A review by mrtvavrana
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 Holy hells, where do I even begin with this review! My expectations were very high, and yet they were exceeded. This is a debut novel, and it is probably the best debut I have ever read.

One of my absolute favourite genres is queer horror. I am also a sucker for a good gothic horror and the paranormal, so this novel was truly a perfect combination for me.

My Darling Dreadful Thing is also a love story. I think a quote by Tamsyn Muir from an interview from many years ago beautifully describes the whole experience you will have with this book: “You have not yet begun to see the horrors of love.”.

My Darling Dreadful Thing takes place in the 1950s Netherlands and tells a story of a young woman called Roos. She has a companion, Ruth, and together they work for Roos's mother at a séance parlour. There is the twist, though. Ruth is a ghost, and she helps Roos perform at séances—by possessing her.

One day they are visited by a wealthy widow, Agnes, who longs to communicate with her recently deceased husband, Thomas. The two women connect, and soon Roos departs with Agnes to her crumbling estate, where they slowly fall in love.

But then a murder happens, and Roos is the main suspect. Now she has to prove who the real culprit is.

The pace of this novel is a bit on the slower side; there was a lot of buildup leading to the ending, but it was all intentional, and it made the book perfect in my eyes. The story is told from two perspectives: one is narrated by Roos herself, and the other is a dialogue she leads with a psychiatrist, Doctor Montague.

The characters were (almost) all likeable. I definitely found it easy to connect with them, even with Willemijn (Agnes's sister-in-law). At first I did hope we would see more of Agnes and Thomas earlier in the story, but in the end I actually enjoyed the way things took place. All of the characters had a lot of relevant backstory.

As it often happens, this queer story does not have a necessarily happy ending. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed how tragic it was, and the book ended on a somewhat hopeful note.

The writing was beautiful and very descriptive, which I always enjoy. The atmosphere was chilling, and it reminded me a lot of The Crimson Peak.

I do not doubt that this novel will make it to the top of my 2025 reads. And I also cannot wait to read more from the author in the future.