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An Ordinary Violence
A chilling horror novel about a young Indigenous woman haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization.
Dawn hasn’t spoken to her brother, Cody, since he was sent to prison for a violent crime seven years ago. Now living in a shiny new Toronto condo, Dawn is haunted by uncanny occurrences, including cryptic messages from her dead mother, that have followed her most of her life. When the life Dawn thought she wanted implodes, she is forced to return to her childhood home and the prairie city that holds so much pain for her and her fractured family.
Cody is unexpectedly released from prison with a mysterious new friend by his side, who seems to be the charismatic leader of a dangerous supernatural network. Trying to uncover their plans, Dawn follows increasingly sinister leads until the lines between this world and the next, now and then, and right and wrong begin to blur and dissolve.
What unfolds is an eerie, incisive, and at times darkly funny horror novel about a young Indigenous woman reckoning with trauma and violence, loss and reclamation in an unsettling world where spirit realms entwine with the living ― and where it is humans who carry out the truly monstrous acts.
Dawn hasn’t spoken to her brother, Cody, since he was sent to prison for a violent crime seven years ago. Now living in a shiny new Toronto condo, Dawn is haunted by uncanny occurrences, including cryptic messages from her dead mother, that have followed her most of her life. When the life Dawn thought she wanted implodes, she is forced to return to her childhood home and the prairie city that holds so much pain for her and her fractured family.
Cody is unexpectedly released from prison with a mysterious new friend by his side, who seems to be the charismatic leader of a dangerous supernatural network. Trying to uncover their plans, Dawn follows increasingly sinister leads until the lines between this world and the next, now and then, and right and wrong begin to blur and dissolve.
What unfolds is an eerie, incisive, and at times darkly funny horror novel about a young Indigenous woman reckoning with trauma and violence, loss and reclamation in an unsettling world where spirit realms entwine with the living ― and where it is humans who carry out the truly monstrous acts.
272 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2023
58 people are currently reading
7140 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
August 27, 2023
I enjoy horror books and had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, it was not for me.
Dawn, who gets messages from her deceased mother, has returned to her hometown. Soon her brother, Cody, who has been in prison for committing a violent crime, has been released and is back in town with Tyler, a friend from prison.
The book, at 272 pages, is slow and relies on flashbacks to tell part of the story. There is a supernatural element that also comes into play.
I felt that most of this book went over my head and found myself re-reading sections. I was unable to connect with any of the characters or the story. When the supernatural element came into play, the book had already lost me. This was unique and atmospheric; I will give it that.
Many enjoyed this book, but it was not for me. Again, I enjoy horror books but apparently not this type of horror book. As the description says, it is dark. It is also slow and another book that felt much longer than the 272 pages.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Dawn, who gets messages from her deceased mother, has returned to her hometown. Soon her brother, Cody, who has been in prison for committing a violent crime, has been released and is back in town with Tyler, a friend from prison.
The book, at 272 pages, is slow and relies on flashbacks to tell part of the story. There is a supernatural element that also comes into play.
I felt that most of this book went over my head and found myself re-reading sections. I was unable to connect with any of the characters or the story. When the supernatural element came into play, the book had already lost me. This was unique and atmospheric; I will give it that.
Many enjoyed this book, but it was not for me. Again, I enjoy horror books but apparently not this type of horror book. As the description says, it is dark. It is also slow and another book that felt much longer than the 272 pages.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
April 1, 2024
I don't know the reason this did not connect with me, but I felt it moved incredibly slowly, just not what you are looking for in a horror novel. I found it extremely hard to bond with the main character.
Thank you to House of Anansi/Groundwood Books and Edelweiss for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to House of Anansi/Groundwood Books and Edelweiss for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 13, 2023
First things first: this is a very bleak read. Everything from the plot to the setting is bleak and has an overwhelming miasma of despair.
As the story progresses, the characters and their backgrounds offer more sadness.
However, despite the distinct lack of hope in the story, it’s a good one. The slow build up creates a read that is extremely atmospheric and, as it tiptoes into cosmic horror, surprising.
Overall, I liked the book – even as I didn’t always enjoy it. I think I needed just a hint of lightness somewhere.
• ARC provided by publisher
As the story progresses, the characters and their backgrounds offer more sadness.
However, despite the distinct lack of hope in the story, it’s a good one. The slow build up creates a read that is extremely atmospheric and, as it tiptoes into cosmic horror, surprising.
Overall, I liked the book – even as I didn’t always enjoy it. I think I needed just a hint of lightness somewhere.
• ARC provided by publisher
March 9, 2024
So good! I loved the storytelling style and the way the author slowly built out the fullness of this story through the eyes of the main character--readers never fully see the "big picture", just subtle hints, and we learn as the MC learns.
- Small-town horror
- Indigenous people
- Returning to your childhood home
- Family
- Relationships
- Dreams/Visions
- Haunted by the past
- Feeling of dread
- Missing women/girls
- Ailing parents
- Cosmic elements
- Secrets/and something I can't say without spoiling
- Small-town horror
- Indigenous people
- Returning to your childhood home
- Family
- Relationships
- Dreams/Visions
- Haunted by the past
- Feeling of dread
- Missing women/girls
- Ailing parents
- Cosmic elements
- Secrets/and something I can't say without spoiling
August 27, 2023
I requested a digital review copy of this book based on (1) the cover, because uhm hello it's gorgeous, and (2) it sounded like it would be right up my alley. And in more capable hands, it might have been.
In An Ordinary Violence, Dawn runs back to her hometown and moves in with her dad to escape an altercation with her boyfriend. Her brother cody, who was incarcerated for the past 9 years, also returns home and being around him stirs up some memories Dawn would rather forget. She's being haunted by her mother Violet, who passed away after battling an illness, and her brother appears to be under the influence of his prision pal Tyler, who always seems to be hanging around. They reconnect with an old middle school friend of hers, who is now married with kids, and things begin to take a sharper turn towards the weird from here.
The storyline is a bit of a jumbled mess and tended to be difficult to follow. It's also very uneven. Chartrand leverages flashbacks to help set the stage and build character backstories. But rather than devise one method of delivery for those, she sometimes inserted them directly into the current storyline differentiated by italics, and other times, she created an entirely separate chapter for it, which was titled 'Toronto'.
