May 2025

Book Review: ‘What Moves the Dead’ by T. Kingfisher

31st May 2025Leave a comment

T. Kingfisher’s ‘What Moves the Dead’ is my latest 2025 read.

This book has been on my radar for a while, often cropping up in online horror circles. Given its short runtime, I decided to give it a go on the train to and from Vienna. It’d breeze by and cleanse my palate after the heavy Margaret Atwood I’d finished a day prior.

The story follows Alex Easton, a retired soldier who receives word that an old friend is dying. They travel to the secluded House of Usher, where nothing seems quite right. The still lake has a matte surface, mushrooms emit foul odours, and the Ushers are no longer who they used to be. ‘What Moves the Dead’ takes inspiration from – or is a retelling of – Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. But, having not read much of Poe’s work, I can’t comment on how it twists the original.

What I can say is that ‘What Moves the Dead’ is delightful (if I can call it that) – a fast-paced horror romp. As expected from its 150-odd pages, Kingfisher’s tale wastes no time and carries little fat. It’s concise and to the point, understanding well what the reader wants from it. I loved the grotesque visuals of the hares and the unsettling descriptions of Ms Usher.

Sure, I’d have liked a bit more characterisation of Easton and the supporting cast, but this is both a minus and a plus. What the novella lacks in depth, it makes up for in momentum and eerie thrills.

If you’re after a quick, grisly read without the commitment of a full novel, I recommend ‘What Moves the Dead’.

I’m looking forward to reading parts two and three of the trilogy soon.

Book Review: ‘Alias Grace’ by Margaret Atwood

24th May 2025Leave a comment

I started a new job this year, and with it came a company book club. How cool is that? This month’s pick is Margaret Atwood’s ‘Alias Grace’.

The novel follows Grace Marks, a young Irish girl born into poverty. We journey with her across the ocean to Canada, where she finds work as a servant in wealthier homes. And that’s where the trouble begins. Two people end up dead. The law hangs a man and sentences Grace to life in prison. But what happened? Is she guilty? That’s the novel’s beating heart and the question that kept me reading.

I loved ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, but ‘Alias Grace’ didn’t hook me the same way – at least not at first. I struggled with the first third. For a 500+ page book, that’s a lot of slow going. It felt dry and meandering. But somewhere around page 200, things get interesting. Atwood finally gets her hooks in, and from then on, ‘Alias Grace’ keeps you guessing right up to the final pages. The palpable tension as we near the murder was excellent and breathless. The book also shows how women’s tales from the 1800s can mirror modern feminist struggles.

That said, the book is heavy with unnecessary detail. Atwood did her research and wants to show it, but we don’t need all the facts as readers. We need to trust that she knows her stuff. The book oscillates between building great tension and slowing itself down with excess.

In the end, I liked it. And that’s a testament to how strong the good bits are – they outweigh the negatives. With tighter editing and a slimmer page count (a la ‘Handmaid’s’), this could’ve been a four- or five-star read.

As it stands, ‘Alias Grace’ is a decent novel that urges reflection on modern inequalities.

⭐⭐⭐☆☆

Book Review: ‘Burnt Offerings’ by Robert Marasco

13th May 2025Leave a comment

A chilling classic from the ’70s, Robert Marasco’s ‘Burnt Offerings’ is my latest read of 2025.

I picked up a secondhand copy from one of my favourite local bookstores. Having seen it featured in Grady Hendrix’s ‘Paperbacks from Hell’, I’d wanted to read it for a while.

The novel follows the Rolfe family, desperate to escape another summer in the Bronx. It seems like a dream when they discover a countryside mansion available to rent for a low price. The only catch? The elderly Mrs Allardyce comes with the house. She always stays in her room; the Rolfes only need to bring her three meals daily. But no one ever sees her. And as the summer wears on, the house changes the family in unsettling ways.

As an avid fan of ’70s and ’80s horror – Stephen King, James Herbert, and the like – I adored ‘Burnt Offerings’. It has everything I want from the genre: dark characters, a creeping sense of dread, and a wild storyline. Its 200–300 pages flew by like the classic King novels I devoured as a teenager.

Uncomfortable, creepy, and entertaining, ‘Burnt Offerings’ is a must-read if you like horror.