Katie is almost six. She’s very much looking forward to her birthday party, with her mum Leanne and sister Chloe and of course her very best friend, JoJo.
Grace has no daughter, no mum, no family, but she loves her friends next door, perhaps especially Katie, since she has no child of her own.
It’s a good life. It’s enough. So when Grace begins to see things that can’t possibly be there, strange visions that seem to portend something happening to those she cares about, it’s a mother’s love she feels. A mother’s rage. A mother’s determination to protect them . . .
Dark bleatings, my lovely tribe. I’m reviewing a novella by Alison Littlewood today, an author well deserving of all and any support and readership because as well as being a beautiful writer, she’s just the loveliest person. I was so delighted when my copy of this gorgeous book arrived, but do the contents match the glorious cover?
Grace is looking forward to her next door neighbour and friend’s kid’s birthday party. Katie seems to love her and almost view her as an aunt, and Grace loves to be involved. As the party approaches, however, Grace starts seeing things. Weird things. Katie’s friends become somewhat frightening to her, even though she knows that when she’s seeing them, they can’t really be there. But she is seeing them, so what the heckity heck is going on here? The closer the party draws, the worse the feeling she has. Something terrible is doomed to happen and though Grace doesn’t know exactly what, she knows who she needs to save to divert disaster.
Only….are her visions reliable?
Good grief. Initially, I found what was happening quite creepy. Who wouldn’t be freaked out by a kid being in their house, only to find that said kid couldn’t possibly have been there? Who wouldn’t be alarmed by frequent visits from ghosts of still-living children, of a knot in the stomach that won’t stop twisting? I had no idea where this was going to go, but I didn’t need to wait long to find out because this is such a quick read and a page-turner that I got through in one sitting.
I found Grace to be an easy character to like and sympathise with, and felt myself getting more and more stressed as that looming party closed in. The second things started to go awry, my heart was in my mouth. It was like watching a violently thrown frisbee heading straight for the back of a nice old lady’s head, but there’s nothing you could do in time to stop it hitting her.
When things started to unfold at the party, I was suspended in stress because the way things just rampantly and so quickly went out of control was both masterful storytelling and one of the most anxiety inducing sequences I’ve read in ages. I can’t elaborate but…yes, this most certainly is horror, and it’s layered too. Whichever angle you look at this from, this is one of the worst scenarios I could imagine being involved in.
If you’re looking for beautifully written but brutal read, this is for you! If you’d like to check out the book or the author, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
Leave a comment