Chartrand also hints at some supernatural elements throughout the first 2/3rds of the book but rarely spends time fleshing them out. Instead of having the effect I think she was going for - leaving the reader feeling creeped out and unsettled - it just left me confused and disengaged. And when she finally lifts the curtain and shines the spotlight on the cosmic weirdness, I had more questions than anything else. Her lead up did nothing to help me understand what was happening when thing that happened happened. Or why it was happening. Or how it even came to happen.
Interestingly enough, I had considered DNFing it twice... once at the 40% mark and again at the 60% mark but, against my better judgement, I hung in there because some of the more positive reviews alluded to things being slow and eventually picking up. So here I am, again, uspet with myself for not listening to my gut. When will I learn?!
If you normally like what I like, trust me when I say, you wouldn't be missing anything if you decided to skip this one.
In An Ordinary Violence, Dawn runs back to her hometown and moves in with her dad to escape an altercation with her boyfriend. Her brother cody, who was incarcerated for the past 9 years, also returns home and being around him stirs up some memories Dawn would rather forget. She's being haunted by her mother Violet, who passed away after battling an illness, and her brother appears to be under the influence of his prision pal Tyler, who always seems to be hanging around. They reconnect with an old middle school friend of hers, who is now married with kids, and things begin to take a sharper turn towards the weird from here.
The storyline is a bit of a jumbled mess and tended to be difficult to follow. It's also very uneven. Chartrand leverages flashbacks to help set the stage and build character backstories. But rather than devise one method of delivery for those, she sometimes inserted them directly into the current storyline differentiated by italics, and other times, she created an entirely separate chapter for it, which was titled 'Toronto'.
Chartrand also hints at some supernatural elements throughout the first 2/3rds of the book but rarely spends time fleshing them out. Instead of having the effect I think she was going for - leaving the reader feeling creeped out and unsettled - it just left me confused and disengaged. And when she finally lifts the curtain and shines the spotlight on the cosmic weirdness, I had more questions than anything else. Her lead up did nothing to help me understand what was happening when thing that happened happened. Or why it was happening. Or how it even came to happen.
Interestingly enough, I had considered DNFing it twice... once at the 40% mark and again at the 60% mark but, against my better judgement, I hung in there because some of the more positive reviews alluded to things being slow and eventually picking up. So here I am, again, uspet with myself for not listening to my gut. When will I learn?!
If you normally like what I like, trust me when I say, you wouldn't be missing anything if you decided to skip this one.
April 25, 2025
2 ⭐
I am so confused by this book!!
An Ordinary Violence is marketed as a horror about an indigenous woman "haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization." Sounds amazing!! Unfortunately the horror about an indigenous woman haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization must be the friends we made along the way because I did not get any of that in this book.
This was about about Dawn. Dawn is (maybe?) in her 30s and tried moving to Toronto but it didn't go well so she decides to come back to her childhood home under the guise that she is going to "help" her father who is a widower. When she gets there it is revealed to us that her dad is an alcoholic (albeit a seemingly kind one) and Dawn is really mean to him but we never really get any context as to why.
Dawn's little brother Cody is also about to get out of prison after being locked up for 6 or 7 years so it's a family reunion! Also sometimes Dawn's dead mom possesses people to tell her random unhelpful things but that is just thrown in there and never explained or explored.
Cody is into some weird stuff, there are a few creepy horror scenes, and the book ends.
THE WHOLE BOOK TRULY AMOUNTED TO NOTHING. I was so mad because at about 70% I was like "you know I really don't hate this, IDK why the reviews are so bad," and by the end I understood. Dawns indigenous heritage is mentioned but never explored in a meaningful way. We are never told what actually happened regarding the horror element. There is zero character growth, no lessons are learned.
This really had potential which is the worst part. I can tell the author is talented but this needed a lot more editing and work before publication IMO.
*Thank you to House of Anasi Press and Netgalley for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review*
I am so confused by this book!!
An Ordinary Violence is marketed as a horror about an indigenous woman "haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization." Sounds amazing!! Unfortunately the horror about an indigenous woman haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization must be the friends we made along the way because I did not get any of that in this book.
This was about about Dawn. Dawn is (maybe?) in her 30s and tried moving to Toronto but it didn't go well so she decides to come back to her childhood home under the guise that she is going to "help" her father who is a widower. When she gets there it is revealed to us that her dad is an alcoholic (albeit a seemingly kind one) and Dawn is really mean to him but we never really get any context as to why.
Dawn's little brother Cody is also about to get out of prison after being locked up for 6 or 7 years so it's a family reunion! Also sometimes Dawn's dead mom possesses people to tell her random unhelpful things but that is just thrown in there and never explained or explored.
Cody is into some weird stuff, there are a few creepy horror scenes, and the book ends.
THE WHOLE BOOK TRULY AMOUNTED TO NOTHING. I was so mad because at about 70% I was like "you know I really don't hate this, IDK why the reviews are so bad," and by the end I understood. Dawns indigenous heritage is mentioned but never explored in a meaningful way. We are never told what actually happened regarding the horror element. There is zero character growth, no lessons are learned.
This really had potential which is the worst part. I can tell the author is talented but this needed a lot more editing and work before publication IMO.
*Thank you to House of Anasi Press and Netgalley for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review*
June 3, 2023
An Ordinary Violence was gorgeous, hypnotic, and disturbing. It’s hard to talk about the book without spoiling anything, so I’ll just echo the publisher’s synopsis: Dawn tried to escape her troubled upbringing on the Canadian prairie with a new life in Toronto. However, when everything comes crashing down, she returns home in time to see her brother released early from prison and to watch him become enmeshed in a disturbing supernatural conspiracy.
This is one of those stories where the pleasure lies in the quality of the prose; Chartrand is an excellent writer and it was easy to slip into the riptide of the narrative and be carried away along with Dawn. This book is cosmic horror and the narrative reflects Dawn’s increasingly fragmented perception of the world around her. Many mysteries in the novel are left unexplained and I loved that. It’s also an incisive critique of colonialism, but in a way that always feels thoughtful and sometimes darkly funny.
If you’re looking for a creepy and atmospheric read, I highly recommend this book. I will be eagerly awaiting Chartrand’s next novel. To me, this was right up there with Laird Barron for unsettling horror with realistic, nuanced characters.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.
