Heather’s Bookshelf: The Demon Tailor
Author: Susan McCauley
Released: 10/1/20
Genre: Thriller/horror novella
“My heart hammered against my ribs and into my throat, but I forced myself to lie still. To take long, deep breaths through my stuffy nose. If I could not keep my mind calm, I would not be able to escape. And I had to escape.”
“The Demon Tailor” introduces you to Marie, a young woman working for her family at a small inn on the outskirts of Paris. Marie appreciates the simple pleasures in life like sharing fresh bread with her father in the market or feeding the chickens with her little sister. But Marie yearns for something more for her future and seeks to prove herself to her seemingly cold mother. It is during one of these self determined moments that Marie finds herself in a vulnerable situation that leads her to a waking nightmare and the fight of her life.
Marie and her father happen upon a charismatic speaker while at the market in Paris. The man warns the townspeople of a creature in the woods near Marie’s family’s inn. He and a hunting party proceed to try to find the creature, but it ends up being Marie who is hunted. She finds herself in a situation that goes from bad to worse with no apparent happy ending in sight.
This book is both descriptive and scary which melds into a terrifying combination. The situation that Marie finds herself in is one truly made of nightmares and the Demon Tailor fully lives up to his name. But Marie’s a fighter and I couldn’t stop myself from turning the page as I rooted for her and against the tailor.
Fair Warning: Really scary stuff - horror, torture, and murder
Overall, this novella was extremely descriptive and cringeworthy. To add to the creep factor was the premise that the story was based on a serial killer that actually existed in the 1500s. The horror that Marie encounters is palpable and terrifying. While the story is short (can be read in an afternoon), it moves along at a nice pace and keeps you turning the page. The characters are also well done and believable, adding to the scare factor. The only part of the story that I felt seemed rushed and incomplete was the ending. I won’t give anything away here, but I felt that the ending was a little unfulfilling. There was a twist that left the story open ended in a way and while I was personally not satisfied with it, it did not ruin the rest of the story for me. There were also portions of this story that reminded me quite a bit of a certain extremely famous movie serial killer with an affinity for chianti and fava beans.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A terrifying novella that leaves you cringing at the vivid descriptions but leaves you not quite completely satisfied.
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