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Follow Me into the Dark
What happens when children are denied love and then left to their own devices? Follow Me into the Dark traces the unraveling of a family marred by perverse intergenerational abuse. Kate is a young baker whose mother is dying of cancer. Gillian is an oversexed, hyper-intellectual who looks like Kate and is sleeping with Kate’s stepfather. Jonah is Gillian’s odd but devoted stepbrother, who increasingly matches the description of the “Doll Collector,” a menacing serial killer. With Kate flailing in her mourning and beating back unwelcome memories, snippets of her family legacy are revealed just as the Doll Collector’s body count grows.
A complex, dark expression of the deprived heart and the desperate lengths children will go to in order to create family.
A complex, dark expression of the deprived heart and the desperate lengths children will go to in order to create family.
310 pages, Paperback
First published March 14, 2017
22 people are currently reading
1006 people want to read
About the author
Felicia C. Sullivan
3 books102 followersHi, Everyone! Welcome to my bookish home.
I’m an award-winning published author (psst: my memoir, The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here was published in 2008) with a novel, Follow Me Into the Dark coming out in March of 2017. I’m a proud Fordham + Columbia graduate who has built businesses and brands for nearly two decades. Now, I’m a free agent (translation: consultant) and CEO of an all-women creative marketing collaborative Phoebe & Kate, working with mid-sized agencies and billion-dollar brands. Essentially, I help smart people tell great stories. I’m passionate about creativity online and off, whether I’m helping to build businesses, crafting short stories, or photographing bread loaves fresh out of the oven. While I’m a clean eater, I’ve never met a blueberry crumble muffin or a truffle macaroni and cheese I didn’t like.
My blog, Love. Life. Eat. is a celebration of my two great loves: food + writing. You’ll find works-in-progress, recipes from my kitchen and favorite cookbooks, and books I’m reading along the way.
I was born + raised in New York and now I call Los Angeles home.
I’m an award-winning published author (psst: my memoir, The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here was published in 2008) with a novel, Follow Me Into the Dark coming out in March of 2017. I’m a proud Fordham + Columbia graduate who has built businesses and brands for nearly two decades. Now, I’m a free agent (translation: consultant) and CEO of an all-women creative marketing collaborative Phoebe & Kate, working with mid-sized agencies and billion-dollar brands. Essentially, I help smart people tell great stories. I’m passionate about creativity online and off, whether I’m helping to build businesses, crafting short stories, or photographing bread loaves fresh out of the oven. While I’m a clean eater, I’ve never met a blueberry crumble muffin or a truffle macaroni and cheese I didn’t like.
My blog, Love. Life. Eat. is a celebration of my two great loves: food + writing. You’ll find works-in-progress, recipes from my kitchen and favorite cookbooks, and books I’m reading along the way.
I was born + raised in New York and now I call Los Angeles home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
June 20, 2017
4.75 stars
Hello darkness!
I was drawn to this book because of the mention of a Doll Collector in the synopsis, but I shouldn't have enjoyed this book! The pace of this story was relaxed, but the writing style was a bit choppy and the shift between POVs was confusing at times. Somehow, this book slowly seduced me! The beginning chapters convinced me that the author was slowly leading me down an LSD-induced journey infused with colorful and intriguing, but very untrustworthy characters!
Luckily, I was up for the ride because this author created a hard-edged, sobering, and rich world of gritty characters navigating through the various stages of life. This book spanned decades but didn't feel long and drawn out.
Follow Me Into the Dark begins with thirty-seven year-old Kate Kelleher placing a call to an operator, explaining that there's a woman on fire in a hotel room. Kate's thoughts:
I considered dumping her in a Hefty bag with a bottle of bleach, a pack of matches, and some rope. She got me so mad! But I’ve learned it’s important to stay the course, see things through, as it were.
The reader is quickly informed that this woman (whose hair is on fire) is the mistress of Kate's stepfather and Kate is mourning the loss of her recently deceased mother, Ellie. The text then jumps forward and the reader is taken on a convoluted journey mixed with disillusionment, pain, and sordid family secrets leading to a VERY disturbing end.
This story was cleverly written! Fact is, the first 60% of the story felt jumbled and disorganized like a big puzzle I'd only solved a portion of. I wasn't even sure that I liked this book much half-way through reading it!