This is one of those stories where the pleasure lies in the quality of the prose; Chartrand is an excellent writer and it was easy to slip into the riptide of the narrative and be carried away along with Dawn. This book is cosmic horror and the narrative reflects Dawn’s increasingly fragmented perception of the world around her. Many mysteries in the novel are left unexplained and I loved that. It’s also an incisive critique of colonialism, but in a way that always feels thoughtful and sometimes darkly funny.
If you’re looking for a creepy and atmospheric read, I highly recommend this book. I will be eagerly awaiting Chartrand’s next novel. To me, this was right up there with Laird Barron for unsettling horror with realistic, nuanced characters.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.
November 27, 2023
Some author's and their writing just click with me. There is no pre-determined formula, it is merely happenstance and highly random. Chartrand's voice just resonated with me. I found the writing style, austerely atmospheric setting, and our main character-Dawn-to be absolutely compelling and beautifully conveyed.
The plot drove me through the story and I was impelled to figure out what was going on with the eerie and doom-like feeling that clung to Dawn once she returned home. The slow build towards the conclusion made this cosmic horror with an underlying commentary on Dawn's Indigenous roots an absolute pleasure and delight to experience.
The only con is that Adriana Chartrand does not have any other published books for me to move onto...so, until then, this definitely goes on my 'read again' book list.
Thank you to House of Anansi Press Inc. via NetGalley for allowing me to respond to this book with my honest opinions.
The plot drove me through the story and I was impelled to figure out what was going on with the eerie and doom-like feeling that clung to Dawn once she returned home. The slow build towards the conclusion made this cosmic horror with an underlying commentary on Dawn's Indigenous roots an absolute pleasure and delight to experience.
The only con is that Adriana Chartrand does not have any other published books for me to move onto...so, until then, this definitely goes on my 'read again' book list.
Thank you to House of Anansi Press Inc. via NetGalley for allowing me to respond to this book with my honest opinions.
October 17, 2023
I wanted to absolutely love this novel because it was categorized under "horror." But sadly, there was very little horror.
This is more of a contemporary story about a young mixed Native woman navigating through life with absent parents and a brother who recently got out of prison. It actually works really well telling this story and straddles the line between general fiction and literary fiction.
The general mood is depressing and anything but hopeful. It reminds me of Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone. It's so heavy and you can feel how heavy it is. The author really did an excellent job setting the mood.
The writing was excellent and quite poetic in some parts. I'm not one to highlight sentences or passages in novels, but this was one of my rare exceptions. I'll add a couple of my favorite quotes below.
There was a slight bit of cosmic horror that's reminiscent of Outer Range (2022) on Amazon Prime. But as someone who absolutely loves that subgenre, that little bit wasn't enough to justify putting this in the horror genre. Hence why it took me slightly over two weeks to finish this short novel.
Overall, I wanted so much more cosmic horror and less "woe is me." The last 10% really delivered in the cosmic horror aspect, but it sure as hell wasn't enough to pull me back in when I was mostly checked out already.
Disclaimer: These are quotes from the arc copy, and not the final version.
Thank you to Spiderline and NetGalley for this arc.
This is more of a contemporary story about a young mixed Native woman navigating through life with absent parents and a brother who recently got out of prison. It actually works really well telling this story and straddles the line between general fiction and literary fiction.
The general mood is depressing and anything but hopeful. It reminds me of Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone. It's so heavy and you can feel how heavy it is. The author really did an excellent job setting the mood.
The writing was excellent and quite poetic in some parts. I'm not one to highlight sentences or passages in novels, but this was one of my rare exceptions. I'll add a couple of my favorite quotes below.
There was a slight bit of cosmic horror that's reminiscent of Outer Range (2022) on Amazon Prime. But as someone who absolutely loves that subgenre, that little bit wasn't enough to justify putting this in the horror genre. Hence why it took me slightly over two weeks to finish this short novel.
Overall, I wanted so much more cosmic horror and less "woe is me." The last 10% really delivered in the cosmic horror aspect, but it sure as hell wasn't enough to pull me back in when I was mostly checked out already.
Disclaimer: These are quotes from the arc copy, and not the final version.
"So many people needed monsters to look monstrous. They couldn't accept, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that the demons looked just like them. That a seemingly regular life could conceal a deeply vicious soul."
"She knew already by then that absence was not the presence of nothing; it was the phantom presence of someone who had gone. Or had been taken. Absence begets absence--a life was taken, and those left behind were taken from, too. The shockwaves reached out and out and out, until everyone was unsteady on their feet. Dawn thought that, surely, everyone in this city should be quaking, struggling to keep their footing. She started to resent those that could still walk steady here, and that resentment took hold in her, wormed its way deep inside her and latched on."
Thank you to Spiderline and NetGalley for this arc.
October 29, 2023
An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrand is a horror novel about a young Indigenous woman.
First, let me thank Edelweiss, the publisher Spiderline - House of Anansi/Groundwood Books (and in particular Karen Brochu sending me a widget) and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
My Synopsis: (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Dawn has left her life in Toronto, and returns to the small prairie city where she grew up. Although she tells people she is just there for a bit to look after her Dad, she really has nowhere else to go.
Dawn's brother Cody also returns home. He has spent seven years in prison for a violent crime. He brings along a friend of his, Tyler.
Dawn is not a fan of Tyler's, but can't quite figure out why. Everyone else seems to love this charismatic man. Dawn doesn't trust him.
Although their mother Violet died while Dawn and Cody were young, Dawn often receives rather puzzling messages from her through other people. Dawn hopes that if she could figure out what Cody and Tyler are up to, she could save her brother.
My Opinions:
This book was really slow-moving. Nothing really happened until about 90% in....I can't believe I kept reading. It was also rather depressing, and overly-detailed. I found myself skimming (never a good thing). There is a supernatural aspect to the book, but I wouldn't consider it horror.
We learn about the characters through flashbacks, which normally works well. This, however, felt very disjointed, and a little confusing.
The writing was often quite poetic, and the author definitely shows promise. I just think her technique needs a little work, as I didn't really like the style. I was bored.
I really wanted to like this book, but couldn't. I think, however, the author shows promise. I may be in the minority on this one, so please, check it out yourself. Not every book will resonate with everyone, but every book does resonate with someone.
