I’m working hard to get through all the ARCs I wasn’t able to read this past year, you can find the full series and explanation here.

Next up on the docket is Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville which was sent to me by Hell’s Hundred, a new horror fiction imprint from Soho Press. This hit shelves August 6th, 2024, and was included in the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards under the horror category.

“It’s funny how things swing from one place to another, like a pendulum in a big old clock. One minute you want to dig your own grave, the next you want to hug and kiss the whole wide world.”

In December, Rebecca accidentally drives her car into a snowbank. She’s struggling with everything; no money, no home, just her and her daughter surviving on the road. And the two of them are on the run from a deadly secret. Meanwhile, Special Agent Marc Donner has spent the past two years tracking and studying a serial killer who drains their victim’s blood, leaving a trail of bodies across the country. As the three characters get closer without realizing, life as they know it will change forever and not everyone will make it out alive.

“You need blood like your own. Blood like mine.”

This was an enjoyable read, and I read it in December without realizing that this book was set in the same month which was a fun immersive experience. The story gives me Criminal Minds meets Ginger Snaps vibes and I had a lot of fun reading it.

Rebecca is the character we spend the most time with, and she is incredibly complex. In some ways she is very unlikable, but as you learn more about her and come to understand what’s driving her, you do really root for her. First and foremost she is a mother, and one who will do anything to protect her daughter. She had Moonflower when she was still a teenager, and occasionally she reflects on what her life could’ve been without her daughter, but ultimately, nothing else seems to matter except for Moonflower.

There’s also this underlying darkness in Rebecca that I found really fascinating. To feed Moonflower, she lures and kills pedophiles. And a few times in the book she’s questioned with whether she is killing them for the sake of feeding her daughter, or if somewhere along the line she started actually enjoying the murder aspect. Righting the wrongs, vigilante style.

“Everything I’ve ever done, I’ve done it for you. To keep you safe. I gave up my life so you could live.”

“But Mom,” Moonflower said, tears forming, “this isn’t living.”

Moonflower is obviously a sort of werewolf like creature in this story. I like that it’s not your traditional werewolf, and adds some new fresh elements to the idea of it, while also making nods to the OG werewolf templates. The overarching theme of this story is Moonflower’s humanness. Despite the creature inside of her getting closer and closer to the surface, erasing her humanity, Rebecca only sees the human side. When Donner enters the story, and the Nurse character, Moonflower’s humanity is questioned, but Rebecca stands firm until the very end. And in a way she’s right, Moonflower does occasionally lose control of the wolf but every single time, Rebecca can bring her back into herself. So is she ultimately human with a wolf inside of her? Or is she a werewolf with a dash of humanity struggling to live inside?

Donner is your sort of run of the mill FBI agent in a horror story; alcoholic, terrible husband and father, incredibly driven and unable to see outside the box he’s drawn himself into. It did feel a bit of a ‘paint by numbers’ with his character. And sometimes the story did feel repetitive.

“She is human. This is the first and last rule, because it is the truth. She is Monica Carter, my daughter, my Moonflower, and she is first, last, and always a human being.”

But overall, I had a good time reading this, and it does bring some fresh air to the werewolf genre. The scene building was fantastic and immersive, and I enjoyed the mixed media element to the story telling as well. It’s definitely worth your time, and the ending is fantastic.