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Crushing Snails
Winnie Campbell is sixteen and a burgeoning serial killer. Her father blames her for her mother’s death, dotes on her little sister, and executes increasingly cruel punishments meant to humiliate Winnie. As the punishments morph into torture, she begins fantasizing about regaining some semblance of power, eventually working through her rage by killing small animals.
When her violent games escalate and she accidentally kills an infant while babysitting, Winnie gets a taste of a power she doesn’t want to let go of. Her obsession with killing grows, and so does her fascination for Leigh, a girl that reminds her of her younger self.
Winnie wants to kill. She wants to die. She wants to be someone other than herself. And killing Leigh, a symbolic suicide, could be the key to her metamorphosis.
“A shocking and utterly harrowing examination of the creation of a murderer. Although Crushing Snails excels in many areas, this novel is perhaps most skillful at effectively illustrating the very human compulsion for violence and depravity. Murray’s excellent novel showcases the very human possibility of carnage—the horrifying prospect of brutality—when curiosity is sated and when we finally surrender to our most feral desires.”
—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke
"Masterfully executed and chilling to the core, Crushing Snails is a terrifying look into the darkest depths of the human mind and the ways in which monsters are formed. With the intensity level set to high, Murray draws you into complicity as you witness one girl’s spiral into obsession and depravity, culminating in a horrifying conclusion you’ll never forget."
— Kelsea Yu, Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of Bound Feet
"A nightmare of power and control, or perhaps even something more wayward. Crushing Snails is provocative and demanding, spiraling and unapologetic. Emma Murray is an exciting emerging voice in horror challenging what is normal and what is safe."
—Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Crime Scene
“Sick, twisted, and compulsively readable—Emma E. Murray’s Crushing Snails is a coming-of-age story that goes to dark and darker places, leaving me constantly hanging between two modes of thought: one-more-chapter and holy-fucking-shit.”
—Carson Winter, author of The Psychographist
When her violent games escalate and she accidentally kills an infant while babysitting, Winnie gets a taste of a power she doesn’t want to let go of. Her obsession with killing grows, and so does her fascination for Leigh, a girl that reminds her of her younger self.
Winnie wants to kill. She wants to die. She wants to be someone other than herself. And killing Leigh, a symbolic suicide, could be the key to her metamorphosis.
“A shocking and utterly harrowing examination of the creation of a murderer. Although Crushing Snails excels in many areas, this novel is perhaps most skillful at effectively illustrating the very human compulsion for violence and depravity. Murray’s excellent novel showcases the very human possibility of carnage—the horrifying prospect of brutality—when curiosity is sated and when we finally surrender to our most feral desires.”
—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke
"Masterfully executed and chilling to the core, Crushing Snails is a terrifying look into the darkest depths of the human mind and the ways in which monsters are formed. With the intensity level set to high, Murray draws you into complicity as you witness one girl’s spiral into obsession and depravity, culminating in a horrifying conclusion you’ll never forget."
— Kelsea Yu, Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of Bound Feet
"A nightmare of power and control, or perhaps even something more wayward. Crushing Snails is provocative and demanding, spiraling and unapologetic. Emma Murray is an exciting emerging voice in horror challenging what is normal and what is safe."
—Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Crime Scene
“Sick, twisted, and compulsively readable—Emma E. Murray’s Crushing Snails is a coming-of-age story that goes to dark and darker places, leaving me constantly hanging between two modes of thought: one-more-chapter and holy-fucking-shit.”
—Carson Winter, author of The Psychographist
302 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2024
22 people are currently reading
1039 people want to read
About the author
Emma E. Murray
27 books110 followersEmma E. Murray (she/her) explores the dark side of humanity in her fiction. Her work has appeared in Vastarien and Cosmic Horror Monthly among other places. Her works includes When the Devil, Crushing Snails, The Drowning Machine and Other Obsessions, and Shoot Me in the Face on a Beautiful Day. When she isn’t writing, she is usually found playing make-believe with her young daughter or make-believe with her friends (aka D&D).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
December 8, 2025
A Moth Emerging
From Its Cocoon...
CRUSHING SNAILS
by Emma E. Murray
5 stars. By age eleven, Winnie Campbell knew, as well as the rest of the family, that Mom had a screw loose...
Very late one night...
Winnie woke up to the sound of Mom demolishing the family home with a power drill, looking for spies in the wall...
What eventually transpired...
Winnie was permanently disfigured when Mom poured a pan of hot grease down her face, arm, and chest...
Dad excused Mom's actions...
He said that no one was to call an ambulance, tell the neighbors, or call the police...
But...
One of the neighbors, hearing Winnie's screams, called the police and subsequently, Winnie rode in an ambulance to the hospital all alone...
Mom was arrested...
She was sent to a mental institution, where she eventually died. Afterward, Dad forever hated Winnie...
She became the family Cinderella, cleaning, cooking, and caring for Dad, her brother Brendan, and her little sister Lilly...
If Winnie's performance wasn't satisfactory...
Dad punished, tortured, and humiliated her. She had no reasonable expectations of being perfect...
Winnie is now sixteen...
She's earning money as the neighborhood babysitter. She's saving all she can to one day escape her hell hole existence at home...
When...
On one babysitting job, she accidentally asphixyated her little charge. She hid that death but began exploring the euphoria and power that taking a life brought her...
So it began...
The life of a psychotic serial killer. She was a frightened and abused adolescent girl who left that life behind...
Like a moth emerging from its cocoon, Winnie was now something altogether different...
This story had me hooked from the very first chapter, and I stayed on that hook until the last sentence.
Winnie's story gives pause to wonder just what pushes a human being over the edge and into a life of hurting other humans. As with most serial killers, her journey began with killing animals.
This was an excellent story. The writing was chilling and believable. It causes one to wonder how a psychotic killer is bred.
If you liked this story, you might also like KATIE by Michael McDowell.
Warning to some readers: Child and animal abuse are part of this story.
From Its Cocoon...
CRUSHING SNAILS
by Emma E. Murray
5 stars. By age eleven, Winnie Campbell knew, as well as the rest of the family, that Mom had a screw loose...
Very late one night...
Winnie woke up to the sound of Mom demolishing the family home with a power drill, looking for spies in the wall...
What eventually transpired...