For a more complete review of this book and others, (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, as well as author information and contact details), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
February 23, 2025
An Ordinary Violence opens with Dawn driving back home after a traumatic event (revealed much later). When she gets home, an earlier traumatic event haunts her, especially when her older brother is released from prison. He brings home a friend who Dawn immediately feels uneasy about. She and her brother never discuss their past nor the dark forces that are following them both. As the months come and go, Dawn’s unease is never settled. She reunites with her childhood best friend but there is no longer a connection as she is disconnected from everyone and everything, especially after she returns to her hometown where nothing and everything has changed. I will admit this is a slow read and hard to get into in the beginning. But the creepy atmosphere kept me reading and I’m glad I did. The reader does not get all the answers but as the past events are unraveled, you become more and more tense while reading. The horror in this book lies in the unknown. It reads much like a fever dream because that’s basically what Dawn’s life has become as she hears an evil buzzing undercurrent, has out of body experiences, loses time (forgets where she is and what she’s doing), and hears her dead mother’s voice in moments of silence and through stranger’s bodies. There is imagery toward the end of the book that totally scared me and will stay in my mind. This is an unsettling, ominous, and mysterious read. After reading reviews, I see that this book isn’t for everyone but I liked it, and am glad to have been introduced to this author’s debut!
December 16, 2023
Please do not ask me for my thoughts on this book as I had no clue what was going on at any point. First off, this had to be the longest short book I’ve ever read in my life. It took me FOREVER to read and it was only 290something pages. Realistically it should’ve taken me max 3 hours but noooo it stretched upon days because there was no hook or thrill to this horror book. I didn’t want to keep reading it. But I’m somebody who when I start a book, I finish it, bad or not.
I ultimately was lost during the whole thing too. There’s flashbacks in italics and flashbacks told In alternating chapters (that you’ll miss forsure if you aren’t careful, and flashbacks within the paragraphs. Not only are there flashbacks but with this being in third person our main character is having memory loss so there’s pieces missing and time jumps. And why did towards the end we got a chapter from third person Tyler’s pov that added NOTHING to the story. Help I am still lost in this story and not from trying to understand it but more so what the fuck did I just waste my time on?
Anywaysssss I guess from the reviews this is for the girlies who get it and I’m a girlie who doesn’t. And I really don’t think I want to get this mess.
I ultimately was lost during the whole thing too. There’s flashbacks in italics and flashbacks told In alternating chapters (that you’ll miss forsure if you aren’t careful, and flashbacks within the paragraphs. Not only are there flashbacks but with this being in third person our main character is having memory loss so there’s pieces missing and time jumps. And why did towards the end we got a chapter from third person Tyler’s pov that added NOTHING to the story. Help I am still lost in this story and not from trying to understand it but more so what the fuck did I just waste my time on?
Anywaysssss I guess from the reviews this is for the girlies who get it and I’m a girlie who doesn’t. And I really don’t think I want to get this mess.
November 3, 2023
3.5 I wasn’t sure about this book as the beginning is quite repulsive and depressing for the main character as well as myself. An Indigenous drunken father living in squalor, brother in jail and misfortune befalling the main character bringing her back to her father’s home. The book summary was intriguing so I decided to apply my “must read 50 pages” rule to give the book a chance. Her writing is beautifully descriptive at times and there were enough interesting encounters with her mother’s spirit to propel me forward. This is a very slow burn and in the end, there is no explanation as to what actually happened to the characters that disappeared. It reminded me of Twin Peaks in a way; lots of strange conversations and things happening without an explanation of how they fit with the story line.
January 7, 2025
I'm really surprised by the low GR ratings on this. It feels like all the netgalley people only think of horror in a Hollywood monster/slasher sort of way??? Because this hits all the horror notes for me. If we're talking tropes, it's straight Gothic horror (emotionally unstable, isolated heroine in a desolate setting, and a focus on family relationships). It's done using an emotional palette I associate with cosmic horror (grief, shame, despair, confusion) and with a sense of time I see more in Indigenous storytelling (geometries more complicated that a straight line). Anyway, I thought this was awesome and I am really looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.
November 7, 2023
Thank you NetGalley, Adriana Chartrand, and Spiderline for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I had to DNF this novel around the 30% mark. Although the writers style may connect with others, it just didn’t connect with me.
This is a very bleak story that uses flashbacks to fill in the blanks. It was also a bit hard for me to follow.
I really love the cover of this book and I am good with a slow burn horror but this one was just too slow for my taste.
Overall, I’ve seen good reviews for this book & I was really hoping to like it as indigenous horror novels have always been able to catch my attention but it just fell flat for me. But just because this isn’t for me doesn’t mean others won’t find it enjoyable!
I had to DNF this novel around the 30% mark. Although the writers style may connect with others, it just didn’t connect with me.
This is a very bleak story that uses flashbacks to fill in the blanks. It was also a bit hard for me to follow.
I really love the cover of this book and I am good with a slow burn horror but this one was just too slow for my taste.
Overall, I’ve seen good reviews for this book & I was really hoping to like it as indigenous horror novels have always been able to catch my attention but it just fell flat for me. But just because this isn’t for me doesn’t mean others won’t find it enjoyable!
September 25, 2023
Adriana Chartrand needs to keep writing!
I enjoyed this book very much, and found it hard to put down. Very descriptive and I was immersed in this world. I liked how the story unfolded. Would be nice to have a sequel.
I enjoyed this book very much, and found it hard to put down. Very descriptive and I was immersed in this world. I liked how the story unfolded. Would be nice to have a sequel.
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October 23, 2023“What was so confounding about the fact of an ordinary man’s violence? So many people needed monsters to look monstrous. They couldn’t accept, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that the demons looked just like them. That a seemingly regular life could conceal a deeply vicious soul.”
Described as a chilling horror novel about an indigenous woman who’s haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization, I was expecting something far more insidious and terrifying.
However (and unfortunately for me, a mood reader who was in the mood for horror), AN ORDINARY VIOLENCE was largely a character-driven, contemporary/literary fiction about a young woman navigating life with an absent father, deceased mother, and a brother who’s recently released from prison. And that’s not a bad thing — the last 10% really delivered on all the cosmic horror I was hoping for throughout! — it’s just important to adjust your expectations before going in.
