4.5 stars

‘The Comfort of Monsters’, was a really original and compelling thriller. I really applaud the way that Richards combined the fictional story of a young woman’s disappearance and allusions of the true crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer. The plotline felt like it could have been a story of a real disappearance and the aftermath felt, even years later, by the ones left behind.
For me this book is far more poignant and heart wrenching than I had first anticipated it to be. Richards explores the real issues that were prevalent in the early 90’s and by using the sister relationship throughout, she brilliantly illustrates how everyone can be flawed but always worth being found.
This book really did impress me because it felt more real than just another thriller; it is written with a claustrophobic intensity that I think reflects the feeling of listening to a real crime podcast. As a reader I was completely enthralled and although at times it became an uncomfortable read it was a story I couldn’t leave until the last page.

this was a very interesting book. i found it weird but also good the fact that the author included so many facts and snippets about Jeffrey Dahmer. It had some really realistic relationships in sense of both friendships and romantic. There should be some strong trigger warnings included in this book - mainly for sexual assault and misogyny. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable thriller.

This is a gripping thriller that from the opening chapter managed to set the stage and pull me straight into the given narrative capturing my attention and compelling me to keep heading forward.

The title of this stunning debut novel refers to the quote relayed at the front of it-

Modernity has eliminated the comfort of monsters because, we have seen, in Nazi Germany and elsewhere, that evil often works as a system,it works through institutions as a banal (meaning ''common to all'') mechanism - Jack Halberstam

By this, I take it to mean that the beasts of old, the ghosts and ghouls which lurked in the shadows, were explained away by daylight, common sense and science. There are no such things as werewolves, vampires and so on. But in the post WW2 world, the awareness that pure evil wears a human face, and looks like your next door neighbour, means comfort can scarcely be found. We have looked deep within that abyss, and seen, in return, our true face.

And this is the case in point here, the 30 year gap between the disappearance of Candace, aka Dee McBride, and the attempt of her sister Peg (nicknamed Pegasus) to lay her to rest for once and for all. The legal limitation of 'no body, no crime' has been the response for so many years, yet the reverse is never considered.

Just because a body has not been located, does that mean that no foul play happened in 1991?

Overshadowed by the boogeyman who haunted the Milwaukee of the 1990's, the unpreposessing , 'pass right by him in the street' ordinary every man, Jeffrey Dahmer.

You mention that name and everyone pretty much can contextualise him in some way or another. What cannot reliably be named or contextualised, are his victims who, by their transient and high risk lifestyle-read being gay, homeless, from impoverished backgrounds-kind of asked for it.  That is the subtext of how, basically, the system, the mechanism to which Jack referred earlier, has it its very passivity and neutrality, allowed a culture in which a man could prey on so many young men without being noticed.

As I write, I am keenly aware that this is the very opposite of what Willa is trying to say in her book. I have let Dahmer, Milwaukee's Cannibal, consume the story she is trying to tell through 30 years of so-called progress in equality . Dee was overlooked because she wasn't important, there was no sign she killed herself or was murdered, and , frankly, no one cared.

No body, no crime, remember?

The misogynism of the police force is rendered through exquisitely painful scenes such as when Peg rings the police officer who has been 'overseeing' Dee's case since the start and their awkward, at odds conversation is because Peg thinks she can lever the Me Too' movement to have her sister , finally, returned to her and he, well, he thinks she is ringing to threaten him with it from an entirely separate angle. Because they slept together when she was too young and angry to know better and he isn't really apologising at all, he is more worried about himself and his job.

Now, nearly thirty years later, a lifetime lived in a limbo of regrets and half truths, memories which become re-written through the passage of time, all are about to resurface.

Peg's mother does not have much time left, and her dying wish is to be buried with Dee, she is sure that after having the second of two strokes, that she accessed a higher plain and 'saw' the shallow, hand dug grave which Dee lies in. She has buried her husband , has bought two plots next to that grave, one for her and one for Dee.

The problem is, she is keen to engage the help of an insta-famous psychic, Thomas Alexander.

The same psychic who has turned up to Milwaukee to try and talk to Dahmer's ghost.

As the sister of one of Dahmer's victims explains on the news covering this 'important' event-

''Those men, she said,'none of them, none, have ever gotten the respect,in death,they deserve. They're going to let a serial killer speak from the grave before they'll let us speak.''

And she is 100% correct, how would you feel if a psychic was charging 100's of dollars to attend an audience with your relative's murderer?

Sickened would probably cover it.

Now, now Peg has to , against her brother, Pete's wishes, organise this man to come and see her mother, to fulfil this dying wish. Her niece, Pete's daughter Dana, is the voice of wisdom in this situation where she cautions Peg about letting this man into their life. He is extremely famous and there is an expectation that her story, Dee's story, will become Thomas' version of Dee's life. And are they prepared to share that with the world? To lose what little they have remaining in these increasingly fractured memories? Which are becoming like photocopies of photcopies?

But also, don't they deserve a resolution?

As I was reading this, all that came to mind was the pain of the mum of Keith Bennett.

Each page of this novel, each sentence is rendered so that it fits , neatly and precisely to the sentence and the page which came before it.

