Rottenheart

by Kat Dunn

Revenge me. For I am murdered . . .

Odette and Cecilia are young women, living between their grand homes in Hampstead and the imposing, ancient Herne House in Suffolk. Though Odette's artist mother Lydia keeps a tight grasp on her, she and her beloved Cecilia are mostly left free to roam, to learn and to love.

But when Lydia inexplicably sickens and dies, a dark veil falls. As the funeral rites are performed, Odette's aunt, the cold and implacable Claudine, increasingly takes charge of the household, while her father retreats to his study. Odette, lost in grief, disappears into the shadows.

But as Claudine is announced as Odette's new stepmother, a sinister presence in the house makes itself known. To her horror, Odette realises that despite her death, Lydia never really left. And now she wants revenge . . .

Inspired by Hamlet, the ultimate revenge tragedy, Rottenheart is the stunning new sapphic gothic horror novel from Kat Dunn, the lauded author of Hungerstone and Bitterthorn. Set in the 1890s, this a story of love and grief, mothers and daughters, death and madness.

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Lesbian, Queer, LGBT, Historical Fiction, Adult

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2026

About the author

Kat Dunn is the author of HUNGERSTONE (2025), BITTERTHORN, and the Battalion of the Dead trilogy:
DANGEROUS REMEDY, MONSTROUS DESIGN and GLORIOUS POISON.

She grew up in London and has lived in Japan, Australia and France.

She has a BA in Japanese from SOAS and an MA in English from Warwick. She’s written about mental health for Mind and The Guardian, and worked as a translator for Japanese television.

Reviews

[ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you so much to netgalley for this arc!!

this is my first book by kat dunn, and it definitely won’t be my last! this was such a fun concept, and was almost a ‘meandering’ plot? which i don’t say in a negative way, it really worked for me. this is also sapphic which immediately made me fall in love with it. the writing style was gorgeous and very very atmospheric - i would say this is more of a gothic/despair/grief-driven story, as opposed to a spooky/scary horror, and i think that suited these characters well. i very much fell in love with both odette and cecilia (although odette specifically was definitely frustrating at a lot of points).

my only teeny tiny issue i had with this book was the time jumps - in and of themselves, they are fine, and added to the plot, but we jump back and forth between different months of the same year and it can get a tiny bit confusing in places. i just flicked back and made sure i understood exactly where we stood, so not exactly a hardship.

i would definitely recommend this book if you like more atmospheric, gothic stories, as opposed to high stakes spooky stories. the ‘romance’ was very sweet, the story was engaging, and the characters were really interesting to follow. very much enjoyed!

[Lala BooksandLala]

sapphic and Shakespeare inspired. say less.

[The Pastel Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Future Lea here: From now on I can promise you, if there is a sapphic Kat Dunn book, you can be sure that I’ll be around somewhere. Another feast of sapphic yearning,female rage and some light horror and sprinkles of gothic aesthetic.
I am a bit disappointed by the ending though. Like what happened to the original plot of the movie?!?

Past Lea: Oh hello, what are you ?? More sapphic gothic books from Kat Dunn !? 👀

[bri]

Sapphics with mommy issues, gather round!

Kat Dunn transports Hamlet into the tail end of the 19th century in this queer, gothic retelling. Aesthetically, Dunn pulls from 19th century illustrations such as the infamous painting of Ophelia, Victorian ghost stories, and fairytale imagery—an eclectic concoction that somehow all find themselves tethered together by the source text: Hamlet. Narratively, Kat Dunn explores the family dynamics and insular interpersonal conflicts of the source material. Cycles of revenge are zoomed in on and dialed up to focus on cycles of familial revenge. Hamlet’s role as an extension of his father (through name, through task) bleeds into this world through themes of mother/daughter entanglement and codependency, bordering on incestuous as Hamlet (Odette)’s relationship with her mother parallels Ophelia (Cecelia)’s relationship with Odette. As secrets unfold and tensions shift and grow, roles and selves become twisted into one unending knotted loop of revenge.

This book is About a lot of things: inherited trauma, the definition of the self through and by another to the point of losing oneself, the idea that madness is nothing more than a declaration someone uses to assert themselves as reason, image—to violate, to preserve, to perform. Its themes are interconnected and cyclical, an ever-spinning web of parallels and codependency and projection between mother and daughter, sister and sister, aunt and niece, husband and wife, lover and lover, over and over. ROTTENHEART is ripe with rot: memento mori and gothic imagery, fucked up dynamics and toxic behavior, and bleeding with heart: full of love for stories and women and love between women, determined to break the cycles at hand.

