Synopsis
From the author of ‘The Boatman’ comes a frightening and gruesome tale of disease, memory, and family.
SOME MEMORIES ARE BURIED . . . OTHERS HATCH
Delilah Jones, a recent ornithology graduate, returns to Clear Fork at the request of her uncle to take care of her dementia-riddled mother. It should have been a somber, simple duty. But the woods surrounding the house echo voices from her past—voices long gone. The treeline has started to encroach on the cabin and the night doesn’t feel as empty as it used to.
THE SILENCE DOESN’T LAST
Mud-caked nests colonize the house. The droning swells and her mother is dying in front of her. The voices in the woods are getting more personal . . . and something is circling the cabin at night, sucking on the windows and watching her sleep.
Cornered by a siege of buzzing nightmares, Delilah must dissect the truth from her own head before the swarm seals her in.
THE HIVE IS AWAKE
Review
Huge thanks to the author for the eARC. The final cover is sick!
This is a folk horror that meshes psychological second-guessing with one hell of a buggy creature feature. The writing reminded me of King, and the pace was fast and smooth. Short chapters that almost always ended with something exciting or a hook made this a quick read for me.
Delilah has returned home in order to care for her ailing mother, who is bedridden. The town is one she’d rather avoid, as people stare as if she’s the shiny ‘new thing,’ but things are even darker than they seem. Her barista seems to tolerate her, the grocery store clerk, Mr. Gengi, is the most warmth she can seem to find, and in the midst of things spiraling, she finds herself reliant on an old crush, the sheriff. And as much stress as having a parent lose themselves and their personality as sundowning rolls around each day, her mother’s ire is the least of her worries as truly horrific things start to happen.
Are they hallucinations, or are they real? Or perhaps even worse, is this mysterious entity implanting them? While folk horror is something I do delve into, I wouldn’t say it’s my typical read. This somehow nailed both the more creepy dread of the likes of a folk film, as well as the pace and action of a creature feature. While I haven’t read IT, the hallucinations/visions really reminded me of Pennywise’s torment in the movies and Welcome to Derry. Heinous thoughts, creepy voices, and trauma-buried memories are brought to life, and even if Delilah can distinguish what’s real, it still won’t be over.
The novel also features wasps, and lots of them. I’ve noticed an uptick in bee-related plots recently, and while I have yet to read more of them, I certainly get it. Why do they have an armored carapace, why can they sting, and why do wasps possess the ability to do so over and over? While I’m not outright afraid it insects, I’m still not a fan! These mud daubers were something new to me entirely, the tube-like mud nests for their young, and how the creature expands on this and makes use of them, was gross and creepy. This loosely reminded me of notes of Cicada by Tanya Pell, with its winged horrors, and how both insects utilize a kind of ‘becoming.’ The entity, which you’ll have to read on your own to find out more about, had me picturing a mesh of a demogorgon and the aliens from A Quiet Place…real creepy stuff.
Overall, the ending nailed it for me. Creepy, fast, and refreshingly different. The connection to the author’s other work was so cool, I love when people do that, and it made me want to hurry up and get to The Boatman too.
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