Book Review #97 of 2022--
Lucky Girl: How I Became a Horror Writer, A Krampus Story by Mary Rickert. Rating: 3 stars.
Read from July 4th to 5th.
Before I get into the bulk of the review, I want to say a quick thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at Tordotcom for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Lucky Girl is a quick horror story set around the Christmas holiday. We start with. our main characters meeting up for Christmas after realizing they all had nowhere to go for the holiday. The recent college graduates decide to tell scary stories set around the holidays. This sets off events that none of them could begin to imagine. Lucky Girl is out on September 13th and is available for preorder now.
I want to start out the review by saying that this novella is not exactly what it says on the back of the book. I assumed that this story would start out with our five main characters meeting in this small town diner and deciding to meet up for Christmas a few weeks later, then the horror stories start flowing and possibly murder? But this story actually takes place over the course of about 25 years. I wish we had met everyone in the diner instead of that first Christmas they spend together. Also, this story is told with flashbacks to the main character’s past which sometimes feels like it gets in the way of the main plot, but does come around in the end. Tor usually does a pretty good job with keeping stories the right length. They’re usually exactly what a reader needs to truly enjoy a story, but this time I feel like they missed the mark. The ending to this one feels so unsatisfying. As the reader, I have so many questions and I don’t love how multiple plot points are left without resolution or explanation. The length of the story also keep me from feeling like I ever really knew any of the characters.
I will say that the atmosphere for this novella was the exact right mix of Holiday Spirit and Absolute Terror. I would feel comfy and cozy and then the author let the horror seep in. I also felt like I could picture most of the settings really well. I especially enjoyed the estate on top of the hill and the church on the grounds. This was the kind of story that you could read in one sitting. It kept me wanting more and was such a quick and easy read. I found the setting and the atmosphere and sometimes the plot compelling enough to keep propelling me through the story.
Overall, I think this is good for those readers who don’t like things wrapped up in a nice, neat bow and who like to come up with their own conclusions for the how or the why. It’s also good for people who prefer their mystery/thriller/horror novels over the Christmas-y counterparts.