Review of “Queeny: A Monster Maker” by Linda Scarlett.
Format read: Kindle
The preview for this book is what drew me in.
“A raspy, sinister whistling of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” swallows the room.
Delicate hands sew two thick, fleshy pieces of material together. The needle is large. The thread, a heavy fishing line. The material is tough to sew. It looks like skin. The stitches are crude.
When the sewing needle struggles to get free, the whistling stops. As the needle releases, the hands begin to sew again. The whistling continues where it left off.
The next piece sewn onto the patchwork has hair on it, long human hair.
Sometimes monster stories are real.”
The use of an innocent children’s song is a wonderful tool in the horror genre in my eyes. I immediately thought of the use of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” by Tiny Tim in 2010’s “Insidious”. The juxtaposition is great, and I immediately wanted to know what else was in store.
“Queeny” uses another technique I love. Each chapter follows a different character or location, with everything eventually intersecting. This gives the reader a special view into what is happening, while the characters are often oblivious to what is going on right in front of them. As a storytelling technique, this builds up the horror, as the reader wants to be able to yell at the characters, “Run away, you fool!”
This story follows Red, a detective who is always on the lookout for whoever murdered his father, and Queeny, a young lady who works at the local animal shelter and has some special secrets.
As the two characters cross paths and feel a special connection, they soon learn that their connection runs much deeper than either of them expected.
I found the characters to be intriguing and sad. I was pulled in by Queeny – she has a caring heart, but we soon learn that something lurks beneath. I kept rooting for her to find a way to battle her personal demons and come out on top.
At times, Red seemed pretty clueless for a detective. He had giant flashing warning signs right in front of him, but he missed them. As the story went on, I found myself relating more and more to Red. Who hasn’t ever been in a relationship (or the beginnings of one) that had all sorts of red flags, but we missed them because we were so infatuated with the other person? This is what Red was going through.
All in all, I have to recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror or suspense stories. I pride myself on being able to predict how stories will work out, but the end of this book caught me by surprise! I’m always pleased when this happens. Scarlett did a great job of giving me hints, but still managing to keep the end a secret until the end.
Grab your own copy of “Queeny: A Monster Maker” on Kindle or Paperback
