Chasers

by Mariah Darling, Eve Harms

If you discovered a peephole to your erratic and elusive neighbor's living room, would you look?
When Lenora, a Black trans woman in her thirties, finally finds a decent apartment in Los Angeles, she’s excited to have a safe place to live and focus on her music career. But that all changes when she discovers the peephole.
Next door is Jane, a sex worker who stages creative and violent scenes in her living room for her LonelyCams channel. As Lenora and her band mates become obsessed with watching the increasingly extreme and gruesome performances, she starts to question: is Jane really just putting on a show, or is something more sinister happening next door? Why doesn't anyone else in the building seem to notice? And why is there a peephole in the first place?
Discovering the answer plunges her into a world more brutal and depraved than she could have ever imagined, and a desperate struggle for survival.

CHASERS is the powerful splatterpunk novella by Mariah Darling and Eve Harms. If you like queer horror, fun characters, gripping suspense, twisted villains, and devastating tragedy, you will love this book. Buy CHASERS to take the horrifying thrill-ride today.

Genres: Horror, Queer, LGBT

154 pages, Paperback

Published February 11, 2025

Reviews

[Sarah Cavar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the honor of hosting Mariah Darling and Eve Harms at a recent trans horror event, and heard some of this book read aloud. I knew I’d love it then, and Harms + Darling certainly delivered: readers receive a funny, sharply-observed, and eerie story that, by the end of 150 short pages, turns into a sobering, unsettling picture of the daily (and not so daily) horrors of trans life and trans death. Really, it does what I feel needs to be done in trans horror as a genre: confront candidly the ways that our lives, to our horror, have been rendered disposable, while also asserting not only our dignity but our right to *revenge* by any means necessary. This book does not shy from either of those truths, nor from the little joys and inconveniences that are part of being in community.

[elli ⛧ yourspookymom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn, this was WILD. I loved Transmuted by Eve Harms, so it was an honor to receive an ARC of this upcoming release. This short but effective novella is co-written with Mariah Darling.

This is prime queer indie horror! It’s thought-provoking and sad at times, but it’s an unexpectedly wild ride that I think a lot of readers will have fun with. Had no idea where it was going, and then when you find out you’re quick to think “well, I didn’t see that coming!”

Per usual, Harms’ writing is captivating and deliciously weird. Darling is a newer author for me and I’m excited to read more from her! An interesting concept and a great length for a story of this nature. You can tell they both put a lot of heart into this story.

Out Feb 11th, 2025 and pre-orders are open now!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This splatterpunk novella follows a black trans woman as she moves into her new apartment, but soon finds that there is something wrong about this place. Could it be her next door neighbor, who does extreme and disturbing performances while playing loud music? Or could it be her landlord, who lives on her other side, and who seems to good to be true? Either way Lenora will soon find herself fighting for her life!
I really enjoyed this novella. Lenora is a sarcastic but loveable protagonist, who just wants to find a place where she can feel safe and valued without being constantly harassed by transmisogynists. It was horrible to read how her own home became unsafe for her, but the ending was truly satisfying. I also enjoyed Lenora’s friends, Max and Kierra, they are such good friends!
The ending is gorey, weird and messy and I loved it. All in all, this is a brutal, quick horror that examines transmisogyny, has an amazing final girl character, great gore and builds tension really well!

TW: fetishization, gore, injury, murder, necrophilia, racism, rape, self-harm, sexual violence, suicide, transmisogyny

[Veronica ☠️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lenora, a black trans woman, finds a decent apartment in LA and she couldn't be happier. Things seem to be ok until she finds out about her neighbour Jane. Jane is super loud at late hours and Lenora has had enough. One day she ends up finding a peephole in her apartment that leads straight to Jane's apartment. That's when she discovers what Jane does for a living.

Lenora tries to talk to Jane but can't seem to catch her at the right time. She informs her landlord, who is cute and happens to live in the building, and she also starts to like him. Until one day things take a wild turn. What is Lenora doing in her apartment? And is her landlord helping or making the situation worse?

I didn't mind this read. I think one of my favourite things about it is the friendships between Lenora and her friends. Those are some solid besties! Once this book gets going, it's a bloody time. I thought I had it figured out and I was wrong. Some fun dark humour is also sprinkled in! I had a good time with this one

[DA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

I wasn't sure where the story was going to go, but where it ended up was just insane. Throughout the story the dread just builds, with little things happening here and there that just don't feel quite right.
Lenora is such a great character. Even in such a terrible situation she keeps it together and fights for her survival.
The worst part of this story is the fact that trans women face violence every day so while this book is fiction, there is a bit of reality.

[Saphira Adorni · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

That ENDING!!

[Jose | Spine and Dandy 📚 · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ ugh! I wanted to like this so much than I did. I think there was potential here to make something great, but I feel like it fell a bit short for me. I really enjoyed our MC but the resolution was not it. I enjoyed the first half of the book more, when it was building up to something.

[Teresa Ardrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great deal of fun…until it isn’t. Because then, it is terrifying. And, listen, for a lot of people that is still fun. Horror readers like to be uncomfortable, they like to be scared; this is why we read horror. Chasers starts out easy-breezy. The characters are fun, you want to spend time with them, get to know them a bit, maybe even see a concert they are putting on. They are real; real messy, but still real. And it is very easy to get invested in them. You, too, will want to know all the hot goss.
Chasers is fun and flirty, sexy and gory. Queer Horror at its finest. And, if for some reason, you still need proof that some men are just terrible, this is your book.
Chasers is a quick read, and as such, I am keeping my review to a minimum. You will want to experience this book for yourself.

[Shelly Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first page, I was entranced by this story, about where it seemed to be headed, and then completely flummoxed when it got where it was going. The protagonist Lenora, a singer-songwriter with a band, is a totally relatable young trans woman trying to make ends meet in Los Angeles. (I am a cisgender white woman and yes, I related to this character completely) I'm not going to relay much of the plot, but know that it's a hypnotic read, that you will root for Lenora and her friends, and you'll get to sections where the prose is so engaging and so terrifying, you can't read fast enough. One of the blurbs called it Hitchcockian and I couldn't agree more. Bravo to Mariah and Eve for such a fabulous story.

[Maritza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chasers by Mariah Darling and Eve Harms follows Lenora, a black trans woman, as she *finally* finds a nice apartment where her and the band mates can focus on their band. Her annoying next door neighbor is so freaking loud that they all get annoyed and start pounding on the wall and they discover a peep hole. Things start getting darker and darker and soon Lenora is fighting for her life.

Whew! This was a wild ride, and I didn’t think it would get THAT disturbing, but it did. It did start a little slow for me, but once the action hit, it was relentless.

[Tiffany Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mariah Darling and Eve Harms’ novella Chasers begins as a trippy, LA-based, Hitchcockian fever dream that explores themes of voyeurism and transploitation and then quickly descends into a psycho-sexual grindhouse tale in its final act. It’s gritty, gruesome, and unfortunately, reflects the lack of safety in our society for trans folk. This novella isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s essential and timely and true. Darling and Harms have added something special to the LGBTQIA+ horror canon.

[v0id_93 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chasers showcases how horror and politics go hand in hand. I was super delighted to receive a copy of this, as I’ve read Transmuted, and seeing both Eve and Mariah collaborate on this project and shine a light on a very real concerns was awesome! The story is fast paced. A little funky, a little stream of conscious but all the while super relatable. Haven’t you ever wanted a fresh start and things just.keep.happening? 🥴

[Saloni · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️
Novellaween II: Day 23
This one was a bit of a let down and I didn't enjoy it as much as Transmuted. The characters, especially the band, felt underdeveloped, and the story was dragging especially in the first half. It definitely got more interesting in the last few chapters, but by then it felt a little too late.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vegan legend Lenora!!!!

[everybookadoorway · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 / house of wax vibes but way more fucked up! i loved it!!

[Carina Stopenski · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little predictable and a few too many loose ends for as short as it was, but really impactful climax and nuanced characters!

[Jae Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gory and horrifying, quick and dirty, sexy and dark. Unfortunately the writing wasn’t my favourite style but the story certainly was.