautiful without being so flowery that it loses all semblance of a coherent narrative. It’s emotional, it’s dark and it doesn’t shy away from examining difficult topics.

The character development is excellent. Daisy, in particular, is so compelling. You’re in her head a lot and it’s not necessarily a comfortable place to be, but you grow to love her and have such empathy for her journey.

Additionally, there is great mystery to this story, as well as some truly haunting imagery. As you race towards the conclusion, things, I believe intentionally, start to get a little addled. You won’t be sure what’s up, what’s down, what’s real and what’s not. It was intense and a real page turner.

This was such a fun reading experience for me. It’s one of those books where I wish I could go back and read it again for the first time. It’s that good. It’s stunning, crushing, hope-inducing and toe-curling. It’s everything.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Horror, YA Horror, Haunted House stories, or Dark Fiction in general. There are quite a few sensitive topics explored though, so I urge you to seek out the author’s review, as she includes a full list of content warnings.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Margaret K. McElderry Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I have been anticipating this book since July of 2021, when I first heard of the initial concept. It did not disappoint in the slightest. This is a phenomenal story!

View all my reviews

Review: No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill

~ megs14malloy

No One Gets Out Alive: A NovelNo One Gets Out Alive: A Novel by Adam Nevill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up No One Gets Out Alive as Book #14 for my TBR-Haul Project. I was excited to get to it and to be checking off another backlist Horror novel from my TBR.

I originally hauled this in January 2019, with every intention of reading it quickly. Then I held it in my hands, read some reviews and I was seriously intimidated.

My edition of this book comes in at a whopping 628-pages, which is pretty chunky for a Horror novel known to be a terrifying, emotionally-exhausting mindfuck.

But one of my intentions with this TBR-Haul Project is to read books like this. Books I’ve been too nervous to pick up before and in this case, rightly so.

It did take me a full 2-months to read. Not because it was bad, or I wasn’t enjoying it, but because the content is heavy AF. We’re talking every trigger warning EVER.

I finished reading it on January 29, 2023 and am just now feeling like I am able to talk about it. I needed some serious time to process Stephanie’s journey.

There are so many important topics explored in this one, such as the cycle of poverty, urban isolation, sexual exploitation and the exploitation of victims by society and the media in the aftermath of violent crimes.

Personally, I feel like Nevill did a phenomenal job of digging into such meaty subject matter.

This story follows Stephanie Booth, who is down on her luck. After the death of her father, she knows she can’t continue living with her toxic, abusive step-mother. Therefore, she’s forced out of the only home she’s ever known.

Unfortunately, Stephanie has no other family to lean on and she’s recently split with her boyfriend, Ryan. In short, Stephanie doesn’t have a safety net and is on her own.

Working temp jobs doesn’t provide her with a steady enough income to build a safe life for herself, so she is flailing. In search of cheap lodgings, she discovers a flat for rent on a message board at a grocery store. The cheapest one she’s ever seen. Even though it seems too good to be true, Stephanie can’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The flat is located at 82 Edgehill Road in North Birmingham. An address you’ll never forget after you read this.

She is given a tour of the building by the creepy Landlord and ignoring all her intuitions, throws caution to the wind and accepts the flat.

After just one night, she is regretting her decision and kicking herself for not listening to her instincts. That’s the thing with poverty though, it robs you of your choices. Now she has to deal with the fact that she is a girl on her own in the presence of an unhinged male stranger. You see, Knacker the landlord, lives in the building as well.

It’s more than him though, Stephanie hears voices, crying women, scratching at the floors and the distinct sounds of violence coming from behind walls and closed doors.

Still she can’t get out. Knacker refuses to return her deposit so she can leave and she doesn’t have the funds to secure another place. She stays, hoping her temp work will provide her with enough money to be able to find other lodgings.

As time wears on, the happenings inside the house escalate quickly. Stephanie begins to abandon hope. She’s trapped in a horrible spiral of increasing misfortune. Will she be able to make it out alive?

Y’all, I can’t go too much further into this without getting into the spoiler zone, so I will sort of leave it here. Let’s talk about my experience with this story though.

I went into this not really knowing anything besides what is included in the brief Publisher’s blurb. I recommend that. If you are concerned with triggers, just know everything is included in here, so if that makes you nervous, you may want to steer well clear.

