The Good Uncle

by Deathly Rose

My foster family is deranged. Every vile act committed by us happens behind closed doors ... but I'm tired of my foster parents having the upper hand.

They tried to contain me, bind me to something that was meant to wipe my very existence. Well, joke's on them. Even though I surrendered my soul, it was worth it. I've unshackled a monster, and now, my demonic shadow has an insatiable hunger.

My protection comes at a cost. Though I can't deny that I'm thoroughly enjoying my role in this pact.

The Good Uncle is an interconnected standalone within the Unholy Downfall series.

This book contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised. It deals with themes that will and should upset most readers.

100 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2025

About the author

Luana is a horror fanatic to the core. As a kid, she wasn't allowed to watch anything related to horror due to the strict religious beliefs instilled by her parents. Regardless, Luana’s passion for horror grew while watching scary movies in secret. Within the genre, she has found healing for her past traumas, and she writes stories to hopefully help others dealing with all the difficulties life throws at them.

When she’s not reading or writing, Luana plays video games. She's an animal lover and will always see her fur babies as her own children.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dude...just...dude...that was one of the most vulgar, extreme horrors that I've seen in a while. Lucas, our lead, is such a damaged person that I can't even begin to pick apart how Deathly Rose constructed such a character. And his situation somehow starts off as like an abomination of reality, but just continued to devolve into things so retched, that you may want to put the book down for a few minutes and process it all every so often. Well, try to process would be more appropriate here. But solid use of the horror elements and the story had a good flow overall. All of it was just so grisly and mean-spirited. I wanted a little more context as to the 'business' that Trevor was involved with, which wasn't totally clear, but that, along with some other minor tidbits, were the only critiques I had here. For any splatterpunk fans looking for a book to satisfy your subgenre preference, this will do just fine.

[Carl Bluesy]

This story has all the triggers warnings.

You fallow Lucas a soon to be adult in the harsh environment of his foster home. After some gory moments involving his sister pregnancy and birth he comes face to face with his demon, in a very literal sense. From there the extreme horror kicks up as we fallow Luca down a dark rode where he becomes lose between his human side and the demon side.

[Horror Bookworm Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Horror Bookworm Recommendation
The Good Uncle by Deathly Rose
https://horrorbookwormreviews.com/

Lucas lives with his foster family. Amongst the drugs, sexual abuse and the shadiest of activities, he begins to hear a deep distorted demonic voice within himself. This demonic presence offers a life changing proposal, a pact that involves bloodlust, human consumption and broken souls.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to The Good Uncle by Deathly Rose. Within this extreme horror novella, a family crosses all immoral boundaries within their house of horrors. Torture, kidnapping and the desire to kill symbolize this family crest of carnage. That being said, the focus is on young Lucas, a monster that has a constant desire to kill and a penchant for skinning, chopping and consuming human flesh. Evil breeds evil within these pages of The Good Uncle. Deathly Rose has created a slaughter factory of gore, intestines and organs, oh my! Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kanas anymore… whether it axe, knife, hammer or a roll of barbed wire…there’s no place like home.

Deathly Rose creates the ultimate narrative of pure evil and self-preservation through morbid acts of witchcraft and demonic possession. Filled with vivid characters, emotional intensity and unavoidable shocks…I was decapitated…I mean I was captivated. This author knows how to overwhelm the senses with not only depictions of gruesome acts of violence but the pure talent of storytelling is very evident. Rose is an indie horror author that shows her love for the genre as well as a willingness to push boundaries. Upon completing, I wanted to chant…”Gooble, gobble, we accept her, we accept her, one of us, one of us!”

Finding comfort in the dead and how to summon a demon are all common factors within this naughty novella. I think everyone enjoys a nice extreme murder…provided they are not the victim. A well-deserved five star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Horror Bookworm Recommendation.

[Veronica ☠️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucas is living a rough life. His foster parents abuse him in different ways. But he is also not so innocent. While he's being abused, he is also abusing his sister. One night, someone overcomes Lucas and he does something that changes him forever. He then is introduced to his father's "job" and Lucas becomes more unhinged than ever.

