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Fabulous Bodies
From Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Bury Your Gays, comes Fabulous Bodies, a supernatural joyride where Drive meets Beetlejuice.
Fashion influencer by day and grave robber by night, Poppy Stringer is on call when Eddie Michaels―a flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar and queer icon―unexpectedly dies. All Poppy has to do is retrieve Eddie's body from the medical examiner's office, but what starts as a routine delivery quickly goes off course when Eddie wakes up.
Now, Poppy must fight for her life in a blood-soaked night of carnage and fabulous entertainment all across Palm Springs.
Fashion influencer by day and grave robber by night, Poppy Stringer is on call when Eddie Michaels―a flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar and queer icon―unexpectedly dies. All Poppy has to do is retrieve Eddie's body from the medical examiner's office, but what starts as a routine delivery quickly goes off course when Eddie wakes up.
Now, Poppy must fight for her life in a blood-soaked night of carnage and fabulous entertainment all across Palm Springs.
303 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 7, 2026
About the author
Chuck Tingle
519 books5,544 followersChuck Tingle is a mysterious force of energy behind sunglasses and a pink mask. He is also an anonymous author of romance, horror, and fantasy. Chuck was born in Home of Truth, Utah, and now splits time between Billings, Montana and Los Angeles, California. Chuck writes to prove love is real, because love is the most important tool we have when resisting the endless cosmic void. Not everything people say about Chuck is true, but the important parts are.
Management and general inquiry: infotingleverse@gmail.com
Literary agent: DongWon at dongwonsong.com
Management and general inquiry: infotingleverse@gmail.com
Literary agent: DongWon at dongwonsong.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,049 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️ 4 ⭐️ One body to deliver. One night to survive. What can possibly go wrong? Everything.
This book is so wild and bizarre, full of gore, hunger and body horror that just bedazzles the story with sprinkles and sparkles. Its over the top grotesque, queer and it’s fabulous. It belongs on the TV show ‘Black Mirror’ so don't hesitate to pick it up because you'll definitely have fun with it.
An aspiring fashion influencer by day and grace robber by night, a girl has got to pay her bills right?
Poppy was born to be a star. When a rockstar dies, Poppy is sent to retrieve his body. Hoping this payout will finally make this her last job, Poppy quickly agrees. But the nights delivery doesn't go to plan, when this rockstar wakes up! What follows afterwards is carnage but make it full of spunk, sparkles and rock star chaos!
Wow! This was a total mayhem. I was surprised by how much emotional depth this book had. Underneath all the bloody time, the main idea of this book explores ambition and perfection. Poppy always thought that she needed to make an appearance. She sought out status and fame and needed praise and approval. That was apparent in how much validation she was looking for from her followers and others around her. Her need to have more and more disconnected her from others. It deeply affected her relationship with her daughter and others. Chuck Tingle explores this through horror elements--reanimated corpses, absurd situations, emotional themes. Poppy was left to confront her own perceptions of self-worth and belonging.
If you're looking for something different, fun and wild, this definitely falls in this category!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and the author, Chuck Tingle for an early ALC!
Narration: Mara Wilson
Duration: 8 hours 5 minutes
Speed: 1.5x
Publication date: July 7, 2026
This book is so wild and bizarre, full of gore, hunger and body horror that just bedazzles the story with sprinkles and sparkles. Its over the top grotesque, queer and it’s fabulous. It belongs on the TV show ‘Black Mirror’ so don't hesitate to pick it up because you'll definitely have fun with it.
An aspiring fashion influencer by day and grace robber by night, a girl has got to pay her bills right?
Poppy was born to be a star. When a rockstar dies, Poppy is sent to retrieve his body. Hoping this payout will finally make this her last job, Poppy quickly agrees. But the nights delivery doesn't go to plan, when this rockstar wakes up! What follows afterwards is carnage but make it full of spunk, sparkles and rock star chaos!
Wow! This was a total mayhem. I was surprised by how much emotional depth this book had. Underneath all the bloody time, the main idea of this book explores ambition and perfection. Poppy always thought that she needed to make an appearance. She sought out status and fame and needed praise and approval. That was apparent in how much validation she was looking for from her followers and others around her. Her need to have more and more disconnected her from others. It deeply affected her relationship with her daughter and others. Chuck Tingle explores this through horror elements--reanimated corpses, absurd situations, emotional themes. Poppy was left to confront her own perceptions of self-worth and belonging.
If you're looking for something different, fun and wild, this definitely falls in this category!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and the author, Chuck Tingle for an early ALC!
Narration: Mara Wilson
Duration: 8 hours 5 minutes
Speed: 1.5x
Publication date: July 7, 2026
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Fabulous Bodies follows Poppy Stringer, a fashion influencer, who also happens to peddle in dead bodies at night. Hey, it's hard to make a living in this economy. Don't judge.
Poppy receives a call one night that prompts her to retrieve the body of one of her heroes, recently deceased rockstar and queer icon, Eddie Michaels.
She heads to the Medical Examiner's office, where she'll finagle access to his corpse, and then get him out of there. It's all routine for Poppy. That is, until Eddie wakes up.
What follows is a Supernatural Adventure romp through one bloody night in Palm Springs. Poppy is along for the ride, whether she wants to be or not, and Eddie certainly has some surprises for her.
Fabulous Bodies was fabulously-creative, as I've come to expect all Chuck Tingle books to be. It's an odd story, a bit chaotic and surprisingly thoughtful in its character work. I loved the journey Poppy had emotionally.
She was forced to come to a lot of important realizations about her life and relationships. We love that for her. Personal growth, yayee! All with the backdrop of trying to defeat a murderous and undead former idol of hers; NBD.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mara Wilson, and I felt like Mara's voice was perfect as Poppy. It truly felt like I was just listening to her tell this crazy story about one f*ed up night. I would highly recommend that format.
I also liked how wacky and graphic Tingle made this. It's campy and unhinged, but also written very well. It reminded me in some ways of books such as Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison, and My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie, both of which I enjoyed.
The commentary that Tingle included on fame and influence, were also well done. It's light, but there, apt social commentary for our times. I appreciate Tingle allowing Readers the space to think for themselves, and in a story this wild, there's plenty of food for thought.
At this same time though, you can just have fun with. I had a lot of fun listening to it. It's certainly unpredictable. While I'm not sure how long the details will stick with me, in the moment it was pure entertainment.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio for providing me with copies to read and review. I always look forward to Tingle's newest releases as you never really know what you're going to get. We love a surprise!
Poppy receives a call one night that prompts her to retrieve the body of one of her heroes, recently deceased rockstar and queer icon, Eddie Michaels.
She heads to the Medical Examiner's office, where she'll finagle access to his corpse, and then get him out of there. It's all routine for Poppy. That is, until Eddie wakes up.
What follows is a Supernatural Adventure romp through one bloody night in Palm Springs. Poppy is along for the ride, whether she wants to be or not, and Eddie certainly has some surprises for her.
Fabulous Bodies was fabulously-creative, as I've come to expect all Chuck Tingle books to be. It's an odd story, a bit chaotic and surprisingly thoughtful in its character work. I loved the journey Poppy had emotionally.
She was forced to come to a lot of important realizations about her life and relationships. We love that for her. Personal growth, yayee! All with the backdrop of trying to defeat a murderous and undead former idol of hers; NBD.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mara Wilson, and I felt like Mara's voice was perfect as Poppy. It truly felt like I was just listening to her tell this crazy story about one f*ed up night. I would highly recommend that format.
I also liked how wacky and graphic Tingle made this. It's campy and unhinged, but also written very well. It reminded me in some ways of books such as Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison, and My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie, both of which I enjoyed.
The commentary that Tingle included on fame and influence, were also well done. It's light, but there, apt social commentary for our times. I appreciate Tingle allowing Readers the space to think for themselves, and in a story this wild, there's plenty of food for thought.
At this same time though, you can just have fun with. I had a lot of fun listening to it. It's certainly unpredictable. While I'm not sure how long the details will stick with me, in the moment it was pure entertainment.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio for providing me with copies to read and review. I always look forward to Tingle's newest releases as you never really know what you're going to get. We love a surprise!
June 29, 2026
If someone pitched me a novel about a fashion influencer who supplements her income by stealing corpses, only to discover that her latest body snatching victim has returned from the dead with plans for murder, mayhem, and a night on the town, I would have assumed that someone was the singular and sensational author, Chuck Tingle.
Poppy Springer already lives an unusual life as both a wannabe fashion influencer and a nightly body snatcher. Between sponsored posts and stolen cadavers, she has managed to build the life she wants for her daughter. Many readers will immediately recognize the moral dilemma of stealing bodies from morgues and selling them for medical study, target practice, or unknown lascivious purposes. Poppy simply sees a way to make a living out of dying.
Everything changes when she is hired to steal the body of recently deceased rock legend Eddie Michaels. The payday is large enough that she may never have to sell another body again.
Unfortunately for Poppy, Eddie Michaels is not interested in remaining dead.
What follows is a bloody, bizarre, and surprisingly funny night as Eddie—still wearing his glittering stage clothes and copious amounts of his own blood—drags Poppy into a chaotic road trip filled with violence, mayhem, and theatrical flair. Eddie makes sure to entertain while terrorizing everyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. This will be the trip of Eddie’s life . . . or perhaps more accurately, his death.