Kat Dunn is a favorite author of mine, queer Hamlet retellings are my favorite subgenre (yes, really, ask me any day), and this book was certainly no disappointment. I highly recommend this gothic story: rich with ruination, tangled with toxicity, and blooming with brilliant character work. I especially recommend this book for fans of THE LAST TALE OF THE FLOWER BRIDE, the Millais Ophelia painting, and GHOST QUARTET (for those who know GQ: I can’t emphasize enough how many plot and theme similarities this book and GQ have! If I didn’t know for sure that it wasn’t intentional, I’d almost pitch this as a Ghost Quartet retelling nearly as much as a Hamlet retelling).

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a finished copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

CW: grief, death of mother, toxic relationship, suicidal ideation and attempt, dead body, hallucinations, gun violence, sexual assault, drowning, murder, misogyny, child death (off-page), animal death, blood & gore, body horror, abusive parent (emotional and physical), fire, emesis, adultery

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had huge shoes to fill after Hungerstone ended up being one of my favorites books of 2025 and of all time. While I still really enjoyed this, it didn't give me quite the same feeling as Hungerstone. Kat Dunn will likely forever be an auto-buy/auto-read author for me since Hungerstone seared her into my brain (and heart). I thoroughly enjoy her writing. I think she can weave together beautiful stories and her prose is everything I could hope for.

I think what dragged my rating down a bit for this book was that I was expecting much more in terms of horror. This book ended up being more about despair, grief, and interpersonal relationships. The horror didn't come through in the way that I was expecting. Which is fine. I don't need every book to turn out the way that I was hoping, but I also wish that this book had done a bit more with Odette and Cecilia's relationship. Again, I just expected more than I ended up getting. This overall led me to a feeling of being a bit underwhelmed. It didn't take off much from my experience though as I still thought this was a solid 4/5 stars for me. It simply wasn't Hungerstone level though.

As I mentioned earlier, Dunn's writing is superb. I love how she depicts her characters and the emotions that she evokes. Dunn really knows how to write a gothic tone into her novels which gives a fantastic atmosphere. I also want to mention how Dunn is turning out another stunning cover. Her books are gorgeous works of art.

Although this didn't quite live up to Hungerstone, I would still recommend diving into this book. I've already preordered my copy and can't wait to see what books she releases in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Nancy ☾.⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a very empathetic reader when it comes to books about the difficulties of parent-child relationships since it's a universal truth that no one is perfect. Yet, I'm all too familiar with the resentment simmering underneath a daughter's polite and dutiful surface because the foundational blocks of setting healthy boundaries and self-regulating are actually a pile of cinder dust. And there's nothing quite like having a frayed-tempered mother and a disinterested father that makes a daughter want to flee the nest. Odette is such a young woman in the 1890's, who doesn't have privileges outside what is granted to her by her family then eventually a husband. When the act of seeking autonomy is a disease among women, even the privilege of attending university is temporary.

I think it's clever that Odette and Cecilia are the most autonomous with one another because they seek pleasure out of the marriage bed. But they can only put off marriage for so long before they are coerced into an arrangement, which is why their desperation is palpable on the pages.

After some revelations, Cecilia's faith is shaken, and in spite of that, she tries to hold onto a future for both of them while Odette remains lost in grief and madness. Their dynamics are so well-written because Cecilia is the appeaser, mirroring Odette's role with her parents; a father who is extreme avoidant and a mother who is over reliant, so she tries to be the child they need rather than confronting their failures as parents.

Their communications easily break down when there is outside pressure, but I give Odette and Cecilia so much grace for their actions. They are quite literally the products of their parents and are ill-prepared to face the worst of tragedies. And I don't make a habit of bringing up other reviewers' opinions, but I think it's an unfair assessment to headline the passive aggression between women when Rottenheart is a layered story of love that is eclipsed by betrayal and revenge.

However, I do seem to be in the minority that when the plot finally picked up traction, the big emotional arc wasn't a satisfying payoff.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.




1st update: I've been approved for an ARC, but this must be a mistake 🥹😵‍💫 So excited for this!

[Tanya]

New Kat Dunn book? More sapphic Gothic horror? I can't wait!

[ellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

all that build up for the most unsatisfying pay off i have ever had the displeasure of reading ???

i want a refund on the hours i wasted reading this eurgh.