Winnie was permanently disfigured when Mom poured a pan of hot grease down her face, arm, and chest...
Dad excused Mom's actions...
He said that no one was to call an ambulance, tell the neighbors, or call the police...
But...
One of the neighbors, hearing Winnie's screams, called the police and subsequently, Winnie rode in an ambulance to the hospital all alone...
Mom was arrested...
She was sent to a mental institution, where she eventually died. Afterward, Dad forever hated Winnie...
She became the family Cinderella, cleaning, cooking, and caring for Dad, her brother Brendan, and her little sister Lilly...
If Winnie's performance wasn't satisfactory...
Dad punished, tortured, and humiliated her. She had no reasonable expectations of being perfect...
Winnie is now sixteen...
She's earning money as the neighborhood babysitter. She's saving all she can to one day escape her hell hole existence at home...
When...
On one babysitting job, she accidentally asphixyated her little charge. She hid that death but began exploring the euphoria and power that taking a life brought her...
So it began...
The life of a psychotic serial killer. She was a frightened and abused adolescent girl who left that life behind...
Like a moth emerging from its cocoon, Winnie was now something altogether different...
This story had me hooked from the very first chapter, and I stayed on that hook until the last sentence.
Winnie's story gives pause to wonder just what pushes a human being over the edge and into a life of hurting other humans. As with most serial killers, her journey began with killing animals.
This was an excellent story. The writing was chilling and believable. It causes one to wonder how a psychotic killer is bred.
If you liked this story, you might also like KATIE by Michael McDowell.
Warning to some readers: Child and animal abuse are part of this story.
July 14, 2025
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2
The inside of a serial killer’s mind, even a burgeoning one, is no place for a coming of age tale… which is what makes this so gruesomely fascinating.
Watching the metamorphosis of Winnie from a snail-crushing carnal curious novice to full-blown child murdering sociopath is one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever read. It’s not for everyone, and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart.
I cant read many books like this because it amplifies my already depressively-inclined mind, but I have to admit this one was both captivating, potent and strangely poignant. It will leave you with a lingering sense of unease, and it will leave you unsure about whether it’s ok to like what you just read.
Read at your own risk, but read with caution.
The inside of a serial killer’s mind, even a burgeoning one, is no place for a coming of age tale… which is what makes this so gruesomely fascinating.
Watching the metamorphosis of Winnie from a snail-crushing carnal curious novice to full-blown child murdering sociopath is one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever read. It’s not for everyone, and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart.
I cant read many books like this because it amplifies my already depressively-inclined mind, but I have to admit this one was both captivating, potent and strangely poignant. It will leave you with a lingering sense of unease, and it will leave you unsure about whether it’s ok to like what you just read.
Read at your own risk, but read with caution.
November 6, 2024
Thought to come.
May 16, 2024
A coming of age with a nasty little twist, this was a stomach churning read that I couldn't put down, seriously, this is without a doubt one of the most uncomfortable stories I've read recently, what makes it SO uncomfortable is the heartbreaking effects of trauma and the reality that, this stuff actually happens, Murray examines evil in a way that leaves the reader with no where to hide from it, bordering on the philosophical as Winnie believes k*lling Leigh is symbolic of her down death, her deplorable yet sympathic character is deftly created, drawing out feelings of pity from me despite her actions, to say I was put through a rollercoaster of emotions is an understatement, I could kinda see where she was coming from but at the same time my hands shook turning the pages as I knew things were going to get worse, check trigger warnings, this is a horror novel about abuse, power, family dynamics and trauma in similiar vein to Lets Go Play At The Adams', you'll want to look away but Murray's beautiful yet brutal prose holds readers in a vice like grip in this spiraling introspective story about a monster created by monsters, Murray is one to watch
April 20, 2025
Told in first person, from the point of view of Winnie (16yr) so you are not merely an observer of the unfolding horrors of the story. From the age of 11, after her mother is put in a psychiatric hospital and dies shortly after she is physically and mentally abused by her father, who blames her for his wife’s death. She is forced to take care of her family, preparing meals, washing clothes, cleaning the house and her older brother and younger sister just follow the example of their father and only dish out more abuse.
It is a story of deception, abuse and about Winnie taking control of her life. It is full of suicidal idealizations, violence towards animals, self-loathing, self-hatred, and murder. It is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read, where no character in the stories wins. It is an emotional roller coaster that causes much discomfort and pain.
It is a story of deception, abuse and about Winnie taking control of her life. It is full of suicidal idealizations, violence towards animals, self-loathing, self-hatred, and murder. It is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever read, where no character in the stories wins. It is an emotional roller coaster that causes much discomfort and pain.
July 12, 2024
I was so honored to receive an early copy of CRUSHING SNAILS for review because it has been on my radar ever since I first heard about it.
I had heard that this book was going to really mess me up, and that's so often my favorite kind of book. This has been no exception, though the story was not at all what I thought going in.
This was a very quiet sort of extreme that had me asking a lot of questions about my own limits.
I try not to draw too many comparisons to other books in reviews, but the opening chapters of this were very reminiscent of a couple of my all time favorite extreme horror novels, which both explore similar themes of abuse. Both of those titles ended in very vivid, horrendous, and ultimately fatal scenes of torture. By about 100 pages into CRUSHING SNAILS I was mentally preparing myself for a similarly upsetting finale.
It didn't come. In a way, I found this almost anticlimactic, but I don't necessarily mean this in a bad way. CRUSHING SNAILS comes out hot right out of the gate and rather than ramping to a single release of unimaginable violence, it chooses to spread out that discomfort in a pattern entirely its own. The end left a lingering sense of unease, and I thought that Winnie's arc was, in some twisted way, almost beautiful.
The fluid transition from extreme to psychological and eventually to grief horror, make this an endlessly fascinating read that I know I shall be thinking about for years to come.
I cannot wait to read more of Murray's work.
I had heard that this book was going to really mess me up, and that's so often my favorite kind of book. This has been no exception, though the story was not at all what I thought going in.
This was a very quiet sort of extreme that had me asking a lot of questions about my own limits.