This book will not be for everyone. There is an overriding feeling of fear that I found to be emotionally impactful. Stephanie’s time in the house is marked by sustained terror, where she is constantly anticipating violence against her. It’s tough to read, not gonna lie.

I think for those who can handle it though, it is well worth the read. I thought it was so impressive how Nevill could not just sustain that feeling of dread, but how he was able to build and build and build on it, until you feel like you might not be able to take any more.

Then just when your head and heart are about to explode, there is a marked shift in the narrative, where we begin to explore a new side to this type of violent experience.

I was really impressed with this one. When I was reading it, I was completely invested in Stephanie’s experience and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. The way it is told, it’s so easy to picture yourself in Stephanie’s shoes, like what would I do?

It’s eye-opening in a lot of ways, particularly about how Stephanie’s status in society sort of stripped her of options. Even she recognized this; pondering how her life had gotten to this point.

It was sad and heavy, but an important thing to consider, because this is reality for a lot of folks. Maybe not this exact set of events, but certainly the scenario that lead Stephanie to this point and trapped her there.

On this bright and shining note, I will end this review by saying, anyone who thinks they can handle this type of narrative, should check it out. I think, as horrifying as it is, there is a lot to be taken from this.

Stephanie’s story is going to live in mind for a long time to come.

View all my reviews

Review: A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor

~ megs14malloy

A Sliver of DarknessA Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

A Sliver of Darkness is a short-story collection comprised of 10-tales by beloved author, C.J. Tudor. This was Tudor’s only 2022 release, a fact that she addresses within this book.

Anything from Tudor would get me excited, but I was particularly looking forward to trying out some shorter fiction from her. This collection was definitely interesting.

I found these stories to be unique and entertaining. It’s pretty clear Tudor has entered her dystopian/post-apocalyptic era and I’m not mad about it.

This explored themes that felt fresh and relevant to our post-pandemic world. It also got pretty murdery and twisted; two things I adore in dark, or speculative, fiction.

I enjoyed how each story had a short introduction by the author. This reminded me of King’s The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. I always enjoy when an author includes these types of insights into their inspirations, or connections, to each story. It makes the experience more personal.

Additionally, I feel like it helps to set-up the proper tone for each story. I’m definitely glad that Tudor decided to include them in the final copy of the book.

Overall, I found this collection to be varied, unpredictable, well-written, engaging and it definitely gave me a lot to think about.

Considering all the world has been through over the past 3-years, I don’t think it is surprising that this is the type of creativity Tudor felt like expressing. It definitely feels apropos for the times.

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I love Tudor’s style and will continue to pick up everything she writes!

View all my reviews

Review: Such Pretty Flowers by K.L. Cerra

~ megs14malloy

Such Pretty FlowersSuch Pretty Flowers by K.L. Cerra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

‘Get it out of me.’

That was the last text Holly ever received from her brother, Dane. She was out with friends, dancing, drinking, living it up. Her brother was ending his life.

Holly is overwhelmed with grief and guilt in the days following the discovery of Dane’s mutilated body. She knew he was struggling with his mental health. She feels guilty for not being more available to him.

Running through events in her mind, Dane’s tumultuous last months, Holly begins to suspect that his suicide isn’t as straight-forward as everyone believes. Seeing her brother’s mysterious and beautiful girlfriend, Maura, at his funeral does nothing to quell those fears either.

In fact, it only makes her suspicions grow.

Determined to figure out the truth behind Dane’s tragic death, Holly sets out to learn more about Maura and her relationship with Dane.

Holly befriends the younger woman and before long, circumstances allow them to spend a lot more time together. That’s when things begin to get weird; really weird.

Maura is a very successful florist in the Savannah area. She owns a gorgeous home, she’s so put together, but she’s also creepy as heck.

At first, Holly is drawn to her, attracted to her, but she’s also scared of her and she can’t quite pinpoint why. As their relationship grows, Holly begins to fear that she could turn out just like Dane if she’s not careful.

Compelling, addicting, eerie and creepy are just a few of the adjectives I would use to describe Such Pretty Flowers.

Anddddd while it wasn’t perfect, it definitely got my anxiety up and kept me glued to the pages!