The greatest strength of Fabulous Bodies is its complete refusal to take itself seriously while still committing wholeheartedly to the horror. Chuck Tingle balances absurd comedy, body horror, and genuine tension in a way that somehow works far better than it has any right to. The novel is drenched in graphic violence and glam-rock excess, yet underneath the carnage is a surprisingly compelling story about survival, family, and the strange ways people justify the lives they build for themselves.
As an audiobook, this one is elevated even further by Mara Wilson’s narration. She delivers Eddie’s comically cruel dialogue and Poppy’s mounting inner turmoil with an almost unsettling calmness that creates an eerie contrast to the chaos unfolding around them. Her performance captures both the humor and the horror perfectly.
With its deluge of glitter, gore, and the grandiose performance of a dead rock star on a rampage, Fabulous Bodies is easily one of my favorite books of 2026. I would enthusiastically recommend it to readers who enjoy horror-comedy, over-the-top splatterpunk, and stories that make them laugh and cringe in equal measure.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Poppy Springer already lives an unusual life as both a wannabe fashion influencer and a nightly body snatcher. Between sponsored posts and stolen cadavers, she has managed to build the life she wants for her daughter. Many readers will immediately recognize the moral dilemma of stealing bodies from morgues and selling them for medical study, target practice, or unknown lascivious purposes. Poppy simply sees a way to make a living out of dying.
Everything changes when she is hired to steal the body of recently deceased rock legend Eddie Michaels. The payday is large enough that she may never have to sell another body again.
Unfortunately for Poppy, Eddie Michaels is not interested in remaining dead.
What follows is a bloody, bizarre, and surprisingly funny night as Eddie—still wearing his glittering stage clothes and copious amounts of his own blood—drags Poppy into a chaotic road trip filled with violence, mayhem, and theatrical flair. Eddie makes sure to entertain while terrorizing everyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. This will be the trip of Eddie’s life . . . or perhaps more accurately, his death.
The greatest strength of Fabulous Bodies is its complete refusal to take itself seriously while still committing wholeheartedly to the horror. Chuck Tingle balances absurd comedy, body horror, and genuine tension in a way that somehow works far better than it has any right to. The novel is drenched in graphic violence and glam-rock excess, yet underneath the carnage is a surprisingly compelling story about survival, family, and the strange ways people justify the lives they build for themselves.
As an audiobook, this one is elevated even further by Mara Wilson’s narration. She delivers Eddie’s comically cruel dialogue and Poppy’s mounting inner turmoil with an almost unsettling calmness that creates an eerie contrast to the chaos unfolding around them. Her performance captures both the humor and the horror perfectly.
With its deluge of glitter, gore, and the grandiose performance of a dead rock star on a rampage, Fabulous Bodies is easily one of my favorite books of 2026. I would enthusiastically recommend it to readers who enjoy horror-comedy, over-the-top splatterpunk, and stories that make them laugh and cringe in equal measure.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
”There are a few beautiful, transcendent diamonds in the rough. But most don’t amount to much, the least they can do is provide a little entertainment before they go.”
this book is a complete fever dream.. i mean, how else do you describe a road trip against your will, with a not- so-dead corpse who’s got murderous tendencies? you could definitely say Poppy was regretting her days as a grave robber after all this. there’s some gruesome scenes here and Eddie was a complete loose canon, i could never predict where this book was going but it was the most entertaining ride. i wasn’t 100% sold on the familial relationships but i still had fun anyways.
↬ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Macmillan Audio for the alc, all opinions are my own.
this book is a complete fever dream.. i mean, how else do you describe a road trip against your will, with a not- so-dead corpse who’s got murderous tendencies? you could definitely say Poppy was regretting her days as a grave robber after all this. there’s some gruesome scenes here and Eddie was a complete loose canon, i could never predict where this book was going but it was the most entertaining ride. i wasn’t 100% sold on the familial relationships but i still had fun anyways.
↬ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Macmillan Audio for the alc, all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4⭐️
"Never meet your heroes, I guess."
When flamboyant rockstar Eddie Michaels AKA "America's answer to Elton John" ends up with his head facing the wrong way after a freak accident, Poppy (the FMC) gets an eye-watering payday offer to up and steal his corpse. Little does she know that when her greedy little grave-robber heart agrees to this misdeed, it's the beginning of the most bloody, horrifying, and life-altering night of her life. As, surprise, surprise, Eddie isn't as dead as his broken neck would have you believe!
Main takeaways:
Fabulous Bodies was a good book! Fast-paced, murder-filled, difficult to predict, and the perfect amount of camp to keep things exciting. Poppy started out as a callous and vain woman who considered herself a "shark" and wanted to raise her young daughter to share in her ambitious drive to further her career. Whatever. Means. Necessary. And this book does its damndest to test the limits on her resolve!
Interestingly, I really enjoyed bitchy Poppy! She was a fighter and quick on her feet. Personality-wise? She’s definitely not a nice woman. Yet, as the main character in a horror novel? She’s exactly the intelligent and resourceful kind of character that keeps things exciting—even when the odds aren’t in her favor AT ALL!
Subjective to one's horror tolerance:
Fabulous Bodies was really, REALLY graphic and did not shy away from being gross—far more than what I would comfortably read. Proceed at your own discretion, as once the first body drops…it only gets more and more brutal from there. (*One scene near the end actually made me queasy.)
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own. 🖤
"Never meet your heroes, I guess."
When flamboyant rockstar Eddie Michaels AKA "America's answer to Elton John" ends up with his head facing the wrong way after a freak accident, Poppy (the FMC) gets an eye-watering payday offer to up and steal his corpse. Little does she know that when her greedy little grave-robber heart agrees to this misdeed, it's the beginning of the most bloody, horrifying, and life-altering night of her life. As, surprise, surprise, Eddie isn't as dead as his broken neck would have you believe!
Main takeaways:
Fabulous Bodies was a good book! Fast-paced, murder-filled, difficult to predict, and the perfect amount of camp to keep things exciting. Poppy started out as a callous and vain woman who considered herself a "shark" and wanted to raise her young daughter to share in her ambitious drive to further her career. Whatever. Means. Necessary. And this book does its damndest to test the limits on her resolve!
Interestingly, I really enjoyed bitchy Poppy! She was a fighter and quick on her feet. Personality-wise? She’s definitely not a nice woman. Yet, as the main character in a horror novel? She’s exactly the intelligent and resourceful kind of character that keeps things exciting—even when the odds aren’t in her favor AT ALL!
Subjective to one's horror tolerance:
Fabulous Bodies was really, REALLY graphic and did not shy away from being gross—far more than what I would comfortably read. Proceed at your own discretion, as once the first body drops…it only gets more and more brutal from there. (*One scene near the end actually made me queasy.)
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own. 🖤
Want to Read
April 17, 2026NEW CHUCK TINGLE LET'S TROT!!
my streak of getting eARCs continues, yeeeessssss i can't wait to read this
my streak of getting eARCs continues, yeeeessssss i can't wait to read this
![Profile Image for Aisvarya [back ig].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1699441912i/100684893._UX200_CR0,0,200,200_.jpg)
July 14, 2026
"we all get to choose our own path, but eventually each journey ends up at the same spot."
Actual rating - 4.5⭐
What to expect -
🎸 Fast-paced horror with moments that genuinely send chills down your spine
🎸 A reanimated corpse as the cruelest villain you could expect
🎸 Motherhood and the lengths to which a mother would go to protect her child
🎸 Childhood trauma and how it shapes the way you view life and work
🎸 A closer look at ambition vs. obsession
🎸 Exploration of mortality
🎸 Gruesome, gory body horror
We follow Poppy Stringer, a 27-year-old fashion influencer and mother who has a secret side job dealing corpses on the black market at night. When she's offered a huge payout to retrieve a body, she simply can't refuse because it would finally allow her to pursue content creation full-time. What she never expects, however, is that the body of Eddie, the legendary rockstar and her biggest idol would come back to life!!!
Wow!! What a ride this was!!🤯🤯 I still cannot believe I read a horror novel filled with genuinely unsettling and downright disgusting moments and actually ended up loving it?! Trust me when I say you should not be eating while reading this book because the body horror is intense enough to make your stomach turn. Surprisingly though, it also made me realize that there are certain kinds of horror I can stomach, so thanks to the author for helping me discover that 🤭
What I found even scarier than the gore itself was the loss of control over one's own body and mind. Poppy slowly becomes a puppet in Eddie's hands and finds herself unable to escape him, not only because he's her lifelong idol, but because he's terrifying and oddly gentle at the same time. He's the definition of a villain who keeps you constantly on edge because you never know what he's capable of next. He forces her to become his chauffeur while carrying out his own mysterious plans, and she knows that trying to run away could have terrifying consequences. As the story progresses, the things Eddie does genuinely gave me the creeps.
As for Poppy, she was definitely a complex character and one I needed time to warm up to. She's so obsessed with the idea of fame and success that she spends almost every waking moment chasing money instead of spending time with her daughter. That's exactly why she's robbing graves at night in the first place.
Poppy was adopted into a family that never truly loved her, and she grew up without many of life's necessities. More than anything, she wants to give her daughter the kind of life she herself never had. Unfortunately, in trying to provide everything, she forgets to give her daughter the one thing that matters most, her time. That realization only begins after Eddie dies and she's offered the opportunity that changes everything.
Overall, this was a masterfully crafted blend of dark comedy, horror, and satire that explores life, death, fame, and the lengths people will go to for the things they desire - whether that's money, success, love, or family.
✨Pre-read:
Book 3 of Summerween reading challenge!! First book from this author, hope it's a win😍
Prompt - book with pink on the cover.
