I’ll preface my thoughts on this with the fact I found the prologue, where the narrator is assaulted by a stranger at a party and the immediate aftermath where she's self conscious of bruises she can’t explain, sickeningly relatable.

After being sexually assaulted the narrator is traumatised in a way she repeatedly compares to being poisoned, and she struggles to relate to other people.

Her friends and her colleagues can't understand her - except for the ex-girlfriend of her attacker, who she forms an intense and concerning bond with.

Alongside this catastrophe relationship there is a focus on how dehumanising, exhausting, and deeply boring service work can be - which was unexpected, but I thought it was depicted refreshingly well.

The narrator's self blame when she starts noticing signs of an inexplicable post-traumatic haunting was slightly predictable, but still genuinely unsettling and the descriptions of her eerie bedsit reminiscent of Alison Rumfitt's brilliant Tell Me I'm Worthless.

Some of the narrator's nightmares were both disturbing and impressive, truly rivalling anything I've read in a Stephen King novel.

I do have extremely mixed feelings on the epilogue and that's why I'm not rating this above 4 stars, but I found nearly everything prior to that riveting and terrifying. This was a strange, sickening, surprisingly insightful novel.

I enjoyed this audio book it was a good listen and the narrator was nice to listen too, I felt it was a little bit drawn out and fell a bit flat for me, I just kept waiting for something to happen.

overall I didn’t hate it and enjoyed the audio and narration, but just needed a bit more to happen in the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a somewhat weird tale of sexual trauma and the journeys an individual goes through after the event.

Easy to follow and a really enjoyable writing style, however, at times it felt as if there were 2 separate stories being pushed together. I found the first half really enjoyable.

The narration was matched really well to the book.

A solid four stars, I would recommend!

Great audio narration. Sadly, I didn’t really enjoy the story, however I felt the narrator helped me continue with it and I’m glad I finished it.

Dead Animals shows us the striking aftermath of sexual assault and the feeling of trying to find yourself after trauma. After a house party leaves our MC reeling, she becomes painfully aware that she is turning to a shell of her previous self. As she navigates financial, emotional, and mental health struggles, she becomes entangled with another woman that has also suffered at the hands of this same man, The two women provide a harrowing example of how trauma can affect people differently; as well as how nonlinear healing is.

I truly enjoyed this one. From the cover to the miserable vibes and introspection, it was a hit. Although, I do wish that the author had used less overt comparisons in the writing. The symbolism and writing are beautiful on their own and the painfully salient similes were a bit much at times. However, I will have no problem suggesting this over and over again.

It took me a little bit of time to warm to the unnamed main character, but the more I listened, the more I was rooting for her. The narration was perfect, seeming detached. I loved the style of the book; a short series of vignettes (and the interspersed descriptions of food were a bonus). The subject matter itself was such interesting commentary into many forms of abuse; the way the chefs tried to trick her into eating meat; the assault which is referenced throughout the book; the control that Helene exerts over the narrator, disguised as protection. I'm not really a horror fan, so the supernatural references didn't do anything for me. Overall really enjoyed this.

I really enjoyed this. It was haunting and completely gripped me from start to finish. Very cleverly done and I will definitely be recommending.

This story follows a young women, we never find out her name and that only clicked for me when I was about 50% in and realised I know how this women’s mind works but I don’t know who she is, after a party we’re her memory is hazy and as she’s trying to figure out what happens she meets Helene, who has had a bad experience with the same guy that the main character met at the party. Helene is someone your drawn to, and you can see why our main character is drawn to her. I don’t want to say more as I feel like I would be spoiling it.
I really liked this book, I thought it was well read and I related to the main character and her thoughts. Really good read

“Dead Animals” by Phoebe Stuckes is available now in hardcover, and on Kindle and Audible.

A young woman wakes after a house party with scratches and bruises - and a gap in her memory. As the violent truth comes back to her - a series of events she struggles to name - her anger grows.

Solace comes in the form of enigmatic, captivating Helene, who knows what the man at the party did, has suffered at his hands too. An act of violence demands one in return and Helene is planning revenge.

A crime thriller with splashes of paranormal terror, “Dead Animals” grips you from the start and drags you through to its conclusion, leaving you as battered, scared and confused as the narrator. An early contender for book of the year.

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Dead Animals is a short, creepy book about an un-named woman working as a waitress in a Knightsbridge restaurant. The sparkle and shine of the restaurant are contrasted against her "real life" in a small, grubby bedsit across the city, her bantering (bullying?) colleagues in the kitchen, and the abuse she is victim to after a boozy house party.

She meets Helene - a rich, captivating woman who was emotionally abused by the same man. She and Helene bond over their shared trauma and become closer as increasingly weird and creepy events occur around her. The author kept up the tension through the story, although there were events that I wasn't sure added much to the overall plot. I was also disappointed by the ending, which I had hoped would be the climax of the novel. Instead, it ended quite bluntly.

