My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen is a haunting story about love, loss, and the emotional trauma that shapes us. Roos Beckman has a spirit companion that only she can see. Ruth is a strange, corpse-like spirit who has been dead for centuries. Ruth is the only positive thing in Roos’s life until a young, wealthy widow, Agnes Knoop, visits one of Roos’s backroom seances. The two form a connection.
Roos moves into the decaying estate that Agnes inherited after her husband’s death. The house seems haunted by a woman who roams the hallway endlessly, there is a strange smell in the air, and the family chapel is filled with eerie stone statues. Roos senses something dreadful is haunting the manor, yet she feels drawn to Agnes and is reluctant to leave.
When a murder occurs, Roos becomes the obvious suspect due to her history of hysteria and her impoverished status. She must prove her innocence, or she risks losing everything she loves.
I found the book to be an interesting read. I appreciated how it explored how and why spirits attach to certain people. However, there were some gross moments that felt a bit off-putting at times. The author’s writing style tended to be long-winded and this made certain parts of the book drag.
When the book first opened, the author mentioned it was a love story. Initially, it was hard to see it as that, but as I continued reading and reached the conclusion, it felt like an accurate description of the story. Even though the genre is horror, the novel depicts many forms of love, including the most base and vile, showcasing what people will do for love. I would be open to reading more by this author.
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