The story is incredibly bleak and heavy at times; the author doing a phenomenal job of clearly articulating the depths of depression and setting the mood throughout.
“She knew already by then that absence was not the presence of nothing; it was the phantom presence of someone who had gone. Or had been taken. Absence begets absence—a life was taken, and those left behind were taken from, too.”
I also have to praise the writing. It’s not often I highlight whole paragraphs, but there were sections in this book that were almost poetic and stood out in all the best ways.
Even though this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, I’m looking forward to reading more from Adriana Chartrand in the future.
Thank you to publisher for the ARC.
Described as a chilling horror novel about an indigenous woman who’s haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization, I was expecting something far more insidious and terrifying.
However (and unfortunately for me, a mood reader who was in the mood for horror), AN ORDINARY VIOLENCE was largely a character-driven, contemporary/literary fiction about a young woman navigating life with an absent father, deceased mother, and a brother who’s recently released from prison. And that’s not a bad thing — the last 10% really delivered on all the cosmic horror I was hoping for throughout! — it’s just important to adjust your expectations before going in.
The story is incredibly bleak and heavy at times; the author doing a phenomenal job of clearly articulating the depths of depression and setting the mood throughout.
“She knew already by then that absence was not the presence of nothing; it was the phantom presence of someone who had gone. Or had been taken. Absence begets absence—a life was taken, and those left behind were taken from, too.”
I also have to praise the writing. It’s not often I highlight whole paragraphs, but there were sections in this book that were almost poetic and stood out in all the best ways.
Even though this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, I’m looking forward to reading more from Adriana Chartrand in the future.
Thank you to publisher for the ARC.
February 18, 2024
Very atmospheric, actually frightening, good writing, but I wanted more answers.
June 12, 2023
First of all, I want to thank the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. An ordinary violence by Adriana Chartrand is coming out on October 31, 2023.
The cover and synopsis of this was very intriguing. I was kind of disappointed while reading though. There is a lot of flashbacks and back and forth. It was honestly pretty slow for me and a bit hard to follow. #AnOrdinaryViolence #NetGalley
The cover and synopsis of this was very intriguing. I was kind of disappointed while reading though. There is a lot of flashbacks and back and forth. It was honestly pretty slow for me and a bit hard to follow. #AnOrdinaryViolence #NetGalley
November 5, 2023
Since Dawn's mother died, Dawn's family has fallen apart. Dawn's father Martin is an alcoholic who's content to waste away in his basement, her brother Cody is in jail, and Dawn herself ran away from her small town to the city. When Dawn's life implodes, she has no choice but to return home and face her past. After Cody is released from prison and comes home with a mysterious man named Tyler, eerie things begin happening and Dawn starts to lose her grip on reality.
I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I really struggled through it. Firstly, this book is marketed as a horror story, though that's not exactly how I'd describe it. The first 70% of the story reads like a contemporary novel as we flip back and forth between Dawn's past and present. The last 30% of the book twists into a combination of cosmic horror and psychological thriller. The eeriness and creep factor is great at the end of the book, but it's barely present at all in the first portion of the story.
We also spend so much time in Dawn's past and for me personally, it wasn't particularly compelling. Dawn's present situation with Cody and her father was way more interesting to me than Dawn's previous job and her ex-boyfriend.
There were so many opportunities in this story to address small town racism, police cruelty, racial profiling, the struggles of Indigenous people in all white communities, and so much more, but instead, there are only two or three small moments pointing out racism or the generational fallout of colonialism. It would have been really interesting if the cosmic horror of the story was combined with the very real horror of these topics. There are also elements of generational trauma in this story, but it's not explored at all. It's referenced a few times, but only vaguely. The author uses these ideas to explain the actions of her characters, but there's no real depth or exploration of these topics.
The ending also fell a little flat for me. The whole book felt extremely disjointed to me - was it contemporary, horror, political? With all of this said, there is definitely an audience for this book! I just personally felt that it didn't have the depth that I was really hoping for. Definitely give it a chance if you're interested in the synopsis though!
I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I really struggled through it. Firstly, this book is marketed as a horror story, though that's not exactly how I'd describe it. The first 70% of the story reads like a contemporary novel as we flip back and forth between Dawn's past and present. The last 30% of the book twists into a combination of cosmic horror and psychological thriller. The eeriness and creep factor is great at the end of the book, but it's barely present at all in the first portion of the story.
We also spend so much time in Dawn's past and for me personally, it wasn't particularly compelling. Dawn's present situation with Cody and her father was way more interesting to me than Dawn's previous job and her ex-boyfriend.
There were so many opportunities in this story to address small town racism, police cruelty, racial profiling, the struggles of Indigenous people in all white communities, and so much more, but instead, there are only two or three small moments pointing out racism or the generational fallout of colonialism. It would have been really interesting if the cosmic horror of the story was combined with the very real horror of these topics. There are also elements of generational trauma in this story, but it's not explored at all. It's referenced a few times, but only vaguely. The author uses these ideas to explain the actions of her characters, but there's no real depth or exploration of these topics.
The ending also fell a little flat for me. The whole book felt extremely disjointed to me - was it contemporary, horror, political? With all of this said, there is definitely an audience for this book! I just personally felt that it didn't have the depth that I was really hoping for. Definitely give it a chance if you're interested in the synopsis though!
July 9, 2023
This was an excellent book that drew me in from the beginning and kept me wanting to turn the page. It was a slow burner that gets under your skin and stays there through the book. You know something is going on.
My only complaint is I feel the description of the book gives too much away. I would not put in the detail on Tyler and let it unfold as the story progresses
My only complaint is I feel the description of the book gives too much away. I would not put in the detail on Tyler and let it unfold as the story progresses
November 5, 2024
I have zero clue what happened in this book
November 18, 2025
3.5
Adriana Chartrand’s An Ordinary Violence announces its intentions from the very first chapter: this is a novel steeped in unease, in the subtle dread that leaks from the edges of everyday life, and in the lingering, generational shadows that follow us even when we believe we have escaped them. Chartrand’s debut is eerie in a way that feels genuinely original—not merely an accumulation of horror tropes but a disturbance that rises from character, history, and the unspoken emotional ruptures within a family. It is a novel that often feels less like a series of frightening events and more like the literary equivalent of a haunting.
