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A review by tobin_elliott
Deena Undone by Debra K. Every
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'd really been anticipating this one from the first time I'd read the description of it. It was right up my horror alley. But I kept holding off because I knew I was going to meet the author at the inaugural Horror Reader Weekend in the Hudson Valley, so the plan was to purchase the book there and then blast through it.
Turns out I couldn't wait. This was the second audiobook I blasted through on the way to that Weekend. And the book did everything for me...
It completely hooked me from the beginning. I enjoy a story with a slow build, when you know things are gonna go pear-shaped in the worst way, and this one did that.
But more than that, I know the impetus of this novel was based on Every's experiences in real life. And that real life trauma was translated very well into the horror novel. Without revealing anything of the story, I will say that, entwined in with the supernatural horror of the novel is the very real, very visceral real life horror that, personally, really got to me. Honestly, I had a similar experience to the fictional Deena with an aging relative who was dying, and this story checked every single traumatic box I went through.
And, as that real life horror was so entwined with the supernatural horror, I can truly say that this book got me so much harder than virtually anything else I've read in a couple of years.
The writing. The story. The intricacy of how the plot was woven. The evils. All of it.
Just brilliant, and this is likely my favourite horror novel of the year.
Turns out I couldn't wait. This was the second audiobook I blasted through on the way to that Weekend. And the book did everything for me...
It completely hooked me from the beginning. I enjoy a story with a slow build, when you know things are gonna go pear-shaped in the worst way, and this one did that.
But more than that, I know the impetus of this novel was based on Every's experiences in real life. And that real life trauma was translated very well into the horror novel. Without revealing anything of the story, I will say that, entwined in with the supernatural horror of the novel is the very real, very visceral real life horror that, personally, really got to me. Honestly, I had a similar experience to the fictional Deena with an aging relative who was dying, and this story checked every single traumatic box I went through.
And, as that real life horror was so entwined with the supernatural horror, I can truly say that this book got me so much harder than virtually anything else I've read in a couple of years.
The writing. The story. The intricacy of how the plot was woven. The evils. All of it.
Just brilliant, and this is likely my favourite horror novel of the year.