I try not to draw too many comparisons to other books in reviews, but the opening chapters of this were very reminiscent of a couple of my all time favorite extreme horror novels, which both explore similar themes of abuse. Both of those titles ended in very vivid, horrendous, and ultimately fatal scenes of torture. By about 100 pages into CRUSHING SNAILS I was mentally preparing myself for a similarly upsetting finale.
It didn't come. In a way, I found this almost anticlimactic, but I don't necessarily mean this in a bad way. CRUSHING SNAILS comes out hot right out of the gate and rather than ramping to a single release of unimaginable violence, it chooses to spread out that discomfort in a pattern entirely its own. The end left a lingering sense of unease, and I thought that Winnie's arc was, in some twisted way, almost beautiful.
The fluid transition from extreme to psychological and eventually to grief horror, make this an endlessly fascinating read that I know I shall be thinking about for years to come.
I cannot wait to read more of Murray's work.
February 26, 2024
Crushing Snails is a disturbingly introspective account of a young girl's metamorphosis into a murderer. Despite the depravity Winnie is nurtured into, Murray adeptly crafts a sympathetic character in her, pushing the reader's moral compass far past comfortable. It is in this nightmarish spiraling that the story truly grips the reader in its thrall, leaving them helpless to turn away from the madness that is unfolding, while begging them to open their eyes. A truly terrifying gem of a novel.
September 10, 2024
Fantastic Psychological Terror!
My first read from Murray, but certainly not my last, CRUSHING SNAILS is absolutely brutal. As a fan of extreme horror, I mean that in the best way possible. And the writing is nothing less than exquisite. Highly recommended!
My first read from Murray, but certainly not my last, CRUSHING SNAILS is absolutely brutal. As a fan of extreme horror, I mean that in the best way possible. And the writing is nothing less than exquisite. Highly recommended!
September 30, 2024
This is one of those books you’ll just know that the end won’t be good. The dread you feel, the hate you develop for the whole family, and the desperation for the main protagonist Winnie. There were passages where I wanted to throw my kindle against the wall. That’s how angry I was. I wanted to scream and tell Winnie to go to the police.. to do something but thats just not how it goes. Any author that evokes feelings like this in me deserves a 5 ⭐️ rating. Excellent story, however dark and gritty. Also, I need a drink now. A strong one.
Winnie is a teenager that has the worst of lives. Her mother burned her with hot water as a child, her father beats her, and her younger sister gets her in trouble all the time. Her bigger brother is no help either. Gabe, her best friend is there for her but he has problems on his own. And things just spiral down from there. Like really spiral. This is an escalator to the deepest basement of trauma, violence, and there is no way back up. No way out, no return, and no take-back.
Excellent written. Trigger Warning: animal abuse and death.
Winnie is a teenager that has the worst of lives. Her mother burned her with hot water as a child, her father beats her, and her younger sister gets her in trouble all the time. Her bigger brother is no help either. Gabe, her best friend is there for her but he has problems on his own. And things just spiral down from there. Like really spiral. This is an escalator to the deepest basement of trauma, violence, and there is no way back up. No way out, no return, and no take-back.
Excellent written. Trigger Warning: animal abuse and death.
May 26, 2024
No family is perfect.
But the family in Emma E. Murray's novel is sick. 'Crushing Snails' could have been sixteen-year-old Winnie's coming-of-age story, a telling of her upbringing and the tough journey to overcome a difficult childhood and her even worse teenage years; a story about her mentally ill mother who disfigured her, her monster of a father who resorted to actually tormenting her in order to "punish" her; about her siblings, who never supported her, always taking advantage of their father's hatred of her. And indeed, for the better part of the book we’re following Winnie along in her self-discovery, keeping pace right alongside her. But what we witness is a young mind's spiraling into its own self-annihilation; Winnie ritualistically "deadening" herself as a coping mechanism; and a step-by-step crushing of her spirit, a crushing which does not lead to nothingness, oh no, it takes us straight to less than nothing: into the experience of the negativity of existence, a deep dive into a reservoir of silent rage, mute bitterness, fiery hatred, and transforming corruption. Winnie teaches herself to enjoy pain, to murder, to realize herself through the crushing of others, weaker than her (babies, little girls, animals, poor snails, not in that order). She transforms.
In essence, this is a book about how monsters reproduce, a distressing acount of how they multiply. It could have been a manual of how to make a serial killer. It's a masterpiece of psychological horror instead.
But the family in Emma E. Murray's novel is sick. 'Crushing Snails' could have been sixteen-year-old Winnie's coming-of-age story, a telling of her upbringing and the tough journey to overcome a difficult childhood and her even worse teenage years; a story about her mentally ill mother who disfigured her, her monster of a father who resorted to actually tormenting her in order to "punish" her; about her siblings, who never supported her, always taking advantage of their father's hatred of her. And indeed, for the better part of the book we’re following Winnie along in her self-discovery, keeping pace right alongside her. But what we witness is a young mind's spiraling into its own self-annihilation; Winnie ritualistically "deadening" herself as a coping mechanism; and a step-by-step crushing of her spirit, a crushing which does not lead to nothingness, oh no, it takes us straight to less than nothing: into the experience of the negativity of existence, a deep dive into a reservoir of silent rage, mute bitterness, fiery hatred, and transforming corruption. Winnie teaches herself to enjoy pain, to murder, to realize herself through the crushing of others, weaker than her (babies, little girls, animals, poor snails, not in that order). She transforms.
In essence, this is a book about how monsters reproduce, a distressing acount of how they multiply. It could have been a manual of how to make a serial killer. It's a masterpiece of psychological horror instead.
March 9, 2025
Crushing Snails was dark and bleak throughout, and there were parts that I struggled with. It was very well written and realistic, my struggles were never with the writing style. It was skillful and realistic. Some of the scenes in this book were simply painful to read. I don't do well with violence against children, but that's a me problem. Other than those few scenes, I really enjoyed this book.
Winnie has a terrible life filled with both past and current traumas. Her home life is completely horrendous, and assault at the hands of a loved one has left her scarred both physically and emotionally. What kind of person will Winnie become when everyone in her life treats her like garbage.
This was my first read from this author, and I definitely recommend this book for fans of extreme horror. Check your triggers, but this read is worth it. I look forward to reading more from Emma.
Winnie has a terrible life filled with both past and current traumas. Her home life is completely horrendous, and assault at the hands of a loved one has left her scarred both physically and emotionally. What kind of person will Winnie become when everyone in her life treats her like garbage.