[elysia ☕️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“she loves and is loved in return” oh my sweet haunted lesbians

[Salomé · Rating 3 out of 5]

« Lydia is lost at sea, and Odette is the life raft. »

The book featured very lush prose that initially drew me in, but I soon found myself feeling bored. While the themes of grief and sadness were beautifully articulated, I felt the plot itself left much to be desired. I appreciated how the toxic nature of Odette's parents, Lydia and George, was depicted in two distinct ways, showcasing the complexities of her relationship with them. It was compelling to see Odette trying to please them by shifting her own personality. Additionally, I was deeply attached to the romance between Odette and Cecilia, which added a lovely layer to the story. However, despite these strengths, the overall plot felt rather dull, and I couldn't help but think that the book might have benefited from being shorter.

Thank you Bonnier Books UK | Manilla Press for the digital arc.

[Dali Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kat Dunn is one of my favorite authors, which is why this was such a disappointment.

I picked this up expecting the same feminine rage, wickedness, tension, and deliciously dark atmosphere that I loved in Hungerstone and Bitter Thorn. Instead, I got 430 pages of grief, misery, and characters repeating the same emotional beats over and over again.

The revenge plot which was the main reason I wanted to read this book doesn't truly happen until the last twenty pages, and the payoff wasn't nearly satisfying enough to justify the long build-up. If you're looking for a story centered on grief with occasional glimpses of horror, this may work for you. If you're looking for revenge, rage, and catharsis, you might leave feeling disappointed.

The novel felt far too long for the story it was telling. At least a hundred pages could have been cut without losing anything important. The constant timeline jumps also disrupted the flow and made it harder for me to stay invested.

I also struggled with the characters. The romance lacked chemistry, the cast felt stuck in the same emotional state for most of the book, and there was very little character development. The overwhelming focus on grief made the story feel emotionally repetitive, dense, and relentlessly bleak.

As always, Dunn's writing is gorgeous. Her prose is lush, atmospheric, and beautifully crafted. Unfortunately, beautiful writing wasn't enough to make me care about a story that felt repetitive and emotionally one-note.

I wanted to read about grief a little then dive into “The Ultimate Revenge “ , feminine rage. I wanted wicked women. I wanted tension. Instead, I got a LONG, heavy meditation on grief, and it simply wasn't what I was hoping for.

[Dee Hancocks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rottenheart is sapphic and gothic, I enjoyed it so so much. The plot is a slow pace and draws you in slowly, the underlying horror and emotion comes through beautifully creating atmospheric scenes. I loved the unique take on a Shakespeare classic and the prose lived up to him in my eyes. It’s haunting and covers every human emotion. What more can you ask for in a read? Saying that the time transitions at times brought me out of the flow but I shouldn’t complain as this created more tension and kept me interested. This is definitely a book for the gothic lovers and those looking for complex characters. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader audio. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a bunch of women complaining and being passive aggressive. DNFed around 50% point because absolutely nothing was happening.

Enjoy Dunn’s prose. Just find some whingy sapphic tales a bit boring and this is one of those tales.

[sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m gonna be honest - I have no prior knowledge of Hamlet, nor do I know what it’s about, so I went into this blindly and purely for my love of Kat Dunn.

Rottenheart was an immensely enjoyable read, tearing my heart out from grief at one moment, and then from pure and utter yearning from Odette and Cecelia the next. I felt myself connecting so deeply with the story during many moments as someone with a mother just like both Lydia and Penelope. Being so full of anger and wrath towards someone, but also love and understanding - it just consumes you at times, and confuses you all the same, and you wonder why your life is shaped around their happiness. It’s almost like I could hear her muttering the words they were saying.

I’m not sure why I chose late at night to read this each time, as the horror elements were genuinely terrifying at times. Kat Dunn was able to describe the ghastly Lydia so well that I was able to picture everything so vividly and so clearly, which I find a lot of authors have a hard time doing.

This is a book I will be RUNNING to buy when it is released, such a haunting, sorrowful, insanely messed up sapphic tragedy that made me feel like my heart is bleeding.

Thank you NetGalley and Zando for the ARC!

[Paula (lovebookscl) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Como gran fan de Hungerstone de Kat Dunn estaba muy emocionada por su nuevo libro y lamento decir que fue un poco decepcionante.

El inicio del libro me atrapó rápidamente, pero eso se perdió igual de rápido. Y uno de mis tantos problemas con el libro es su ritmo. Estás en una parte entretenida y luego una parte aburrida, y así durante todo el libro. No me gustaron los saltos temporales.

