Genre: Psychological Horror

A mysterious parasitic ailment, a medical institute that isn’t what it seems, and the occupants of an isolated, frost-covered chateau sets the scene for an incredibly unique, ambitious, yet often confusing and disjointed read. I wholeheartedly agree with many other reviews of Hiron Ennes’s debut novel Leech that describe it as being positively weird (that’s a good thing) and unlike anything else within the horror and science fiction genres. With strong initial horror elements that vary from body, medical, and psychological horror (nothing too graphic, at least by my desensitized standards) to light elements of supernatural and monster horror, there are a lot of conceptually great ideas that make Leech a riveting read, at times. Unfortunately more often than not, the execution of these ideas and the narrative presentation severely drags down the enjoyment and cohesion of the story, resulting in a puzzling reading experience and a feeling of missed opportunity. The success of any parasite is proportional to its harmlessness. Some are intelligent; they avoid detection, allowing their carriers to lead healthy lives until obsolescence. Fewer, in brilliant acts of symbiosis, foster dependence in the host. But too many are loudmouths and fools… most parasites cannot think far enough…

Continuing my reading journey through Riley Sager’s novels (completely out of order I may add), Final Girls is Sager’s first published thriller though technically not his first written novel as Sager is a nom de plume for Todd Ritter who had previously written a trilogy series and standalone book. The final girl is a common trope in various forms of slasher/horror media but Sager’s novel is an uncommon story that focuses on what happens to that said final girl after they experience one of the most traumatic moments of their life. Final Girls answers that question with Quincy Carpenter, a baking blogger who has put that traumatic event behind her until another mass slaying survivor Sam arrives at her apartment building’s front door. This is my fourth Sager thriller novel that I’ve read and despite it being published years before the other Sager novels, it showcases very similar hallmarks to what people have come to expect from his stories. Unfortunately this novel also has the same drawback as his other works, namely a slow beginning and a well-written, albeit uneventful first half. However like his other works, the strong and intelligent female main characters, twists on familiar narratives and scenarios,…

Foreboding and just slightly unsettling, T. Kingfisher’s What Moves The Dead is an atmospheric modern retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s famous short story The Fall of the House of Usher. If one is familiar with the literary classic source material, you can roughly follow and know what to expect in this short novella. However, unlike the original short story, T. Kingfisher expands the classic tale with some clever ideas and twists that help this interpretation successfully stand out on its own. Additionally, added character motives, speculative fiction elements, and a bit of fringe science importantly attempt to address the source materials formulaic shortcomings and common criticisms, resulting in a solidly accomplished read that is accessible and not too spooky/disturbing for most readers. Clocking in at around 160 pages, What Moves the Dead is an easy to read novella that’s self-contained and straightforward. However unlike the original story that leaves a lot open to interpretation, T. Kingfisher attempts to fill-in and answer a lot of the unknown factors that Poe never explicitly addressed. A common point of criticism about most horror mansion/estate tales is questioning why the narrator doesn’t leave once they begin to encounter unsettling experiences. She addresses this by…

Freida McFadden’s Never Lie is a thriller / psychological crime thriller that has a great plot, some wild (and polarizing) twists, and a premise involving found evidence that never gets old (in this case, tape recordings from therapy sessions). On paper, this should be a standout but unfortunately the execution with the details and the prose left a lot to be desired for me. The biggest twist near the conclusion is a great idea that simply conflicts with the rest of the narrative and makes the entire book’s plot unbelievable. Starting off with the good, Never Lie’s setting at a remote manor that also served as a home office for a mysterious psychiatrist was a great setup. The premise involving found audio tapes recorded by Dr. Adrienne Hale and her clients is a narrative concept I love and the snowed-in setup was a great narrative choice to not only trap Tricia and Ethan in the manor, but to also serve as a plausible source for the odd noises due to snowfall. The core crime mystery involving Adrienne’s sudden disappearance a few years ago and reliving her last known days through the tapes and a split narrative was a page-turner; I…

Unsettling, disturbing, and brilliant in a twisted way, The Possession of Mr. Cave by Matt Haig is an intense read that fully commits to its narrative. Whether most readers are prepared for what that entails is an entirely different discussion (definitely check trigger warnings before hand). The “horror” moniker gets tossed around quite loosely these days, ranging from slashers to psychological insanity to anything that is vaguely related to the supernatural. This book however taps into the quiet, heavy, foreboding type of horror that occurs when someone is witnessing something horrific but can’t look away or stop it; it’s conceptualized like a modern Shakespearean tragedy. The character narration and story is made all the more uncomfortable by Haig’s very effective use of the 2nd person perspective that pulls you into the story and traps you in Bryony’s shoes. The way the novel constantly refers to Bryony as “you” hits home the perspective of the characters and the horrors of what a parent is capable of doing. Complemented by excellent writing and Haig’s now distinctive heavily introspective style, I found this novel to be unlike anything I’ve read in a long time, one that I didn’t necessarily enjoy reading but one…