I really enjoyed this read, it was dark, chilling with a fast paced narrative and a compelling storyline. I didn't know what to expect but it was better than I expected.

This was such a fun, campy, revolting domestic horror!

What lies behind this insanely cool retro cover is the story of Abby and Ralph. Both haunted by the ghost of Ralph’s mother in law and past traumas.

A story on motherhood, loss, trauma, grief, mental illness and the desire to be loved. This story is darkly funny and bloody bleak (check trigger warnings!!)

I’m so excited for the publication date so I can tell everyone I know to read it - it’s as gross as jellied salmon!!

Ahhhh this was fantastic.

I went into this with almost no expectations. I saw the cover and the description and thought it would be a fun, creepy read to dip into occasionally. However, once I started reading it I found it difficult to put down, and it became so much more than the straightforward story of grief and haunting that I expected it to be.

Hogarth drops us straight in to Abby's thoughts, as she waits with her husband in the hospital after his mum has committed suicide. This was perfect. The reader gets no direct experience of Laura (the mother-in-law) whilst she is alive, but she lingers and haunts the narrative spectacularly through Abby's memory of her unpleasantness.

From the first few pages I gathered that Abby would be a slightly snarky and anxious character, but as I read, she became so complex. I have become a bit bored recently of reading the many reiterations of super nasty and unlikeable female narrators that I used to enjoy, but which have started to seem a bit overdone and - like I said - boring. However, I love Abby!
She is very unhinged and unreliable, and at times she is slightly unlikeable, but overall I found her super loveable. I probably can't go into the specific reasons as to why I loved this character without giving spoilers and direct quotations, but I will think about her for a long time.

The exploration of motherhood in this novel was just fascinating. It discusses what having a bad mother can do to a person, and also how much pressure lies on women to be the perfect mother (and wife) in sometimes very heartbreaking ways. I wanted to hug Abby sometimes whilst reading her internal monologue, as she struggled with memories of her own mum and ideas of the kind of parent that she might be in the future.

Overall, Hogarth really got me with her story. She builds tension so well. Abby is a standout narrator, and there are some amazingly unsettling scenes that I could picture as if I was watching a film. I am very glad that I took a chance with this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this copy. I am looking forward to rereading this in the future, and will definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a strange but complex read.

OMG.
Disturbingly compelling (but please check the trigger warnings. Seriously). This is an uncomfortable read, as though you’re constantly teetering on some volatile edge that might collapse beneath you at any moment.
Abby, our protagonist, is clearly disturbed and has no sense of self. She’s grown up with an alcoholic mother who’s also deeply disturbed, and now she’s in love with Ralph, who also has a challenging relationship with his mother (even more so now that she’s just committed suicide).
There are all sorts of creepy analogies that add to the sense of discomfort but work perfectly for the nature of this story, as does the disorientating nature of the narrative switch between first and third person (all done from Abby’s increasingly unhinged pov).
By the time you realise just how creepy and twisted this story is, there’s no escape; you absolutely have to make it to the end.
Thank you (I think!) to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for the ARC.

This was everything I wanted. Weird, creepy, unsettling. And the cover is gorgeous I can’t wait to buy a physical copy.

Twisted, dark and incredibly well written. ‘I couldn’t put it down’ is such a cliche, but in this case it was true. The plot, the pacing, the characterisation - 10/10!

It’s also deeply funny, in a dark way. I can’t wait to read more from Ainslie Hogarth!