This was my first read from this author, and I definitely recommend this book for fans of extreme horror. Check your triggers, but this read is worth it. I look forward to reading more from Emma.
July 4, 2024
Crushing Snails by Emma E. Murray harbours a devastating look into mental illness, abuse, dissociation and the harrowing impacts it can have on a young teens life.
I absolutely adore stories with complicated characters and Murray delivered on all fronts with this novel. The pacing of Winnie’s self-destruction was short enough to keep us invested but long enough to help us understand that she isn’t just acting off of pure evil instinct. We see the events of past abuse and present abuse rot her from the inside and even with the atrocities she commits, I still can’t conjure any ill feelings towards Winnie.
A highlight I also made while reading was the fact that child infatuation was quite a present concept throughout the book but never strayed into the typical routes extreme horror tends to lead into. I found it a breath of fresh air showing an adult being extremely infatuated with a young child that didn’t tread into a sexual nature and showed a different type of inappropriate nature towards a child.
Being there are a-lot of uncomfortable topics through Crushing Snails, animal abuse among other very bad bad things, Murray was able to draw out all the emotions from my extremely soft heart and by the end, I felt like a husk, I felt the grief and longing for a better life, a change, a new start.
An absolute gutting coming of age story that breathes life into the extreme horror genre and doesn’t just go for the throat, but for the heart as well.
I absolutely adore stories with complicated characters and Murray delivered on all fronts with this novel. The pacing of Winnie’s self-destruction was short enough to keep us invested but long enough to help us understand that she isn’t just acting off of pure evil instinct. We see the events of past abuse and present abuse rot her from the inside and even with the atrocities she commits, I still can’t conjure any ill feelings towards Winnie.
A highlight I also made while reading was the fact that child infatuation was quite a present concept throughout the book but never strayed into the typical routes extreme horror tends to lead into. I found it a breath of fresh air showing an adult being extremely infatuated with a young child that didn’t tread into a sexual nature and showed a different type of inappropriate nature towards a child.
Being there are a-lot of uncomfortable topics through Crushing Snails, animal abuse among other very bad bad things, Murray was able to draw out all the emotions from my extremely soft heart and by the end, I felt like a husk, I felt the grief and longing for a better life, a change, a new start.
An absolute gutting coming of age story that breathes life into the extreme horror genre and doesn’t just go for the throat, but for the heart as well.
March 19, 2024
Crushing Snails is a coming of age tale, sorta. If you want to delve in and see what happens when the abyss of mental collapse, family breakdown, and abuse related trauma stare back at you; read on.
The story digs into the psychological effects of trauma and how different characters navigate the environment that each is subjected to. The family is fleshed out in multifaceted and heartbreaking detail.
Characters question their beliefs, choices, and their role in the family unit. Choices are made, dominoes start to fall, and the road to closure is filled with potholes.
This is extreme horror fiction. All triggers apply. If coming of age has you intrigued, think more along the line of Ketchum's The Girl Next Door as opposed to McCammon's Boy's Life mixed with some of the horrifically, poetic nuances of language that Charlee Jacob relishes in. Highly recommended.
The story digs into the psychological effects of trauma and how different characters navigate the environment that each is subjected to. The family is fleshed out in multifaceted and heartbreaking detail.
Characters question their beliefs, choices, and their role in the family unit. Choices are made, dominoes start to fall, and the road to closure is filled with potholes.
This is extreme horror fiction. All triggers apply. If coming of age has you intrigued, think more along the line of Ketchum's The Girl Next Door as opposed to McCammon's Boy's Life mixed with some of the horrifically, poetic nuances of language that Charlee Jacob relishes in. Highly recommended.
August 16, 2024
HOLY CRAP! I knew this was going to be a twisty, turbulent ride with some awful things but wow! The way the book is written is amazing and allows you to really feel everything the characters are going through. While I would never condone violence, it is impossible to not empathize with the main character and her actions to an extent. Definitely some trigger warnings for abuse and things but if you have ever experienced any type of trauma or abuse in your life this could be something that resonates with you. For me it was such an intense emotion the whole way I didn’t know if I loved or hated Winnie but I definitely knew as an abuse survivor I could see her point of view! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
June 17, 2024
I haven't read a book that has messed me up quite as badly as Crushing Snails since I first read The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. Both books share a twisted similarity in the way they contemplate cruelty and human evil, but Murray's novel seems more concerned with how casually cruel we can all become--and how evil grows without sympathy.
Crushing Snails is not a happy story. It is full of the banality of casual cruelty that leads to the further entrenchment of evil. The main characters of the book aren't all bad, even if they aren't all good, but what comes to define them and their sense of moral direction is how resilient they are in the face of the bad--and how resiliency is often worn down by the heaps and heaps of harm both petty and more egregious that adds up over a lifetime. The book is also about what happens when simple kindnesses aren't extended where they might do the most good. Winnie's character, for example, longs for nothing more than agency and love, and because neither of these things are ever granted to her, she ends up on a path of destruction.
This book absolutely breaks my heart, but it isn't just because of how absolutely fucked up the story becomes; it is because the solution to the characters' problems revolves constantly around the need for kindness and how fundamentally unkind our human world is. If there is any moral failing in human society, it is that we do not see our casual cruelties for what they are, and that we hide ourselves behind politeness to absolve ourselves of the obligations we have to rooting out evil and its spreading infection wherever we find it.
Although I will not recommend this book to anyone who could not handle its subject matter, I cannot deny how thoughtfully crafted the book is. Crushing Snails is a deep and festering wound, but in order to treat it we must first inspect it. Few novels are as deeply impactful as this one.
Disclosure Statement: I received a copy of the novel from the author for an early review. My thoughts about the book are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way by the author or her publisher.
Crushing Snails is not a happy story. It is full of the banality of casual cruelty that leads to the further entrenchment of evil. The main characters of the book aren't all bad, even if they aren't all good, but what comes to define them and their sense of moral direction is how resilient they are in the face of the bad--and how resiliency is often worn down by the heaps and heaps of harm both petty and more egregious that adds up over a lifetime. The book is also about what happens when simple kindnesses aren't extended where they might do the most good. Winnie's character, for example, longs for nothing more than agency and love, and because neither of these things are ever granted to her, she ends up on a path of destruction.