Chartrand’s greatest strength lies in the atmosphere she sustains. The Indigenous gothic frame she works within gives the story a rare texture: grounded in the physical world yet permeated with unseen presences, cultural inheritance, and a sense of danger that is both spiritual and brutally real. The world she builds is one in which the boundaries between psychological trauma and supernatural threat blur until they become indistinguishable. This is where the book feels most assured—where Chartrand trusts the reader to sit in that ambiguity, to feel its discomfort, and to accept that some horrors cannot be neatly explained.
What most lingers, though, is the relationship between the siblings at the novel’s center. Their bond is fraught, tender, and deeply unhealthy, a dynamic that positions the book within a long gothic lineage. Gothic literature has always had a fascination with siblings who exert powerful, often damaging influences over one another—whether through loyalty, rivalry, codependency, or unspeakable secrets. Chartrand’s contribution to this tradition is notable because she avoids melodrama. Instead, she portrays a sibling connection that is unsettling precisely because it feels possible, the kind of relationship forged by shared trauma and distorted by the unequal distribution of resilience, guilt, and need. The siblings’ dynamic is not only thematically resonant; it becomes one of the novel’s most intriguing—and at times chilling—elements.
Though An Ordinary Violence succeeds in mood and character, it does bear the marks of a debut, particularly in its structure. The novel’s opening is captivating: tight, evocative, and effectively destabilizing. It draws the reader into its web with a clear sense of direction. The middle section continues this momentum, deepening the emotional stakes and sharpening the supernatural tension. But by the time the ending arrives, the threads pulled taut throughout the narrative do not quite weave back into a cohesive whole. The closing chapters feel rushed compared to the richly paced buildup, and some of the story’s thematic and supernatural implications remain underdeveloped, as though Chartrand was reaching for an ending the book was not fully prepared to deliver.
This unevenness does not diminish the novel’s impact, but it does create a slightly fragmented reading experience. One leaves the book with questions—not the satisfying, haunted kind, but the sense that certain narrative pieces were set in motion only to drift out of alignment. Still, the ambition behind Chartrand’s storytelling is clear, and the missteps feel more like the marks of a writer stretching her craft than structural failures.
Ultimately, An Ordinary Violence is a striking debut: haunting, emotionally intelligent, and original in its approach to the gothic. Even when it falters, it remains compelling, carried by Chartrand’s ability to render dread both intimate and culturally rooted. If the novel doesn’t fully tie its beginning and ending together, the journey between them is nonetheless absorbing, promising a writer whose future work could be extraordinary.
Adriana Chartrand’s An Ordinary Violence announces its intentions from the very first chapter: this is a novel steeped in unease, in the subtle dread that leaks from the edges of everyday life, and in the lingering, generational shadows that follow us even when we believe we have escaped them. Chartrand’s debut is eerie in a way that feels genuinely original—not merely an accumulation of horror tropes but a disturbance that rises from character, history, and the unspoken emotional ruptures within a family. It is a novel that often feels less like a series of frightening events and more like the literary equivalent of a haunting.
Chartrand’s greatest strength lies in the atmosphere she sustains. The Indigenous gothic frame she works within gives the story a rare texture: grounded in the physical world yet permeated with unseen presences, cultural inheritance, and a sense of danger that is both spiritual and brutally real. The world she builds is one in which the boundaries between psychological trauma and supernatural threat blur until they become indistinguishable. This is where the book feels most assured—where Chartrand trusts the reader to sit in that ambiguity, to feel its discomfort, and to accept that some horrors cannot be neatly explained.
What most lingers, though, is the relationship between the siblings at the novel’s center. Their bond is fraught, tender, and deeply unhealthy, a dynamic that positions the book within a long gothic lineage. Gothic literature has always had a fascination with siblings who exert powerful, often damaging influences over one another—whether through loyalty, rivalry, codependency, or unspeakable secrets. Chartrand’s contribution to this tradition is notable because she avoids melodrama. Instead, she portrays a sibling connection that is unsettling precisely because it feels possible, the kind of relationship forged by shared trauma and distorted by the unequal distribution of resilience, guilt, and need. The siblings’ dynamic is not only thematically resonant; it becomes one of the novel’s most intriguing—and at times chilling—elements.
Though An Ordinary Violence succeeds in mood and character, it does bear the marks of a debut, particularly in its structure. The novel’s opening is captivating: tight, evocative, and effectively destabilizing. It draws the reader into its web with a clear sense of direction. The middle section continues this momentum, deepening the emotional stakes and sharpening the supernatural tension. But by the time the ending arrives, the threads pulled taut throughout the narrative do not quite weave back into a cohesive whole. The closing chapters feel rushed compared to the richly paced buildup, and some of the story’s thematic and supernatural implications remain underdeveloped, as though Chartrand was reaching for an ending the book was not fully prepared to deliver.
This unevenness does not diminish the novel’s impact, but it does create a slightly fragmented reading experience. One leaves the book with questions—not the satisfying, haunted kind, but the sense that certain narrative pieces were set in motion only to drift out of alignment. Still, the ambition behind Chartrand’s storytelling is clear, and the missteps feel more like the marks of a writer stretching her craft than structural failures.
Ultimately, An Ordinary Violence is a striking debut: haunting, emotionally intelligent, and original in its approach to the gothic. Even when it falters, it remains compelling, carried by Chartrand’s ability to render dread both intimate and culturally rooted. If the novel doesn’t fully tie its beginning and ending together, the journey between them is nonetheless absorbing, promising a writer whose future work could be extraordinary.
August 31, 2024
I am unsure what to think of this book.
I didn’t love it, but it was eerie, and interesting…
Yes, the author possesses the talent of beautifully descriptive prose. Yes, I love a slow burn and the MC’s fragmented perception (which is, especially later, distorted and so full of depression it feels foggy, lethargic in a well done way). I felt unsettled throughout the read, wanting more and more answers for sure. I could see, or get the lingering notion, of something “other”, some sense of impending cosmic horror/ideation. The creeping atmosphere that gets heavier, the sharp and silenced looks and actions. We see as the MC sees, we learn how she learns.
I mean, I did enjoy the tale. I appreciated the deep themes of Other-ness, indigenous oppression, returning to dysfunctional family, the idea of loss. I appreciated the author’s gorgeous prose. I could see glimpses of cosmic horror, but I would call this literary horror, really. And I wonder—does anyone know what happens at the end?