There is evil lurking within Lucas and he doesn't understand it until one night, he makes a pact with it. After that pact, nothing or nobody will stop Lucas from achieving and getting what he wants. He becomes a demon. Or was he always just like this?

Wow! The Unholy Downfall series from Deathly Rose is one of my favourite series to date, and this addition made it that much better! We do meet Lucas in the series but The Good Uncle is his story growing up. We get to see just how he grew to become what we meet in the series. Deathly Rose has grown in her writing. It's much stronger, more detailed, and extremely shocking and horrifying. I loved her attention to detail in this one! I loved the witchcraft, demons, and everything that made Lucas a monster. Rose writes my favourite type of villains. This can be read before the Unholy Downfall series and I highly suggest putting this whole series on your TBR! Such a great book!

[Risshan Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

He in fact wasn’t a good uncle

Fun quick read! We are finding out the backstory for characters in the previous books. Messed up family, possession, the eating of people!
Especially one key ingredient… 😉 Make sure you read if you enjoy some dead inside vibes mixed with demonic possession

[Paige Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic read from Deathly Rose! I love that this can be read as a standalone but this is actually the origin story from an essential character within the Unholy Downfall series.

The Good Uncle follows Lucas. Lucas lives with his abusive foster parents but he has a sister that he is rather fond of. Sadly, he chooses to abuse her. In this story there is magic involved which I thought was a really cool aspect to the story and what ultimately changes Lucas forever.

I really enjoyed this one. Highly recommend checking this one out as well as the Unholy Downfall Series!

[Jamie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our girl Deathly Rose, knocking it out of the park again! I have had the absolute pleasure of being able to ARC read for her once again and she just doesn’t disappoint.

I love the Unholy Downfall series and what’s cool about this one is that it can be a stand alone but you get to see the origin story of one on the very important characters in Unholy Downfall.

Lucas is our MC in this book and he was essentially shoved into this world without any semblance of hope for a good life. Living with deplorable foster parents and in a house full of abuse and blood and witchcraft, Lucas was bound to snap. When his foster mother tries to reign him in, it backfires on her and Lucas becomes an entirely new version of himself - a bigger monster than anyone - and he’s about to unleash terror and violence on anyone he feels like.

Rose knows how to write villains you’ll love to hate and in this case did I find myself feeling bad for Lucas? Maybe for a minute. I have a soft spot for villains as chances are they are never born that way but conditioned with suffering and abuse. But Lucas takes everything to another level.

The Unholy Downfall duo and this one are not for first time extreme horror readers. Nothing is held back in them. Rose will sit you in a chair and punch you in the face with her most uncomfortable scenes. And I like that about her.

🔥 Happy Reading 🩸

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good lord Deathly Rose knows how to write splatter… This author has truly become an auto-buy author within the genre for me. Her ability to make you squirm but keep you reading is unmatched, unsettling, uncomfortable and everything I enjoy about the genre. It’s like a car crash, you should look away, but you can’t. The Good Uncle is the worst kind of human villain turned supernatural villain story, and redemption be damned. This series is not for the faint of heart.

[Ash 🦇 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ Absolutely loved how this ties in with the other two books! It was so interesting to get some backstory on Lucas. Throughout this book it made me wonder, was he the product of his environment or was it something more sinister, or a little of both? I thought the first half was horrific, until I got to the ending. Deathly Rose does it again! 🖤

[Lia's Haunted Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucas lives in a foster home with two absolutely horrible adults, a sister, and the sister’s boyfriend/abuser (he sucks), and something inside him is growing.

From the start, this story dives into heavy, painful themes. The foster care trauma, the evil within, the unsettling choices, it’s all there. Check your trigger warnings for this one.

That said, I think it tried to do a lot in a very short number of pages. There were moments where it felt like too many elements were packed in at once, and some plot threads felt a bit rushed or quickly tied off.

Yet, it didn’t ruin the read for me, but it did keep it from fully connecting. I always underscore this: THAT’S MY OPINION; SOME OTHER READERS LOVE THIS; and that’s wonderful!

Still, the ending? Loved it. It’s always satisfying when you’re right.