Minor Issues?
Sometimes the author mixed the past up in the text like a messy sandwich. When those layers weren't distinguished, I had to read slowly and carefully. There were some difficult parts to read, but the journey to get to the end of this delicious, literary sandwich was well worth it! . Favorite lines by Kate?
I leave a room blazing.
First time reading this author's work and it won't be the last!
Hello darkness!
I was drawn to this book because of the mention of a Doll Collector in the synopsis, but I shouldn't have enjoyed this book! The pace of this story was relaxed, but the writing style was a bit choppy and the shift between POVs was confusing at times. Somehow, this book slowly seduced me! The beginning chapters convinced me that the author was slowly leading me down an LSD-induced journey infused with colorful and intriguing, but very untrustworthy characters!
Luckily, I was up for the ride because this author created a hard-edged, sobering, and rich world of gritty characters navigating through the various stages of life. This book spanned decades but didn't feel long and drawn out.
Follow Me Into the Dark begins with thirty-seven year-old Kate Kelleher placing a call to an operator, explaining that there's a woman on fire in a hotel room. Kate's thoughts:
I considered dumping her in a Hefty bag with a bottle of bleach, a pack of matches, and some rope. She got me so mad! But I’ve learned it’s important to stay the course, see things through, as it were.
The reader is quickly informed that this woman (whose hair is on fire) is the mistress of Kate's stepfather and Kate is mourning the loss of her recently deceased mother, Ellie. The text then jumps forward and the reader is taken on a convoluted journey mixed with disillusionment, pain, and sordid family secrets leading to a VERY disturbing end.
This story was cleverly written! Fact is, the first 60% of the story felt jumbled and disorganized like a big puzzle I'd only solved a portion of. I wasn't even sure that I liked this book much half-way through reading it!
Minor Issues?
Sometimes the author mixed the past up in the text like a messy sandwich. When those layers weren't distinguished, I had to read slowly and carefully. There were some difficult parts to read, but the journey to get to the end of this delicious, literary sandwich was well worth it! . Favorite lines by Kate?
I leave a room blazing.
First time reading this author's work and it won't be the last!
March 31, 2017
I'd never liked books of this style, the confusing, breathless narration that pushes the reader forward whether they like it or not. But this book changed my perspective entirely. I'm shocked this is Sullivan's first novel and I think we can stop crying for Gillian Flynn wannabes and instead embrace this clever, bright new voice.
Yup no sarcasm to share. Sorry guys.
Yup no sarcasm to share. Sorry guys.
March 14, 2017
Follow Me Into the Dark opens with thirty-something Kate setting aflame the hair of her step-father’s mistress Gillian. It’s possibly the least fucked-up thing to happen in the novel.
In 2013 Felicia C. Sullivan wrote a memoir about her childhood. I’ve not read the book but if the blurb is anything to go by Sullivan’s upbringing involved living among drug dealers, “substitute fathers” and a mother who was prone to overdosing. This less than ideal childhood led her toward a life of drug and alcohol abuse. It was also a clear inspiration for Follow Me Into the Dark, a “literary”* horror novel that, at its core, supports the argument that abuse is cyclical. In this case it’s abuse inflicted and suffered by three generations of mothers and daughters.
Novels about abuse, especially when it covers the gamut, physical, sexual, verbal and involves children, are not my first choice of pleasure reading. But when they’re written this well, with a plot that takes surprising turns that, on reflection, have been carefully seeded and foreshadowed, it’s hard to look away or put the book down. Sullivan’s argument that the abused often becomes the abuser isn’t a new insight – social theorists and psychologists have been pointing this out for nearly fourty years – what’s disturbing in Sullivan’s depiction is how this abuse stems from a twisted and perverse form of love that works both ways. A mother’s desire to protect her daughter (even though that might include locking her in the basement or having her pretend to be someone else) and a daughter’s desire to be loved (trying to find sense in the abuse, adapting and rationalising the pain). It’s powerful and raw and told with a great deal of insight and pain. The following excerpt is from Ellie – daughter of Norah, mother of Kate – which captures a horrible self awareness, a fatalism, an inability to escape the abuse she has suffered and the abuse she will, inevitably, doll out on her daughter.
