“ℑ’𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔶 𝔪𝔞𝔪𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔣𝔢𝔠𝔱,” 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔡. “𝔐𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔬𝔶𝔰. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩𝔰? 𝔒𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔪𝔞𝔰 𝔬𝔯 𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔢, 𝔴𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩𝔰 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫. 𝔑𝔬𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰.”

Published: 30/01/25
Genre: Folk horror 
Page count: 336
Format read: 🎧
Other books read by this author: Debut 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 - part coming-of-age novel part horror story with a side of sapphic romance - tells the story of mother & daughter Margot & Ruth who live in a cottage in the forest, waiting for ‘strays’ to happen upon their homestead. Lost hikers or travellers with car trouble, Ruth seduces the strays with wine, warmth, & music, because dying calm will make them taste better when she picks the meat off their bones. Ruth & Margot have only each other, until the day that Eden, the stray who changes everything, knocks on their door. 
The story being told from Margot’s point of view mixes a sense of innocence with the grisly truth of the family’s existence, as this nightmare is her normal, the only way of life she’s ever known; the juxtaposition of Margot’s matter of fact tone & the horror depicted is jolting. Harder to stomach than the cannibalism though, in my opinion, is the novel’s depiction of parental abuse. The mercurial nature of Ruth’s mothering, her tendency toward violence, & her neglect of Margot in favour of Eden are heartbreaking to read, culminating in a ending I saw coming from almost the start of the novel, but found deeply shocking all the same. 
Lucy Rose’s debut is claustrophobic, bloody, devastating, & utterly brilliant.