Because a lot of this story felt like a character study. And unfortunately, I didn’t love our MC. I couldn’t quite connect with her, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the writing. I understand that the flashbacks to her “old” life (before she moved back home) was important for us to understand her better - but it was jarring, felt a bit too contemporary. Even that, I can contend with.
The thing is, our MC doesn’t PUSH for more.. she just accepts that “something is happening” even as she’s dying to know more. The questions Dawn has and tries to ask those around her are evaded, which would have been fine if we (the reader/audience) had big reveals and answers by the end—but the payoff felt largely ambiguous. Which threw me because I didn’t mind the slow build, and I enjoyed the prose and the sleepy depression-filled char POV, and the author did a great job setting the mood, sure. I just needed to know WHAT/WHY everything unfolded the way it did in the last 20 percent of the book?!
Why were certain characters involved; what was the GOAL at the end—I just didn’t understand. Maybe I missed something, but I felt like we didn’t have enough to go on. Which sucks, because I was invested enough to WANT to really know.
I didn’t love it, but it was eerie, and interesting…
Yes, the author possesses the talent of beautifully descriptive prose. Yes, I love a slow burn and the MC’s fragmented perception (which is, especially later, distorted and so full of depression it feels foggy, lethargic in a well done way). I felt unsettled throughout the read, wanting more and more answers for sure. I could see, or get the lingering notion, of something “other”, some sense of impending cosmic horror/ideation. The creeping atmosphere that gets heavier, the sharp and silenced looks and actions. We see as the MC sees, we learn how she learns.
I mean, I did enjoy the tale. I appreciated the deep themes of Other-ness, indigenous oppression, returning to dysfunctional family, the idea of loss. I appreciated the author’s gorgeous prose. I could see glimpses of cosmic horror, but I would call this literary horror, really. And I wonder—does anyone know what happens at the end?
Because a lot of this story felt like a character study. And unfortunately, I didn’t love our MC. I couldn’t quite connect with her, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the writing. I understand that the flashbacks to her “old” life (before she moved back home) was important for us to understand her better - but it was jarring, felt a bit too contemporary. Even that, I can contend with.
The thing is, our MC doesn’t PUSH for more.. she just accepts that “something is happening” even as she’s dying to know more. The questions Dawn has and tries to ask those around her are evaded, which would have been fine if we (the reader/audience) had big reveals and answers by the end—but the payoff felt largely ambiguous. Which threw me because I didn’t mind the slow build, and I enjoyed the prose and the sleepy depression-filled char POV, and the author did a great job setting the mood, sure. I just needed to know WHAT/WHY everything unfolded the way it did in the last 20 percent of the book?!
Why were certain characters involved; what was the GOAL at the end—I just didn’t understand. Maybe I missed something, but I felt like we didn’t have enough to go on. Which sucks, because I was invested enough to WANT to really know.
March 24, 2025
“What was so confounding about the fact of an ordinary man’s violence? So many people needed monsters to look monstrous. They couldn’t accept, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that the demons looked just like them.”
This one started off really strong for me, and I was excited to read another psychological horror rooted in indigenous lit, and while this may have not hit the itch I was looking for, I’m intrigued enough to want to read more from the author in the future.
Dawn is returning home to help her father who is in a stage where he can no longer care for himself. Her brother is being released from prison at the same time and returning home with a new friend who is a bit peculiar. Dawn has to return back home to a place she left, she got out. Does returning home offer her closure or an easy slide back into the past?
The was the Patios & Pages YYC March read and so far the least successful bookclub read we’ve done so far. I enjoyed our discussion and exploration of the themes and context of the story, but the overall reading experience fell a bit flat. This is a debut and I wonder if that’s contributing to my reading experience, I felt like all the plot points I was interested in fell a bit flat and I wanted more depth. Frankly some of the allegories went over my head but I was happy we had a group discussion to explore some of our ideas to try and add some clarity.
I did absolutely do myself a disservice by tandem reading the physical with the audio because the physical read version my characters were more extreme in their apathy, in their stoked flames of small violences, in their paranoia. The audio took away from that for me and I honestly kind of regret not seeing this through all as a physical read.
Overall the writing chops are there, and I can’t wait to read the next read by Chartrand even if this one didn’t entirely work for me.
This one started off really strong for me, and I was excited to read another psychological horror rooted in indigenous lit, and while this may have not hit the itch I was looking for, I’m intrigued enough to want to read more from the author in the future.
Dawn is returning home to help her father who is in a stage where he can no longer care for himself. Her brother is being released from prison at the same time and returning home with a new friend who is a bit peculiar. Dawn has to return back home to a place she left, she got out. Does returning home offer her closure or an easy slide back into the past?
The was the Patios & Pages YYC March read and so far the least successful bookclub read we’ve done so far. I enjoyed our discussion and exploration of the themes and context of the story, but the overall reading experience fell a bit flat. This is a debut and I wonder if that’s contributing to my reading experience, I felt like all the plot points I was interested in fell a bit flat and I wanted more depth. Frankly some of the allegories went over my head but I was happy we had a group discussion to explore some of our ideas to try and add some clarity.
I did absolutely do myself a disservice by tandem reading the physical with the audio because the physical read version my characters were more extreme in their apathy, in their stoked flames of small violences, in their paranoia. The audio took away from that for me and I honestly kind of regret not seeing this through all as a physical read.
Overall the writing chops are there, and I can’t wait to read the next read by Chartrand even if this one didn’t entirely work for me.
October 29, 2023
"An Ordinary Violence" by Adriana Chartrand is a spooky, eerie book with dark secrets simmering under the surface. Anyone who likes slow-building tension and cosmic horror should definitely be on the lookout for this novel on its expected publication date of Oct 31, 2023.
Chartrand has a beautiful way of writing that adds to the allure of the story that unfolds. This is one of those books that's impossible to put down because you're busy trying to piece together what's going on before the end. Chartrand is great at giving subtle hints throughout the story that don't give away the ending. In fact, I'm quite sure those clues were meant to be misleading, which makes the ending so much more shocking.