“I’ve outlived my best-by date. I accept that I will never scramble eggs. I will always burn or break toast. My skin will itch and blister after a man touches it. There will always be marks and stained sheets. I will never understand the nuances of dinner parties, where conversations require constant costume changes. I will never gnaw down to the bone. I will be cautious of birds. I will live in a series of homes and never see the deed. I will pin butterflies to the walls of my room to replace the mirrors that have been removed. The days will continue to leave their scars. I will never take my own life because I can’t bear the thought of writing the note. Instead, I’ll let others leave their marks. I’ll open the Bible and read the book without understanding the story. It doesn’t matter. In the end, the men will save. This is what I was told. What I needed to know was this: my role was to own the books and believe. Men would do the work.
I think of my house and I see my daughter reaching for me as I fade and fall out of the frame. All I’ve got is a mouth that has a taste for metal and a desire to leave my three-year-old daughter and go.”
There is quite a bit of violence toward women throughout the course of the novel. Gillian’s brother – the mistress of Kate’s stepfather – is a serial killer who turns the remains of his female victims into dolls. At first the whole serial killer subplot seems like Sullivan is over-egging an already rancid pudding. But, no, there’s a reason for this that links back to the themes of the novel. A reason that is revealed, like most of the truths in this book, in a genuinely surprising manner. Whether it’s Kate, Gillian, Norah or Ellie, Sullivan provides the reader with a sympathetic portrayal of these women, even when they perform the most awful acts. She doesn’t demonize them, she doesn’t resort to straw-woman. And yet, as the title suggests, this is a dark novel. The only ray of hope, and it is slender, is that the cycle has been broken, that a daughter to be born may escape what her mother, grand mother and great grand mother experienced.
I don’t want to end this review by saying that this won’t be a novel for everyone. First off, it’s a stupid statement – I mean what book is for everyone – and second off I don’t support dissuading people from reading terrific writing even if the subject matter is difficult. Literary or otherwise, this is a fantastic horror novel. When the writing and story-telling is this good it's worth peering into the darkness.
* On Twitter the critic Ron Charles recently defined literary thriller as “a technical term that we critics use to describe a thriller that we've read.” How true.
In 2013 Felicia C. Sullivan wrote a memoir about her childhood. I’ve not read the book but if the blurb is anything to go by Sullivan’s upbringing involved living among drug dealers, “substitute fathers” and a mother who was prone to overdosing. This less than ideal childhood led her toward a life of drug and alcohol abuse. It was also a clear inspiration for Follow Me Into the Dark, a “literary”* horror novel that, at its core, supports the argument that abuse is cyclical. In this case it’s abuse inflicted and suffered by three generations of mothers and daughters.
Novels about abuse, especially when it covers the gamut, physical, sexual, verbal and involves children, are not my first choice of pleasure reading. But when they’re written this well, with a plot that takes surprising turns that, on reflection, have been carefully seeded and foreshadowed, it’s hard to look away or put the book down. Sullivan’s argument that the abused often becomes the abuser isn’t a new insight – social theorists and psychologists have been pointing this out for nearly fourty years – what’s disturbing in Sullivan’s depiction is how this abuse stems from a twisted and perverse form of love that works both ways. A mother’s desire to protect her daughter (even though that might include locking her in the basement or having her pretend to be someone else) and a daughter’s desire to be loved (trying to find sense in the abuse, adapting and rationalising the pain). It’s powerful and raw and told with a great deal of insight and pain. The following excerpt is from Ellie – daughter of Norah, mother of Kate – which captures a horrible self awareness, a fatalism, an inability to escape the abuse she has suffered and the abuse she will, inevitably, doll out on her daughter.
“I’ve outlived my best-by date. I accept that I will never scramble eggs. I will always burn or break toast. My skin will itch and blister after a man touches it. There will always be marks and stained sheets. I will never understand the nuances of dinner parties, where conversations require constant costume changes. I will never gnaw down to the bone. I will be cautious of birds. I will live in a series of homes and never see the deed. I will pin butterflies to the walls of my room to replace the mirrors that have been removed. The days will continue to leave their scars. I will never take my own life because I can’t bear the thought of writing the note. Instead, I’ll let others leave their marks. I’ll open the Bible and read the book without understanding the story. It doesn’t matter. In the end, the men will save. This is what I was told. What I needed to know was this: my role was to own the books and believe. Men would do the work.