Las partes del pasado y todos los POV de Cecilia (tanto presente como pasado) fueron un tortura de lo aburrido que son, y no ayuda que eso es la mitad del libro. No ayuda que no pude dejar de encontrar detestable a una de las protagonistas.

Para mi, la mejor parte del libro era el misterio entre lo que pasó con Lydia y Claudine, y Odette cayendo en la locura. Si el plot se hubiera enfocado en eso, hubieran sido mil veces más entretenido. Pero entremedio metieron un romance sin pies ni cabezas, sin química, sin sentido entre Odette y Cecilia. Y que quede claro que mi disgusto es por sobre todo con que Cecilia es tan aburrida, sobre explica todo, es egoísta pero es la eterna paloma blanca, y no la aguanté.

Y aunque estoy de acuerdo con que todos los personajes son egoístas en su propia forma, Cecilia no se ganó nada de mi simpatía. Cada que aparecía su POV quería dejar el libro en DNF, y solo seguí porque quería saber el secreto de las hermanas. Y aún así, fue decepcionante la forma en que contaron todo, me hubiera ahorrado tiempo en sencillamente leer los últimos capítulos y ya, siento que perdí mi tiempo.

Y aunque me gustó el plot de Odette y como va quemando todo a su paso, y es ella quien entrega el horror gótico que estaba gustando, creo que sigue siendo una protagonista plana (creo que el único personaje no plano es Claudine y coincide que fue mi favorita en el libro). Nunca entendí su romance con Cecilia, tampoco su relación con su madre, y eso que eran los puntos protagonistas de la trama.

El final… ni siquiera merece mención ¿qué rayos fue eso?

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There is an anger in her that feels like a sickness. Her skin fits wrongly; each breath is a task around this great boulder of sorrow and rage and injustice that has swelled and swelled, a great boil that is close to setting her howling.”

Vivid and velvety, grotesque and visceral, emotional and nuanced; the madness of this book threatens to swallow the reader whole. This book is about mothers and daughters. About grief and obsession and revenge. About love and the many complicated emotions that come with it. While this book is a sapphic reimagining of the Hamlet story (where the characters are run-of-the-mill women rather than powerful men) it’s so much more than a mere retelling.

Dunn does such an amazing job of portraying so many different sides of grief. How someone in the depths of grief might hold multiple perspectives on the one they have lost, how others might view one’s grief as uncomfortable or inconvenient or even as a performance, and how debilitating and all-encompassing grieving can be… especially when one feels so alone in their anguish that the vengeful spirit of the person who died could bring a sense of comfort to the one left behind.

There is so much nuance to the characters that (for most of them at least), the line becomes quite blurred between victim and villain. The slow pace and damp heaviness settling atop the family make for such an atmospheric and almost claustrophobic tone, and the house itself almost seems to fester along with the main character’s mental health and the ghost’s physical appearance. The relationships are messy and flawed between all of the characters, and I loved the exploration of all of these.

I loved Hungerstone and may have loved this one even more! Thanks so much to NetGalley and Zando for the advanced copy!

[MaryannC Victorian Dreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off thank you to author Kat Dunn and NetGalley for a copy of this in an exchange for an honest review.

Oh, I really struggled to rate this one and I had to let this marinate in my thoughts before I could review it. This is a re-imagined version of the Shakespeare classic Hamlet set in Victorian England. Odette ( love that name since Swan Lake) is mourning the death of her mother who dies suddenly leaving Odette consumed by grief and unanswered questions. Lydia, Odette's mother is a frail and tortured artist of sorts who often uses her daughter and her daughter's friend Cecelia as models for her much sought after paintings. When Lydia's sister Claudine appears for a visit the two women's relationship is fraught with tension and resentment a fact that does not go unnoticed by Odette and Cecelia. Odette's father George is an emotionally distant man who prefers not to take sides when Claudine takes charge of the household after Lydia's death and proves rather useless in comforting his daughter as she struggles to cope with her profound sadness and Claudine's decisions. When her mother's ghost appears to Odette seeking revenge and uncovering the truth about her death Odette has one task and that is to fulfill her mother's request but will her quest affect her relationship with Cecelia and her sanity? At the risk of not detailing anymore of the plot here is where I begin to have a conflict in rating this, the book has the dark, gothic feel that I relish in a good book. The storyline is laid out nicely and I could feel Odette's deep despair so consumed with grief as she was, perhaps I could get a good feel of it since I recently lost my own mother a few months ago and could relate to the pain and sadness she felt. The conclusion here did not leave me satisfied maybe for another reader they will feel differently about it but for me it's a 3 star rating.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Holy god. I am a Shakespeare lover, and Hamlet is a particular favorite (I’ve watched as many adaptations of the tale as I can find). There is a dark magic woven into the tale of a prince driven mad by his father’s ghost to get righteous vengeance against his uncle…so what happens when Hamlet is not royal? What happens when Hamlet is a sapphic woman of mediocre standing in a world where women are dismissed, when the consequences play out on a much smaller board, but with repercussions every bit as painful? Enter: Rottenheart.