This book absolutely breaks my heart, but it isn't just because of how absolutely fucked up the story becomes; it is because the solution to the characters' problems revolves constantly around the need for kindness and how fundamentally unkind our human world is. If there is any moral failing in human society, it is that we do not see our casual cruelties for what they are, and that we hide ourselves behind politeness to absolve ourselves of the obligations we have to rooting out evil and its spreading infection wherever we find it.
Although I will not recommend this book to anyone who could not handle its subject matter, I cannot deny how thoughtfully crafted the book is. Crushing Snails is a deep and festering wound, but in order to treat it we must first inspect it. Few novels are as deeply impactful as this one.
Disclosure Statement: I received a copy of the novel from the author for an early review. My thoughts about the book are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way by the author or her publisher.
March 14, 2024
Loved full review coming soon
August 19, 2024
Once again, I have come across a book that I heartily want to recommend to everyone I meet—especially those which are interested in the form and function of fiction—but which also requires that I detail the reader be advised of one thing:
Tread carefully. This book is alive; or at least, the truth within it is. It squirms from page to page, transforming itself with every scene. In one chapter, it might assume a guise of innocence; in the next it becomes nearly invisible, so small that it could hide between clenched teeth. There are hideous images, actions, and twisted patterns of thought at play in this book, and none of them lead where one might expect them to. At its core, this is a bildungsroman, evincing the birth of a new self from the ashes of the old—but why might we assume that something burned alive is necessarily going to transform into something noble?
A lot of present-day discourse circles around the notion of sympathy in literature, I find. Much is made of the "unlikeable" protagonist—entire books are tossed away in revulsion because the reader "didn't like" the characters. I should note that I have no judgement for those who decide a book is simply not for them—reading is a matter of timing as much as anything, and sometimes the prose or the themes are just not aligned with a current mindset. I think that some of this, however, can be due to a spiritual insecurity when it comes to being presented with ugliness—evidence of the hideous is too often a mirror for those who shy away from their darker selves, and the reflections can sometimes be unbearable.
Personally, I enjoy books that challenge a reader's empathy, presenting a cockeyed view of the world and the people in it through the filter of the so-called "unlikeable" narrator, the "anti-hero," or the "outsider." And there is no more an "outsider" role than those sons and daughters of Cain—the murderers. I often find these fringe perspectives interesting or fascinating, but when it comes to literary depiction of the disturbing acts perpetrated by the protagonists, I often find myself numbed into submission rather than pricked into sympathy.
It is rare that a book like Crushing Snails crosses my path. I'm not a fan of so-called "extreme" horror, which typically wields shock and revulsion like a nail-studded club, deadening the senses before any real emotions can be evoked and seeking to stimulate only the baser, more voyeuristic parts of our brain. Elements of that genre, though, can be used to elicit reaction when used skillfully, and Emma Murray is a smart, brilliantly sensitive writer.
Her work here focuses more on the negative space surrounding these events, which is the most powerful space of all: it is where the reader must insert themselves, or their imagination by proxy, to fill in the gap left by the prose. In this way, the hideous becomes sharply illuminated and deeply, deeply personal.
Smartly, the novel juxtaposes an ongoing interrogation, intermittently revealed between chapters, imposing a strictly-enforced sense of pace throughout. Recalling Paul Tremblay's novel Disappearance at Devil's Rock not only through this mechanic, but also in its variety in point of view. Picture the classic optical illusion of two white faces, kiss-adjacent, on a black background. With a subtle twitch of gaze, the picture becomes instead a black vase on a white background. This, too, is what is at play here, in Crushing Snails—there is a constant dynamic shifting as various perspectives are superimposed on the events of the narrative, using memory as the filter.
When I was in college, I had a problem with Philosophy. I loved reading about ontology and epistemology, and I was fascinated by every single thinker's distinct way of relating their thoughts about being (and its opposite) and the world. But I agreed with all of them, even those who disagreed with one another. How could this be? I couldn't believe in both George Berkeley's theory of immaterialism (which specified that there are no material objects but only a collection of our own impressions regarding their forms) but also Hume's complete rejection of the notion of self! In this way, I encountered the characters in Crushing Snails—I felt sympathy for every single character, no matter how horrible their actions, because of how they were presented by their author. I grappled with this throughout my reading experience: how could I possibly agree with every character, no matter how frequently they clashed, and despite how horrible the aftermath always was?
It is testament to Emma Murray's strengths as a writer that even though this is a constant struggle, the actual story is lit as if by lightning. The reader both wants to run away in terror and is also rooted to the spot, every hair standing on end in anticipation of the next strike. To extend the metaphor, even the air in this novel is hot, seethes with ozone, hums with demented energy all the way through to the end. Even now, I am not entirely sure how I feel about anything that happened in the book—but I know that I will return, again and again, to the images that it left behind. The murders and the brutality, certainly, but—perhaps more importantly—I will never forget the blighted rainbow of sympathy that this fractured lens of a novel spilled into my mind.
Highly recommended, but again, do tread carefully, and look out for jagged fragments underfoot—they might not be shattered snail-shells, but perhaps winking little pieces of your own dark self.
Tread carefully. This book is alive; or at least, the truth within it is. It squirms from page to page, transforming itself with every scene. In one chapter, it might assume a guise of innocence; in the next it becomes nearly invisible, so small that it could hide between clenched teeth. There are hideous images, actions, and twisted patterns of thought at play in this book, and none of them lead where one might expect them to. At its core, this is a bildungsroman, evincing the birth of a new self from the ashes of the old—but why might we assume that something burned alive is necessarily going to transform into something noble?
A lot of present-day discourse circles around the notion of sympathy in literature, I find. Much is made of the "unlikeable" protagonist—entire books are tossed away in revulsion because the reader "didn't like" the characters. I should note that I have no judgement for those who decide a book is simply not for them—reading is a matter of timing as much as anything, and sometimes the prose or the themes are just not aligned with a current mindset. I think that some of this, however, can be due to a spiritual insecurity when it comes to being presented with ugliness—evidence of the hideous is too often a mirror for those who shy away from their darker selves, and the reflections can sometimes be unbearable.
