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Hunger and Thirst
1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job in the postroom of a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and—delightfully— some new friends, including wild-child, Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at The Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can’t resist the promise of a readymade, hodgepodge family.
But as Sue’s behaviour and demands become more extreme, Ursula who has always been hungry—for food—and more importantly for love, acceptance and belonging, carries out her friend’s terrible dare. It's a decision that will haunt her for decades.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned, reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by true-crime documentary-maker who is digging into an unsolved disappearance. But it is not only the filmmaker who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.
From critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Claire Fuller, Hunger and Thirst is a compelling and chilling tale of loneliness and female friendship, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing, and of how far a person will go to truly belong.
But as Sue’s behaviour and demands become more extreme, Ursula who has always been hungry—for food—and more importantly for love, acceptance and belonging, carries out her friend’s terrible dare. It's a decision that will haunt her for decades.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned, reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by true-crime documentary-maker who is digging into an unsolved disappearance. But it is not only the filmmaker who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.
From critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Claire Fuller, Hunger and Thirst is a compelling and chilling tale of loneliness and female friendship, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing, and of how far a person will go to truly belong.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2026
About the author
Claire Fuller
14 books2,671 followersClaire Fuller is the author of six novels: Hunger and Thirst, forthcoming in May / June 2026; The Memory of Animals; Unsettled Ground, which won the Costa Novel Award 2021 and was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction; Our Endless Numbered Days, which won the 2015 Desmond Elliott prize; Swimming Lessons, shortlisted for the Encore Prize; and Bitter Orange longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award.
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June 21, 2026
Oh my goodness! This freaking book absolutely blew my mind! Please don’t just add it to your TBR — put it at the very top and jump in immediately. This book isn’t just good… it’s AMAZING. It’s horrifying, insane, eerie, and deeply gothic. It makes your blood run cold, delivers real jump scares, and has you sleeping with the lights on while your imagination runs wild, convinced there are shadowy entities lurking in every corner. This is the kind of story that makes you paranoid — feeling like someone’s watching you, locking your door not once but three times, then sprinting to your bed and hiding under the blankets without daring to look back. Pure, shivery terror — and I loved every second of it.
I adored the characterization, the slow-burn mystery, and the way the eerie paranormal elements slowly creep under your skin. The horror doesn’t rush at you — it crawls, tightening its grip, blurring the thin line between reality and delusion in the most haunting way. And honestly, The Underwood itself feels like the true main character: a sinister, haunted house where every step makes you nauseous, where you’re torn between pushing deeper into the darkness or running away without ever looking back. The tension builds relentlessly, strange events pile up, and in the final quarter — when past and present collide — everything explodes. The revelations are wild, twisted, and shocking, and when things finally hit the fan, you’ll want to slam the book shut, drop your e-reader, and start planning your own escape. That’s how intense it gets.
The story unfolds across two timelines. In the present, we follow Uschi, a famous sculptor in her mid-fifties, still carrying the scars of a past she’s tried to bury. Her life is thrown into turmoil when documentary filmmaker Emma Zahini begins investigating the mysterious events of 1987 — the year Uschi, then known as Ursula, left Dougherty House. Back then, at just sixteen, Ursula was living in a group home with ex-criminals and addicts, waiting for her caseworker Joy to find her something better. Instead, she made the fatal mistake of moving into The Underwood — an abandoned house already steeped in tragedy.
Ursula’s life had been shaped by loss from the very beginning: orphaned, never knowing her father, witnessing her young mother’s death in Morocco as a child, then being sent to England and shuffled through foster homes before landing at Dougherty House. She worked in the post room at an art school, where she met Sue, a secretary with big dreams, and Sue’s erratic boyfriend Vince — the one who first suggests Ursula move into The Underwood, rent-free. Drawn like a moth to a flame, Ursula falls into a complicated, intense friendship with Sue: unreliable, eccentric, adventurous, and determined to become a horror film director in the States, always railing against inequality and championing women’s power.
Desperate for love, compassion, and acceptance, Ursula finds herself pulled into Sue’s dysfunctional inner circle. She even develops a tender crush on Raymond — Sue’s intelligent, observant brother — the one person who truly seems to see her. But Sue’s reckless dares and obsession with The Underwood push them into terrifying territory. Soon, they begin to suspect they’ve awakened something dangerous — something still living within the walls of the house where an entire family once died tragically. Or are they? Is it real, or is it all in their minds? In The Underwood, the veil between reality and delusion is impossibly thin.
Then someone disappears. A body is never found. And nearly forty years later, the unanswered questions still haunt Ursula. Can she finally outrun her past — or is it about to catch up with her for one last, devastating confrontation?
Overall: This book is incredibly unique — unlike anything I’ve ever read. I can honestly say it’s already one of my favorite books of 2026, and it might even become my all-time favorite horror novel (though it’s probably too early to declare, with so many more books ahead of me). Still, I’m certain it’s earned a permanent place in my top ten. This is an absolute MUST READ. Do not miss it!
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Zando for sharing this AMAZING HORROR BOOK as a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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I adored the characterization, the slow-burn mystery, and the way the eerie paranormal elements slowly creep under your skin. The horror doesn’t rush at you — it crawls, tightening its grip, blurring the thin line between reality and delusion in the most haunting way. And honestly, The Underwood itself feels like the true main character: a sinister, haunted house where every step makes you nauseous, where you’re torn between pushing deeper into the darkness or running away without ever looking back. The tension builds relentlessly, strange events pile up, and in the final quarter — when past and present collide — everything explodes. The revelations are wild, twisted, and shocking, and when things finally hit the fan, you’ll want to slam the book shut, drop your e-reader, and start planning your own escape. That’s how intense it gets.
The story unfolds across two timelines. In the present, we follow Uschi, a famous sculptor in her mid-fifties, still carrying the scars of a past she’s tried to bury. Her life is thrown into turmoil when documentary filmmaker Emma Zahini begins investigating the mysterious events of 1987 — the year Uschi, then known as Ursula, left Dougherty House. Back then, at just sixteen, Ursula was living in a group home with ex-criminals and addicts, waiting for her caseworker Joy to find her something better. Instead, she made the fatal mistake of moving into The Underwood — an abandoned house already steeped in tragedy.
Ursula’s life had been shaped by loss from the very beginning: orphaned, never knowing her father, witnessing her young mother’s death in Morocco as a child, then being sent to England and shuffled through foster homes before landing at Dougherty House. She worked in the post room at an art school, where she met Sue, a secretary with big dreams, and Sue’s erratic boyfriend Vince — the one who first suggests Ursula move into The Underwood, rent-free. Drawn like a moth to a flame, Ursula falls into a complicated, intense friendship with Sue: unreliable, eccentric, adventurous, and determined to become a horror film director in the States, always railing against inequality and championing women’s power.
Desperate for love, compassion, and acceptance, Ursula finds herself pulled into Sue’s dysfunctional inner circle. She even develops a tender crush on Raymond — Sue’s intelligent, observant brother — the one person who truly seems to see her. But Sue’s reckless dares and obsession with The Underwood push them into terrifying territory. Soon, they begin to suspect they’ve awakened something dangerous — something still living within the walls of the house where an entire family once died tragically. Or are they? Is it real, or is it all in their minds? In The Underwood, the veil between reality and delusion is impossibly thin.
Then someone disappears. A body is never found. And nearly forty years later, the unanswered questions still haunt Ursula. Can she finally outrun her past — or is it about to catch up with her for one last, devastating confrontation?
Overall: This book is incredibly unique — unlike anything I’ve ever read. I can honestly say it’s already one of my favorite books of 2026, and it might even become my all-time favorite horror novel (though it’s probably too early to declare, with so many more books ahead of me). Still, I’m certain it’s earned a permanent place in my top ten. This is an absolute MUST READ. Do not miss it!
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Zando for sharing this AMAZING HORROR BOOK as a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
May 6, 2026
4.5⭐️ Hunger and Thirst sits somewhere between literary fiction and psychological thriller, but it leans heavily into gothic fiction in tone and atmosphere. It carries that same claustrophobic unease you’d expect from the genre: decaying emotional landscapes, fractured identities, and a constant sense that something is not quite right beneath the surface. Even when the story appears grounded, it gives off an uncanny, almost mythic feeling that keeps you unsettled.