Actual rating - 4.5⭐
What to expect -
🎸 Fast-paced horror with moments that genuinely send chills down your spine
🎸 A reanimated corpse as the cruelest villain you could expect
🎸 Motherhood and the lengths to which a mother would go to protect her child
🎸 Childhood trauma and how it shapes the way you view life and work
🎸 A closer look at ambition vs. obsession
🎸 Exploration of mortality
🎸 Gruesome, gory body horror
We follow Poppy Stringer, a 27-year-old fashion influencer and mother who has a secret side job dealing corpses on the black market at night. When she's offered a huge payout to retrieve a body, she simply can't refuse because it would finally allow her to pursue content creation full-time. What she never expects, however, is that the body of Eddie, the legendary rockstar and her biggest idol would come back to life!!!
Wow!! What a ride this was!!🤯🤯 I still cannot believe I read a horror novel filled with genuinely unsettling and downright disgusting moments and actually ended up loving it?! Trust me when I say you should not be eating while reading this book because the body horror is intense enough to make your stomach turn. Surprisingly though, it also made me realize that there are certain kinds of horror I can stomach, so thanks to the author for helping me discover that 🤭
What I found even scarier than the gore itself was the loss of control over one's own body and mind. Poppy slowly becomes a puppet in Eddie's hands and finds herself unable to escape him, not only because he's her lifelong idol, but because he's terrifying and oddly gentle at the same time. He's the definition of a villain who keeps you constantly on edge because you never know what he's capable of next. He forces her to become his chauffeur while carrying out his own mysterious plans, and she knows that trying to run away could have terrifying consequences. As the story progresses, the things Eddie does genuinely gave me the creeps.
As for Poppy, she was definitely a complex character and one I needed time to warm up to. She's so obsessed with the idea of fame and success that she spends almost every waking moment chasing money instead of spending time with her daughter. That's exactly why she's robbing graves at night in the first place.
"...sharks are the biggest, coolest, most dangerous fish in the whole ocean. That's like... the best fish. You don't wanna be the ultimate killer fish?"She idolizes the idea of being a shark, the apex predator that overpowers everything. At first, her obsession with wealth, status, and success makes her difficult to like. But as we slowly learn more about her past, it's impossible not to understand where she's coming from.
Poppy was adopted into a family that never truly loved her, and she grew up without many of life's necessities. More than anything, she wants to give her daughter the kind of life she herself never had. Unfortunately, in trying to provide everything, she forgets to give her daughter the one thing that matters most, her time. That realization only begins after Eddie dies and she's offered the opportunity that changes everything.
"If the greatest artist who ever lived can shuffle off this mortal coil, then what other tragedies are possible? Could this life I've built for Marlo disappear just as quickly, a careening sports car tearing down the road and launching through the wall of our living room?"Through Eddie, Poppy is forced to confront just how fragile life really is and how quickly everything can disappear. Watching someone she idolized die and then witnessing everything that followed made her question what truly mattered in life. By the end, I genuinely appreciated her character growth and the way her priorities slowly began to change.
"Fame is a funny thing. We all have these people we look up to, larger-than-life celebrities who guide us along like lighthouses in the raging storm of life. Their art is there for us when nobody else is. Sometimes, it raises us. Then, one day, we learn something terrible. We learn these people we admire are not at all who they seemed to be, and suddenly we're left with this strange hollowness."One of my favorite aspects of this book was the irony behind Poppy's journey. She's spent her entire life chasing fame, only to witness exactly where that pursuit can lead through Eddie's story. It honestly made me think there must be some truth to the saying: "Never meet your heroes." 🤭
Overall, this was a masterfully crafted blend of dark comedy, horror, and satire that explores life, death, fame, and the lengths people will go to for the things they desire - whether that's money, success, love, or family.
✨Pre-read:
Book 3 of Summerween reading challenge!! First book from this author, hope it's a win😍
Prompt - book with pink on the cover.
July 6, 2026
Nobody commits to a ridiculous premise quite like Chuck Tingle, and somehow he keeps turning them into books that actually have something to say. Fabulous Bodies is equal parts disgusting, satire, horror, and heart, and I had an absolute blast with it. It constantly walks the line between making you laugh and making you cringe at the guts and brains flying at you.
Chuck Tingle remains one of the most original authors working today, and at this point I’ll happily follow him into whatever wonderfully unhinged idea he comes up with next. Easy five stars.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@hollyheartsbooks...
Chuck Tingle remains one of the most original authors working today, and at this point I’ll happily follow him into whatever wonderfully unhinged idea he comes up with next. Easy five stars.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@hollyheartsbooks...
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Review in the June issue of Library Journal
Three Words That Describe This Book: body horror, "occult zombie escapade"(quote from book), love is all you need
Draft Review: Readers know to buckle up before starting a Tingle horror novel, but for his latest, they might need to deploy a roll-bar as well. Poppy, fashion influencer by day and trafficker of recently deceased bodies by night, needs the second job to pay for the elaborate home she needs for the first and to pamper her 5 year-old daughter. When her favorite musician, Eddie Michaels– America’s Elton John– suddenly dies, Poppy is contacted to “retrieve” his body. However, after picking him up, Eddie reanimates and an "occult zombie escapade" through Palm Spring begins, with Poppy at the wheel, taking Eddie to complete four increasingly more dire, more psychologically disturbing, and grosser tasks before the sun rises, noticing details along the way, that help her start to make sense of what is happening and why. More than the sum of its fresh and outrageous action sequence parts, this harrowing night is the wakeup call Poppy needs figure out who she is as a creator, mother, friend, and human, allowing her to escape her troubled past and embrace love as all she needs.
Verdict: For fans of the visceral, thought-provoking, dark humor of C.J. Leede or Grady Hendrix in general and the backlist, critically acclaimed debut Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang (2023) specifically.
Love is real is the Tingle motto, but here the love was staring Poppy in the face, she was just not ready to embrace it fully. Turns out, it was not all her fault. It is easy to blame her influencer status, but really the hurt and bad decision went much deeper and the books is her journey to figure that all out and get answers. But it is a bloody, darkly hilarious (not just humorous) killing spree journey.
When you say something is body horror that automatically means it is visceral. But I am just reminding you. This is gross but also the visceral stuff makes total sense with the plot. I also
The power found in creating art-- the creation of art matters-- entertaining people matters-- this is also explored. At what cost to the entertainer though?
First and last lines of book are the same-- "I'm here for the body." works to denote the full circle journal.
Darkly humorous but gross body horror. Fun, fresh, and gross. Thought provoking as well. Family vs influencing. Beauty versus what is inside you. Love-- especially familial love-- that is all you need.
All you need to know about the plot is that line ""occult zombie escapade" which is in the description as well so I am not giving anything away. Poppy is a beautiful late 20s fashion influencer in Palm Springs. She has a best friend Noah and a 5 year old daughter Marlo. Her house looks perfect for the posts but it costs A LOT. So her side hustle is what brings in the money and is how the book begins. She is a kinda of grave robber, but one that does it in plain site using her intelligence and good looks. She walks into funeral homes and gets them to hand over bodies, bodies her clients pay well for and to use for-- well she does not care to know.
She has always been obsessed with the musician and gay icon, Eddie Michaels -- the American Elton John. He dies within the first few chapters book. She sees the horrific accident on her feeds.
She gets a call to pick up Eddie's body and deliver it somewhere-- $5million. En route to the drop off, Eddie not only reanimates, he kidnaps Poppy to take her on that "occult zombie escapade." Eddie is not a good man and he has some alarming powers-- powers that end in people's deaths in ways that are among the most visceral kills on the page and emotionally horrific as well.
The book is a series of action set pieces as Eddie takes Poppy on an all night journey. It is darkly hilarious, but VERY DARK and also hilarious. That dichotomy is very well done. You are laughing and grossed out. The setup is also clear, everything has to be completed by the morning so things move. But the break between action scenes are a nice respite.
Along the way the interesting story behind Eddie and his connection to Poppy as well as Poppy's growth adds depth to the "occult zombie escapade."
All of this is Poppy's POV and while the action is happening, she is noticing details that are slightly off and using them to her advantage. We also see into her head as she works through her emotions about what is happening.
Tingle ties up all the loose ends and even the most wild of details ends up mattering which I appreciated. The reason behind this "occult zombie escapade" is a good one. It is fresh and original, outside the box but not too bonkers.
I know people know to buckle up for Tingle but for this one-- you might need a roll bar as well.
For fans of CJ Leede, Grady Hendrix in general but specifically-- don't forget Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang- a debut that was buzzy back in 2023. A great readalike here.
Three Words That Describe This Book: body horror, "occult zombie escapade"(quote from book), love is all you need
Draft Review: Readers know to buckle up before starting a Tingle horror novel, but for his latest, they might need to deploy a roll-bar as well. Poppy, fashion influencer by day and trafficker of recently deceased bodies by night, needs the second job to pay for the elaborate home she needs for the first and to pamper her 5 year-old daughter. When her favorite musician, Eddie Michaels– America’s Elton John– suddenly dies, Poppy is contacted to “retrieve” his body. However, after picking him up, Eddie reanimates and an "occult zombie escapade" through Palm Spring begins, with Poppy at the wheel, taking Eddie to complete four increasingly more dire, more psychologically disturbing, and grosser tasks before the sun rises, noticing details along the way, that help her start to make sense of what is happening and why. More than the sum of its fresh and outrageous action sequence parts, this harrowing night is the wakeup call Poppy needs figure out who she is as a creator, mother, friend, and human, allowing her to escape her troubled past and embrace love as all she needs.
