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biancarosesmith's review
5.0
Remains is brutal and quite literally my worst nightmare as a mother come true. The murder of your child. With this in mind, it was confronting to read but it hooked me in immediately and didn't let go until the end.
Remains follows Lucy, a mother who loses her child to murder and is left trying to come to terms with what happened. Witnessing her journey with grief is overwhelming to say the least. Lucy as a character is multi-faceted, complex and feels real. She is flawed which only serves to humanise her and her grief more as she grapples with trying to come to terms with the loss of her son.
Paranormal elements are intertwined here when Lucy decides to go back to the abandoned house where her son was brutally murdered. Lucy accidentally makes contact with darker forces in an effort to contact her son.
Andrew's writing is beautiful and immersive. I found the pacing perfect and didn't want to put the book down. I stayed up late reading Remains.
If you're a fan of grief horror you need to read this one. You won't regret it.
Remains follows Lucy, a mother who loses her child to murder and is left trying to come to terms with what happened. Witnessing her journey with grief is overwhelming to say the least. Lucy as a character is multi-faceted, complex and feels real. She is flawed which only serves to humanise her and her grief more as she grapples with trying to come to terms with the loss of her son.
Paranormal elements are intertwined here when Lucy decides to go back to the abandoned house where her son was brutally murdered. Lucy accidentally makes contact with darker forces in an effort to contact her son.
Andrew's writing is beautiful and immersive. I found the pacing perfect and didn't want to put the book down. I stayed up late reading Remains.
If you're a fan of grief horror you need to read this one. You won't regret it.
jessie85's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kmmi_booklover's review
4.0
This fantastic debut horror novel centers around Lucy who has been in a psychiatric hospital after the brutal murder of her son. She is drawn to the house where he died. Remains is non-stop horror with every creepy sentence. It meanders a bit at the beginning but explodes from the midpoint until the end. I will definitely be picking up anything that Andrew Cull writes.
jasmeaniethebookish's review
5.0
This book was my favorite of the month by far. A story of grief, loss, and just how far a mother will go to do whatever she can for her children. Be that dead or alive. Lucy is driven to a breakdown by the murder of her young son. She commits herself to a psych ward and stays until she starts feeling a pull towards the house where the murder happened. Lucy canβt escape the need to be close to the house but to what end? This is a super dark, atmospheric book (there might be a theme here) but holy wow, is it ever worth it. Remains was most definitely a 5 star read!
enchantressreads's review
5.0
Andrew Cull is a genius and needs to be protected at all costs. Iβd give this 100 stars if I could.
shawna_reads's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
madarauchiha's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
β€οΈ 𧑠π π π π my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara π π π π 𧑠β€οΈ
Uhh kinda boring. Like, a whole lot of not much happening, honestly. The main woman character was sad and that's about it.
I think the psychiatric instition portrayal is pretty lacking and misunderstood. Admitedly the author is british so the psychiatric field over there is certain different from the one in the USA. Do they not have sectioning? Psych holds for obviously mentally unstable, potentially self harming people? Like I'm fully anti psych, but it's weird that two characters knew this woman was unwell and didn't do anything beyond a few phone calls. [ok so that's not all , but spoilers ok?] But like the Red Flags were there well before she even got to the house....
The horror? Not sure. The gorey mundane horror of a random spree killer felt more solid than whatever supernatural was going on.
The prose was fine. That's it, that's all. It doesn't have much susbstance to it.
I wouldn't read anything else by this author.
content warnings
minor gore, gun violence, murder,
medium suicide ideation, kidnapping, asphyxiation, drug abuse [prescription drug], religion catholic,
major car accidents, suicide, alcohol abuse, grief, gun violence, child death, gore, panic attacks, psychiatric institutions, mental illness,
Uhh kinda boring. Like, a whole lot of not much happening, honestly. The main woman character was sad and that's about it.
I think the psychiatric instition portrayal is pretty lacking and misunderstood. Admitedly the author is british so the psychiatric field over there is certain different from the one in the USA. Do they not have sectioning? Psych holds for obviously mentally unstable, potentially self harming people? Like I'm fully anti psych, but it's weird that two characters knew this woman was unwell and didn't do anything beyond a few phone calls. [ok so that's not all , but spoilers ok?] But like the Red Flags were there well before she even got to the house....
The horror? Not sure. The gorey mundane horror of a random spree killer felt more solid than whatever supernatural was going on.
The prose was fine. That's it, that's all. It doesn't have much susbstance to it.
I wouldn't read anything else by this author.
content warnings
minor gore, gun violence, murder,
medium suicide ideation, kidnapping, asphyxiation, drug abuse [prescription drug], religion catholic,
major car accidents, suicide, alcohol abuse, grief, gun violence, child death, gore, panic attacks, psychiatric institutions, mental illness,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Gun violence, Grief, and Gore
loandbeholdx's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
This was a really fast paced read that was really difficult to put down. It was tense, distressing, and horrific. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism
steph_koala's review against another edition
3.0
This was fine; if a little long. I think the author does a great job of depicting grief, but ultimately the story felt too simple. I wanted more to happen.
woffordleejones's review against another edition
5.0
Grief is a black house as it states on the back cover of this book. REMAINS by @andrewcull is a bleak story but the writing is beautiful...mesmerizing; it conjures so many images, many of them grim, but images that make you feel. Cull always has a way of putting your nerves on edge. During the reading of Remains, I found myself at times biting my nails with nervousness. I felt like I was traveling the rooms and hallways of 1428 Montgomery as Lucy Campbell, and some of the other characters. Talk about mounting tension...I felt like a washrag and this book was two hands where the more I read, the tighter those hands became, slowly wringing me out. Always look forward to an Andrew Cull read. In my book, heβs a master of the macabre.