A review by ravensandlace
Deena Undone by Debra K. Every

4.0

Title: Deena Undone

Author: Debra K. Every

Genre: Horror

Format: eARC

Series: NA

Star Rating: 4 stars

A special thank you goes to the author, Debra K. Every, for providing me with a copy of this book. Please know that this does not influence my rating or thoughts on the book itself.

tw: blood, body horror, hospital setting, mental health problems, fire, infidelity, child abuse, assault 

One of the reasons I signed up to read this book was that the main character, Deena, was in her 50s. While I'm only in my 30s, it’s hard to find a horror book with an older woman as the main character. I’ve found that as I get older, I relate more to older characters. I know I am not that old but some days, especially after working with teenagers, I feel each and every one of my years. So I need to read books in which the main characters are older so I don’t feel so bad. So that was one of my favorite things about the book. 

I also just enjoyed the characters in general. The two main characters, Deena and Agatha, were so well done. So many people could relate to Deena, I feel. She was a woman trying to help her aunt, who was toxic almost borderline abusive to her. It’s hard to get away from that. I know from experience, as I also had a pretty toxic aunt. You think about all the good things they have done for you so when they are horrible, you think oh it’s not that bad. So I understood Deena and what she was dealing with. 

Agatha was complex and the villain, that much was clear. But I found that I enjoyed her character. Sure, the way she treated Deena was awful and why she treated Deena the way she did was especially heinous but I couldn’t help but feel some sort of pity for her. This woman just wanted to be loved by someone and not left in the dust. It’s not excusing what she did by any means but I understood her as well. 

I enjoyed the horror aspect of the book as well. It was slow and built up very nicely. It took its time getting us to where we needed to go. And I enjoyed that. Too often in horror, things happen either incredibly fast or way too slow. The pacing in this one was just right. The scares we did get were too scary so I feel like anyone could read this and enjoy it. 

Overall, this was a great book and I truly enjoyed my time reading it. While it had the horror aspects, it was a deep dive into complicated and toxic family relationships. If you enjoy horror books with an older female MC then this is the book for you! I promise it’s only a little bit scary.