I went into this under the mistaken idea that this was a YA-story, but it’s definitely not. It’s got more of a New Adult vibe. It gets pretty dark and graphic, even including some body horror, which I always enjoy. I was here for it.

It was also super suspenseful. You can tell that there is something going on with Maura. It was so interesting trying to figure out what. It also gets pretty stressful and intense, like in a Single White Female kind of way.

It’s like one of those intense feelings where you just want to shake the protagonist. Like, why are you making these crazy decisions, just get out of there!!

Holly was determined though. She tried so hard not to let silly fears overwhelm her, even when they didn’t seem quite so silly. Maura was just a girl, younger than her even, she had no reason to be intimidated by her…right?

Overall, I found this to be a clever and compelling work of Dark Fiction. There were a few areas that could have been explored a bit more, in my opinion, but I feel like this is still a solid, engaging story.

Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a lot of fun with it and look forward to reading more from this author.

View all my reviews

Rereading My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

~ megs14malloy

My Heart Is a Chainsaw (The Lake Witch Trilogy, #1)My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My heart is full. I’m so glad I took the time to reread this one before diving into Don’t Fear the Reaper. This time around, I am switching my rating to a full 5-stars.

I feel like I got to know Jade’s character more this time. The first time, I was so focused on the Slasher references, some of the texture of the story was lost on me. Not this time. I see you, Jade, and I hear you loud and clear.

I think my biggest take-away this time through was actually Jade’s relationship with Slashers. I have a better understanding now of what drew her to that genre, what compelled her to learn all she could and what keeps her mind constantly cycling through all she knows as life gets tough, or uncertain, around her.

In a way, it is a self-soothing act for her and that makes my heart ache for her character even more than it did before. Jade has not had an easy life.

With the precariousness of her life, her living situation and future, Jade is searching for something solid and true. She craves a structure that won’t let her down.

She finds all she is looking for in Slashers. Any student of the genre knows that to be true. It does follow a certain pattern and Jade draws from that to relate to events that are going on around her. It’s a coping mechanism in a way.

I feel like the first time I read this, I was so invested in all Jade had to say about the genre that I failed to focus as much on why she was saying it.

Reading this again allowed me to focus more on the substance behind all that in-your-face Slasher goodness.

I am so excited to move forward with the next book. Don’t Fear the Reaper is releasing this coming Tuesday, February, 7th!! You’ve got just enough time to read this one before that release, if you haven’t already. Time to get cracking!

Original:

**4.5-stars rounded up**

My Heart Is a Chainsaw is Stephen Graham Jones most recent and brilliant, love letter to the Slasher genre. It’s also one of my most anticipated books of the year. Happily, it did not disappoint.

I actually finished this on September 2nd. Subsequently, I wrote a full review, which if I do say so myself, was pretty darn good.

Then due to major stupidity on my part, my laptop got inadvertently shutdown and all of my efforts were erased.

Normally, I would try to find another person within striking distance to blame, but unfortunately, it was just me, my dog and a potentially haunted ceiling fan.

But I digress…let’s try it again:

Jade Daniels is a social outcast in her small, lakeside town of Proofrock, Idaho. A half-Indian girl, forced to live with her abusive father, Jade changes her hair color often and views the world through a prism of her vast knowledge of the Horror genre.

As her high school career comes to a close, there’s not much on the horizon for Jade. She works as a janitor for the local public school system, and it seems she may be doing so well into the future.

That in and of itself is fine. If she could just stay away from her Dad and his pervy friend, it would all be okay.

When mysterious events around town start mirroring the plot structure of her favorite genre, however, Jade knows it’s finally happening. Oddly, she’s excited by the prospect.

Proofrock has a real-life Slasher on their hands!

Therefore, she does what any logical Horror Aficionado would do and tracks down the most obvious choice for Final Girl, in this case, new girl, Letha Mondragon, so she may teach her the fine art of defeating a Slasher.

Sure, there’s likely to be a high body count, that’s a given. After all, it’s almost time for the annual 4th of July celebration and we all know Slashers cannot resist events like that, but the final girl should still be able to stop him. Eventually.

I’m always amazed by how much Jones can pack into a story. Each page feels like a Master Class in the Horror genre; full of references and the rules that make my heart soar.