At its core, the novel follows Ursula, a woman shaped as much by her past as by the strange, isolating circumstances of her present. The narrative moves between timelines, slowly revealing fragments of her life and the events that have led her to become someone deeply distrustful of the world around her. What stands out immediately is how unreliable and fragile reality feels through her perspective.
Ursula’s past is marked by abandonment, emotional deprivation, and a childhood that feels almost feral in its symbolism. The idea of her being “raised by bears” is not meant to be taken literally, but rather understood as a powerful metaphor. It reflects extreme isolation, survival outside of normal human care, and a life shaped more by instinct than nurture. In that sense, the “bears” represent both protection and danger—comfort and brutality intertwined. Fuller uses this imagery to blur the line between myth and memory, forcing the reader to question what is real and what has been distorted by trauma.
In the present, Ursula is deeply paranoid, constantly interpreting the world through a lens of fear and suspicion. That paranoia becomes one of the novel’s most gripping elements. It is not just a character trait—it shapes the entire structure of the story. As readers, we are pulled into her uncertainty, never fully trusting what we are being told. This creates a persistent eerie atmosphere, where even ordinary moments feel loaded with hidden meaning.
The central themes of hunger and thirst operate on multiple levels. On the surface, they suggest physical survival, but more importantly they reflect emotional and psychological deprivation. Ursula is not only hungry for food or thirsty for water—she is starving for connection, truth, identity, and stability. Claire uses these elemental needs to explore what happens when a person is deprived of basic emotional grounding for too long. Everything becomes distorted, urgent, and sometimes destructive.
What makes the novel so compelling is how carefully Claire Fuller builds this sense of unease. Her writing is precise yet haunting, and she slowly peels back layers of Ursula’s life without ever fully resolving the ambiguity. The result is a story that feels both intimate and unsettling, like you are reading someone’s fragmented memory rather than a straightforward narrative.
Despite its darkness, there is something undeniably clever in how the story is constructed. The shifting timelines, the unreliable perception, and the symbolic use of wilderness imagery all come together to form a psychologically rich novel that lingers long after reading. Ursula is not always easy to understand, but she is deeply human in her confusion, fear, and need for belonging.
Visually and emotionally, this would translate beautifully to film. The atmospheric tension, the stark contrasts between isolation and fleeting human contact, and the blurred line between memory and myth would make for a striking, almost dreamlike cinematic experience.
What stood out most is how the novel refuses to give easy answers. Instead, it immerses you in Ursula’s world and asks you to sit with discomfort, ambiguity, and emotional hunger. It is haunting, intelligent, and quietly devastating in places.
Overall, Hunger and Thirst is a powerful exploration of trauma, survival, and the stories we construct to endure our own histories. It is eerie in the most effective way—less about jump scares or shock, and more about a slow, creeping sense that something essential has been lost and never fully recovered.
Thank you NetGalley, Zando, and Claire Fuller for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Publication date: June 2nd, 2026
At its core, the novel follows Ursula, a woman shaped as much by her past as by the strange, isolating circumstances of her present. The narrative moves between timelines, slowly revealing fragments of her life and the events that have led her to become someone deeply distrustful of the world around her. What stands out immediately is how unreliable and fragile reality feels through her perspective.
Ursula’s past is marked by abandonment, emotional deprivation, and a childhood that feels almost feral in its symbolism. The idea of her being “raised by bears” is not meant to be taken literally, but rather understood as a powerful metaphor. It reflects extreme isolation, survival outside of normal human care, and a life shaped more by instinct than nurture. In that sense, the “bears” represent both protection and danger—comfort and brutality intertwined. Fuller uses this imagery to blur the line between myth and memory, forcing the reader to question what is real and what has been distorted by trauma.
In the present, Ursula is deeply paranoid, constantly interpreting the world through a lens of fear and suspicion. That paranoia becomes one of the novel’s most gripping elements. It is not just a character trait—it shapes the entire structure of the story. As readers, we are pulled into her uncertainty, never fully trusting what we are being told. This creates a persistent eerie atmosphere, where even ordinary moments feel loaded with hidden meaning.
The central themes of hunger and thirst operate on multiple levels. On the surface, they suggest physical survival, but more importantly they reflect emotional and psychological deprivation. Ursula is not only hungry for food or thirsty for water—she is starving for connection, truth, identity, and stability. Claire uses these elemental needs to explore what happens when a person is deprived of basic emotional grounding for too long. Everything becomes distorted, urgent, and sometimes destructive.
What makes the novel so compelling is how carefully Claire Fuller builds this sense of unease. Her writing is precise yet haunting, and she slowly peels back layers of Ursula’s life without ever fully resolving the ambiguity. The result is a story that feels both intimate and unsettling, like you are reading someone’s fragmented memory rather than a straightforward narrative.
Despite its darkness, there is something undeniably clever in how the story is constructed. The shifting timelines, the unreliable perception, and the symbolic use of wilderness imagery all come together to form a psychologically rich novel that lingers long after reading. Ursula is not always easy to understand, but she is deeply human in her confusion, fear, and need for belonging.
Visually and emotionally, this would translate beautifully to film. The atmospheric tension, the stark contrasts between isolation and fleeting human contact, and the blurred line between memory and myth would make for a striking, almost dreamlike cinematic experience.
What stood out most is how the novel refuses to give easy answers. Instead, it immerses you in Ursula’s world and asks you to sit with discomfort, ambiguity, and emotional hunger. It is haunting, intelligent, and quietly devastating in places.
Overall, Hunger and Thirst is a powerful exploration of trauma, survival, and the stories we construct to endure our own histories. It is eerie in the most effective way—less about jump scares or shock, and more about a slow, creeping sense that something essential has been lost and never fully recovered.
Thank you NetGalley, Zando, and Claire Fuller for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Publication date: June 2nd, 2026
June 3, 2026
My Reviews Can Also Be Found On:
The Book Review Crew Blog
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hunger & Thirst
Claire Fuller
Publication Date: June 2nd, 2026
Penguin Random House Canada | Bond Street Books | Zando | Tin House
320 Pages
Amazon | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | Horror
This book is a slow burn done right and I am here for it. It mixes horror, thriller, and a coming-of-age story perfectly. I loved reading about Ursula in a dual timeline. In 1987 she is 16 and takes a job in the mailroom of an art school. She has grown up being in a care home and finds she fits in and feels she belongs with a group of friends she makes there. They all move into a place called The Underwood and squat there. The Underwood has a very sad history. With Sue's influence, Ursula does a dare that ends up resulting in a terribly violent accident, and Ursula is left haunted both literally and figuratively.
In the present day, Ursula is a famous sculptor but lives under a different name in London. She is very guarded and craves her anonymity. When it is threatened by a true-crime documentary maker, her past resurfaces. Now Ursula has to decide what she is scared of most: the outside threats or her own conscience and psyche.
I loved the atmospheric vibes of this book and the way the slow pace turned up the tension. All Ursula wanted to do was survive. This is a very character-driven story and it truly felt claustrophobic—that's one of my favourite descriptors of a book. Claire Fuller always makes the mundane feel heavy and meaningful. The tone of this book is a completely bleak outlook and it takes a toll on Ursula.
The best parts of the book are the characters' relationships and how messy they are. They felt deeply real. The writing is amazing, even with the slow bits, and it kept me engaged throughout. I can see how this would be a problem for some readers who want more action, but I appreciated it and all the internal dialogue. There are no easy answers in this story; it is dark and gritty and a bit vague, but a solid literary story about survival. What I took away from it on a personal level was more what is left of a person than what happened to the world. It isn't a typical thriller/horror story and I liked that about it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
The Book Review Crew Blog
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hunger & Thirst
Claire Fuller
Publication Date: June 2nd, 2026
Penguin Random House Canada | Bond Street Books | Zando | Tin House
320 Pages
Amazon | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | Horror
This book is a slow burn done right and I am here for it. It mixes horror, thriller, and a coming-of-age story perfectly. I loved reading about Ursula in a dual timeline. In 1987 she is 16 and takes a job in the mailroom of an art school. She has grown up being in a care home and finds she fits in and feels she belongs with a group of friends she makes there. They all move into a place called The Underwood and squat there. The Underwood has a very sad history. With Sue's influence, Ursula does a dare that ends up resulting in a terribly violent accident, and Ursula is left haunted both literally and figuratively.