Verdict: For fans of the visceral, thought-provoking, dark humor of C.J. Leede or Grady Hendrix in general and the backlist, critically acclaimed debut Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang (2023) specifically.
Love is real is the Tingle motto, but here the love was staring Poppy in the face, she was just not ready to embrace it fully. Turns out, it was not all her fault. It is easy to blame her influencer status, but really the hurt and bad decision went much deeper and the books is her journey to figure that all out and get answers. But it is a bloody, darkly hilarious (not just humorous) killing spree journey.
When you say something is body horror that automatically means it is visceral. But I am just reminding you. This is gross but also the visceral stuff makes total sense with the plot. I also
The power found in creating art-- the creation of art matters-- entertaining people matters-- this is also explored. At what cost to the entertainer though?
First and last lines of book are the same-- "I'm here for the body." works to denote the full circle journal.
Darkly humorous but gross body horror. Fun, fresh, and gross. Thought provoking as well. Family vs influencing. Beauty versus what is inside you. Love-- especially familial love-- that is all you need.
All you need to know about the plot is that line ""occult zombie escapade" which is in the description as well so I am not giving anything away. Poppy is a beautiful late 20s fashion influencer in Palm Springs. She has a best friend Noah and a 5 year old daughter Marlo. Her house looks perfect for the posts but it costs A LOT. So her side hustle is what brings in the money and is how the book begins. She is a kinda of grave robber, but one that does it in plain site using her intelligence and good looks. She walks into funeral homes and gets them to hand over bodies, bodies her clients pay well for and to use for-- well she does not care to know.
She has always been obsessed with the musician and gay icon, Eddie Michaels -- the American Elton John. He dies within the first few chapters book. She sees the horrific accident on her feeds.
She gets a call to pick up Eddie's body and deliver it somewhere-- $5million. En route to the drop off, Eddie not only reanimates, he kidnaps Poppy to take her on that "occult zombie escapade." Eddie is not a good man and he has some alarming powers-- powers that end in people's deaths in ways that are among the most visceral kills on the page and emotionally horrific as well.
The book is a series of action set pieces as Eddie takes Poppy on an all night journey. It is darkly hilarious, but VERY DARK and also hilarious. That dichotomy is very well done. You are laughing and grossed out. The setup is also clear, everything has to be completed by the morning so things move. But the break between action scenes are a nice respite.
Along the way the interesting story behind Eddie and his connection to Poppy as well as Poppy's growth adds depth to the "occult zombie escapade."
All of this is Poppy's POV and while the action is happening, she is noticing details that are slightly off and using them to her advantage. We also see into her head as she works through her emotions about what is happening.
Tingle ties up all the loose ends and even the most wild of details ends up mattering which I appreciated. The reason behind this "occult zombie escapade" is a good one. It is fresh and original, outside the box but not too bonkers.
I know people know to buckle up for Tingle but for this one-- you might need a roll bar as well.
For fans of CJ Leede, Grady Hendrix in general but specifically-- don't forget Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang- a debut that was buzzy back in 2023. A great readalike here.
March 6, 2026
“I’m Eddie Michaels,” he finally replies. “Who the fuck else would I be? Liberace?”
If Bruce Campbell and Rob Zombie had a love child, it would be this book. It was a fucked up gondola ride straight to hell. My main question is when can I read it again!?
My dream job has always been a weird one. A little morbid but that’s just how I am. I’ve always wanted to be a mortician. I think about going back to school all the time but then I think about things like this book and it stops me in my tracks. Chuck Tingle, you may have saved my skin from flesh eating weirdos.
Prepare yourself for one bad (but fun) acid trip. Talk about an in your face action-packed trip! From the first page you are thrown into one bizarre situation and then it gets zanier from there. You think, Oh, there's nothing that is going to top that last thing and then bam. You are thrown through a brick wall where you meet a dead guy, an army of minions, and some things that I can't discuss until you read this book. All I can say is that it's spooky and you'll never trust anyone ever again.
'Fabulous Bodies' is my absolute favorite book by Chuck. This really is the full horror package. No one can do bizarre horror like Chuck and I wouldn't want anyone else to try!
If Bruce Campbell and Rob Zombie had a love child, it would be this book. It was a fucked up gondola ride straight to hell. My main question is when can I read it again!?
My dream job has always been a weird one. A little morbid but that’s just how I am. I’ve always wanted to be a mortician. I think about going back to school all the time but then I think about things like this book and it stops me in my tracks. Chuck Tingle, you may have saved my skin from flesh eating weirdos.
Prepare yourself for one bad (but fun) acid trip. Talk about an in your face action-packed trip! From the first page you are thrown into one bizarre situation and then it gets zanier from there. You think, Oh, there's nothing that is going to top that last thing and then bam. You are thrown through a brick wall where you meet a dead guy, an army of minions, and some things that I can't discuss until you read this book. All I can say is that it's spooky and you'll never trust anyone ever again.
'Fabulous Bodies' is my absolute favorite book by Chuck. This really is the full horror package. No one can do bizarre horror like Chuck and I wouldn't want anyone else to try!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
✨ALC Book Review✨
This was my first book by Chuck Tingle, and OMG, I’m obsessed!
This book completely exceeded all my expectations!
Poppy is a social media influencer by day and robs morgues by night. Honestly, I loved the creepy brutality of her body snatching escapades. It immediately gave me insight into her value system and showed the reader she can get messy if she needs to!
When she’s offered millions to steal the body of her favorite newly deceased singer, Eddie Michaels, she’s totally tempted. The only problem… When she finally gets close to Eddie’s corpse, she discovers he’s not actually dead 👀 Eddie claims he made a deal with the devil, and what follows is a night of straight chaos as he forces Poppy to help him carry out his plans.
I really liked Poppy. In the beginning, she cares too much about all the shallow things many of us get caught up in. Watching her priorities slowly shift as she realizes she’s in very real danger was fascinating. She also impressed me with how intelligent and suspicious she remained, constantly questioning Eddie instead of blindly trusting him. I’m just gonna say it, I would have died 😂
And why did I like Eddie so much? He was literally giving undead maniac vibes! Seriously was inhumanly savage, but he somehow remained likeable. He may have been the whole problem, but somehow I still found myself not hating him.
The action in this book is so addictive! I loved the mystery surrounding Eddie and the increasingly clever ways Poppy tried to outsmart him.
This book was the perfect blend of horror, dark humor, savagery that kept me wanting more! It’s absolutely the perfect summer horror must read!
This audiobook was narrated by Mara Wilson. I thought she did really well. Her switching from male to female pitches was flawless. I enjoyed her tone and enthusiasm. I felt she really brought the story to life!
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio or providing me with an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This was my first book by Chuck Tingle, and OMG, I’m obsessed!
This book completely exceeded all my expectations!
Poppy is a social media influencer by day and robs morgues by night. Honestly, I loved the creepy brutality of her body snatching escapades. It immediately gave me insight into her value system and showed the reader she can get messy if she needs to!
When she’s offered millions to steal the body of her favorite newly deceased singer, Eddie Michaels, she’s totally tempted. The only problem… When she finally gets close to Eddie’s corpse, she discovers he’s not actually dead 👀 Eddie claims he made a deal with the devil, and what follows is a night of straight chaos as he forces Poppy to help him carry out his plans.
I really liked Poppy. In the beginning, she cares too much about all the shallow things many of us get caught up in. Watching her priorities slowly shift as she realizes she’s in very real danger was fascinating. She also impressed me with how intelligent and suspicious she remained, constantly questioning Eddie instead of blindly trusting him. I’m just gonna say it, I would have died 😂
And why did I like Eddie so much? He was literally giving undead maniac vibes! Seriously was inhumanly savage, but he somehow remained likeable. He may have been the whole problem, but somehow I still found myself not hating him.
The action in this book is so addictive! I loved the mystery surrounding Eddie and the increasingly clever ways Poppy tried to outsmart him.
This book was the perfect blend of horror, dark humor, savagery that kept me wanting more! It’s absolutely the perfect summer horror must read!
This audiobook was narrated by Mara Wilson. I thought she did really well. Her switching from male to female pitches was flawless. I enjoyed her tone and enthusiasm. I felt she really brought the story to life!
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio or providing me with an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Did Not Finish
July 1, 2026I'm so sorry, but I had to dnf this at about 50%. I'm aware that the main character is not supposed to be likable, but I found her simply annoying.
The story itself is not bad, it's just not for me. I expected something slightly different, and I didn't really care for the plot.
The story itself is not bad, it's just not for me. I expected something slightly different, and I didn't really care for the plot.
Want to Read
October 24, 2025MORE CHUCK TINGLE!!
July 9, 2026
Damn. That was GOOD. After a run of only ok books I thought I was just being a hater. I needed this.
My first Chuck Tingle book and it won’t be the last. I wasn’t expecting how much I would love this. It was so engaging. A quick read that really made me feel for the characters. Poppy goes through such growth. She’s a badass.
My first Chuck Tingle book and it won’t be the last. I wasn’t expecting how much I would love this. It was so engaging. A quick read that really made me feel for the characters. Poppy goes through such growth. She’s a badass.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
IN CONCLUSION: this was so fun, get your preorders in!💸
I listened to the audiobook and Mara Wilson did an excellent job with the read.
UPDATE (ch 16): y’all, the more I read, the more I’m buying my own nonsense!!