I think of my house and I see my daughter reaching for me as I fade and fall out of the frame. All I’ve got is a mouth that has a taste for metal and a desire to leave my three-year-old daughter and go.”
There is quite a bit of violence toward women throughout the course of the novel. Gillian’s brother – the mistress of Kate’s stepfather – is a serial killer who turns the remains of his female victims into dolls. At first the whole serial killer subplot seems like Sullivan is over-egging an already rancid pudding. But, no, there’s a reason for this that links back to the themes of the novel. A reason that is revealed, like most of the truths in this book, in a genuinely surprising manner. Whether it’s Kate, Gillian, Norah or Ellie, Sullivan provides the reader with a sympathetic portrayal of these women, even when they perform the most awful acts. She doesn’t demonize them, she doesn’t resort to straw-woman. And yet, as the title suggests, this is a dark novel. The only ray of hope, and it is slender, is that the cycle has been broken, that a daughter to be born may escape what her mother, grand mother and great grand mother experienced.
I don’t want to end this review by saying that this won’t be a novel for everyone. First off, it’s a stupid statement – I mean what book is for everyone – and second off I don’t support dissuading people from reading terrific writing even if the subject matter is difficult. Literary or otherwise, this is a fantastic horror novel. When the writing and story-telling is this good it's worth peering into the darkness.
* On Twitter the critic Ron Charles recently defined literary thriller as “a technical term that we critics use to describe a thriller that we've read.” How true.
Read
December 31, 2018The writing is idiotic, pretentious, embarrassing. Just tell your stupid story already. No one thinks you’re a delicate genius just because you know how to fuck up a paragraph. Get lost. Sub zero stars.
March 6, 2017
This novel. I bought it this afternoon, intending to read it over the next few days, but after the first few chapters, there was no way I was putting it down until it was finished. The female characters in it are so sharply realized -- so complex, brilliant and monstrous and sympathetic all at once, unspooling an intergenerational Möbius strip of mother-daughter love and conflict -- that I lost myself in the book completely. Do not miss reading this.
April 10, 2017
I've never read a book like this before. It's an incredible thriller that makes you think about families, mental health, and the darkest episode of SVU you've ever seen. I read this in a day and wished I had more of it to read. Please do yourself a favor and read this immediately - if not sooner.
April 17, 2021
Very very strange book. Bizarre. Didn’t make sense to me what was really going on it was very confusing. The characters sometimes I couldn’t tell if they were real or imagination. You find out in the end who the characters really are. I would say it’s a little messed up. Interesting storyline but I don’t really think it had a storyline? It was just a bunch of information thrown at the reader. I believe it what supposed to be about the main characters life and her parents life. Idk it was just very weird. Not a huge fan
March 24, 2017
I completely agree with a previous reviewer who said, "[the book] opens with thirty-something Kate setting aflame the hair of her step-father's mistress Gillian. It's possible the least fucked-up thing to happen in the novel."
This book is not for the faint of heart, but it's a good one. I would take the back cover copy seriously when it says intergenerational abuse. That being said, this book is really incredible – complex, monstrous characters who create a cycle of horror for each subsequent generation. Fans of the original V.C. Andrews books and Dan Chaon will love this book.
This book is not for the faint of heart, but it's a good one. I would take the back cover copy seriously when it says intergenerational abuse. That being said, this book is really incredible – complex, monstrous characters who create a cycle of horror for each subsequent generation. Fans of the original V.C. Andrews books and Dan Chaon will love this book.
April 13, 2017
This book was certainly one that makes you consider the dark secrets we all hold. Initially I thought this might be about the inside mind of a serial killer and although it was, it was about so much more than that. It was about how that mindset is cultivated and ultimately the impact such small ripples can make not just on a single person, but on an entire family.
March 20, 2017
I was standing and reading on the NYC subway, as I neared the ending chapters of this dark literary mystery. My mouth hung open and I had to close the book and close my eyes to think and retrace the story-lines after encountering Ms. Sullivan's deeply clever twist.
What a joy it was to find that the complicated characters I had become invested in were embroiled in much more than I could have imagined.
This is a great, dark story about what happens to broken people living in a broken world of their own making.
What a joy it was to find that the complicated characters I had become invested in were embroiled in much more than I could have imagined.
This is a great, dark story about what happens to broken people living in a broken world of their own making.
April 28, 2017
Follow Me Into the Dark reminded me of a lot of other books; a merging of Fall on Your Knees and Sharp Objects in particular, though I never felt like Sullivan managed to bring her novel fully into its own space. Perhaps my largest problem with the book is that the characters are chaotic but largely empty. Comparing to Sharp Objects where Camille Preaker's emotional and psychological emptiness is given shape and voice, Sullivan doesn't quite manage that level of connection between reader and subject, never truly delving into the characters and what makes them tick.
Follow Me Into the Dark was purposefully chaotic and confusing, skipping through time periods, narrative perspectives, and characters, in a way that never allows the reader to fully grasp on to anything. I read on more to find out why the hell it was so vague and choppy, not because I had a connection with any characters. I constantly felt as though Sullivan was at the cusp of something great, but pulled back for a not-particularly-surprising twist and an aura of mystery.
Follow Me Into the Dark left me with no more of idea of who the characters were than I had on the first page. Sometimes that's a totally viable option but in this case, with so few characters, I wanted more, so much more. I wanted to know why Kate chose to act certain ways, why The Doll Collector killed girls, why, why, why? There just never seemed to be enough psychological reasoning. Characters acted that way because they did.
Ultimately, I just felt like I'd read versions of this book before, but enjoyed them far more.
Follow Me Into the Dark was purposefully chaotic and confusing, skipping through time periods, narrative perspectives, and characters, in a way that never allows the reader to fully grasp on to anything. I read on more to find out why the hell it was so vague and choppy, not because I had a connection with any characters. I constantly felt as though Sullivan was at the cusp of something great, but pulled back for a not-particularly-surprising twist and an aura of mystery.
Follow Me Into the Dark left me with no more of idea of who the characters were than I had on the first page. Sometimes that's a totally viable option but in this case, with so few characters, I wanted more, so much more. I wanted to know why Kate chose to act certain ways, why The Doll Collector killed girls, why, why, why? There just never seemed to be enough psychological reasoning. Characters acted that way because they did.
Ultimately, I just felt like I'd read versions of this book before, but enjoyed them far more.
March 8, 2017
full review here: http://www.shelfstalker.net/blog/foll...
This is a dark, entangling, deeply unsettling sort of book. The type that digs gritty fingernails deep into your skin, your very bones, and doesn’t let go, not even after you’re finished reading.
The main thrust of the plot follows Kate whose mother is dying of cancer. Her stepfather is concurrently sleeping with Gillian, who happens to be a doppelgänger of Kate and further, there is a serial killer called the Doll Collector on the loose killing girls who have similar appearance to her as well. Gillian’s stepbrother Jonah increasingly matches the description of the killer, but it couldn’t really be him, could it?
Kate begins delving into her past and her mother’s past, bringing things to the surface that she would have preferred to keep hidden. Abuse, mental illness, loss, and pain begin narrating the pages and her emotions, especially negative ones like anger and rage, start boiling over in a way she can no longer control and the lines in her own mind begin to blur.
Perhaps the answers to now lie in the past, no matter how difficult it is to face them. Chilling and compelling, this is beautifully written debut novel.
My thanks to the author for providing me with a copy!
This is a dark, entangling, deeply unsettling sort of book. The type that digs gritty fingernails deep into your skin, your very bones, and doesn’t let go, not even after you’re finished reading.
The main thrust of the plot follows Kate whose mother is dying of cancer. Her stepfather is concurrently sleeping with Gillian, who happens to be a doppelgänger of Kate and further, there is a serial killer called the Doll Collector on the loose killing girls who have similar appearance to her as well. Gillian’s stepbrother Jonah increasingly matches the description of the killer, but it couldn’t really be him, could it?