In the present day, Ursula is a famous sculptor but lives under a different name in London. She is very guarded and craves her anonymity. When it is threatened by a true-crime documentary maker, her past resurfaces. Now Ursula has to decide what she is scared of most: the outside threats or her own conscience and psyche.
I loved the atmospheric vibes of this book and the way the slow pace turned up the tension. All Ursula wanted to do was survive. This is a very character-driven story and it truly felt claustrophobic—that's one of my favourite descriptors of a book. Claire Fuller always makes the mundane feel heavy and meaningful. The tone of this book is a completely bleak outlook and it takes a toll on Ursula.
The best parts of the book are the characters' relationships and how messy they are. They felt deeply real. The writing is amazing, even with the slow bits, and it kept me engaged throughout. I can see how this would be a problem for some readers who want more action, but I appreciated it and all the internal dialogue. There are no easy answers in this story; it is dark and gritty and a bit vague, but a solid literary story about survival. What I took away from it on a personal level was more what is left of a person than what happened to the world. It isn't a typical thriller/horror story and I liked that about it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
April 26, 2026
F’ING BRILLIANT!
This has a bit of everything.
Very Dark.
1987, somewhere in England.
There was a murder, we know this on page 1
Two timelines;
1…the present day after a documentary has been made of this group of people who work in an art school and hung out at a squat in the Underwood …where two of these characters live and the murder took place.
2…1987, when Ursula becomes friends with coworker Sue and the rest of the characters and occurrences start to happen at Underwood.. (which a middle age couple lived in and died in years back and the home was left with all their things there… it’s haunted)
Ursula is the center of this story.. orphaned since age 7 and moved around to many foster homes.. at 16 her social worker finds her a job and she goes out on her own.
She is just yearning for friendship and a family 😢
From the first page Ms. Fuller had me in the grip of this story.
It remains tense and suspenseful to the last page!
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando/ Tin House for the gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This has a bit of everything.
Very Dark.
1987, somewhere in England.
There was a murder, we know this on page 1
Two timelines;
1…the present day after a documentary has been made of this group of people who work in an art school and hung out at a squat in the Underwood …where two of these characters live and the murder took place.
2…1987, when Ursula becomes friends with coworker Sue and the rest of the characters and occurrences start to happen at Underwood.. (which a middle age couple lived in and died in years back and the home was left with all their things there… it’s haunted)
Ursula is the center of this story.. orphaned since age 7 and moved around to many foster homes.. at 16 her social worker finds her a job and she goes out on her own.
She is just yearning for friendship and a family 😢
From the first page Ms. Fuller had me in the grip of this story.
It remains tense and suspenseful to the last page!
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando/ Tin House for the gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 8, 2025
I have loved Claire Fuller’s novels for a number of years now and so hugely anticipate her latest novel which immediately hooks me in.
1987. After years in the care system following a trauma, sixteen year old Ursula is found a new job working in the post room of an art college. She makes a friend in Sue who could be a bit of a wild child but has ambitions for a future in Hollywood making films. As Ursula is currently living in a grotty halfway house, she’s invited to join Sue and a fellow worker Vince at a squat – The Underwood on Barrow Road. The events of that summer will define Ursula‘s life. In the present day, documentary maker Emma Zahini is pursuing Ursula now known as Uschi, and is a successful sculptor. Emma unleashes the past in her film Dark Descent which catches up with Ursula, meaning she must dig deep to work out where the truth lies. You can change your name but you can’t change the past or what lives in your head.
This novel really is the very definition of a chiller which is extremely well written. At the start when Ursula meets Sue, you are lulled into a false sense of security with some lively scenes at a family lunch at Sue’s home. Here, Ursula meets Raymond, Sue’s brother, who is clever and kind and will a become pivotal character in future events. There are suspenseful hints at Ursula’s traumatic past, she’s a damaged soul, desperate for acceptance, friendship and above all to survive. All the characters are exceptionally well portrayed with some intriguing dynamics between them.
The mood darkly changes once Ursula, Sue and Vince arrive at Underwood and this is a stark contrast to the start. It becomes so tense, scary and claustrophobic with some scenes in which I can scarcely breathe. Underwood is an ever-changing malignant character in its own right. Is it a “bad place” or is it the people? Here, there’s everything from fun and friendship which morphs to alcohol fuelled antagonism, to the sinister and downright eerie, it’s puzzling and enigmatic. At the very least it’s unsettling making me question what’s real and what not, giving it a very surreal feeling in parts. The Gothic under and overtones are done exceptionally well. I heave a sigh of relief once Ursula leaves that “haunted” property, but it will continue to hang over her life.
Not only has the author created a real horror of a mystery but it also includes thought provoking issues such as mental health and attitudes towards those who are in care or who have been through the system.
This is a novel I won’t forget in a hurry and as for the ending, wow, it’s so good I have icy tingles up and down my spine.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to. Penguin General. UK. for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
1987. After years in the care system following a trauma, sixteen year old Ursula is found a new job working in the post room of an art college. She makes a friend in Sue who could be a bit of a wild child but has ambitions for a future in Hollywood making films. As Ursula is currently living in a grotty halfway house, she’s invited to join Sue and a fellow worker Vince at a squat – The Underwood on Barrow Road. The events of that summer will define Ursula‘s life. In the present day, documentary maker Emma Zahini is pursuing Ursula now known as Uschi, and is a successful sculptor. Emma unleashes the past in her film Dark Descent which catches up with Ursula, meaning she must dig deep to work out where the truth lies. You can change your name but you can’t change the past or what lives in your head.
This novel really is the very definition of a chiller which is extremely well written. At the start when Ursula meets Sue, you are lulled into a false sense of security with some lively scenes at a family lunch at Sue’s home. Here, Ursula meets Raymond, Sue’s brother, who is clever and kind and will a become pivotal character in future events. There are suspenseful hints at Ursula’s traumatic past, she’s a damaged soul, desperate for acceptance, friendship and above all to survive. All the characters are exceptionally well portrayed with some intriguing dynamics between them.
The mood darkly changes once Ursula, Sue and Vince arrive at Underwood and this is a stark contrast to the start. It becomes so tense, scary and claustrophobic with some scenes in which I can scarcely breathe. Underwood is an ever-changing malignant character in its own right. Is it a “bad place” or is it the people? Here, there’s everything from fun and friendship which morphs to alcohol fuelled antagonism, to the sinister and downright eerie, it’s puzzling and enigmatic. At the very least it’s unsettling making me question what’s real and what not, giving it a very surreal feeling in parts. The Gothic under and overtones are done exceptionally well. I heave a sigh of relief once Ursula leaves that “haunted” property, but it will continue to hang over her life.
Not only has the author created a real horror of a mystery but it also includes thought provoking issues such as mental health and attitudes towards those who are in care or who have been through the system.
This is a novel I won’t forget in a hurry and as for the ending, wow, it’s so good I have icy tingles up and down my spine.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to. Penguin General. UK. for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
June 5, 2026
I was introduced to Claire Fuller a few years ago when I read Unsettled Ground, it was a 5-star read for me and I loved it. I saw this new book by her and decided to request a copy right away. I saw it was labeled as a horror novel, which Unsettled Ground was not, and I haven't really read many horrors, so I honestly didn't really know what to expect going in. I found Hunger and Thirst to be so weird and creepy, in a good way!! Definitely different from anything I've ever read before. The darkness, uneasiness, and creepy atmosphere of this book isn't something that's usually my cup of tea & that I would choose to read, but I did still enjoy this book. I think Claire Fuller is an amazing writer and this book would be perfect for horror lovers looking for the dark, slow burn vibes. Can’t wait to see what she writes next. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Thank you, Zando, And Net Galley, for a copy in return for my honest review.
Thank you, Zando, And Net Galley, for a copy in return for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4! What a unique blend of literary fiction and horror!
FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW (catching up on ARCS!)
A gothic horror, partly coming-of-age story where a sculptor is haunted by a dark turn of events from her past when she was dared to kill someone...This sounds all oddly catchy?