Noah, the male best friend
Is this satire? Is it brilliant? Is it CJ Leede?? The LEVELS, you guys!🤯
I swear I’m not high.😭 I’ve never even done a drug.👵🏽
UPDATE (halfway): I'm loving this! Okay, so *tinfoil hat on* what if Chuck Tingle is actually an alter of, say, CJ Leede or Rachel Harrison, and Tor Nightfire has hired Chris Pine to be the body in the (paper) bag and throw readers off the scent, in order to see if pink horror written by a man is perceived differently???
And it is! Because this is so in conversation with CJ Leede & Rachel Harrison, but AFAIK it hasn't been labeled pink horror.
Am I right? Am I nuts! TELL. ME.
ORIGINAL:
It's my first Chuck Tingle!!!!!!!! I got the ARC! AHHHHH!!!!!
*leaps around excitedly*
Premise - Poppy is an aspiring fashion influencer by day, a Palm Springs grave robber by night. When Eddie Michaels, her favorite rockstar, dies unexpectedly, Poppy is hired to snatch his body for the big bucks. Not only was Eddie Michaels her hero, he could be her making.
But then he wakes up. 🧛🩸😱
RTC!
Thanks, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I listened to the audiobook and Mara Wilson did an excellent job with the read.
UPDATE (ch 16): y’all, the more I read, the more I’m buying my own nonsense!!
Noah, the male best friend
Is this satire? Is it brilliant? Is it CJ Leede?? The LEVELS, you guys!🤯
I swear I’m not high.😭 I’ve never even done a drug.👵🏽
UPDATE (halfway): I'm loving this! Okay, so *tinfoil hat on* what if Chuck Tingle is actually an alter of, say, CJ Leede or Rachel Harrison, and Tor Nightfire has hired Chris Pine to be the body in the (paper) bag and throw readers off the scent, in order to see if pink horror written by a man is perceived differently???
And it is! Because this is so in conversation with CJ Leede & Rachel Harrison, but AFAIK it hasn't been labeled pink horror.
Am I right? Am I nuts! TELL. ME.
ORIGINAL:
It's my first Chuck Tingle!!!!!!!! I got the ARC! AHHHHH!!!!!
*leaps around excitedly*
Premise - Poppy is an aspiring fashion influencer by day, a Palm Springs grave robber by night. When Eddie Michaels, her favorite rockstar, dies unexpectedly, Poppy is hired to snatch his body for the big bucks. Not only was Eddie Michaels her hero, he could be her making.
But then he wakes up. 🧛🩸😱
RTC!
Thanks, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 7, 2026
Extra special thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the pre-release copy of Chuck Tingle's Fabulous Bodies. Below is my honest review.
In true Tingle fashion, I finished this book and immediately thought, "what in the actual f*$# did I just read?" But in a good way, also in true Tingle fashion.
I thought I knew what was coming in this one, and I did guess a few tidbits, but man alive did this one keep throwing me for loops!?
I loved how we saw that the shallow MC wasn't really all that shallow. I loved how we saw that you should never, ever meet your idols/heroes. I loved that we saw a really interesting take on zombies, even though zombies stress me out. And there was even a little science involved.
Absolute mindbang of a horror novel. Four stars, highly recommended especially for horror sci-fi weird stuff.
In true Tingle fashion, I finished this book and immediately thought, "what in the actual f*$# did I just read?" But in a good way, also in true Tingle fashion.
I thought I knew what was coming in this one, and I did guess a few tidbits, but man alive did this one keep throwing me for loops!?
I loved how we saw that the shallow MC wasn't really all that shallow. I loved how we saw that you should never, ever meet your idols/heroes. I loved that we saw a really interesting take on zombies, even though zombies stress me out. And there was even a little science involved.
Absolute mindbang of a horror novel. Four stars, highly recommended especially for horror sci-fi weird stuff.
March 18, 2026
I absolutely LOVED Chuck Tingle’s “Lucky Day,” so I would’ve jumped through fiery hoops for the chance to read this one early. I was very grateful for the copy.
“Fabulous Bodies” is not quite as wild as that book was, but it is pretty strange. Tingle has an impressive imagination. The blurb describes this plot as “Beetlejuice” meets “Drive” and those are two of my all-time favorite movies. Do I agree with the comparisons? Not really. I can see why they brought those up, but they’re both a bit of a stretch in anything aside from very basic/initial concept, and I would say it leans more “Beetlejuice” than “Drive.” But Tingle has completely crafted his own thing here.
The book is dark, both oddly funny and oddly poignant at times, and consistently VERY violent! The kills can be fairly mean-spirited. (I mean, it IS horror, but this one has a sharp edge to it.) And FYI - If self-harm is a particularly strong trigger for you, please be aware that there’s a very graphic scene that I was flinching my way through. (Yes, it was necessary to the plot.)
Poppy was kind of an inconsistent protagonist and admittedly, it took a while for her to win me over. She made very clever choices sometimes, and other times she didn’t seem very bright at all. For the most part she came across as a kind hearted person, but she was also a self-proclaimed Narcissist and the job that got her into this whole mess was pretty revolting. At first, I found her a bit difficult to root for even despite her tenacious commitment to her daughter. I did think that she had a nice character arc by the end, even if I couldn’t personally relate to any of the maternal instinct stuff.
There were a couple of tiny nitpicky things here and there that bothered me, such as the frequent use of the phrase “tears streaming from my/his/her eyes.” It was enough to be noticeable.
But overall, I had a lot of fun with this. I kept plot details to a minimum because I think that just like with “Lucky Day,” you’ll have a great experience if you go in without really knowing what to expect. It’s a bloody, action-packed ride with weird twists and turns, and there might be a little bit of sci-fi in there, too. I’m looking forward to starting “Bury Your Gays” next!
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
4.5 stars.
Biggest TW: Animal harm, **Self harm, Suicide, Gore, Chronic Illness
“Fabulous Bodies” is not quite as wild as that book was, but it is pretty strange. Tingle has an impressive imagination. The blurb describes this plot as “Beetlejuice” meets “Drive” and those are two of my all-time favorite movies. Do I agree with the comparisons? Not really. I can see why they brought those up, but they’re both a bit of a stretch in anything aside from very basic/initial concept, and I would say it leans more “Beetlejuice” than “Drive.” But Tingle has completely crafted his own thing here.
The book is dark, both oddly funny and oddly poignant at times, and consistently VERY violent! The kills can be fairly mean-spirited. (I mean, it IS horror, but this one has a sharp edge to it.) And FYI - If self-harm is a particularly strong trigger for you, please be aware that there’s a very graphic scene that I was flinching my way through. (Yes, it was necessary to the plot.)
Poppy was kind of an inconsistent protagonist and admittedly, it took a while for her to win me over. She made very clever choices sometimes, and other times she didn’t seem very bright at all. For the most part she came across as a kind hearted person, but she was also a self-proclaimed Narcissist and the job that got her into this whole mess was pretty revolting. At first, I found her a bit difficult to root for even despite her tenacious commitment to her daughter. I did think that she had a nice character arc by the end, even if I couldn’t personally relate to any of the maternal instinct stuff.
There were a couple of tiny nitpicky things here and there that bothered me, such as the frequent use of the phrase “tears streaming from my/his/her eyes.” It was enough to be noticeable.
But overall, I had a lot of fun with this. I kept plot details to a minimum because I think that just like with “Lucky Day,” you’ll have a great experience if you go in without really knowing what to expect. It’s a bloody, action-packed ride with weird twists and turns, and there might be a little bit of sci-fi in there, too. I’m looking forward to starting “Bury Your Gays” next!
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
4.5 stars.
Biggest TW: Animal harm, **Self harm, Suicide, Gore, Chronic Illness
June 21, 2026
TW/CW: Language, blood, violence, gory scenes
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Fashion influencer by day and grave-robber by night, Poppy Stringer is on call when Eddie Michaels—a flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar and queer icon—unexpectedly dies. All Poppy has to do is retrieve Eddie’s body from the medical examiner’s office, but what starts as a routine delivery quickly goes off course when Eddie wakes up.
Poppy must fight for her life in a blood-soaked night of carnage and fabulous entertainment all across Palm Springs.
Release Date: July 7th, 2026
Genre: Queer Horror
Pages: 240
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Always love how the author writes
2. Characters feel so flushed out and colorful
3. The gore was fun
What I Didn't Like:
1. Didn't like Poppy
2. Boring and redundant feeling
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
I wonder if Poppy is a character molded after Poppy Z. Brite.
Final Thoughts:
I read this book til page 170 and have no notes. Unfortunately I lost interest in the story and have dnfed it. It was just fine. I could not stand the main character. She had the personality of a pineapple. The only thing I really liked about her was how much she loved her child was outside of that cut her up and serve her at a barbecue I don't know.
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley, Tor Nightfire, and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Fashion influencer by day and grave-robber by night, Poppy Stringer is on call when Eddie Michaels—a flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar and queer icon—unexpectedly dies. All Poppy has to do is retrieve Eddie’s body from the medical examiner’s office, but what starts as a routine delivery quickly goes off course when Eddie wakes up.
Poppy must fight for her life in a blood-soaked night of carnage and fabulous entertainment all across Palm Springs.
Release Date: July 7th, 2026
Genre: Queer Horror
Pages: 240
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Always love how the author writes
2. Characters feel so flushed out and colorful
3. The gore was fun
What I Didn't Like:
1. Didn't like Poppy
2. Boring and redundant feeling
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
I wonder if Poppy is a character molded after Poppy Z. Brite.