Kate begins delving into her past and her mother’s past, bringing things to the surface that she would have preferred to keep hidden. Abuse, mental illness, loss, and pain begin narrating the pages and her emotions, especially negative ones like anger and rage, start boiling over in a way she can no longer control and the lines in her own mind begin to blur.
Perhaps the answers to now lie in the past, no matter how difficult it is to face them. Chilling and compelling, this is beautifully written debut novel.
My thanks to the author for providing me with a copy!
March 3, 2017
I essentially resented all obligations that interfered with ny reading. I have never read such a chilling display of what humans can do when deprived of normalcy and love - yet at the same time the sympathy these characters pull out of you is surprising and undeniable. Felicia Sullivan has mastered the art of the darkness we could all fall nto without the proper care and caution.
July 12, 2017
Kate’s father didn’t even wait for his wife’s death before starting an affair. He’s been seeing Gillian on the side while his wife fades away from cancer. This is too much for Kate to take. Our story begins in the aftermath of Kate’s attack on her father’s mistress. This is just the beginning of the powerful fall out and back story woven in Follow Me into the Dark.
Kate’s grief and rage over her mother’s sad fate is completely overwhelming to her. It consumes her every waking moment and she struggles to keep it together in day to day life. It is Kate’s character that we empathize with most. The author introduces us to her pain and gives authentic insight into her feelings. The release of her rage is brutal and merciless. Her temporary coping mechanism is to use the order of baking and following a recipe. Kate’s relationship with both her parents is beyond complicated.
The insight and empathy is not just for the main protagonist. Throughout the narrative the point of view switches to different people including Gillian. This is a great device which enables the author to show the other side of the story. It shows that Gillian is a human and not just a one dimensional adulteress. We get the perspectives of all of the major characters including Jonah and his alter ego Lionel. Jonah is Gillian’s brother, but is he also the serial killer known as the “Doll Collector” who sews up the mouths of his female victims? We still get interesting backstory even for more minor characters, such as Lucia, Jonah’s one-time girlfriend.
The characterization throughout is wonderful. All the characters have quirkiness and tragedy. They have had hardship and trauma in parental and other relationships. They have struggled with careers, health, and coping with ageing. The majority of the players in this story have been denied love by their parents and that has had serious psychological effects on them. Over multiple generations, we see the repetition of a pattern of terrible mothers and fathers and what a lack of love for your own children coupled with emotional abuse can result in.
The story is more driven by the characters and flashbacks than linear plot points. For some readers, that’s going to make it a bit less accessible. The plot jumps around from generation to generation and backwards and forwards in time. This is a complicated read. If you’re looking for a typical serial killer thriller, this is not it. The book is exceptionally dark and filled with abuse. It’s bleak and depressing but powerful.
Kate’s grief and rage over her mother’s sad fate is completely overwhelming to her. It consumes her every waking moment and she struggles to keep it together in day to day life. It is Kate’s character that we empathize with most. The author introduces us to her pain and gives authentic insight into her feelings. The release of her rage is brutal and merciless. Her temporary coping mechanism is to use the order of baking and following a recipe. Kate’s relationship with both her parents is beyond complicated.
The insight and empathy is not just for the main protagonist. Throughout the narrative the point of view switches to different people including Gillian. This is a great device which enables the author to show the other side of the story. It shows that Gillian is a human and not just a one dimensional adulteress. We get the perspectives of all of the major characters including Jonah and his alter ego Lionel. Jonah is Gillian’s brother, but is he also the serial killer known as the “Doll Collector” who sews up the mouths of his female victims? We still get interesting backstory even for more minor characters, such as Lucia, Jonah’s one-time girlfriend.
The characterization throughout is wonderful. All the characters have quirkiness and tragedy. They have had hardship and trauma in parental and other relationships. They have struggled with careers, health, and coping with ageing. The majority of the players in this story have been denied love by their parents and that has had serious psychological effects on them. Over multiple generations, we see the repetition of a pattern of terrible mothers and fathers and what a lack of love for your own children coupled with emotional abuse can result in.
The story is more driven by the characters and flashbacks than linear plot points. For some readers, that’s going to make it a bit less accessible. The plot jumps around from generation to generation and backwards and forwards in time. This is a complicated read. If you’re looking for a typical serial killer thriller, this is not it. The book is exceptionally dark and filled with abuse. It’s bleak and depressing but powerful.