Many thanks to NetGalley, Zando/Tin House and the author, Claire Fuller for an early ARC!
Publication date: June 2, 2026
FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW (catching up on ARCS!)
A gothic horror, partly coming-of-age story where a sculptor is haunted by a dark turn of events from her past when she was dared to kill someone...This sounds all oddly catchy?
Many thanks to NetGalley, Zando/Tin House and the author, Claire Fuller for an early ARC!
Publication date: June 2, 2026
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Don't expect high literature here: This is a horror beach read, good entertainment, nothing less, but also nothing more. Our narrator Ursula Major lost her teenage mother as a young child and grew up in foster homes, severely traumatized. We meet her as a 16-year-old high school drop out doing menial work at an art school and moving into a squat, the Underwood, allegedly the scene of a murder-suicide. After the disappearance of Ursula's friend Sue in that very house, it becomes clear that the strength of the novel is that Fuller never fully answers the question whether Ursula and her equally troubled friends suffer from mental health conditions that distort their perceptions, whether they are actually haunted by a ghost - and/or whether Ursula is a murderer.
The novel goes into the backstories of several people, not only Ursula and Sue, but also their co-workers at the art school, especially heavy drinker Vince, as well as Sue's family including her brother Ray on whom Ursula has a crush. It's not like this amounts to some kind of social criticism though: The trauma only serves to call the characters' mental stability into question, the title-giving hunger and thirst occur literally and seem connected to the ghost, but they also refer to the hunger for love, acceptance and validation. The flies that appear again and again seem to intrude on the Underwood and the characters like they are preying on their decay while the young protagonists are trying to survive in precarious circumstances. As per usual in the classic haunted house motif, the Underwood disintegrates and so do its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Ursula is described as hairy and the linguistic root of her name, ursus (bear) is explicitly mentioned, but not much comes of it - not the only narrative idea that ultimately leads nowhere.
Fuller frames the novel with a second timeline that permeates the story: We learn that fiftyish Ursula now goes by Uschi (which is a common German nickname for Ursula) and is a somewhat renowned sculptor, and that a famous documentary filmmaker of questionable integrity has investigated the disappearance of Sue and turned it into a true crime feature. Now you might think that this sounds a lot like I Have Some Questions for You which works with the true crime podcast format and questions how such media are produced and to what end, but the documentary solely serves to call the narrator of the novel and her memory into question, which is frequently suspenseful, but falls behind what it could be as a narrative trick to introduce a smart critical perspective on media and society - as it is, it's way too crude and superficial. Also, the pacing of the montage is messy, with many bits strewn in like an afterthought.
But there's more to the art angle: A young Ursula/Uschi is constantly drawing, then turns to sculpting, Sue dreams of Hollywood and produces an amateur horror film, and I really liked how art is employed as a means of information and psychological exploration. Overall, many of the ideas incorporated here are interesting, even exciting, but then they remain in a territory that is way too safe, they aren't elaborated enough to become truly disturbing or intellectually challenging. And I like to be both disturbed and challenged.
The novel goes into the backstories of several people, not only Ursula and Sue, but also their co-workers at the art school, especially heavy drinker Vince, as well as Sue's family including her brother Ray on whom Ursula has a crush. It's not like this amounts to some kind of social criticism though: The trauma only serves to call the characters' mental stability into question, the title-giving hunger and thirst occur literally and seem connected to the ghost, but they also refer to the hunger for love, acceptance and validation. The flies that appear again and again seem to intrude on the Underwood and the characters like they are preying on their decay while the young protagonists are trying to survive in precarious circumstances. As per usual in the classic haunted house motif, the Underwood disintegrates and so do its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Ursula is described as hairy and the linguistic root of her name, ursus (bear) is explicitly mentioned, but not much comes of it - not the only narrative idea that ultimately leads nowhere.
Fuller frames the novel with a second timeline that permeates the story: We learn that fiftyish Ursula now goes by Uschi (which is a common German nickname for Ursula) and is a somewhat renowned sculptor, and that a famous documentary filmmaker of questionable integrity has investigated the disappearance of Sue and turned it into a true crime feature. Now you might think that this sounds a lot like I Have Some Questions for You which works with the true crime podcast format and questions how such media are produced and to what end, but the documentary solely serves to call the narrator of the novel and her memory into question, which is frequently suspenseful, but falls behind what it could be as a narrative trick to introduce a smart critical perspective on media and society - as it is, it's way too crude and superficial. Also, the pacing of the montage is messy, with many bits strewn in like an afterthought.
But there's more to the art angle: A young Ursula/Uschi is constantly drawing, then turns to sculpting, Sue dreams of Hollywood and produces an amateur horror film, and I really liked how art is employed as a means of information and psychological exploration. Overall, many of the ideas incorporated here are interesting, even exciting, but then they remain in a territory that is way too safe, they aren't elaborated enough to become truly disturbing or intellectually challenging. And I like to be both disturbed and challenged.
June 15, 2026
In the present, Uschi is a renowned artist whose dramatic wooden sculptures have provided her with a comfortable lifestyle and critical acclaim. But in the summer of 1987, she was 16-year-old Ursula Major (yep), a veteran of the foster care system, living in a halfway house and working in the mail room of a local arts school. Befriended by the assertive and gregarious Sue, she is persuaded to move with their co-worker and Sue's sort-of boyfriend, the troubled and moody Vince, into the Underwood, an abandoned house with a dark history. Now, a documentary is being released, focusing unwanted attention on the reclusive Uschi and forcing her to confront the events of that long-ago summer which culminated in a mysterious tragedy that has haunted her for decades.
I am so very glad I read this. I love horror fiction and I love literary fiction, but what I don't love is the tendency a lot of publishers seem to have these days to falsely market a book as horror (looking at you House of the Devil, Valley of the Vengeful Ghosts, and The Salvage, among others) when it has only the most minimal of allusions to something potentially eerie going on. Hunger and Thirst is an actual horror novel, albeit in a hallucinatory rather than a gory way.
The major theme here is haunting, both literal and psychological, and there is also a heavy dose of the gothic, with the meat of the novel taking place in the abandoned Underwood. I was actually surprised at how hard on the horror some parts of this book went, and I was genuinely unsettled at times. I found Ursula to be an immediately sympathetic character, and while the recounting of her childhood in foster care was difficult and mostly devoid of love and warmth, it doesn't follow any of the conventional beats of abuse you might expect in such a story. The story of the trauma she experienced that precipitated her entry into the system, though, was harrowing. The circumstances of Ursula's childhood are essential to understand the events as they unfold in the book. The metaphor of the title and the recurrent references to it are quite evident and easily discerned, but no less impactful for it. The writing is punchy and direct, and yet layered at the same time. I was hooked by the storytelling, enthralled by the heady atmosphere and the grim mystery, and satisfied by the unnerving ending.
Thank you to Tin House for offering me a digital arc for review. Hunger & Thirst is available now, and I plan to pick up my own physical copy for my library.
I am so very glad I read this. I love horror fiction and I love literary fiction, but what I don't love is the tendency a lot of publishers seem to have these days to falsely market a book as horror (looking at you House of the Devil, Valley of the Vengeful Ghosts, and The Salvage, among others) when it has only the most minimal of allusions to something potentially eerie going on. Hunger and Thirst is an actual horror novel, albeit in a hallucinatory rather than a gory way.
The major theme here is haunting, both literal and psychological, and there is also a heavy dose of the gothic, with the meat of the novel taking place in the abandoned Underwood. I was actually surprised at how hard on the horror some parts of this book went, and I was genuinely unsettled at times. I found Ursula to be an immediately sympathetic character, and while the recounting of her childhood in foster care was difficult and mostly devoid of love and warmth, it doesn't follow any of the conventional beats of abuse you might expect in such a story. The story of the trauma she experienced that precipitated her entry into the system, though, was harrowing. The circumstances of Ursula's childhood are essential to understand the events as they unfold in the book. The metaphor of the title and the recurrent references to it are quite evident and easily discerned, but no less impactful for it. The writing is punchy and direct, and yet layered at the same time. I was hooked by the storytelling, enthralled by the heady atmosphere and the grim mystery, and satisfied by the unnerving ending.