Bonus points for the author’s note at the end: it ties the characters into a wider universe, and that made me even more curious to check out their other work.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely my favourite out of the 3 books, the vibe was totally different. The pacing was excellent and it was just the right length, not too long where it lost impact and I lost interest. The violence was of course as visceral and graphic as always, but it was also very well balanced.

I really enjoyed the connections to the previous books in the series and I’m looking forward to where the story goes next!

Thank you Deathly Rose for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Wren Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy howdy, was this a crazy taboo experience. This story will have your feelings for certain characters tugged in all different directions, but don’t let that fool you, all of them are absolutely wretched people with a wretched existence.

I docked a star because there was a scene towards the beginning that never really had an explanation.. and it was something I definitely wanted some exposition about 🫣 maybe in the next one, eh?

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This confirms my belief that blonde men are evil.

It’s also wild to read this and to know what happens. Geeeeeezus. I hope I never cross a TEENAGER like this.

Once again, fantastic and disturbing and holy shit.

[Becki 🤎 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Good Uncle

I was so lucky to be sent this as an ARC, I’ve read, reviewed and raved about all Deathly’s books so far & this is going to be no different…WOW 👏🏼

So Lucas our MMC…with abusive, molesting foster parents like he had he was bound to be all kinds of f’up right? The erm defacing of Carter in the very beginning…was just the beginning of the unhingey behaviour. In order to save himself he must make a deal with the devil but what does that mean for him 😈

Oh I devoured this!! Love how it’s a completely different direction to the previous 2. I think this might actually be my favourite out of the 3!!

It was absolutely brilliant!! Releasing 10th June. I will definitely be purchasing and adding to my Deathly Rose collection 👏🏼

Thank you so much for allowing me to ARC read for you 🤎 5🌟 check your triggers!!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof. Another bl00dy fantastic read. Though knowing how Uncle Lucas’ story ends (TGU is a prequel of sorts), I still found myself rooting for him a little at the beginning. Without giving away spoilers, I’m still shocked to have learned exactly how he came to be. And umm, did y’all catch that one saying of what’s to come for XXX’s future? Whoa!! Absolutely incredible how Deathly Rose tied that in. All three books are innerconnected and done so excellently. This was a very unhinged and gory read and I loved every minute of it.

[Natasha Da Fonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super grateful to be given this as an ARC. If you wanna be made to feel uncomfortable, uneasy and a little bit queasy then this one is for you.
For me this was my first one of her books I have read and I throughly enjoyed it. I will be putting the rest into my immediate TBR as I must read and find out more.

Do check your triggers for this as there are some things in here that are NOT for the faint of heart

TGU releases June 10th!

[Morgan Paszke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put this down!

This story was very well written, the details were disturbing and gory (my fav!) one of the best books I've read recently. I can't wait to read more from the author! 🖤

[K D Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favourite book in the trilogy!

It is absolutely brutal with heavy triggers and themes of cannibalism. I was honoured to be able to ARC read this!

Would you make a deal with a demon?

[Gabrielle Branch · Rating 5 out of 5]

She does it again. I look forward to every book from this author! Seriously, this was so good! Extreme horror with a dash of paranormal.

[Jojobean_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wont lie, I went in to this one apprehensively especially after the last story I read. Deathly Rose has a skill of leaving you sick to your stomach and satisfied at the same time.
This novella is Uncle Lucas' origin story and jesus wept is it a graphic one. The sheer volume of emotions this story instills in you, within its 77 pages is insane and I am very much looking forward to reading what happens next - despite knowing how Uncle Lucas' story plays out, I just know the tale of what happens to Piper next is going to royally screw with us and I cannot wait.

[A5hley Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay why did it take me so long to finally join the Deathly Rose train! In all honesty I received an ARC for this book but it got completely lost in my emails so apologies to Deathly but the review is here now

So here we have not only an incredible story about possession a genre that I typically have a love for but also a story with fundamentally damaged characters and all this creates one incredible story

Trevor and Ruth are an awful couple of foster parents who are so well described you can’t help but hate them for their actions Ruth is a witch who knows no bounds and Trevor well he would rather be at work which speaks volumes considering his idea of work.