In addition to that though, he always doses us full of hard-hitting real world issues as well. There are many layers here, as there are in other novels of his that I have read.

This story was so much fun to read. It’s intricate, gritty, bloody, gory, smart, sarcastic, biting and fierce. The writing is top-notch and it’s going to remain in my mind for a long time to come.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Saga Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am sure there are a lot of things I am forgetting to mention about this, but what can I say?

I’m silenced by greatness!

View all my reviews

Review: Malice House by Megan Shepherd

~ megs14malloy

Malice HouseMalice House by Megan Shepherd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After a very successful start, Malice House dropped off a cliff for me around 75% of the way in. It’s unfortunate, I hate to say it, but it happens…

This story follows an artist named Haven Marbury. Haven’s father, a very famous author, has recently passed away. Because of this, Haven travels from her home in New York City to his property on the West Coast. She has inherited his possibly haunted house and everything in it.

Having recently suffered through a very traumatic break-up, with barely two pennies to rub together, the idea of having a place of her own, far from her ex, is actually a blessing.

Once at the house, Haven meets with her father’s 0ld-caregiver, a rather disturbing woman in her own right. A woman that in the past has refused to spend one single night at the property.

Unusual happenings begin pretty much right away. It’s a big house and definitely spooky. Additionally, it’s bringing up a lot of mixed feelings for Haven.

Sifting through her father’s belongings, Haven discovers an unpublished manuscript called Bedtime Stories for Monsters, which is quite different from his previous works.

It’s dark and twisted, right up Haven’s alley. She has an epiphany. She needs money. Her father’s name on a cover will sell any book. She’s an artist. She’ll illustrate this book and pitch it to publishers as a father-daughter posthumous collaboration.

Unfortunately, a local group of bibliophiles that her father was a part of, the Ink Drinkers, start continuously trying to insert themselves into the process of deciding what to do with the unpublished manuscript. Haven probably should have kept that discovery to herself.

After that, things start to get really weird. Haven feels like they’re crazy, she wants them to stay the heck away from her. It’s her father’s work. They have no say over what she does with it, or do they?

There’s an attractive, though suspicious, neighbor. There’s potential poltergeist activity at the house. There are monsters coming to life and attacking. There are crazy locals and a dark, ill-feeling atmosphere.

As mentioned above, I was super intrigued by this in the beginning. I love the idea of fictional stories pulling through into real life. Monsters jumping off the pages and wrecking havoc. Are you kidding?! That’s amazing!

There were a few fun twists and as it began to come together as to what was happening, I lifted an eyebrow. Okay, Megan Shepherd. I see you. You are a Horror Gurlie. Me too!

At some point though, it kept going and went too far. It got so convoluted that it was hard to follow. I’m not sure what could have improved, I’m not claiming to be an author here, but it completely lost me by the conclusion.

I liked Haven as a character and enjoyed watching her discover some fairly significant family secrets. I just wish the pace could have been more even. The monstrous elements did build steadily, but they didn’t stop at a coherent point. It just devolved into chaos.

The more I think about this, as I am writing this review, the more disappointed I get. I am serious when I say, I really enjoyed the beginning. There are so many elements in this to love, especially if you are a fan of darker fiction. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t pulled through to a solid conclusion in my opinion.

With this being said, just because I wasn’t crazy about the ending doesn’t mean you won’t be. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a shot. You could find a new favorite read within these pages.

Thank you to the publisher, Hyperion Avenue, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this one didn’t blow me away, I would definitely pick up more Megan Shepherd novels.

View all my reviews

Review: Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

~ megs14malloy

Tell Me I'm WorthlessTell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tell Me I’m Worthless, originally publisher by Cipher Press in 2021, was rereleased on January 17, 2023 by Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio.

This story mainly follows Alice and Ila, close friends and part-time lovers, who have been estranged after a hallucinatory night spent in a haunted house. Their friend Hannah was there that night too, but she never made it out.

The Reader gets both Alice and Ila’s perspectives, as well as a third perspective that I will let you discover for yourself.

I went into this story expecting it to be a new take on a haunted house story and it is, but I wouldn’t classify it as a haunted house story per se. Rumfitt does creatively use that beloved Horror trope to bring something completely new to the table within these pages.

