Mary: An Awakening of Terror

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Without giving spoilers, this novel has some elements that would be challenging to pull off for many narrators, and Susan Bennett reads it beautifully.

I would also compare his writing to Sara Gran based solely on a vibe that I can't for the life of me put into earthly words.She’s ignored at work, she’s single and has no prospects, and people tend treat her like she’s invisible. With an acidic sense of humor more barbed than any cactus, Nat Cassidy’s fast-paced Mary is a perfect blend of Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne and Frank De Felitta’s Audrey Rose. I’m a little reluctant to give a concrete number as to the amount of ARCs I got at ALA Annual in June, as the number is staggering and a little out of control. Along with the hot flashes and body aches, she can’t look in a mirror without passing out, and the voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things.

So I ran to NetGalley and grabbed the titles I wanted that way, which works out just as well (and far more compact in terms of storage, really). The rich desert setting with an odd community of inhabitants reminded me of Sundial by Catriona Ward.Mary is honestly not an interesting character, and I think we were supposed to root for her, similar to Carrie, but the whole book had me going what is going on now.

Especially since we had a ton of reveals that showed us who Mary really was as a kid before she got "sent away. Mary starts to see entities around her—mutilated and graphic, these entities are trying to speak to her. Also, major props to him for addressing his choice to give a middle aged woman a voice when he himself is a younger cishet man, and how he tried his best to be authentic in her voice and experiences. This book also dives into social topics that aren’t really discussed to much—perimenopause and the treatment of women once they reach a certain age. Why are we referencing demons and religion, but then none of that is even relevant, however reincarnation - oh, that part is real.But being back home brings something ugly and angry back to life in Mary, and she slowly starts to try to investigate the town's history and her connection to a serial killer who was shot dead by the police almost 50 years ago. She kills her aunt by stuffing porcelain statues down her throat and somehow when she becomes a ghost, she’s cracking jokes and hovering around like this is a Disney movie. The ominous cover only alludes to what may be one of the most bizarre and creepy reads I’ve read this year.