Thank you to Tin House for offering me a digital arc for review. Hunger & Thirst is available now, and I plan to pick up my own physical copy for my library.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
publication date in the USA on June 2, 2026
I received a paperback ARC of the book by mail
This book begins with an unsolved mystery told in dual timelines. I am a big fan of Claire Fuller and was very excited when this print ARC mysteriously showed up in my own mailbox.
“There’s something about this place that infects you. Like a virus. You touch a door handle or a cup or the kitchen tap and it spreads. It’ll always be in you even when you think it’s gone.”
We see the story through 16-year-old Ursula, a young woman brought up in care homes, who manages to escape and find work sorting and delivering mail in an Art school. She meets and becomes involved with several of the young people there. Vince, a maintenance worker helps Ursula to move into a "squat" where he lives that he found abandoned after a murder-suicide occurred there. The house is intact and appears left mid-meal as dirty dishes, furniture and all household effects are left as they were when the event originally occurred. This gothic, rather spooky place sets the scene of the events that take place and Ursula’s remembrances.
The first sentences reveal that the story will be told by Ursula years later, after she has become a renowned and reclusive sculptress. Slowly Ursula fills in the details of her background, the facts of her landing in foster care, her desire and talent in art. Fuller states this novel is closest to her own story. She studied art and sculpture in the same years and in the same place as within this story. I felt knowing that gave the scenes and the time an authenticity that it might otherwise have lacked.
There is a death or a mysterious disappearance that takes place. Slowly the reader learns the circumstances that lead to it and how Ursula recalls how it happened. It is just never clear how much Ursula sees and how much she imagines. Can her view of the event be trusted??
Like so many of Fuller’s novels, it is best not to expect clear solutions or explanations but that did not keep me from looking for them. There had to be facts overlooked that time might reveal. The author might hint at them and there is a documentary film made years later used as a device to bring other voices and secondary characters views of the event examined in these pages that should/might clear up doubts. Yet time seems to only fog and remove critical details rather than explain anything.
It is a slow burn of a mystery where the reader must decide individually what they believe happens. It is laid out so beautifully that no clear guilt or even facts remain. A book that will keep you guessing and pondering long after the final pages. I liked it very much. Swimming lessons it still my favorite of her novels but this is a close 2nd.
4.5 stars rounded up due to my Claire Fuller bias.
I received a paperback ARC of the book by mail
This book begins with an unsolved mystery told in dual timelines. I am a big fan of Claire Fuller and was very excited when this print ARC mysteriously showed up in my own mailbox.
“There’s something about this place that infects you. Like a virus. You touch a door handle or a cup or the kitchen tap and it spreads. It’ll always be in you even when you think it’s gone.”
We see the story through 16-year-old Ursula, a young woman brought up in care homes, who manages to escape and find work sorting and delivering mail in an Art school. She meets and becomes involved with several of the young people there. Vince, a maintenance worker helps Ursula to move into a "squat" where he lives that he found abandoned after a murder-suicide occurred there. The house is intact and appears left mid-meal as dirty dishes, furniture and all household effects are left as they were when the event originally occurred. This gothic, rather spooky place sets the scene of the events that take place and Ursula’s remembrances.
The first sentences reveal that the story will be told by Ursula years later, after she has become a renowned and reclusive sculptress. Slowly Ursula fills in the details of her background, the facts of her landing in foster care, her desire and talent in art. Fuller states this novel is closest to her own story. She studied art and sculpture in the same years and in the same place as within this story. I felt knowing that gave the scenes and the time an authenticity that it might otherwise have lacked.
There is a death or a mysterious disappearance that takes place. Slowly the reader learns the circumstances that lead to it and how Ursula recalls how it happened. It is just never clear how much Ursula sees and how much she imagines. Can her view of the event be trusted??
Like so many of Fuller’s novels, it is best not to expect clear solutions or explanations but that did not keep me from looking for them. There had to be facts overlooked that time might reveal. The author might hint at them and there is a documentary film made years later used as a device to bring other voices and secondary characters views of the event examined in these pages that should/might clear up doubts. Yet time seems to only fog and remove critical details rather than explain anything.
It is a slow burn of a mystery where the reader must decide individually what they believe happens. It is laid out so beautifully that no clear guilt or even facts remain. A book that will keep you guessing and pondering long after the final pages. I liked it very much. Swimming lessons it still my favorite of her novels but this is a close 2nd.
4.5 stars rounded up due to my Claire Fuller bias.
June 22, 2026
I can't stop thinking about this book.
This was a slow burn, literary fiction/horror novel that absolutely took my breath away. The heavy gothic tones as well as the claustrophobic vibes made this story such an atmospheric descent into madness. While this was very character driven, the setting(s) really stole the show.
Ursula's past and the characterization of her being 'raised by bears' was really profound once we got a peak into her past with her mother. The isolation and being in survival mode really clung onto her for the rest of her life, making her distrustful for years to come. I truly felt for Ursula as we watched her grow and continue to spend her life looking over her shoulder, changing residences, and trying to outrun a past that would never let go.
The Underwood and the imagery from this place feels like it was burned into my mind. As we were walking through the house with Ursula, I felt like I was walking alongside her. I thought the foreshadowing of Underwood's history was brilliant and was played out in the most depraved, horrific way. When the hauntings began, I truly thought leaving the property would be the escape Ursula needed.
This was also, by far, one of my favorite endings I have ever read. I audibly gasped. The ambiguity was done so incredibly well. While this was a horror/mystery, I thought the way Claire Fuller leaned into the mental health issues surrounding the story was exceptional.
This is a story that I will have a very hard time forgetting, and will probably be one of my top reads for the year. I cannot recommend this book enough. Thank you, Zando, for my ARC, I absolutely loved this.
This was a slow burn, literary fiction/horror novel that absolutely took my breath away. The heavy gothic tones as well as the claustrophobic vibes made this story such an atmospheric descent into madness. While this was very character driven, the setting(s) really stole the show.
Ursula's past and the characterization of her being 'raised by bears' was really profound once we got a peak into her past with her mother. The isolation and being in survival mode really clung onto her for the rest of her life, making her distrustful for years to come. I truly felt for Ursula as we watched her grow and continue to spend her life looking over her shoulder, changing residences, and trying to outrun a past that would never let go.
The Underwood and the imagery from this place feels like it was burned into my mind. As we were walking through the house with Ursula, I felt like I was walking alongside her. I thought the foreshadowing of Underwood's history was brilliant and was played out in the most depraved, horrific way. When the hauntings began, I truly thought leaving the property would be the escape Ursula needed.
This was also, by far, one of my favorite endings I have ever read. I audibly gasped. The ambiguity was done so incredibly well. While this was a horror/mystery, I thought the way Claire Fuller leaned into the mental health issues surrounding the story was exceptional.
This is a story that I will have a very hard time forgetting, and will probably be one of my top reads for the year. I cannot recommend this book enough. Thank you, Zando, for my ARC, I absolutely loved this.
May 15, 2026
Claire Fuller, oh how you have my heart.
There is something so endlessly beguiling about an authour who writes perfection in their genre, let alone one that does it in multiple genres. Few authours have the skill, expertise, and know how to really blend and weave through various mediums like Fuller does and it is never not exciting.
Hunger and Thirst draws you in from the title and cover alone and doesn’t let up that initial feeling that evokes witchcraft, loneliness, and desperation for connection. This novel lends beautiful breathes of gothic legend, supernatural haunting, while stacking notes of literary fiction and themes of abandonment.
I truly never knew where this was going and it was so unbelievably exciting and unnerving to read. I was thrilled, scared, locked in and prepared for absolutely nothing.
There is something so endlessly beguiling about an authour who writes perfection in their genre, let alone one that does it in multiple genres. Few authours have the skill, expertise, and know how to really blend and weave through various mediums like Fuller does and it is never not exciting.
Hunger and Thirst draws you in from the title and cover alone and doesn’t let up that initial feeling that evokes witchcraft, loneliness, and desperation for connection. This novel lends beautiful breathes of gothic legend, supernatural haunting, while stacking notes of literary fiction and themes of abandonment.
I truly never knew where this was going and it was so unbelievably exciting and unnerving to read. I was thrilled, scared, locked in and prepared for absolutely nothing.