The structure is exquisite, the tone and form of the sentences so very precise, it is impossible to drag yourself away once you have started 'The Comfort Of Monsters'. It is a crime story, a mystery and a social commentary all rolled into one , however, I would also wager it is a work of art. The rage and anger is so carefully restrained but you can feel it pulsing behind the paper as you turn the pages.

How can someone who was so loved, so wanted, just disappear from the world and leave no trace?

And is finding the truth of what happened to her a blessing, or a curse?

I would absolutely recommend this novel to anyone.

In the summer of 1991, a teenage girl named Dee McBride vanished in the city of Milwaukee. Nearly thirty years later, her sister, Peg, is still haunted by her sister's disappearance. Their mother, on her deathbed, is desperate to find out what happened to Dee so the family hires a psychic to help find Dee’s body and bring them some semblance of peace.
The appearance of the psychic plunges Peg back to the past, to those final carefree months when she last saw Dee—the summer the Journal Sentinel called “the deadliest . . . in the history of Milwaukee.” Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s heinous crimes dominated the headlines and overwhelmed local law enforcement. The disappearance of one girl was easily overlooked.
Peg’s hazy recollections are far from easy for her to interpret, assess, or even keep clear in her mind. And now digging deep into her memory raises doubts and difficult—even terrifying—questions. Was there anything Peg could have done to prevent Dee’s disappearance? Who was really to blame for the family's loss? How often are our memories altered by the very act of voicing them? And what does it mean to bear witness in a world where even our own stories are inherently suspect?

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own hone\st voluntary review.

The comfort of monsters by Willa C. Richards.
In the summer of 1991, teen Dee McBride vanished in the city of Milwaukee. It was the summer the Journal Sentinel dubbed ‘the deadliest . . . in the history of Milwaukee.’ Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s heinous crimes dominated the headlines and the disappearance of one girl was easily overlooked.
Really enjoyable read. Great story and characters. 4*.

Hmmm... well.., I'm not quite sure what to think of this book. I do appreciate the deliberate delicate tone of voice when it comes to the victims of the serial killer, mostly Black people or people of color. That said, this is a difficult story with sexual abuse, corruption, lots of booze, and drugs as well. All that misery...

There was a lovely detail about the snow I need to mention.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

DNF. My first DNF of the year. Got about 50% through and had to give up. Too many books to read to stick with it unfortunately.

Totally miscast with the burb. This is not a thriller or a mystery. Sure it’s the story of two sisters, one who goes missing and the other dealing with the aftermath. Told from the viewpoint of the “surviving” sister in both the present(decades after her sister has gone missing) and in flashback to weeks before she does so, it’s a collection of inane recollections that are of little interest or any sort of fun to read.

Our main protagonist Peg is not a likeable character but neither is she in any way interesting. Plus her regular sexualisation of her sister is just damn weird.

Throw in some anti gay and anti black footnotes that pay lip service to the issues rather than have anything to say about them and they feel utterly forced. It says little or nothing about the issues.

When a book has no interesting characters, doesn’t have an interesting storyline and is made up of a very uninteresting characters recollections of very uninteresting events then what’s the point in reading it? Words for the sake of it do more damage than good.

I don’t take any pleasure in slating what I read of this book but I have to be totally honest as well. I have read some poor books this year(as well as many great ones) but this is the first that I just couldn’t bring myself to finish.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

I don’t really know where to start with this review…. This book, in short, is just wow!
Brilliantly articulated writing, from a very exciting new author.
The story does migrate from the point quite a bit, and it can be very sexually explicit at times, but I just couldn’t put it down.
An easy 4 star rating.
Im looking forward to reading more from Willa.

Using 1991 Milwaukee, when serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's dominated the headlines, as backdrop, this is a poignant portrait of the effects on the family when a loved one disappears.

More of a character portrait spanning more than thirty years than a plot driven thriller. There are strong True Crime elements, and a powerful atmosphere but I would personally have liked more forwards momentum and plot, and then it could have been spectacular.

I'm always looking for new angles and structures in novels, and while this didn't fully connect with me I think True Crime readers will really appreciate it.


Thanks to Netgalley and Oneworld Publications

The Comfort Of Monsters engaged me immediately, it is just the kind of atmospheric, beautifully written story I love.

The story of a missing girl, her story lost in the surrounding furore of the Dahmer case and the sister who can't leave it all behind her is emotionally resonant from the start and digs deep into the psyche of those left behind.

As a true crime addict this book really hit home with me- I have often felt so sorry for the families of the missing. This fictional tale that could be true is intriguing and made even more realistic by the fact that the main protagonist is far from perfect, is, in fact, often very unlikeable. Her missing sister also has very human flaws, the author going behind the standard pitch perfect nature of the lost after they are gone.

The relationship between the sisters forms the heart of this novel, this is far more family drama than it is mystery and I would caution that if you like your stories wrapped up with a pretty bowed resolution this may not be for you. It is a character study, a human story and I loved it even though it left me melancholy.

I really enjoyed this book it was dark, chilling and gripping that was infused with creepiness and guilt on every page. I couldnt put it down I loved it