i’m still not quite sure how to review this book. the premise was good and it made for a really good horror novel. it didn’t scare me too badly, but i definitely wanted to know what was happening, why, who was behind everything, etc. and those questions were all answered.

there were also things i really disliked about this novel. one of them was the racism and towards a Latinx family and i don’t know why it needed to be included in the story. it was easy to tell that the author herself wasn’t being racist, but perhaps wanted to add more depth to the new police officer who just moved to town with his family. maybe as a way for the readers to sympathize with him a little more. but the hate that one character had for his family was just too much, and the conclusion to this part of the story didn’t add to the overall story, in my opinion. i also really hated the fatphobia and the comments about one character not wanting to eat because it would make her look like “a fat little piggy.” i understand it was probably a disorder with her, but it also didn’t bring much to the story.

the writing was great and the overall story was great. i didn’t understand the ending. so, that’s where i am with this one. it was okay but definitely got a star taken for the racism and fatphobia.

tw: graphic murder scenes, fatphobia, slut shaming, misogyny, racism, manipulation, body mutilation, prejudice, rape