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The Devouring: Some tales aren't told. They're unleashed.
324 pages, Paperback
Published November 12, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 29, 2025
thoroughly enjoyable and unique experience but to me in a way the ending was somewhat predictable, didn’t change the fact it was great though
December 28, 2025
Hugest of thanks to the lovely R.S Cunningham who contacted me via Instagram, and kindly sent me a copy of her debut novel, 'The Devouring'
It was self published on Halloween 2025, and is availble in e-book format via Amazon, is on Amazon Kindle , and paperback from the author's website-link below.
In this portmanteau horror, a unnamed cleaner, only known by her initial, 'M', is invited by one of her clients to attend an evening soiree, a telling of tales by women only who are known to her boss, but not to M.
Unable to think of a way out, we see her getting herself ready, anxious over what to bring to a house which is a million miles away from her impoverished flat.
The women, LA, Sarah, Ada, Lydia, Eleanor, Ameera and Joanna, have not held a tale telling evening for some time, ostensibly related to Joanna's sister, Ada, being hospitalised, so they are taking the opportunity to relish food, wine and company.
The women are seen through M's eyes, all privilege and educated, which allows her the sense of anonymity to sit back, listen to the stories and feel like she is a part of something, if even only on the outskirts of these tales.
There is some sensation of resistance amongst the women, a tension felt by M, who, like the reader, has no idea what lays ahead of her.
In turn, each woman relays their tale, then this is bridged by a return to 'The Gathering'.
There are things that M notices, little asides which are barbed, noises, shadows and things moving which all add to the feeling of tension and mounting worry for M's safety.
The gathering is led into by a prologue which shows a woman locked away in a mental health institution, for many years, wanting to relay one last tale to her doctor, so there is this feeling of a tale within a tale, but who is the principal narrator?
Each story relates to the way women are regarded in a modern Irish societal framework, with the use of dialect betraying their very middle class standing. They deal with motherhood, sexuality, femininity and oppression as a mode of telling truly horrifying stories of loss, grief and pure horror.
The point of these stories appears to be a cathartic release yet as the stories are told, there is an increase in the feeling of dread, and the opposite of catharsis happens as these women become more agitated and upset, almost as if they are trapped by this evening than M who is actually nothing to do with this at all.
There is such a sense of foreboding and creepiness as horror piles on horror and yet M cannot bring herself to go until there is an answer, a resolution as she goes past the point at which she can leave and catch the last bus home.
Each woman peels off a layer of herself with the tale, leaving them raw and bleeding yet they all seem to have heard these stories before-if so, what are they performing for?
Why does Joanna, M's boss, make excuse after excuse to stop her leaving?
The biggest monster in this tale, is , to me, the classism by which they treeat M and each other so appallingly, it is meant to be a female narrative evening based on empowerment and freedom yet the constraints in which they are bound by solidarity through the horror of what they explore, paradoxically brings them all down.
I am trying not to give away too much, and hope I have done this terrific novel justice in my thoughts, these are tales rooted in folklore, witchcraft, the horror that women bear by dint of being born female and subjection to patriarchal institutions which would keep them quiet and docile.
The devouring is both literal and metaphorical in places, about how desires can consume and destroy you .
Highly recommended, please go and search out Ruth, she is pretty active on the Instagram and loves hearing from readers!
This would be perfect for those who love programmes such as Inside No 9, and the old Amicus movies, my favourite is 'Asylum' where Robert Powell is a new doctor at an insane asylum who has to interview the 5 patients there and work out which one is the dr he has come to replace...terrific stuff!
It was self published on Halloween 2025, and is availble in e-book format via Amazon, is on Amazon Kindle , and paperback from the author's website-link below.
In this portmanteau horror, a unnamed cleaner, only known by her initial, 'M', is invited by one of her clients to attend an evening soiree, a telling of tales by women only who are known to her boss, but not to M.
Unable to think of a way out, we see her getting herself ready, anxious over what to bring to a house which is a million miles away from her impoverished flat.
The women, LA, Sarah, Ada, Lydia, Eleanor, Ameera and Joanna, have not held a tale telling evening for some time, ostensibly related to Joanna's sister, Ada, being hospitalised, so they are taking the opportunity to relish food, wine and company.
The women are seen through M's eyes, all privilege and educated, which allows her the sense of anonymity to sit back, listen to the stories and feel like she is a part of something, if even only on the outskirts of these tales.
There is some sensation of resistance amongst the women, a tension felt by M, who, like the reader, has no idea what lays ahead of her.
In turn, each woman relays their tale, then this is bridged by a return to 'The Gathering'.
There are things that M notices, little asides which are barbed, noises, shadows and things moving which all add to the feeling of tension and mounting worry for M's safety.
The gathering is led into by a prologue which shows a woman locked away in a mental health institution, for many years, wanting to relay one last tale to her doctor, so there is this feeling of a tale within a tale, but who is the principal narrator?
Each story relates to the way women are regarded in a modern Irish societal framework, with the use of dialect betraying their very middle class standing. They deal with motherhood, sexuality, femininity and oppression as a mode of telling truly horrifying stories of loss, grief and pure horror.
The point of these stories appears to be a cathartic release yet as the stories are told, there is an increase in the feeling of dread, and the opposite of catharsis happens as these women become more agitated and upset, almost as if they are trapped by this evening than M who is actually nothing to do with this at all.
There is such a sense of foreboding and creepiness as horror piles on horror and yet M cannot bring herself to go until there is an answer, a resolution as she goes past the point at which she can leave and catch the last bus home.
Each woman peels off a layer of herself with the tale, leaving them raw and bleeding yet they all seem to have heard these stories before-if so, what are they performing for?
Why does Joanna, M's boss, make excuse after excuse to stop her leaving?
The biggest monster in this tale, is , to me, the classism by which they treeat M and each other so appallingly, it is meant to be a female narrative evening based on empowerment and freedom yet the constraints in which they are bound by solidarity through the horror of what they explore, paradoxically brings them all down.
I am trying not to give away too much, and hope I have done this terrific novel justice in my thoughts, these are tales rooted in folklore, witchcraft, the horror that women bear by dint of being born female and subjection to patriarchal institutions which would keep them quiet and docile.
The devouring is both literal and metaphorical in places, about how desires can consume and destroy you .
Highly recommended, please go and search out Ruth, she is pretty active on the Instagram and loves hearing from readers!
This would be perfect for those who love programmes such as Inside No 9, and the old Amicus movies, my favourite is 'Asylum' where Robert Powell is a new doctor at an insane asylum who has to interview the 5 patients there and work out which one is the dr he has come to replace...terrific stuff!
December 29, 2025
Both the storyline and the writing style make this book easy to devour. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started, but I was completely hooked from the very first page. The prologue alone pulled me right in.
I also really enjoyed how the book weaves stories within the story, without complicating things. These added an extra layer to the reading experience and made everything feel even more unsettling. Each one felt super scary and they slowly added to the overall atmosphere and pulled me even further into the darkness of the main story.
This is an impressive debut horror, delivering creepiness and lingering unease. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what comes next from Ruth Cunningham.
A super easy read that I couldn’t put down!
I also really enjoyed how the book weaves stories within the story, without complicating things. These added an extra layer to the reading experience and made everything feel even more unsettling. Each one felt super scary and they slowly added to the overall atmosphere and pulled me even further into the darkness of the main story.
This is an impressive debut horror, delivering creepiness and lingering unease. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what comes next from Ruth Cunningham.
A super easy read that I couldn’t put down!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews