My Darling Dreadful Thing: A Novel

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars | 691 ratings

Price: 15.04

Last update: 01-10-2025


Top reviews from the United States

Melissa
5.0 out of 5 stars Review
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2024
My Darling Dreadful Thing
By: Joanna Van Veen

I read this on Netgalley and it was a 5 star for me! I love horror novels and my favorite being gothic horror. If you’re into a gothic sapphic horror you should pick this one! It’s creepy haunted house vibe and all the crazy things that happen in this story will have you not being able to put the book down.

This is set in the 1950’s and follows a girl who lives with her mom as a child and her mom would pretend to hold seances at their home for people to connect with their loved ones. The girl would hide under the floorboards to pretend she was the spirit while the people would try to connect to their loved ones. Meanwhile she’s there she actually connected to a spirit and was bounded to her as a companion.

Now she’s 21, all throughout her life she’s the only one that can see this spirit companion and communicate with her.

So much happens and some of the things that go on make you question if this really happened or was the girl just mental. There’s a murder, she meets someone named Agnes & there’s also excerpts in the book set up like a doctor/patient conversation.

I really enjoyed this story, it was creepy and gave my vibes of the haunting of bly manor, what moves the dead, and my favorite, Poe.
Jenny S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Unique
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2024
This is an incredibly unique and turbulent gothic tale, that I completely devoured. The characters are divine, the plot is twisty, and the setting is pure perfection. Roos Beckman is a young woman, whose Mama is not the kindest. She limits Roos’ food intake, she forced her into small spaces beneath the floor to work wires and strings for their seances when she was a small child. In the small confines of the basement Roos meets her spirit companion, Ruth. Ruth is her friend, protector, mother figure, and will not allow any harm come to Roos. Mama of course uses Roos and Ruth in her seances to bring in money, none of which Roos sees. Agnes Knoop is rich woman who has come to experience one of their seances. There is an instant connection with Roos. Agnes takes in the horrible conditions Roos has been forced to live and has her move to her mansion that is falling in around itself. It is dark, dingy, yet Agnes brings the light into Roos life. This is one book I do not want to go into great detail about or you will miss out on all of the surprises that are in store for you.

I do love an atmospheric read and this one ticks all of the boxes. I was absorbed into the pages and into Roos life. The characters and the storylines between them are fantastic. You can feel the pain and anguish oozing out of Roos, and her need to fit in somewhere, to feel someone's love, and to have someone's attention.
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Jenny S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Unique
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2024
This is an incredibly unique and turbulent gothic tale, that I completely devoured. The characters are divine, the plot is twisty, and the setting is pure perfection. Roos Beckman is a young woman, whose Mama is not the kindest. She limits Roos’ food intake, she forced her into small spaces beneath the floor to work wires and strings for their seances when she was a small child. In the small confines of the basement Roos meets her spirit companion, Ruth. Ruth is her friend, protector, mother figure, and will not allow any harm come to Roos. Mama of course uses Roos and Ruth in her seances to bring in money, none of which Roos sees. Agnes Knoop is rich woman who has come to experience one of their seances. There is an instant connection with Roos. Agnes takes in the horrible conditions Roos has been forced to live and has her move to her mansion that is falling in around itself. It is dark, dingy, yet Agnes brings the light into Roos life. This is one book I do not want to go into great detail about or you will miss out on all of the surprises that are in store for you.

I do love an atmospheric read and this one ticks all of the boxes. I was absorbed into the pages and into Roos life. The characters and the storylines between them are fantastic. You can feel the pain and anguish oozing out of Roos, and her need to fit in somewhere, to feel someone's love, and to have someone's attention.
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Aspen Worsham
5.0 out of 5 stars Delightfully dark!
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2024
I was lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC from NetGalley and have spent the last 3 months waiting for everyone else I know to be able to read it too!

How delightfully dark!

I absolutely loved this story. It was the perfect mix of dark and macabre, with a bit of mystery as we learn the details of all that has happened. Once I started reading I was completely engrossed & couldn’t put it down!

I really like how it switches between Roosje’s POV and the case files.

All in all, My Darling Dreadful Thing was such an impressive debut novel, and I cannot wait to see what else she writes!
codinick
3.0 out of 5 stars slow but good
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2024
This horror story will make your skin crawl. I thorough enjoyed the story telling, and it definitely had me second guessing. I will forever believe that Ruth and Peter were real. Really enjoyed the ending. It took me a long time to get into the story, but it’s short enough that you can power through.
Debra C
4.0 out of 5 stars creepy
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2024
Gothic, bizarre, creepy, and unsettling, My Darling Dreadful Thing is a unique, dark, and original book. While reading there were times that I wasn't sure that I enjoyed the book, but I also didn't dislike it either. This book is unsettling, chilling, and creepy.

Roos Beckman has one good thing in her life and that is Ruth, a corpse like dead woman that has been around for centuries, that only she can see. Roos participated in seances that her horrible mother hosted until the day she caught the eye of Agnes, a wealthy widow, who asked Roos to come live with her in her crumbling estate. This should have been a bright new beginning for Roos but then someone is found dead......

The book is told in the past where readers are privy to Roos life doing seances, living with Agnes, and how the death occurred. In the other timeline, readers see Roos being treated by Doctor Montague, who is tasked with determining if Roos can stand trial.

Is Ruth real? Roos knows she is, she has had a close and loving relationship with her...

As I mentioned, this book is creepy, eerie, and bizarre. It is oozing with atmosphere and an underlying tension. This book played out like an old black and white movie in my mind, with the characters in the cold, dark, crumbling estate. Roos and her relationship with both Anges and Ruth were intriguing. The unsettling feeling of something not being right, in fact the feeling that something is quite wrong permeates throughout the book. Is Roos being haunted or is Roos the one doing the haunting or is something else at play. What is real, what isn't real? You will need to read to find out.

Overall, I found this to be well written, gripping, and well thought out. I especially enjoyed the sections between Roos and Dr. Montague. I also loved the unsettling vibe in this book. I thought the author did a fantastic job setting the stage and providing a chilling read.

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