I love that the story is character-driven. We get to know Dawn who grapples with issues that are relatable and causes some self-reflection. It's clear she cares a lot about her brother and feels he's mixed up in something not so good, which mirrored a different kind of real-life circumstance (that I originally thought was the issue in this novel but I turned out to be wrong).
This did read more like a thriller than it did horror and it was a slow build to the conclusion, and yet I still enjoyed the novel and think it's worth reading. I hope to see more stories by Chartrand soon!
Thank you to NetGalley and House of Anansi Press Inc (Spiderline) for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion in this review.
Chartrand has a beautiful way of writing that adds to the allure of the story that unfolds. This is one of those books that's impossible to put down because you're busy trying to piece together what's going on before the end. Chartrand is great at giving subtle hints throughout the story that don't give away the ending. In fact, I'm quite sure those clues were meant to be misleading, which makes the ending so much more shocking.
I love that the story is character-driven. We get to know Dawn who grapples with issues that are relatable and causes some self-reflection. It's clear she cares a lot about her brother and feels he's mixed up in something not so good, which mirrored a different kind of real-life circumstance (that I originally thought was the issue in this novel but I turned out to be wrong).
This did read more like a thriller than it did horror and it was a slow build to the conclusion, and yet I still enjoyed the novel and think it's worth reading. I hope to see more stories by Chartrand soon!
Thank you to NetGalley and House of Anansi Press Inc (Spiderline) for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion in this review.
November 11, 2023
I was provided an ARC of this book via Edelweiss, all opinions are my own.
What did I just read? I know there was a message here, but I struggle to understand what the author is trying to tell me. Our main character Dawn was struggling with grief, oppression, poverty, and so much more. I struggled with the pacing of the book and the way the chapters jumped around in the timeline. At 50% into the book I felt like nothing had happened and I was struggling to understand the various plot elements that had been thrown at me and had yet to be resolved. The chapters told in random points in Dawn life that eventually tell the story of various traumas she has experienced that explain some of her despair, but the random paranormal elements aren't explained well and felt out of place.
The synopsis of this book promises a horror book, but I struggled to find the horror elements. There are some random paranormal elements in the book that are symbolic of Dawn's pain and suffering. This doesn't have the suspense and scares that I was anticipating from a horror novel, it is more real world, real person horror. I really felt that the paranormal aspect could have been expanded and explained a bit more.
Overall, I think Chartrand's writing is very poetic and beautiful, and I would like to see more of it in the future but this story didn't fit my preference for a horror novel.
What did I just read? I know there was a message here, but I struggle to understand what the author is trying to tell me. Our main character Dawn was struggling with grief, oppression, poverty, and so much more. I struggled with the pacing of the book and the way the chapters jumped around in the timeline. At 50% into the book I felt like nothing had happened and I was struggling to understand the various plot elements that had been thrown at me and had yet to be resolved. The chapters told in random points in Dawn life that eventually tell the story of various traumas she has experienced that explain some of her despair, but the random paranormal elements aren't explained well and felt out of place.
The synopsis of this book promises a horror book, but I struggled to find the horror elements. There are some random paranormal elements in the book that are symbolic of Dawn's pain and suffering. This doesn't have the suspense and scares that I was anticipating from a horror novel, it is more real world, real person horror. I really felt that the paranormal aspect could have been expanded and explained a bit more.
Overall, I think Chartrand's writing is very poetic and beautiful, and I would like to see more of it in the future but this story didn't fit my preference for a horror novel.
January 29, 2025
“Absurd to be afraid of a rabbit, she tries to tell herself. But deep down, in the place where her dreams come from, she knows it’s not really a rabbit.
Something’s building—something’s coming. The nauseating cold knowing envelops her. It’s coming and it’s going to get her.”
i would recommend this book to readers who enjoy weird sort of literary cosmic horror with no clear plot or resolution & are good at reading deeply enough to pull meaning out of (literally 😅) the void. this book is best read… slowly, maybe? I kind of binged it & maybe that wasn’t the smart thing to do? Like it pulls you along but it doesn’t reward you so… idk. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Click here to read my full review of AN ORDINARY VIOLENCE complete with my full thoughts, further reading suggestions, & more of my favorite quotes, notes, & annotations!
★ ★ ★
CW // death of a parent (cancer), depression, grief, body horror, cheating, gore, violence (knife), domestic violence
October 4, 2023
I wish I loved this book as much as I love the cover 😭
I had high hopes for this book as it is described as "A chilling horror novel about a young Indigenous woman haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization." which sounds exactly like MY type of horror - but I struggled to see where the horror aspects were in this book. There were a few paranormal glimpses but nothing like what I was expecting.
I found the story hard to get into, kept losing track of the different characters, and found myself getting easily distracted while reading because this was not holding my attention at all. The story jumps back and forth between the present & past flashbacks a lot and at times it was just confusing. Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me 😢
Thank you to House of Anansi Press Inc. & NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book to review.
I had high hopes for this book as it is described as "A chilling horror novel about a young Indigenous woman haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization." which sounds exactly like MY type of horror - but I struggled to see where the horror aspects were in this book. There were a few paranormal glimpses but nothing like what I was expecting.
I found the story hard to get into, kept losing track of the different characters, and found myself getting easily distracted while reading because this was not holding my attention at all. The story jumps back and forth between the present & past flashbacks a lot and at times it was just confusing. Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me 😢
Thank you to House of Anansi Press Inc. & NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book to review.
December 2, 2025
3.5 / 5 ⭐️ (rounded down)
Not really a horror book—more like something creeping, growing and spreading like mold.
The first two-thirds of this book are slow—bleak and depressing as the wide-open prairie Dawn never wanted to return to. Things become increasingly unsettling in the last third—the conclusion is lackluster, but I like that it was left open, which is characteristic of many Indigenous authors’ works.
My favorite part? Chartrand’s writing style. It captures both the void and the suffocation, the pressing weight, the infinity of rage and the emptiness of grief.
Not really a horror book—more like something creeping, growing and spreading like mold.
The first two-thirds of this book are slow—bleak and depressing as the wide-open prairie Dawn never wanted to return to. Things become increasingly unsettling in the last third—the conclusion is lackluster, but I like that it was left open, which is characteristic of many Indigenous authors’ works.
My favorite part? Chartrand’s writing style. It captures both the void and the suffocation, the pressing weight, the infinity of rage and the emptiness of grief.
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