Final Thoughts:
I read this book til page 170 and have no notes. Unfortunately I lost interest in the story and have dnfed it. It was just fine. I could not stand the main character. She had the personality of a pineapple. The only thing I really liked about her was how much she loved her child was outside of that cut her up and serve her at a barbecue I don't know.
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley, Tor Nightfire, and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
“There’s so much more to life than how many likes you can get.” I did not expect to feel so introspective while reading this book but when it hits, it hits. Fabulous Bodies is a fabulous, and wild, ride. I was along for the ride and loving it until about 70% in. That’s when the gore really ramped up and I had to slow down. I don’t mind gore but bugs and gore? Makes my stomach feel a little yucky. So I had my read a little bit, take a break, read a little bit, take a break. Totally worth it. It’s very entertaining and a great summer read!
Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the arc!!
Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the arc!!
February 23, 2026
I need A24 to pick this up NOOOOW!!!! A fabulously gory story featuring a sadistic, bloodthirsty character that I kept imagining looked like Elton John in flamboyant glory whilst he takes a grave-robber-by-night/influencer-by-day through a night of absolute carnage and craziness was not on my 2026 bucket list, but I’m extremely glad I came across it. This is my first impression of Tingle and it was, suffice to say, an absolute banger. It was fun! It was queer as hell! It was super gory! Plot twists! Cosmic horror! Love wins in the end! Haven’t had this much fun reading a book in years, so thank you. Also thanks to NetGalley for ARC access.
Want to Read
September 27, 2025Drive meets Beetlejuice????? 🤩🤩🤩
These mashup promises are getting to be too good to be true! Fingers crossed!
These mashup promises are getting to be too good to be true! Fingers crossed!
July 12, 2026
i must read everything by chuck tingle, and i was so excited for this one! this was NOT what i expected at all LOL, and that’s part of the beauty of it. i do sometimes struggle with horror centred around music and monsters, there’s something cheesy to it. but honestly this villain and the genuine horror of what he is so easily capable of was just soooo good. mc was hard to like but a good mom
Want to Read
July 2, 2026GUESS WHO ARC GOT THIS YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
July 7, 2026
I have absolutely no idea how to explain this book... and I mean that in the best possible way.
This was such a weird, chaotic, hilarious ride.
As the blurb says, Poppy is a fashion influencer by day and, by night, she takes on some very questionable jobs: grave robbing, retrieving valuables from the dead, and whatever else pays the bills. When she's offered an absurd amount of money to steal the body of the recently deceased rockstar Eddie Michaels, she knows it's a risky job... but the money could change her and her daughter's lives.
The problem?
Eddie isn't exactly... staying dead. (No, I am NOT joking)
From there, the story goes completely off the rails in the best way possible (did I said that already? Anyway...). We get dark humor, horror, gore, plenty of bizarre moments and one gloriously unapologetic queer rockstar who somehow manages to steal every scene he's in.
I had so much fun with Eddie. He was chaotic, over-the-top, and completely unpredictable, and I found myself looking forward to every interaction involving him. I wasn't even sure anymore if I hated it or loved him or... both. I also really liked Poppy. She was easy to root for, and despite the absolutely ridiculous situation she found herself in, she stayed surprisingly grounded.
The audiobook was another highlight. (THE) Mara Wilson did a fantastic job bringing these characters and all their madness to life.
If I had one small complaint, it's that I actually preferred the first half of the book. Once everything started settling down toward the end, I found myself wishing for even more of the wild chaos that had hooked me in the beginning.
Overall, this was a fast, funny, gory, wonderfully weird horror novel that never took itself too seriously. If you're looking for something completely bonkers with dark humor and queer representation, this one is well worth checking out.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...
This was such a weird, chaotic, hilarious ride.
As the blurb says, Poppy is a fashion influencer by day and, by night, she takes on some very questionable jobs: grave robbing, retrieving valuables from the dead, and whatever else pays the bills. When she's offered an absurd amount of money to steal the body of the recently deceased rockstar Eddie Michaels, she knows it's a risky job... but the money could change her and her daughter's lives.
The problem?
Eddie isn't exactly... staying dead. (No, I am NOT joking)
From there, the story goes completely off the rails in the best way possible (did I said that already? Anyway...). We get dark humor, horror, gore, plenty of bizarre moments and one gloriously unapologetic queer rockstar who somehow manages to steal every scene he's in.
I had so much fun with Eddie. He was chaotic, over-the-top, and completely unpredictable, and I found myself looking forward to every interaction involving him. I wasn't even sure anymore if I hated it or loved him or... both. I also really liked Poppy. She was easy to root for, and despite the absolutely ridiculous situation she found herself in, she stayed surprisingly grounded.
The audiobook was another highlight. (THE) Mara Wilson did a fantastic job bringing these characters and all their madness to life.
If I had one small complaint, it's that I actually preferred the first half of the book. Once everything started settling down toward the end, I found myself wishing for even more of the wild chaos that had hooked me in the beginning.
Overall, this was a fast, funny, gory, wonderfully weird horror novel that never took itself too seriously. If you're looking for something completely bonkers with dark humor and queer representation, this one is well worth checking out.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...
April 15, 2026
I didn't know anything about this book going in, other than Chuck Tingle wrote it (which is all I needed to know to pick it up). Going in blind made this seriously so much fun! For that reason, I will not be covering the plot at all. It is fresh, fun, unique, wild, gross, and completely bizarre. But it is also thought-provoking, a testament to love, and warm in its own way. I genuinely loved this book. I am going to go as far as saying that this is my new favorite Chuck Tingle book! It is wildly entertaining and horrific, but meaningful. The wrap-up of little details by the end was masterfully executed. The imagination that went into this, both overall conceptually and with the wildest death scenes--Chuck Tingle, I applaud thee. This is a short review, especially for a book I loved this much, but I don't want to even hint at anything because going in blind made it that much more fun! Read it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC! Book releases 7/7/26.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC! Book releases 7/7/26.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Once again, Tingle has made the rare horror reader in me happy to read a horror book (even with the inevitable anxiety attacks they cause me). Fabulous bodies is officially my favorite one of all three horror novels of his I've read, I'll get to camp damascus soon enough.
Tingle knows how to make his characters flawed and wanting, hungry, for something and it's this wanting that makes them so interesting to read about and Poppy was no different. I really enjoyed the comment on what art is, how tiktok has killed the enjoyment and appreciation of art to an extent and the vanity of beauty and the influencer lifestyle even if I do disagree with one of those.
Also Mara Wilson was amazing at the narration,truly one of my favorites ever.
Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the alc in exchange for an honest review. I'm so glad I could read this only a couple days before Pride!
Tingle knows how to make his characters flawed and wanting, hungry, for something and it's this wanting that makes them so interesting to read about and Poppy was no different. I really enjoyed the comment on what art is, how tiktok has killed the enjoyment and appreciation of art to an extent and the vanity of beauty and the influencer lifestyle even if I do disagree with one of those.
Also Mara Wilson was amazing at the narration,truly one of my favorites ever.
Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the alc in exchange for an honest review. I'm so glad I could read this only a couple days before Pride!
May 22, 2026
This is my first ARC! I didn’t really know how ARCs worked when I signed up on NetGalley, so I was surprised to find that I got approved to download a digital copy of this book! I have never read a book by Chuck Tingle before, but I know the acclaim his books have and I am a fan of his online presence as well as the famous Tinglers. I was very excited that this was going to be my first ARC.
But oh boy was I let down. Majorly.
Obviously the plot is ridiculous. But I often love and really resonate with “ridiculous” media, and based on the synopsis, I expected this to be campy. But in my opinion, camp only works when the rules of the world are established clearly in the beginning. It works best when every character in the book is irreverent, off the wall, if the dialogue and plot are all weird enough to feel like the world we are witnessing is not the same as our own, that maybe we stepped into a world where everything that happens is unapologetically weird. Most importantly, it can’t be all that self aware for the camp to work for me. I need to believe that these characters believe that what’s happening is typical for their world. There can’t be a whole lot of “omg I can’t believe this is happening!” The characters have to buy in for me to buy in, no matter how ridiculous.
This didn’t work for me on so many levels. The camp, for one, did not land. Aside from Eddie’s insane personality and the backdrop of queer Palm Springs, the story is extremely grounded in reality, it asks us to engage with it very earnestly, and so it doesn’t really seem like camp to me.
The groundwork was sloppy in my opinion. I think there were a lot of ideas for what kind of protagonist Poppy should have been, and the author just kind of mashed them all together and it got very muddy. Everything in the story seems very muddy to me. She’s an influencer by day, grave robber by night. Her arc is kind of two fold. Part one of her arc is that she seems to learn that bodies are vessels for real people and not just sacks of meat, but my issue with that is that we never really established that she thinks that in the beginning of the story. She’s desensitized to it because of her work, but she doesn’t really have that outlook on life as a whole. I guess it’s like, she’s realizing she never should have gone into that business in the first place which is just…a pretty underwhelming conclusion. The second part of her arc is that she learns not to be self obsessed and vain. My issue with that is, again, there was no real groundwork for that either. She’s an influencer, yes, but despite all the times she tells us she is self obsessed, we don’t see that reflected in her actions ever. We see her film one video, briefly talk about her fans, and that’s about it. I went into the story not understanding her too much, but certainly not getting the vibe that she was vain. She doesn’t have a scene obsessing over her makeup, looking in the mirror, talking about plastic surgery, none of that.