All in all, it was a weird, fun little book, that I enjoyed. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 here for the narration on the audio. I very much appreciated the clear and 'flat' reading from the narrator.

Thank you Sceptre and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy.

A wonderfully wild modern novel about the aftermath of assault. I was completely drawn in to the narrator, and believed every moment she spent milling about her workplace, watching for ghosts over her shoulder, and falling in the wrong kinds of love. Some moments here were truly terrifying, and while clearly meant to repulse, there was nothing sensationalistic about it. The horror of the things felt natural and needed. The narrator was absolutely perfect, with a sharp, clear tone, and just the right amount of edge to keep the suspense up.

The title and description sounds very intriguing, but the book was disappointingly one-dimensional in all aspects.

This is a superbly crafted, chilling audio book. Drawn in by the book’s blurb, I found a much more complex story than I expected. There is a smoothness to the narrative that lulls, and at the same time shreds your psyche. Definitely entertaining, yet harrowing in equal measure. Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton And NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Thank you for the ARC audio of this book to the author and NetGalley.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. Dark and compelling I was gripped to the plot of where the story would go.

Complicated flawed characters, fast paced and a good dark and queer read!

Dead Animals is a dark story of navigating a far too often patriarchal society where women have to make complex decisions about what battles to pick, and how that frustration can grow in its intensity until we snap. When two women’s paths cross, two seemingly very different women who, however, have experienced the same horrific behaviour from the same man, an alliance/friendship/relationship forms. Do you comfort and support each other, or let that connection build your righteous need to make sure it never happens again?
 
A cacophony of subjective opinions on what happened, who is right and how people should pay for their actions that destroy others. How sad people gravitate toward each other, but sometimes it is intentional, to hone in on someone you can mould into what you need.

One of my favourite authors! Do I rejoice when a new book hits the shelves! Yes!
This immersive horror/chiller will have you debating over it for days! Fabulous

Enjoyed this book, really liked the writing style and I was drawn in, excited to see how it would all come to a conclusion. This easily could have been a 5 star book for me but unfortunately the story left many questions unanswered.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton + NetGalley for the ARC.

The cover and description of this book drew me in and the mysterious hauntings and narrator kept me hooked. A queer relationship with even queerer happenings was intriguing to read.

I wish the book was longer to see more development or aftermath of the toxic relationship between our narrator and Helene, as unfortunately for me the final two chapters feel rushed, not as fleshed out as they could have been. The build up is slow and intense, the quick sudden ending leaves an unsatisfying taste in ones mouth.

Other than that I really enjoyed this, the narrator is a really well written, interesting character with obvious flaws and weaknesses that add to her identity, which may be overlooked if written by someone else.

Wow. Just wow. That was really good and really well done. This book covers really dark, traumatic topics, so check your triggers please and take care of yourself.

Thank you Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for letting me review an ARC of this story. I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed the narration. I will be looking for her work again.

Dead Animals follows a woman trying to navigate life and pick up the pieces after she's been sa'd. She's struggling with PTSD and panic attacks after her attack. She tries to go about her daily life as normally as possible while being haunted by an constant presence. She can't describe the shadow she sees out of the corner of her eye, but it's there nonetheless. She finds solace in another, Helene, who also is a survivor. Helene wants revenge and our main character isn't sure how to feel about it.

I felt for our nameless main character on so many levels. As I mentioned above, there are a lot of triggers. This story hit me to my core and will stay with me for a long time.

Dead Animals by Phoebe Stuckes is a claustrophobic exploration of regressing into yourself in the aftermath of a violation. Being such a short book, there was minimal filler, and the plot moved quickly, allowing us to follow our nameless main character through her story.

There are many of its type, so I don’t feel this book offers anything particularly new on its topic, especially with the MC exhibiting signs of being haunted as a response to her trauma. I enjoyed the effortless prose and found the plot as a whole effective, particularly the elements of the main character’s vegetarianism being ignored and mocked by the chefs in the restaurant she works in, who hide animal fat in her food and force her into consuming meat. I think this was a really powerful tool to highlight the blatant disregard of a person’s overt preferences and desires, despite the instigator being very much aware of them, drawing comparisons to the assault.

Although the MC was quite unassuming, I think this worked very well to consolidate her personality. She is existing in the monotony of her daily life after her personal life has shifted, resulting in her being a shell of a person who tends to view herself from the outside of her body. This felt integral to building her identity at this point in her life.

There were times I felt a little lost, as the story became more abstract around halfway through and everything moved too fast for me to keep up with. Things become a lot clearer in the epilogue when everything is explained, as though the haze has been lifted and we are back in reality. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I also wasn’t a fan of the way the relationship between the MC and Helene progressed, hoping for more of a rich girl with a savior-complex than an abusive power-imbalance.

It’s already been mentioned, but this felt reminiscent of Eileen by Otessa Moshfegh, and it also made me think of All’s Well/Bunny by Mona Awad at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for the free audio in exchange for an honest review.