Personally, I enjoy books that challenge a reader's empathy, presenting a cockeyed view of the world and the people in it through the filter of the so-called "unlikeable" narrator, the "anti-hero," or the "outsider." And there is no more an "outsider" role than those sons and daughters of Cain—the murderers. I often find these fringe perspectives interesting or fascinating, but when it comes to literary depiction of the disturbing acts perpetrated by the protagonists, I often find myself numbed into submission rather than pricked into sympathy.
It is rare that a book like Crushing Snails crosses my path. I'm not a fan of so-called "extreme" horror, which typically wields shock and revulsion like a nail-studded club, deadening the senses before any real emotions can be evoked and seeking to stimulate only the baser, more voyeuristic parts of our brain. Elements of that genre, though, can be used to elicit reaction when used skillfully, and Emma Murray is a smart, brilliantly sensitive writer.
Her work here focuses more on the negative space surrounding these events, which is the most powerful space of all: it is where the reader must insert themselves, or their imagination by proxy, to fill in the gap left by the prose. In this way, the hideous becomes sharply illuminated and deeply, deeply personal.
Smartly, the novel juxtaposes an ongoing interrogation, intermittently revealed between chapters, imposing a strictly-enforced sense of pace throughout. Recalling Paul Tremblay's novel Disappearance at Devil's Rock not only through this mechanic, but also in its variety in point of view. Picture the classic optical illusion of two white faces, kiss-adjacent, on a black background. With a subtle twitch of gaze, the picture becomes instead a black vase on a white background. This, too, is what is at play here, in Crushing Snails—there is a constant dynamic shifting as various perspectives are superimposed on the events of the narrative, using memory as the filter.
When I was in college, I had a problem with Philosophy. I loved reading about ontology and epistemology, and I was fascinated by every single thinker's distinct way of relating their thoughts about being (and its opposite) and the world. But I agreed with all of them, even those who disagreed with one another. How could this be? I couldn't believe in both George Berkeley's theory of immaterialism (which specified that there are no material objects but only a collection of our own impressions regarding their forms) but also Hume's complete rejection of the notion of self! In this way, I encountered the characters in Crushing Snails—I felt sympathy for every single character, no matter how horrible their actions, because of how they were presented by their author. I grappled with this throughout my reading experience: how could I possibly agree with every character, no matter how frequently they clashed, and despite how horrible the aftermath always was?
It is testament to Emma Murray's strengths as a writer that even though this is a constant struggle, the actual story is lit as if by lightning. The reader both wants to run away in terror and is also rooted to the spot, every hair standing on end in anticipation of the next strike. To extend the metaphor, even the air in this novel is hot, seethes with ozone, hums with demented energy all the way through to the end. Even now, I am not entirely sure how I feel about anything that happened in the book—but I know that I will return, again and again, to the images that it left behind. The murders and the brutality, certainly, but—perhaps more importantly—I will never forget the blighted rainbow of sympathy that this fractured lens of a novel spilled into my mind.
Highly recommended, but again, do tread carefully, and look out for jagged fragments underfoot—they might not be shattered snail-shells, but perhaps winking little pieces of your own dark self.
May 25, 2024
After I had read the first chapter and I knew this was going to be one of those books that forced me to close the world out and dive in. It was so amazingly written that it gave incredible imagery, making it play out like a movie in my head. It was very well balanced and didn't drag unnecessary detail out more than needed and kept the plot going. This was such a wild ride of a read. So viscerally disturbing at times, I had to set it down for a hot minute. At the end of it all, it feels like I was on a roller-coaster ride with all the shocking ups and downs. It still has my tummy turning.
October 22, 2024
4 ⭐️ Poor Winnie doesn’t really have a chance at life from the get-go. A mentally ill mother, a drunk and abusive father, a brother who turns his head and a sister who believes she is above everyone. This is one of the darker coming of age stories I have yet to encounter. Although I found it to be extremely well written and insightful from a child’s point of view I only gave it four stars because I felt as if the end left me with too many questions to be desired. I still highly recommend this to be read . Be weary of child abuse warnings!
June 21, 2025
I think this book is going to stay with me for a while.
There’s an undertone of feeling like you’re reading about a true crime story in here. The classic story of a child that’s abused then leans into hurting small creatures to alleviate that feeling of powerlessness. Seeing the main character step into her chaos and trauma and essentially self medicating through pain and abuse. Very well written and executed.
There’s an undertone of feeling like you’re reading about a true crime story in here. The classic story of a child that’s abused then leans into hurting small creatures to alleviate that feeling of powerlessness. Seeing the main character step into her chaos and trauma and essentially self medicating through pain and abuse. Very well written and executed.
August 14, 2024
A brilliant debut! Twisted, emotional, conflicting - I thought I'd figured it out but was NOT ready at all!
May 1, 2025
Oh man, this book was so intense and heartbreaking. Such an emotional read that has you sympathizing with a monster.
March 25, 2024
That was ..... Intense.
Emma E. Murray you have single handedly ripped my heart out, bitch slapped me with it, took a bite out of it as it was still beating, threw it on the ground and stomped on it until it resembled a 2D drawing on the sidewalk then picked it up and tossed in a wood chipper.
And I loved every single letter you placed within that story. I turned each page with a "thank you, may I please have another".
There was so little chill in this story, that I have given myself a massive headache from crying, and from the constant face of shock.
That .... ER'MER'GERD ....THAT ..... I want to hug you, then shake you violently, then hug you again lol Thank you so much for allowing me to read your intense, heartbreaking, scary, soul crushing story. It hit so close to home on so many levels that I couldnt help but see parts of my childhood and family dynamic within the Campbell's ....but also knowing there are families like this, children who experience this, and so so so many people with the same intrusive thoughts because of these situations....its scary... and scarier still that there ARE people who DO act on those intrusive thoughts. The story is so real and so beautifully written and left me broken.
Emma E. Murray you have single handedly ripped my heart out, bitch slapped me with it, took a bite out of it as it was still beating, threw it on the ground and stomped on it until it resembled a 2D drawing on the sidewalk then picked it up and tossed in a wood chipper.
And I loved every single letter you placed within that story. I turned each page with a "thank you, may I please have another".
There was so little chill in this story, that I have given myself a massive headache from crying, and from the constant face of shock.