As for Eddie, I didnt fee a strong connection between him and Poppy either. We see him die, and then not one day later she’s picking up his body without much commentary on it. I felt like we needed a scene of her watching interviews with him, scrolling his tik tok page, something to both establish what he was like when he was alive and also her obsession with him, which is only ever told and rarely shown. Once the plot kicks off, Poppy is extremely passive despite claiming to be ruthless and headstrong, so the entire book was a slog to get through.
Besides the foundational issues and pacing issues I had with it, I felt like every plot device was cheap and confusing right up until the very end. Eddie’s entrance where he somehow lights up an old diner and dances crazily in front of Poppy in order…intimidate her maybe…was the roughest possible start to this insanity. We then get the reveal that he has mind and body control powers, which ends up dominating most of the book. The fact that he can control anyone and anything makes it so that Poppy is barely able to do or think anything of substance. Not only that, but Poppy knows absolutely nothing about the situation, and the entire book is basically a confused main character getting strung along to things she has no agency over, and we don’t get answers until the very end of the book.
By the time Poppy actually gains some agency in the story. Eddie has turned into a bug monster and also revealed that he’s her fucking dad, which functionally does not matter or make sense for her character in any way shape or form to me. It becomes a weird Star Wars thing where it’s like he’s been around forever and her bloodline was always destined to be entertainers, and by that point I had rolled my eyes into oblivion.
She defeats the bug monster, yay, with the help of her 5 year old child who luckily comes out of this whole thing totally untraumatized. Thank goodness for Poppy that she doesn’t have to pay for her therapy! She loses her best friend and barely processes it at all, and she comes away from the situation learning to not be vain and to appreciate her daughter more. The end, yippee.
The themes in this story were muddy at worst, and uncomfortable at best. It tries to make an earnest attempt to say something about family, love, the want for fame, and vanity, but all of it leaves me with an eyebrow raised. It seems to punish Poppy for worrying about her looks in the social media age, which seems like something I would read in a buzzfeed girlboss era YA dystopian novel. It seems to try to say something about love and family but completely throws it out the window when her best friend Noah, who is actively dying from cancer, accidentally dies in the battle with Eddie at the end while trying to help Poppy, and then gets no more than one sentence from Poppy at the end where she says she donates to cancer in his name every year. She has nothing critical to say about how she brought him into the situation and how she is only using him to get his weird cream, and how he should have never died and she regrets involving him, especially because he uncritically went along with her escapades because he loves and cares for her and Marlo, despite knowing absolutely nothing about her grave robbing. It made me feel icky that he facilitated her muddy character arc and then got taken advantage of the entire story and then barely got acknowledged at the end.
Maybe that was too much yapping, but everything just felt very flat for me every step of the way, despite the book constantly trying to tell me that something awesome was happening.
Perhaps it’s an overstep for me to interject my thoughts on what I would have done differently, because if there were significant changes, it wouldn’t be Fabulous Bodies anymore. It would be something completely different. And so if you’re looking to read a regular ARC review for an upcoming book, I would stop here, because I’m about to get into a much more personally subjective territory. With that being said, if I were given the story prompt of an influencer who robs the grave of a pop rock queer icon, here are the things I would have done differently:
- I would have made Poppy a true crime influencer instead of a fashion influencer. I would not have given her a grave robbing night shift. Chuck Tingle already does absolutely nothing with the idea of a fashion influencer, and also the grave robbing is only for plot convenience and has virtually no weight on her character journey. I would make her a true crime influencer because I think there would be a lot to comment on regarding the commodification of true crime content and the exploitation of people’s death for clicks. It would gel really well with Poppy’s arc about viewing bodies as only bodies and not people, because a problematic true crime vlogger would do exactly that. She could also be obsessed with vanity and looking good for the camera, and that would facilitate her arc in the end of becoming disfigured. She would be worried about looking as busted up as some of the people she creates content about, and then in the end when it happens to her, she would learn how wrong she was and end up seeing the beauty in her scars. As far as the grave robbing goes, I would have had the opportunity come up for her to rob Eddie’s grave for money as a one time thing for her, not as a regular gig. She would get wrapped up in the fantasy of it all, thinking it could be just like living inside of one of her favorite true crime documentaries, and she would still take the job for the money like she does in the book we got.
- Well, if I could have my way with the story, it is literally insane to me that Noah is set up to have cancer, and he ISN’T on the list of people Eddie going to eat. You’d think they would create stakes, guilt, horror, but…no. But if we’re going to stick with Noah for whatever reason not being on the list like the story currently stands, I would have had Noah sacrifice himself on his own terms. Instead of the way it went, I would have continued the trend of Noah selflessly going out of his way to help Poppy and Marlo and ask no questions. I would have had them go to the tramway and find the cream they needed was all gone, and it would look like they were done for. But then Noah realizes that he’s covered in the stuff because he just applied it last night, so he would have sacrificed himself to Eddie so that he would die and kill Eddie in the process. They could have all fallen out of the tramway just the same, and then with Noah dead, Poppy still could have gotten disfigured and heard Eddie’s dying words just like what we got in the book. It would have given Noah a sad but noble end and while Poppy would have been regretful of pulling him into the mess, she would have been able to process the death and connect it to her arc of learning about the value of love and family.
- Finally, I would NOT have made Eddie Poppy’s dad, holy shit. I would have made the connection much more about their inclination towards entertainment. Maybe it could even be like, all the most famous entertainers throughout history have been this bug monster and he finds the most talented host. And since Poppy is becoming so well known on social media, he sees the potential in her. I would have emphasized their spirit and passion for entertainment as opposed to stereotypical beauty.
So that’s about it. I’m not entirely turned off from reading Tingle’s other work because I’ve heard such amazing things about the rest of them. This one didn’t hit for me at all, but I’m interested to see what else he can do.
But oh boy was I let down. Majorly.
Obviously the plot is ridiculous. But I often love and really resonate with “ridiculous” media, and based on the synopsis, I expected this to be campy. But in my opinion, camp only works when the rules of the world are established clearly in the beginning. It works best when every character in the book is irreverent, off the wall, if the dialogue and plot are all weird enough to feel like the world we are witnessing is not the same as our own, that maybe we stepped into a world where everything that happens is unapologetically weird. Most importantly, it can’t be all that self aware for the camp to work for me. I need to believe that these characters believe that what’s happening is typical for their world. There can’t be a whole lot of “omg I can’t believe this is happening!” The characters have to buy in for me to buy in, no matter how ridiculous.
This didn’t work for me on so many levels. The camp, for one, did not land. Aside from Eddie’s insane personality and the backdrop of queer Palm Springs, the story is extremely grounded in reality, it asks us to engage with it very earnestly, and so it doesn’t really seem like camp to me.
The groundwork was sloppy in my opinion. I think there were a lot of ideas for what kind of protagonist Poppy should have been, and the author just kind of mashed them all together and it got very muddy. Everything in the story seems very muddy to me. She’s an influencer by day, grave robber by night. Her arc is kind of two fold. Part one of her arc is that she seems to learn that bodies are vessels for real people and not just sacks of meat, but my issue with that is that we never really established that she thinks that in the beginning of the story. She’s desensitized to it because of her work, but she doesn’t really have that outlook on life as a whole. I guess it’s like, she’s realizing she never should have gone into that business in the first place which is just…a pretty underwhelming conclusion. The second part of her arc is that she learns not to be self obsessed and vain. My issue with that is, again, there was no real groundwork for that either. She’s an influencer, yes, but despite all the times she tells us she is self obsessed, we don’t see that reflected in her actions ever. We see her film one video, briefly talk about her fans, and that’s about it. I went into the story not understanding her too much, but certainly not getting the vibe that she was vain. She doesn’t have a scene obsessing over her makeup, looking in the mirror, talking about plastic surgery, none of that.
As for Eddie, I didnt fee a strong connection between him and Poppy either. We see him die, and then not one day later she’s picking up his body without much commentary on it. I felt like we needed a scene of her watching interviews with him, scrolling his tik tok page, something to both establish what he was like when he was alive and also her obsession with him, which is only ever told and rarely shown. Once the plot kicks off, Poppy is extremely passive despite claiming to be ruthless and headstrong, so the entire book was a slog to get through.
Besides the foundational issues and pacing issues I had with it, I felt like every plot device was cheap and confusing right up until the very end. Eddie’s entrance where he somehow lights up an old diner and dances crazily in front of Poppy in order…intimidate her maybe…was the roughest possible start to this insanity. We then get the reveal that he has mind and body control powers, which ends up dominating most of the book. The fact that he can control anyone and anything makes it so that Poppy is barely able to do or think anything of substance. Not only that, but Poppy knows absolutely nothing about the situation, and the entire book is basically a confused main character getting strung along to things she has no agency over, and we don’t get answers until the very end of the book.
By the time Poppy actually gains some agency in the story. Eddie has turned into a bug monster and also revealed that he’s her fucking dad, which functionally does not matter or make sense for her character in any way shape or form to me. It becomes a weird Star Wars thing where it’s like he’s been around forever and her bloodline was always destined to be entertainers, and by that point I had rolled my eyes into oblivion.
She defeats the bug monster, yay, with the help of her 5 year old child who luckily comes out of this whole thing totally untraumatized. Thank goodness for Poppy that she doesn’t have to pay for her therapy! She loses her best friend and barely processes it at all, and she comes away from the situation learning to not be vain and to appreciate her daughter more. The end, yippee.