It took me some time to comprehend the flow of time in the novel, but once I got hold of it, I was engrossed. Odette and Cecilia are a beautiful, demented mess. Lydia’s ghost spends much more time with Odette than King Hamlet’s ever does with his son, and this allows for a chilling, deeper exploration of the idea that even the vengeful spirit of a lost parent can bring some twisted comfort to a grieving child. The villains are victims and the victims are villains; there is so much nuance injected into the story that I came out of it with some amount of sympathy for everyone involved (except George. I do not like George). The ending is at once sweet closure and a door thrown open. I’m so glad I have Hungerstone waiting at my library already…I need Dunn’s prose tattooed on my heart.

[Karolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

”How is it possible to love and to hate the same person so completly?”

Nie czytałam Hamleta, ale to bujało. Na początku miałam lekki problem z zaangażowaniem w historię, ale pod koniec nie zauważałam, jak czas leciał

“Is it possible to be homesick for a person? A time?”

Sercem opowiadania są Odette i Cecilia: dziewczyny, które kochają się pomimo tego, że ich miłość nie ma przyszłości: czy to ze względu na płeć, nadchodzące studia, czy śmierć matki Odette. Ich relacja jest wiarygodna, łamiąca serce, a los jeszcze bardziej ją spacza. Było creepy, było smutno, było głęboko, było też murder mystery i nawiedzanie, ale jednak czegoś mi tu brakowało. Patrzę na książkę w kontekście Hungerstone, ale może przeczytanie Hamleta zadecyduje o tym, że książka będzie pełna

“Stop looking for me because I’m not here.”

Rottenheart swoim tytułem może nawiązywać do paru postaci, a relacje matka-córka są naginane do granic możliwości (córki matek, łączmy się)

4,5⭐️

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Lucia]

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
I’ve been stung by Shakespeare retellings before but I should never have doubted you Ms Dunn.

[Rhonda Perky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A saphhic retelling of Hamlet set in Victorian England. Dunn's prose is immaculate and evocative.

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly a little disappointed with this one. I didn’t love it.

To start off with what I did love

• The depiction of grief. Raw, angry, uncomfortable. Grief isn’t something pretty and perfect, tidied up with a bow and out in a box. It’s life altering and messy, and too often people are found criticised for how they grieve. It’s either too much, a performance, or perhaps it’s not enough. Dunn portrays grief in many of its multitudes, and in that I found comfort.

• The complex dynamics between all the women as they try and navigate their society and each other. The societal standard and pressures played a very strong role in what happens to these characters.

• This links back to grief, but just the female rage of it all.



I think I was just let down by this book because it quite often felt so slow, with no real getting anywhere. I also wasn’t a massive fan of the structure, with the timeline skipping to the time where Lydia was alive and then to the aftermath of her death.

I also felt like Odette and Cecilia's POVs could sometimes blend together. Despite being quite different characters, often when reading their perspective I would forget whose point of view I was reading from, as often they didn’t felt quite distinct enough. I can’t work out if the books attention being divided between the two worked to flesh out the story, or hindered it in its sameness. Neither character felt particularly strong.

While this isn’t a romance and we weren’t promised the typical conventions of one, I would've liked to have been a little more sold on the chemistry between Cecilia and Odette, because largely I just didn’t care, unfortunately.

Dunn is an excellent writer, this one really just fell flat for me. Not quite sure how else to sum that up or why I didn’t quite like it.

Thank you to Bonnier Books UK | Manilla Press for the e-arc

[Ava Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally gave this a 4.5 ⭐️ but very quickly changed my mind and realised this is 100% a 5 ⭐️ read. Everything you could possibly want in a gothic Victorian novel!! A haunting, insanity, love, murder, grief. A truly perfect story.

[Siân · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️s

[Helena Winter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit disappointed after how much I enjoyed Hungerstone!

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent hamlet inspired retelling, and sapphic which I adored. I love Kat Dunns books and this one didn’t fail to impress me, it’s always a delight when I get to read new Kat Dunn and this was amazing

[viv · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75