Synopsis
Josie is at rock bottom, living a haunted existence after returning to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean. But the tall, dense pine trees are not the only things casting shadows across her skin.
When Josie stumbles across a decaying, ant-infested body in the woods, she plummets into a downward spiral, facing uncomfortable truths about the victim and her own past – all whilst battling a growing infestation of her mind . . . and her flesh.
Desperate to solve the case, Josie scratches the surface of an age-old mystery – a masked predator stalks the forest around Ellwood, a place deeply gripped by folklore. As the village prepares for its annual festival, Josie gets closer and closer to unveiling a monster, and begins to ask herself:
Are these dark crawling insects leading her to uncover the truth? Or is she their next victim? 🐜
Review
Talk about ants in your pants!
What about ants in your guts, in your eyes, squirming and multiplying and infesting you, too many ants in your body that they spill from your pores, your mouth, nose. Sounds less than ideal, huh? Well, Gemma Amor’s ITCH! will scratch those creeping, crawling sensations that are no doubt fizzing their way across your skin.
Following Josie, a woman who returns to her Forest of Dean home village after the end of an abusive relationship, as she discovers a dead body infested with ants and other forest creepy crawlies. This then sends her on a dark spiral, one which will unearth dark secrets of folk tradition, female persecution, and a trail of dead women.
What stuck out for me is Amor’s brilliant use of body horror. Her descriptions of bugs and worms and things that live in the dark and dank as they squirm through bodies, bite through skin and emerge through tear ducts, it’s all so shiver-inducing. It paints a gruesome image. Gemma’s ability to craft believable characters into living people, likeable or otherwise (in two cases, I have never felt such loathing for people before), was great to experience. Everyone has a history, and that history is linked to the book’s exploration of tradition, folk history, rural sensibilities; of misogyny, female rage, patriachy. The book also explores abuse, both physical and emotional – so check the trigger warnings at the front of the book before you begin. Despite the several hundred six-legged creatures scurrying across the pages, it’s the two-legged monsters that are what you need to truly fear. Josie’s fight to overcome these past and present traumas is satisfying, and the final gang that is built around her are an eclectic, flawed bunch, and they feel wholly human.
ITCH! is a concerto of dark mystery, ritualistic misogyny, witchcraft, ants, expectations of women, violent control, ants, tradition, ants, and facing our fears. Oh, and also ants. Highly recommended for folk horror lovers, or if you just want to read something that will make you angry at the injustice of it all!
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