The themes in this story were muddy at worst, and uncomfortable at best. It tries to make an earnest attempt to say something about family, love, the want for fame, and vanity, but all of it leaves me with an eyebrow raised. It seems to punish Poppy for worrying about her looks in the social media age, which seems like something I would read in a buzzfeed girlboss era YA dystopian novel. It seems to try to say something about love and family but completely throws it out the window when her best friend Noah, who is actively dying from cancer, accidentally dies in the battle with Eddie at the end while trying to help Poppy, and then gets no more than one sentence from Poppy at the end where she says she donates to cancer in his name every year. She has nothing critical to say about how she brought him into the situation and how she is only using him to get his weird cream, and how he should have never died and she regrets involving him, especially because he uncritically went along with her escapades because he loves and cares for her and Marlo, despite knowing absolutely nothing about her grave robbing. It made me feel icky that he facilitated her muddy character arc and then got taken advantage of the entire story and then barely got acknowledged at the end.
Maybe that was too much yapping, but everything just felt very flat for me every step of the way, despite the book constantly trying to tell me that something awesome was happening.
Perhaps it’s an overstep for me to interject my thoughts on what I would have done differently, because if there were significant changes, it wouldn’t be Fabulous Bodies anymore. It would be something completely different. And so if you’re looking to read a regular ARC review for an upcoming book, I would stop here, because I’m about to get into a much more personally subjective territory. With that being said, if I were given the story prompt of an influencer who robs the grave of a pop rock queer icon, here are the things I would have done differently:
- I would have made Poppy a true crime influencer instead of a fashion influencer. I would not have given her a grave robbing night shift. Chuck Tingle already does absolutely nothing with the idea of a fashion influencer, and also the grave robbing is only for plot convenience and has virtually no weight on her character journey. I would make her a true crime influencer because I think there would be a lot to comment on regarding the commodification of true crime content and the exploitation of people’s death for clicks. It would gel really well with Poppy’s arc about viewing bodies as only bodies and not people, because a problematic true crime vlogger would do exactly that. She could also be obsessed with vanity and looking good for the camera, and that would facilitate her arc in the end of becoming disfigured. She would be worried about looking as busted up as some of the people she creates content about, and then in the end when it happens to her, she would learn how wrong she was and end up seeing the beauty in her scars. As far as the grave robbing goes, I would have had the opportunity come up for her to rob Eddie’s grave for money as a one time thing for her, not as a regular gig. She would get wrapped up in the fantasy of it all, thinking it could be just like living inside of one of her favorite true crime documentaries, and she would still take the job for the money like she does in the book we got.
- Well, if I could have my way with the story, it is literally insane to me that Noah is set up to have cancer, and he ISN’T on the list of people Eddie going to eat. You’d think they would create stakes, guilt, horror, but…no. But if we’re going to stick with Noah for whatever reason not being on the list like the story currently stands, I would have had Noah sacrifice himself on his own terms. Instead of the way it went, I would have continued the trend of Noah selflessly going out of his way to help Poppy and Marlo and ask no questions. I would have had them go to the tramway and find the cream they needed was all gone, and it would look like they were done for. But then Noah realizes that he’s covered in the stuff because he just applied it last night, so he would have sacrificed himself to Eddie so that he would die and kill Eddie in the process. They could have all fallen out of the tramway just the same, and then with Noah dead, Poppy still could have gotten disfigured and heard Eddie’s dying words just like what we got in the book. It would have given Noah a sad but noble end and while Poppy would have been regretful of pulling him into the mess, she would have been able to process the death and connect it to her arc of learning about the value of love and family.
- Finally, I would NOT have made Eddie Poppy’s dad, holy shit. I would have made the connection much more about their inclination towards entertainment. Maybe it could even be like, all the most famous entertainers throughout history have been this bug monster and he finds the most talented host. And since Poppy is becoming so well known on social media, he sees the potential in her. I would have emphasized their spirit and passion for entertainment as opposed to stereotypical beauty.
So that’s about it. I’m not entirely turned off from reading Tingle’s other work because I’ve heard such amazing things about the rest of them. This one didn’t hit for me at all, but I’m interested to see what else he can do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2026
4.25 stars
A memorable kill-fest, I've been following Chuck Tingle's releases for the past couple of years, and he's become one of those authors whose output is remarkably consistent. What I've come to expect is a story with a strange but alluring premise, paired with brutally outrageous kills, and Fabulous Bodies once again delivers on both.
From my reading, I totally got the Drive comparison highlighted in the marketing, but the novel's thoughtful commentary on artistry and craft was what really impressed me—it gives the story far more depth than a straight horror roller coaster. With the protagonist being a social media influencer, the comparison between a craft that takes years to master and a stunt for instant validation is woven organically into its plot. I also loved the Palm Springs setting, its polished, sun-soaked glamour is an unusual, but effective juxtaposition with the carnage.
As much as I appreciated the thematic depth and the relentless gore (this is Chuck Tingle, after all, always with a dash of black comedy), I did find the plot a little too lean. Numerous characters and story threads feel as though they're being set up for something significant, only to fizzle out before they can pay off. The protagonist's neighbour, for example, has an occupation that seems intentionally emphasized early on, yet it never meaningfully comes into play. Likewise, the 'list' element feels like a missed opportunity; I would've loved a chapter or two from the perspective of those whose names appeared on it, rather than having most of those events unfold off the page.
As a showcase of inventive horror and grotesque spectacle, Fabulous Bodies succeeds wholeheartedly. As a story, however, it's all bones and barely any flesh. The framework is solid and compelling, but it feels as though Chuck Tingle ran out of time to fully embellish the ideas he'd conceptualized, leaving behind just the essential structure. I could have happily spent another hundred pages with these characters—perhaps a director's cut someday?
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
A memorable kill-fest, I've been following Chuck Tingle's releases for the past couple of years, and he's become one of those authors whose output is remarkably consistent. What I've come to expect is a story with a strange but alluring premise, paired with brutally outrageous kills, and Fabulous Bodies once again delivers on both.
From my reading, I totally got the Drive comparison highlighted in the marketing, but the novel's thoughtful commentary on artistry and craft was what really impressed me—it gives the story far more depth than a straight horror roller coaster. With the protagonist being a social media influencer, the comparison between a craft that takes years to master and a stunt for instant validation is woven organically into its plot. I also loved the Palm Springs setting, its polished, sun-soaked glamour is an unusual, but effective juxtaposition with the carnage.
As much as I appreciated the thematic depth and the relentless gore (this is Chuck Tingle, after all, always with a dash of black comedy), I did find the plot a little too lean. Numerous characters and story threads feel as though they're being set up for something significant, only to fizzle out before they can pay off. The protagonist's neighbour, for example, has an occupation that seems intentionally emphasized early on, yet it never meaningfully comes into play. Likewise, the 'list' element feels like a missed opportunity; I would've loved a chapter or two from the perspective of those whose names appeared on it, rather than having most of those events unfold off the page.
As a showcase of inventive horror and grotesque spectacle, Fabulous Bodies succeeds wholeheartedly. As a story, however, it's all bones and barely any flesh. The framework is solid and compelling, but it feels as though Chuck Tingle ran out of time to fully embellish the ideas he'd conceptualized, leaving behind just the essential structure. I could have happily spent another hundred pages with these characters—perhaps a director's cut someday?
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
June 29, 2026
5/5 ⭐️
I was absolutely obsessed with this book. It was bloody, hilarious, wildly campy, and underneath all the carnage is a surprisingly sharp commentary on beauty, fame, and image.
The premise alone had me hooked. A perfectly polished fashion influencer who moonlights as a grave robber in Palm Springs? The visual of someone with flawless makeup and a designer outfit casually stealing corpses is such an absurd juxtaposition, and I honestly wish we’d gotten more of that story before Eddie enters the picture. I could’ve read an entire novel about Poppy’s bizarre side hustle.
For some reason, my brain decided Eddie Michaels looked exactly like Neil Diamond, and I never questioned it. That mental image made every over-the-top scene even funnier. The entire book is delightfully ridiculous in the best way, leaning fully into the chaos without ever losing its momentum. I couldn’t put it down and loved every gloriously bloody second.
And Mara Wilson’s narration? Absolute perfection. She commits completely to the humor, horror, and heart of the story, bringing every outrageous character and over-the-top moment to life. She elevated an already fantastic audiobook into one I won’t forget anytime soon.
Thanks to Chuck, MacMillain Audio, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was absolutely obsessed with this book. It was bloody, hilarious, wildly campy, and underneath all the carnage is a surprisingly sharp commentary on beauty, fame, and image.
The premise alone had me hooked. A perfectly polished fashion influencer who moonlights as a grave robber in Palm Springs? The visual of someone with flawless makeup and a designer outfit casually stealing corpses is such an absurd juxtaposition, and I honestly wish we’d gotten more of that story before Eddie enters the picture. I could’ve read an entire novel about Poppy’s bizarre side hustle.
For some reason, my brain decided Eddie Michaels looked exactly like Neil Diamond, and I never questioned it. That mental image made every over-the-top scene even funnier. The entire book is delightfully ridiculous in the best way, leaning fully into the chaos without ever losing its momentum. I couldn’t put it down and loved every gloriously bloody second.
And Mara Wilson’s narration? Absolute perfection. She commits completely to the humor, horror, and heart of the story, bringing every outrageous character and over-the-top moment to life. She elevated an already fantastic audiobook into one I won’t forget anytime soon.
Thanks to Chuck, MacMillain Audio, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 12, 2026
3⭐️
I love Chuck Tingle as an entity. I will read his books for this reason. However, I hate gore. I can't do gore. Gore and me are not besties.
I love Chuck Tingle as an entity. I will read his books for this reason. However, I hate gore. I can't do gore. Gore and me are not besties.
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