March 9, 2024
Another reviewer commented -- and I agree 100% -- that if you enjoyed V.C. Andrews' books as a teenager (raises hand), then you'll probably like this literary horror novel. Dark and twisted with ALL the trigger warnings, this is a story about intergenerational trauma and abuse in every possible form. It's not for the faint of heart. (Read the synopsis before picking this up.) I've been a fan of Felicia's writing for many years, most recently via her Substack, and was thrilled to find this, her second book, in our library system. 3.5 stars (because sometimes the narrative was a bit hard to follow), rounded up, but this takes you on a wild ride.
February 13, 2020
I cannot honestly say that I actually enjoyed reading this book. In fact it was depressing and emotionally tiring. Reading it was like passing through a dark tunnel with no possibility of light filtering in. Yet it was highly realistic in its description of hereditary insanity, angst, and flawed interpersonal relationships. In other words, it was psychologically sound in its portrayal of disturbed human beings and the viewpoints we hold of death. It was well written, fast paced and hard to put down nonetheless. If you are looking for a dark book on human depravity, you need not look further.
March 14, 2019
This is like an especially in-depth episode of Criminal Minds or Special Victims Unit. Parts of it are well written and compelling, but overall it feels gross and exploitative. Content warnings for abuse of all kinds, especially of children. If you like darker stuff, like Gillian Flynn or Karin Slaughter, you'll probably enjoy this too, but this felt darker to me than anything I've read from those two. And not in the good way.
February 17, 2020
WOW
I had a hard time getting into this book at first. It is just so fast paced I couldn't keep up. Then I (got it!) And it it's amazing the way it's written. My mother had MPD and this is the second book that I've read that let's me know where she lived in her mind.
The first was "When Rabbit Howls"
This I is an excellent book and I wonder how the author put it all together? Really entertaining I could not put it down
I had a hard time getting into this book at first. It is just so fast paced I couldn't keep up. Then I (got it!) And it it's amazing the way it's written. My mother had MPD and this is the second book that I've read that let's me know where she lived in her mind.
The first was "When Rabbit Howls"
This I is an excellent book and I wonder how the author put it all together? Really entertaining I could not put it down
May 31, 2020
Oh, man. Probably closer to a 2 given how the final third of the book had me feeling, but I'm giving it 2.5 out of fairness. The first 2/3rds or so are wild and weird and reminded me of nothing so much as the TV show Hannibal (in that it's stylized and Gothic and even if a lot of it is gobbledygook it is beautiful), so I'm kind of bummed that the final parts fall back on a trope I found way too played out.
December 19, 2017
3.75 ummm this book is really twisted and I'm still not sure what I just read. I can honestly say I am impressed with the weaving of this story but I don't ever need to read this again once was most certainly enough.
July 31, 2019
This book was a fever dream. Reading it was like pushing a bruise, painful in a pleasant way. It’s confusing and enthralling, and as my unease mounted while reading, so did my need to devour the book as quickly as possible, to find out exactly what the hell was going on. Read at your own risk.
May 9, 2017
I didn't see that twist coming!!! Great read!
May 11, 2017
Jeez...what a mind f*ck.
July 10, 2017
Again, might just be because I'm getting old and cranky but if you have an interesting concept but your weird prose meant to sound experimentally 'deep' ruins that then I hate you.
September 4, 2021
It was incredibly confusing and I LOVED IT. Wild read.
December 25, 2021
Get this away from me
March 1, 2017
review to come
March 1, 2017
Felicia Sullivan's writing is dense, rich, full of grace and dare I say, transgressive in the best sense of the word. We need more of this in the world please!!
March 30, 2017
Amazing writing but definitely not a pick up and read in a day kind of book. For me this is the kind of book I read trying to get to the end so I could understand what the fuck was going on and then go back and read it again with that info.
April 30, 2017
I'm surprised so many people are saying they've not read anything like this before. For me, it's deeply reminiscent of Bret Easton Ellis, Tama Janowitz, et al, but less successful. I didn't find it disturbing and the plot twists were underwhelming, but the writing style was interesting enough to compensate. It wasn't bad, it just feels unfinished, like it needs another edit.
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