Then we get on to Darlene very early on we learn about an interesting incident but with her new boyfriend who our main protagonist hates, her drug dependency and eventual motherhood this character helps to shape exactly what is to come.

Lucas is an awesome character I can honestly say that I sped through this book purely because I needed to know what’s going to happen next he comes with a little extra character halfway through which only adds to my love of him he’s vicious he’s weak he’s a victim but also an aggressor he is a perfect example of built from his environment

This story has triggers so be warned but for anyone who loves extreme horror or splatterpunk this story is for you there’s nothing to not enjoy about this book

[Claudia Rambles · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when the biggest monster is the one living under your own roof?

Well Lucas is ready to tell you his story.

If you’ve read Blood of Sinner or Sinner’s Revenge, you’ve already met Uncle Lucas and not for the best reasons.

In The Good Uncle, we dive into his past and find out what shaped him into the man we know.

Used and abused by his foster family, Lucas had no choice but to face his demons and sometimes in the most brutal ways.

This book doesn’t shy away from graphic scenes that push boundaries, that are strangely satisfying.

The Good Uncle releases on June 10th, and if you’re in the mood for a wild, gory ride, you’re in for a treat.

Side note: This book can absolutely be read as a standalone, but the Unholy Downfall series is one of my all-time favorites, so of course I have to recommend checking out the whole series.

All books are available on Kindle Unlimited.

This review and more here:
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[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading a book by Deathly Rose, and while this is part of the Unholy Downfall series, I was told that this can be read as a standalone, but with ties to the first two books. I know I'm missing out on some important connections, and I can only speak out for The Good Uncle... and boy, a good uncle he is most definitely not!

Right from the first page, this story reeks of abuse. Kids being taken in through the foster care system, then subjected to every kind of torture there is, including unspeakable, otherworldly ones. Not only was Lucas, the main character, abused along with his foster sister, he will also be roped into committing and perpetuating everything he has endured, ensuring that the cycle is kept alive in this house of horrors. A brush with death have him striking up a bargain with a demon that was already tied up to his existence anyway, so it should've been easy-peasy lemon squeezy right? Well, chalk it up to a demon to make sure that it will get the better end of the deal.

There's an abundance of death, assault, humiliation, degradation, blood, gore, cannibalism among these pages. In particular, there was a scene that had me dry-heaving for a while, until Lucas was extracted by the demon (I swear it took its sweet time finishing a bucket of popcorn, smh 😞) from the trance, and had to be forced to "watch" what he was unconsciously doing a few moments ago. I felt sorry for him then, but trust me, that didn't last. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I really enjoyed this book. It definitely made me want to read the two books in the series, and whatever abomination Deathly Rose will bring forth in the future.

[Lesley Camphouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this as an ARC read, and it's the first book I've read written by Deathly Rose. I have her other books high on my TBR, but I could not pass this one up.

So this is the origin story of Lucas, and what a ride! He's obsessed with his sister, is raised by abusive foster parents, and there's witchcraft involved. I won't say too much, as I don't want to spoil anything, but I will definitely bump the other books in this series up on my TBR. ;)

[Horromantasy Book Mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucas and his sister are stuck with the worst foster parents ever, and what happens to them is absolutely brutal. But after some dark magic and a desperate demon deal, Lucas becomes something more and way more dangerous. This story is gruesome, unhinged, and full of horror-fueled revenge. The ending was expected, but satisfying, and now I’m dying to get more of Piper and “Uncle Lucas.” A solid read for fans of extreme horror and Splatterpunk!

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short read full of madness, and I really enjoyed this book. This one has to be one of my favorite books from Deathly Rose. I highly recommend y’all read this book and check your trigger warnings!

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[C.P. Bearden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart! This books comes out swinging and doesn’t let up. I listened to the audiobook and loved it.

[Deborah Pilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just horrific gore from the outset. The baby scene - if you know you know 😳

[Brooke Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a nice addition with some fantastic backstory for the Unholy Downfall series! The story telling and dark atmosphere just keeps getting better!