That .... ER'MER'GERD ....THAT ..... I want to hug you, then shake you violently, then hug you again lol Thank you so much for allowing me to read your intense, heartbreaking, scary, soul crushing story. It hit so close to home on so many levels that I couldnt help but see parts of my childhood and family dynamic within the Campbell's ....but also knowing there are families like this, children who experience this, and so so so many people with the same intrusive thoughts because of these situations....its scary... and scarier still that there ARE people who DO act on those intrusive thoughts. The story is so real and so beautifully written and left me broken.
October 13, 2024
Insanely readable and layered, this is the way to do the "making of a killer" story, giving due weight and context around violence that hits hard.
August 22, 2024
"In bed, I hide under the covers and close my eyes, pretend that I'm dead. That's how I always fall asleep. It's more a wish than anything. To die and never wake up, or to wake up reborn. Someone new. I couldn't wish for anything better."
Good Lord. Wow. Crushing Snails is one bleak, angry, nauseating, horrifying little novel. It's one of the most horrendously exhausting extreme horror novels of all time. So violent and tragic, each page feels so very tortuous to sit through. Like watching roadkill decay, it feels dirty and wrong to witness the pure atrocities of this novel - yet, it's entirely impossible to peel your gaze away from the horror. Crushing Snails is a book that truly demands to be read, entirely disturbing and brilliantly engaging, it reads like the confessions of a sadistic serial killer while somehow also being complex enough to examine just what made the monster. It's an utterly depressing book to experience, a horrible, brutal, savage thing and it's absolutely terrific. Unflinching doesn't even come close, Crushing Snails is an unstoppable force, an insane plunge into madness that never once shies away from any of its gruesome details.
The kind of feeling that this book instills within readers is my entire reason for reading. It's single-handedly one of the most sickening and uncomfortable books I have recently had the pleasure of experiencing. Using some really rather beautiful prose to peel back the outer layer of abuse, and examine the brutality within, Emma E. Murray has created an intoxicating, spiraling, bestial story of monsters that spawn more monsters. It's, ultimately, a novel of horrible people committing heinous acts upon each other. It's extreme horror, but, extreme in an introspective and quiet sort of way, a coming of age story of fucked up, otherworldly proportion. By all accounts, Winnie is, a depraved and unhinged character, yet, Murray has managed to paint a beautifully sympathetic portrait of her. This is a truly terrifying novel, designed to shove readers way past the point of comfort.
Crushing Snails is an enthralling, maddening masterpiece. A thick, cloying sense of unease lingers about every page of this novel, it takes its time, refusing to be rushed towards a cataclysmic ending, instead spreading its cruelty out in murky black waves until we're all utterly overwhelmed. In a twisted and sickening sort of way, it's actually pretty damn gorgeous too, it doesn't just fling gore and viscera in our face, it stays and leaves a stain upon our soul. It goes without saying that this is extreme horror, it's brutal and nasty, it's a deep, dark pit of despair, it's a rotting wound crawling with maggots, it's a squished body steaming in the scorching sun. There's nothing happy or nice about Crushing Snails, it's a repellent, agonizing evil, few novels are as affecting or impactful as this one.
"Her existence taunted me, reminded me of what had waited for me if things had gone the happy fairytale way they were supposed to, and the delicious power, intoxicating and strong, when I took it away from her. Watching the life drain from her face, and knowing it was because of me, was a cathartic release, unlike anything I'd ever felt before."
Good Lord. Wow. Crushing Snails is one bleak, angry, nauseating, horrifying little novel. It's one of the most horrendously exhausting extreme horror novels of all time. So violent and tragic, each page feels so very tortuous to sit through. Like watching roadkill decay, it feels dirty and wrong to witness the pure atrocities of this novel - yet, it's entirely impossible to peel your gaze away from the horror. Crushing Snails is a book that truly demands to be read, entirely disturbing and brilliantly engaging, it reads like the confessions of a sadistic serial killer while somehow also being complex enough to examine just what made the monster. It's an utterly depressing book to experience, a horrible, brutal, savage thing and it's absolutely terrific. Unflinching doesn't even come close, Crushing Snails is an unstoppable force, an insane plunge into madness that never once shies away from any of its gruesome details.
The kind of feeling that this book instills within readers is my entire reason for reading. It's single-handedly one of the most sickening and uncomfortable books I have recently had the pleasure of experiencing. Using some really rather beautiful prose to peel back the outer layer of abuse, and examine the brutality within, Emma E. Murray has created an intoxicating, spiraling, bestial story of monsters that spawn more monsters. It's, ultimately, a novel of horrible people committing heinous acts upon each other. It's extreme horror, but, extreme in an introspective and quiet sort of way, a coming of age story of fucked up, otherworldly proportion. By all accounts, Winnie is, a depraved and unhinged character, yet, Murray has managed to paint a beautifully sympathetic portrait of her. This is a truly terrifying novel, designed to shove readers way past the point of comfort.
"She continues her strange cries, and I can't help but listen, mesmerized. A feeling of electricity jolts through my body as I hear her sorrow manifest in choking sobs and grunts. I let her melancholy engulf me and remember Nikolai helplessly fighting for air. My conscience tells me that I loved him, and I care for these parents. This ideal family should never experience this. My stomach twists itself and I think I could vomit. Yet, deep down, in some hidden dark place, I feel satisfied and incomparably savage."
Crushing Snails is an enthralling, maddening masterpiece. A thick, cloying sense of unease lingers about every page of this novel, it takes its time, refusing to be rushed towards a cataclysmic ending, instead spreading its cruelty out in murky black waves until we're all utterly overwhelmed. In a twisted and sickening sort of way, it's actually pretty damn gorgeous too, it doesn't just fling gore and viscera in our face, it stays and leaves a stain upon our soul. It goes without saying that this is extreme horror, it's brutal and nasty, it's a deep, dark pit of despair, it's a rotting wound crawling with maggots, it's a squished body steaming in the scorching sun. There's nothing happy or nice about Crushing Snails, it's a repellent, agonizing evil, few novels are as affecting or impactful as this one.
"Her existence taunted me, reminded me of what had waited for me if things had gone the happy fairytale way they were supposed to, and the delicious power, intoxicating and strong, when I took it away from her. Watching the life drain from her face, and knowing it was because of me, was a cathartic release, unlike anything I'd ever felt before."