February 10, 2026
I found myself craving Claire Fuller’s words when I wasn’t reading them. One might even say that I hungered for them.
While the subject matter of Hunger and Thirst is dark and often profoundly sad, the storytelling trickles out like a gentle stream. Its melancholy quietly broke my heart, and I somehow manage to come alive when books slay me like this.
What’s more, this layered story exceeded my expectations, utterly shocking me. I thought I was entering into a dramatic suspense. I did not know that Fuller was dragging me down into a black hole of horror. But it’s horror that means something, as it can be interpreted as both a literal haunting, and as the figurative ghosts that keep returning for the troubled Ursula.
Please know that just like Ursula, I will forever feel the shadow of this unsettling beauty lurking behind me.
I am immensely grateful to Zando Books for my copy. All opinions are my own.
While the subject matter of Hunger and Thirst is dark and often profoundly sad, the storytelling trickles out like a gentle stream. Its melancholy quietly broke my heart, and I somehow manage to come alive when books slay me like this.
What’s more, this layered story exceeded my expectations, utterly shocking me. I thought I was entering into a dramatic suspense. I did not know that Fuller was dragging me down into a black hole of horror. But it’s horror that means something, as it can be interpreted as both a literal haunting, and as the figurative ghosts that keep returning for the troubled Ursula.
Please know that just like Ursula, I will forever feel the shadow of this unsettling beauty lurking behind me.
I am immensely grateful to Zando Books for my copy. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Claire Fuller's latest novel, Hunger and Thirst, tells the story of Ursula, a troubled teen growing up in the 1980s, and thirty six years later, as a reclusive artist whose past is about to catch up with her through a documentary film about an event at a squat. the Underwood.
This is a dark tale, which drifts close to becoming a full blown horror, and is full of great character details. Ursula is a character easy to feel sympathy for - even if she wants to be distant - and her descent into the madness of youth is well captured.
Fuller is an extremely talented writer -if you haven't read Our Endless Numbered Days or Unsettled Ground they are highly recommended. Hunger and Thirst continues her winning streak, and is well worth diving into it's darkness and depth.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
This is a dark tale, which drifts close to becoming a full blown horror, and is full of great character details. Ursula is a character easy to feel sympathy for - even if she wants to be distant - and her descent into the madness of youth is well captured.
Fuller is an extremely talented writer -if you haven't read Our Endless Numbered Days or Unsettled Ground they are highly recommended. Hunger and Thirst continues her winning streak, and is well worth diving into it's darkness and depth.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
January 17, 2026
This is a dark story. I think it will appeal to those who enjoy ghoulish, mysterious, edgy reads.
I’ve read and enjoyed a few of Claire Fuller’s books. She is a talented writer and sets a specific mood with her descriptions. This book was just a tad too twisted for me to fully embrace it.
The protagonist is orphaned as a child and grows up in care homes. Her tragic early years are only suggested for quite a bit of the book but as they are revealed more fully her actions as a 16 year old begin to make more sense. If they are her actions? Is she imagining things and blaming herself unfairly?
There are a few unanswered questions or perhaps some magical realism in this story.
I’m probably just too concrete for the ending that the author chose.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I’ve read and enjoyed a few of Claire Fuller’s books. She is a talented writer and sets a specific mood with her descriptions. This book was just a tad too twisted for me to fully embrace it.
The protagonist is orphaned as a child and grows up in care homes. Her tragic early years are only suggested for quite a bit of the book but as they are revealed more fully her actions as a 16 year old begin to make more sense. If they are her actions? Is she imagining things and blaming herself unfairly?
There are a few unanswered questions or perhaps some magical realism in this story.
I’m probably just too concrete for the ending that the author chose.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Did Not Finish
January 17, 2026Thank you to NetGalley and Zando | Tin House for providing me with the ARC.
I have to stop getting fooled by beautiful covers. Who paid all of those people to write five star reviews, such that lead me to expect the next great literary sensation, lol? Not to be rude, but this is not a book for me. I have a rule of mine to dnf any book that doesn’t get to me in the first 20% - it’s quite enough time to decide if a book will be a hit or a miss. And that was maybe the most boring first 20% I’ve read in a while. This has everything that bores me to death in a “horror” – a dull and painfully one note main character, mundane everyday activities, painfully slow set up and a long list of characters being introduced. My first DNF of the year.
I have to stop getting fooled by beautiful covers. Who paid all of those people to write five star reviews, such that lead me to expect the next great literary sensation, lol? Not to be rude, but this is not a book for me. I have a rule of mine to dnf any book that doesn’t get to me in the first 20% - it’s quite enough time to decide if a book will be a hit or a miss. And that was maybe the most boring first 20% I’ve read in a while. This has everything that bores me to death in a “horror” – a dull and painfully one note main character, mundane everyday activities, painfully slow set up and a long list of characters being introduced. My first DNF of the year.
February 7, 2026
a creepy and dark novel that really took me by surprise!! you will definitely want to put this on your radar!!
March 8, 2026
Ughhh her best yet!! No one does creeping dread like Claire Fuller. I gasped several times. Actually scary, actually heart breaking. She’s my modern Shirley Jackson.
March 16, 2026
Thank you, NetGalley, for this advanced reader copy.
The book starts off strong, we are sure that we are untangling a mystery, but then the suspense just keeps building on until around 50% of the book.
That’s when the book actually starts and introduces more background to the characters, actual suspense and a desire to read on.
Although I saw predominantly positive reviews of “Hinger and Thirst”, I myself cannot bring myself to rate it more than 2-2,25 stars. The reason is that my expectations from the first 50% of the book did not match the outcomes of the next 50%.
The book is a slow-burn psychological horror, yes, but in this case, I did not feel like we were building up to the horror part at all. It all just sort of happens out of nowhere and then shifts the rest of the book suddenly, but not quite convincingly.
The book was easy to read, but not that easy to follow. The characters felt semi-completed, even in 1987 when they were teenagers.
You may be left with a feeling that you don’t actually really get to find out what happened back in 1987 when you reach the present-day narrative. For some readers, open interpretation will be a big bonus; I myself lean towards this as well.
If you enjoy slow-burning psychological horrors, you may really enjoy this book as well. For me, it has a 3/4 star plot idea and a 2-star execution. With characters having limited development in the 30 years that follow the events of 1987.
The book starts off strong, we are sure that we are untangling a mystery, but then the suspense just keeps building on until around 50% of the book.
That’s when the book actually starts and introduces more background to the characters, actual suspense and a desire to read on.
Although I saw predominantly positive reviews of “Hinger and Thirst”, I myself cannot bring myself to rate it more than 2-2,25 stars. The reason is that my expectations from the first 50% of the book did not match the outcomes of the next 50%.
The book is a slow-burn psychological horror, yes, but in this case, I did not feel like we were building up to the horror part at all. It all just sort of happens out of nowhere and then shifts the rest of the book suddenly, but not quite convincingly.
The book was easy to read, but not that easy to follow. The characters felt semi-completed, even in 1987 when they were teenagers.
You may be left with a feeling that you don’t actually really get to find out what happened back in 1987 when you reach the present-day narrative. For some readers, open interpretation will be a big bonus; I myself lean towards this as well.
If you enjoy slow-burning psychological horrors, you may really enjoy this book as well. For me, it has a 3/4 star plot idea and a 2-star execution. With characters having limited development in the 30 years that follow the events of 1987.
December 24, 2025
Hunger and Thirst begins with Ursula, a woman who recounts her impoverished adolescence and a traumatic event that haunted her for the rest of her life.
In the first few chapters, the author tells a sad story with elements of a young adult novel; however, around the middle of the book, the story transforms into a horror story, and it is here that the story truly shines. The author has an exceptional ability to describe chilling and captivating scenes, and from that point on, we witness the main character's descent into madness and how, despite Ursula's brilliance, regret never allowed her to live a fulfilling life.
Thank you, NetGallery and Zando Publishing, for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.
In the first few chapters, the author tells a sad story with elements of a young adult novel; however, around the middle of the book, the story transforms into a horror story, and it is here that the story truly shines. The author has an exceptional ability to describe chilling and captivating scenes, and from that point on, we witness the main character's descent into madness and how, despite Ursula's brilliance, regret never allowed her to live a fulfilling life.