As a piece of Transgressive Horror, this story definitely gets high marks. For me, although I can appreciate the creativity and gut-punching social commentary, I can’t say this was a highly enjoyable reading experience for me.

Please note, I am not remarking on the skill or creativity of the author when I say that, I just feel like this story wasn’t particularly suited to my reading tastes.

I could have used a bit more of a linear plot and a stronger atmosphere, as that is one of the main things I look for. There was a lot of great character work here and topical commentary, but there were also a lot of fever dream-type, internal monologue rants that sort of lost me.

Additionally, I found some of it a little hard to track. With this being said, I still appreciate all that Rumfitt poured into this story and the stark, in-your-face, take-no-prisoners feel of it all.

I would definitely pick up more of Rumfitt’s work.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. I would recommend the audiobook as a medium for this.

They did some really unique sound work for a few of the intense horror scenes. It’s definitely worth checking out.

View all my reviews

Review: The Face That Must Die by Ramsey Campbell

~ megs14malloy

The Face That Must DieThe Face That Must Die by Ramsey Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first stumbled across The Face That Must Die in Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ’70s and ’80s Horror Fiction, where Grady Hendrix discusses it on pages 122 – 123.

There was something about the way Hendrix described Campbell’s distinct brand of Urban Horror that called to me. I needed to experience it for myself, so I found this pristine edition and immediately gave it a go.

This story mainly follows John Horridge, a man who you can tell fairly quickly struggles with life. His thoughts are despicable in many respects, but it does set the stage nicely for the ultimate events that play out.

You also get the perspectives of two young women, Fanny and Cathy, who live in flats in the same building, along with a few other young folks mentioned.

The residents of this building, unfortunately, become involved with John Horridge after he becomes obsessed with another man living in the building, we’ll just call him by his surname, Craig.

Murders have been plaguing Liverpool and Horridge suspects that Craig is the culprit, mainly because he is homosexual, Horridge’s word choice, not mine. It’s clear to Horridge that Craig and his sexuality are a threat to the city and Horridge can’t rest until he has flushed him out.

We’re in Horridge’s mind as he considers how vulnerable he is and how he needs to protect himself, all while he is literally stalking and harassing Mr. Craig.

As this novel begins and we are introduced to Horridge, you can tell he is on a collision course with those around him. This can’t end well, but never did I expect just how wild it would get.

In the beginning, we get brief glimpses into his childhood through his musings regarding his overbearing father, the accident that left him with a permanent limp and the bullying he sustained at the hands of his peers.

Sometimes, when you get that sort of a background on a character it can maybe evoke sympathy or understanding for their actions. I can say, not really the case here.

I did really enjoy the stark urban landscape as the backdrop. It enhanced the feelings of our characters, those of desperation, loneliness and isolation, not just for Horridge, but for the young people as well.

Cathy and Peter especially, it was difficult for them. Cathy really wanted to get out, but the money just wasn’t there for them to buy a home. It felt like you were trapped with them. I was frustrated for Cathy, particularly because Peter didn’t seem able to get out of his own way.

Also, Miss Fanny, the artist. I liked her character a lot and her storyline really got to me. She has a run in with Horridge outside the building and even though she describes meeting him as making her feel more uncomfortable than she ever felt in her life, she invites him up to her flat!

She believes he is an investigator looking into one of the murders, but even so. She felt it in her gut, but pushed her thoughts aside so as to be polite, or not to seem disagreeable.

This was interesting to me. A perfect example of how women, not so much anymore, were raised to smile, be polite, help out, even if it meant going against their own instincts.

These are just a couple of examples of what I found so interesting about this story. I was glued to the pages. It was uncomfortable to be in Horridge’s mind, that type of paranoia fiction that makes you feel like you need a very hot shower after.

As the plot progresses, Horridge spirals more and more into his paranoid, repetitive thoughts. There were aspects towards the end that reminded me of Raskolnikov’s descent into, shall we say guilt-fueled madness, in Crime and Punishment.

Overall, I was impressed with how immersed I got in this story. Some aspects felt dated, but it was first published in 1979, over 40-years ago, so that makes sense.

I think in spite of that though, the horror of the story remains as impactful today as it would have been then. I was properly disturbed after this one and can’t wait to read some more from Ramsey Campbell!

View all my reviews