September 2, 2024
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
“The heartbreaking making of a psychopath”
This was such a pleasure to read as it really leered me in with how the story is written. I love the ‘true crime’ aspect it has throughout, written in a journal type format told from various points from either Winnie, the main character, or the victims involved.
The story starts with a traumatic experience Winnie goes through as a child that leaves her permanently disfigured, causing her to get weird stares and stories passed on about her. She has to carry the everyday duties of the house as her father blames her for why he lost his wife. That means cleaning the house, making every meal, and taking care of her little sister, Lilly, all while her older brother doesn’t do shit.
If she doesn’t follow exactly what she’s supposed to do or if Lilly blames her for making her cry at any given time, Winnie is put through punishments by her father, which get more embarrassing at times. It’s after going through this abuse so much that she gets the idea to crush a snail enough that it won’t be able to survive. The feeling of taking its life grows inside of her, as her curiosity moves up to larger victims. From a stray dog, to an innocent infant, to the lovely neighborhood child that resembles her younger self, to her little sister, the various acts of homicidal tendencies grow until she eventually disappears.
As you go through the story, you get to read police records from the people closest to her that were brought in for questioning as well as letters and notes left by family members and witnesses. It really gives you a feeling like the incident really occurred, that chill down your spine moment.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this so much, I finished it in nearly a day because I did not want to put it down. It just kept building on suspense and I was really hoping for a happy ending for Winnie after all the mental and physical abuse she endured through her childhood.
A must read for 2024!
“The heartbreaking making of a psychopath”
This was such a pleasure to read as it really leered me in with how the story is written. I love the ‘true crime’ aspect it has throughout, written in a journal type format told from various points from either Winnie, the main character, or the victims involved.
The story starts with a traumatic experience Winnie goes through as a child that leaves her permanently disfigured, causing her to get weird stares and stories passed on about her. She has to carry the everyday duties of the house as her father blames her for why he lost his wife. That means cleaning the house, making every meal, and taking care of her little sister, Lilly, all while her older brother doesn’t do shit.
If she doesn’t follow exactly what she’s supposed to do or if Lilly blames her for making her cry at any given time, Winnie is put through punishments by her father, which get more embarrassing at times. It’s after going through this abuse so much that she gets the idea to crush a snail enough that it won’t be able to survive. The feeling of taking its life grows inside of her, as her curiosity moves up to larger victims. From a stray dog, to an innocent infant, to the lovely neighborhood child that resembles her younger self, to her little sister, the various acts of homicidal tendencies grow until she eventually disappears.
As you go through the story, you get to read police records from the people closest to her that were brought in for questioning as well as letters and notes left by family members and witnesses. It really gives you a feeling like the incident really occurred, that chill down your spine moment.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this so much, I finished it in nearly a day because I did not want to put it down. It just kept building on suspense and I was really hoping for a happy ending for Winnie after all the mental and physical abuse she endured through her childhood.
A must read for 2024!
September 11, 2025
“It physically hurts to exist, yet paradoxically, actual pain makes it seem more bearable.”
This is the vibe throughout Crushing Snails and it resonates so deeply. Empathy was my inescapable enemy. Talk about summing up a book with a quote… it brings back such darkness, and a bit of comfort.
My mind was so conflicted. There was an ever tightening band squeezing my heart. This avalanching horror of too real situations keeps compounding and I was unable and unwilling to walk away. I could only stand there, and I was totally bowled over.
Oh Winnie, you make my soul ache. Gabe, you are such a good friend…but such a bad influence.
As much as I wanted the suffering to cease, I did not want this book to end. It was incredibly well written.
“I never knew destruction would be so enjoyable. Maybe if I’d known, I’d have started long ago.”
This is the vibe throughout Crushing Snails and it resonates so deeply. Empathy was my inescapable enemy. Talk about summing up a book with a quote… it brings back such darkness, and a bit of comfort.
My mind was so conflicted. There was an ever tightening band squeezing my heart. This avalanching horror of too real situations keeps compounding and I was unable and unwilling to walk away. I could only stand there, and I was totally bowled over.
Oh Winnie, you make my soul ache. Gabe, you are such a good friend…but such a bad influence.
As much as I wanted the suffering to cease, I did not want this book to end. It was incredibly well written.
“I never knew destruction would be so enjoyable. Maybe if I’d known, I’d have started long ago.”
Read
November 12, 2024This is one of the most brutal books I've read in a long while—be warned, this book will bring you into the darkest corners of both the character's mind and your own. A story that features heartbreaking, complex familial relationships so fractured and broken yet one where love still somehow exists, serving as the quivering foundation that holds it altogether but also threatening to unravel at any given moment. Crushing Snails explores the dangers and cruelty of authority, and the rage and impulsivity fostered through pain and trauma that festers when left suppressed then becoming unrestrained, spiralling into unreturnable places.
March 28, 2025
Disturbing, unforgettable, so well written.
August 6, 2024
Wow, just wow!!! This was gut wrenching in the best possible sense!!
My heart just broke for Winnie, even after some of the things that happened, it was always so clear that she was such a victim of horrifying emotional, mental, and physical abuse that you just couldn't help but have sympathy for her despite her actions. This is a story that shows how the effects of loss, grief, and abuse can drive people to their breaking points, and Emma executes it flawlessly.
It's like reading someone's descent into madness and just wanting to give them a hug. I love how Emma told the story, she didn't just give us violence and gore but she took her time, developed her characters, and it made me very uncomfortable, and sad and I loved every single minute.
100% recommend!!! Emma, I cannot wait to read what you write next!!!
My heart just broke for Winnie, even after some of the things that happened, it was always so clear that she was such a victim of horrifying emotional, mental, and physical abuse that you just couldn't help but have sympathy for her despite her actions. This is a story that shows how the effects of loss, grief, and abuse can drive people to their breaking points, and Emma executes it flawlessly.
It's like reading someone's descent into madness and just wanting to give them a hug. I love how Emma told the story, she didn't just give us violence and gore but she took her time, developed her characters, and it made me very uncomfortable, and sad and I loved every single minute.
100% recommend!!! Emma, I cannot wait to read what you write next!!!
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