Thank you, NetGallery and Zando Publishing, for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.
Read
January 23, 2026There’s a particular kind of hunger that comes from growing up without love. Not just the empty-stomach kind, but the deeper ache for belonging, for being chosen, for being seen. Claire Fuller understands that, and in Hunger & Thirst, she feeds it something dark, unsettling, and impossible to shake.
We meet Ursula in 1987, sixteen and fresh out of the care system, with nothing solid to lean on. A job in the postroom of an art school, a bed in a halfway house, and then Sue, reckless, magnetic, dangerous Sue, who offers Ursula what looks like family. Together with Vince, they form a fragile, toxic unit and take up residence in a condemned squat ominously named The Underwood. A house with history. A house that still feels inhabited by its past. A house that watches back.
The summer that unfolds there is slow, deliberate, and deeply wrong. Fuller lets the unease seep rather than scream. The characters are unlikeable by design, their relationships warped by need and power, but the writing is so haunting I couldn’t stop reading. Sickening. Incredibly sad. Horrifyingly addictive. Reading it at night with a tree branch tapping the window was a terrible life choice.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned but reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym, her art seemingly arriving from somewhere beyond her conscious mind. When a true-crime documentary begins digging into an unsolved disappearance and an amateur horror film made during that summer, Dark Descent, the past comes clawing back. The question at the heart of the novel tightens: is Ursula an unreliable narrator, or is reality itself fractured by trauma?
Told across dual timelines, the tension is sustained beautifully. Fuller has a gift for atmosphere that creeping sense that some places absorb what happens inside them, and never quite let it go. The Underwood feels like another character entirely, its violence lingering in flies, silence, and rot. And once again, Fuller writes outsiders with compassion and clarity, particularly those shaped by the care system, without romanticising their pain.
This is a slow-burn psychological horror that asks uncomfortable questions about shared reality, about how differently we can experience the same moment and still believe we’re connected. About how far someone will go, what lines they’ll cross just to belong.
I inhaled it. Bitter, bleak, beautifully written stuff.
Huge thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read via NetGalley — all opinions are my own.
We meet Ursula in 1987, sixteen and fresh out of the care system, with nothing solid to lean on. A job in the postroom of an art school, a bed in a halfway house, and then Sue, reckless, magnetic, dangerous Sue, who offers Ursula what looks like family. Together with Vince, they form a fragile, toxic unit and take up residence in a condemned squat ominously named The Underwood. A house with history. A house that still feels inhabited by its past. A house that watches back.
The summer that unfolds there is slow, deliberate, and deeply wrong. Fuller lets the unease seep rather than scream. The characters are unlikeable by design, their relationships warped by need and power, but the writing is so haunting I couldn’t stop reading. Sickening. Incredibly sad. Horrifyingly addictive. Reading it at night with a tree branch tapping the window was a terrible life choice.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned but reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym, her art seemingly arriving from somewhere beyond her conscious mind. When a true-crime documentary begins digging into an unsolved disappearance and an amateur horror film made during that summer, Dark Descent, the past comes clawing back. The question at the heart of the novel tightens: is Ursula an unreliable narrator, or is reality itself fractured by trauma?
Told across dual timelines, the tension is sustained beautifully. Fuller has a gift for atmosphere that creeping sense that some places absorb what happens inside them, and never quite let it go. The Underwood feels like another character entirely, its violence lingering in flies, silence, and rot. And once again, Fuller writes outsiders with compassion and clarity, particularly those shaped by the care system, without romanticising their pain.
This is a slow-burn psychological horror that asks uncomfortable questions about shared reality, about how differently we can experience the same moment and still believe we’re connected. About how far someone will go, what lines they’ll cross just to belong.
I inhaled it. Bitter, bleak, beautifully written stuff.
Huge thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read via NetGalley — all opinions are my own.
December 8, 2025
Man, this was depressing as hell.
This was definitely a slow burn, but it the pace worked out with what the story was telling here. A lot of build up of the characters and each relationship, but it never felt like it dragged. If you go in expecting a straight forward horror story, you're not going to enjoy this. It needs to simmer.
I found myself so wrapped up in the story and the characters. It made me ache in the worst way. Ursula is such an interesting main character. She wasn't perfect by any means and I always understood the choices she made. She felt real to me. The story itself was tense and atmospheric. Confusing and jumbled but in a way that worked, if that makes any sense.
I think Claire Fuller is brilliant and I can't wait to read more from her.
Thank you to Zando and to netgalley for the arc!
This was definitely a slow burn, but it the pace worked out with what the story was telling here. A lot of build up of the characters and each relationship, but it never felt like it dragged. If you go in expecting a straight forward horror story, you're not going to enjoy this. It needs to simmer.
I found myself so wrapped up in the story and the characters. It made me ache in the worst way. Ursula is such an interesting main character. She wasn't perfect by any means and I always understood the choices she made. She felt real to me. The story itself was tense and atmospheric. Confusing and jumbled but in a way that worked, if that makes any sense.
I think Claire Fuller is brilliant and I can't wait to read more from her.
Thank you to Zando and to netgalley for the arc!
June 2, 2026
Claire Fuller is definitely a fave author - I have read her previous five novels and enjoyed them all. Hunger and Thirst is her sixth. As she never repeats the same plot, this is probably her boldest move- at least for me- as it’s a horror novel.
The book is in the form of a flashback and that begins in 1987, when narrator, Ursula, a 17 year old with a troubled past is living in a halfway house and has a job delivering post in an art school.
She befriends the wayward Sue and she persuades Ursula to live in an abandoned bungalow where murders have taken place. In tow is Vince, another person with a shady past.
As the house’s aura begins to affect the characters in different ways Ursula commits and action which she lives with.
In the present day a tv documentary is being made about the events at the house and Ursula now has to confront that past.
Claire Fuller’s themes of isolation and reclusive characters are dominant but also there’s the unreliability of memory, media manipulation, grief and family dynamics. It’s quite a rich novel. The horror element is genuinely creepy (I read this at night so I was in the right environment) and unsettling.
All of Claire Fuller’s novels have stuck with me but this is the first time one unnerved me like this. That’s a good sign. Recommended!
The book is in the form of a flashback and that begins in 1987, when narrator, Ursula, a 17 year old with a troubled past is living in a halfway house and has a job delivering post in an art school.
She befriends the wayward Sue and she persuades Ursula to live in an abandoned bungalow where murders have taken place. In tow is Vince, another person with a shady past.
As the house’s aura begins to affect the characters in different ways Ursula commits and action which she lives with.
In the present day a tv documentary is being made about the events at the house and Ursula now has to confront that past.
Claire Fuller’s themes of isolation and reclusive characters are dominant but also there’s the unreliability of memory, media manipulation, grief and family dynamics. It’s quite a rich novel. The horror element is genuinely creepy (I read this at night so I was in the right environment) and unsettling.
All of Claire Fuller’s novels have stuck with me but this is the first time one unnerved me like this. That’s a good sign. Recommended!
April 27, 2026
It all started when sixteen-year-old Ursula agreed to move into an abandoned house with her coworkers, Vince and Sue. Unschooled in the ways of abandoned houses with dubious pasts, she sees an opportunity to save money, and form an ersatz family, something she never had since growing up in the care system. Traumatized, and having never experiencing stability, love, friendship, and family, she is the perfect candidate to be terrorized by the evil that lurks within its grounds.
The story is told by Ursula thirty-six years after the strange occurrences at Underwood. She has changed her name and lives a reclusive life. However, a documentary film maker has hunted her down, and is ready to reveal what occurred at Underwood: events that left one of them missing, and one of them institutionalized. Ursula knows she killed one of them, but no one has ever believed her. What will happen now that she is being scrutinized?
I didn’t really get into this book as I had hoped; I’m a sucker for evil, haunted houses. However, I can’t fault the writing or the story itself. It was a quick read, and there were several surprises along the way.
I would like to thank Tin House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
The story is told by Ursula thirty-six years after the strange occurrences at Underwood. She has changed her name and lives a reclusive life. However, a documentary film maker has hunted her down, and is ready to reveal what occurred at Underwood: events that left one of them missing, and one of them institutionalized. Ursula knows she killed one of them, but no one has ever believed her. What will happen now that she is being scrutinized?
I didn’t really get into this book as I had hoped; I’m a sucker for evil, haunted houses. However, I can’t fault the writing or the story itself. It was a quick read, and there were several surprises along the way.
I would like to thank Tin House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
January 29, 2026
I don’t know how I managed to get so extremely lucky with my first ARC (courtesy of NetGalley) but GOD… I did.
This is the first horror book I’ve read in years that truly scared me. Like, I’d have to pause before continuing to read a paragraph because surely not??? I think what makes this so effective is the fact that whatever the fuck is going on is never ever explained or rationalised.
I will admit it took me a while to get into this book - the horror is slow, seeping in from the edges from about 20% of the way through. Once I hit it, I couldn’t stop. I found myself racing home from the gym to get back into the story. The spook would ebb and flow and you’d think it was totally done - until all of a sudden it wasn’t and you were back shaking in your boots again. Deliciously done!!!
Claire Fuller is so talented at creating complex characters living the most incredibly awful lives lol. I really like that she doesn’t shy away from the despair of ordinary life and that really comes through in these characters. Ursula, Sue, Raymond and Vince are all troubled people, misunderstood, with horrible childhoods and family histories, but all so different in their individual pains. She also appears to be a real purveyor of mommy issues, which as an eldest daughter, I will always be buying.
This was a spectacularly visual, visceral and emotive horror that I ADORED. I don’t want to add any spoilers because I don’t want this review censored but wowee. This is an instant classic for me. The vibes were awful (complementary) and this is already one of my favourite books of the year!!
This is the first horror book I’ve read in years that truly scared me. Like, I’d have to pause before continuing to read a paragraph because surely not??? I think what makes this so effective is the fact that whatever the fuck is going on is never ever explained or rationalised.
I will admit it took me a while to get into this book - the horror is slow, seeping in from the edges from about 20% of the way through. Once I hit it, I couldn’t stop. I found myself racing home from the gym to get back into the story. The spook would ebb and flow and you’d think it was totally done - until all of a sudden it wasn’t and you were back shaking in your boots again. Deliciously done!!!
Claire Fuller is so talented at creating complex characters living the most incredibly awful lives lol. I really like that she doesn’t shy away from the despair of ordinary life and that really comes through in these characters. Ursula, Sue, Raymond and Vince are all troubled people, misunderstood, with horrible childhoods and family histories, but all so different in their individual pains. She also appears to be a real purveyor of mommy issues, which as an eldest daughter, I will always be buying.
This was a spectacularly visual, visceral and emotive horror that I ADORED. I don’t want to add any spoilers because I don’t want this review censored but wowee. This is an instant classic for me. The vibes were awful (complementary) and this is already one of my favourite books of the year!!
February 10, 2026
2/5
Thank you to NetGalley, Zando, Tin House, and the author Claire Fuller for gifting me with this ARC to review!
I really struggled with getting through this book and unfortunately didn’t love it as much as I thought I would.
Liked:
-the uncertainty of what actually happened in 1987. Did it happen the way Ursula said it did? Or was she actually suffering from a psychotic break and replaced what actually happened with her version of events to help her cope with what happened?
Disliked:
-the writing style/format. At times it was too confusing for me to follow what was going on. The conversations didn’t flow naturally and they were disjointed which threw me out of the story a couple of times. I just kept thinking that “this isn’t how people talk in reality.”
-the pacing. The major event happens right in the middle of the story and then it kind of falls off from there. In my honest opinion it probably should’ve happened later in the story and then the last couple of chapters could’ve been about Ursula’s life after the event. I personally think that would’ve flowed better.
-Sue’s behavior wasn’t as extreme as it should’ve been. Yeah she wasn’t the greatest friend but I was expecting so much more from her character. I wanted to be more manipulative and vindictive and try to disguise that as being a good friend to Ursula. In all honesty all the characters were a bit of a let down personality wise.
Thank you to NetGalley, Zando, Tin House, and the author Claire Fuller for gifting me with this ARC to review!
I really struggled with getting through this book and unfortunately didn’t love it as much as I thought I would.
Liked:
-the uncertainty of what actually happened in 1987. Did it happen the way Ursula said it did? Or was she actually suffering from a psychotic break and replaced what actually happened with her version of events to help her cope with what happened?
Disliked:
-the writing style/format. At times it was too confusing for me to follow what was going on. The conversations didn’t flow naturally and they were disjointed which threw me out of the story a couple of times. I just kept thinking that “this isn’t how people talk in reality.”
-the pacing. The major event happens right in the middle of the story and then it kind of falls off from there. In my honest opinion it probably should’ve happened later in the story and then the last couple of chapters could’ve been about Ursula’s life after the event. I personally think that would’ve flowed better.
-Sue’s behavior wasn’t as extreme as it should’ve been. Yeah she wasn’t the greatest friend but I was expecting so much more from her character. I wanted to be more manipulative and vindictive and try to disguise that as being a good friend to Ursula. In all honesty all the characters were a bit of a let down personality wise.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a literary fiction/horror story about a teenage girl, Ursula, who has experienced a lot of tragedy and been in and out of foster and group homes in the mid-80s. She has a desperate need to belong and is easily led. She falls into a troubled friend group and makes a friend (Sue), an aspiring horror filmmaker and all around fascinating character. Sue is a malignant character but also a muse to Ursula, a budding artist. Sue suggests that Ursula live in a squat with Vince, a man with violent tendencies who is chasing after Sue. Turns out, the squat is more troubled than any of them. A haunted house story is not particularly new, but the way this house is haunted is. I don't want to give anything away, but it does particular damage to this young girl who tends to feel guilt for things she did not do and who needs desperately to belong. The characters in this book are vivid. That is the author's strength. I think the last third of the book meandered a bit and the book lost its momentum once it left the house.
February 16, 2026
I am so thankful to have received an ARC from netgalley! unfortunately this book wasn’t for me .
It was pitched as a horror with very extreme characters , as many others have said it didn’t seem to ever reach those standards for me. It wasn’t ever tense in a way that made me feel scared for our characters . The timelines got a bit wonky and it was frustratingly difficult to get into because we got so much dumped on us at the beginning.
The cover is beautiful, the writing had several beautiful quotes- especially this one about horror movies - “You watch it because you love being terrified . The same reason Sue and I watch horror films. But at least they’re fiction. You watch because you want to know the worst that can happen, and if it happened to someone else then you’re happy it didn’t happen to you.”
at the end of the day this book is one several people will love it’s just not for me!
It was pitched as a horror with very extreme characters , as many others have said it didn’t seem to ever reach those standards for me. It wasn’t ever tense in a way that made me feel scared for our characters . The timelines got a bit wonky and it was frustratingly difficult to get into because we got so much dumped on us at the beginning.
The cover is beautiful, the writing had several beautiful quotes- especially this one about horror movies - “You watch it because you love being terrified . The same reason Sue and I watch horror films. But at least they’re fiction. You watch because you want to know the worst that can happen, and if it happened to someone else then you’re happy it didn’t happen to you.”
at the end of the day this book is one several people will love it’s just not for me!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book had me hooked at every chapter, page and word! I truly loved it so much! It had a dark, raw, emotional and mysterious throughout leaving me as a reader uncertain of what was going to happen next.
I really enjoyed the structure of the story, briefly flicking between the past and present, allowing us to truly understand and deeply feel Ursulas concerns in her present moment.
This book left me shocked, emotional and with a feeling of homesickness and longing for a sense of family. A brilliant, heart wrenching and emotional read.
A big thank you to Fig Tree/Penguin and Netgalley for this book.
I really enjoyed the structure of the story, briefly flicking between the past and present, allowing us to truly understand and deeply feel Ursulas concerns in her present moment.
This book left me shocked, emotional and with a feeling of homesickness and longing for a sense of family. A brilliant, heart wrenching and emotional read.
A big thank you to Fig Tree/Penguin and Netgalley for this book.
December 5, 2025
Absolutely loved Ursula’s character and her friendships. When the book jumps to the later years, I was captivated by how Ursula had changed as a person. I enjoyed the true crime sleuth aspect when she’s exposed and they start digging into her past all those decades ago. This is truly a book that shows how things can haunt us. What a strong female lead character!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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