Douglas Ford’s The Beasts of Vissaria County follows Maggie as she attempts to start a new life with her son after an alleged suicide attempt. She has run from her husband, an ICE agent involved in some dubious activities, and she is living with her father. This was the one issue I sort of had with the story. Maggie refuses to carry a cellphone because she thinks it can be used to track her, but she’s gone to stay at her dad’s, and her dad, Vernon, is friends with her husband. Her husband even bought him a truck. One would think she would find a less obvious place to hide. But for the story to work, she does need to be found, and she is. A neighbor of Vernon’s, called “WD” throughout the story, claims to be Polish aristocracy, and he lives alone in a creepy old house. He is the trope of the mysterious stranger to help fill out our horror story. There are suggestions of swamp monsters, witches, and werewolves throughout, but in the end, the reader has to decide for herself who the real monsters are.
There was a lot of intertwining of stories in this novel, as well as odd characters. Everything was a little dirty, a little creepy, even the mundane aspects. I enjoyed the ambiance and mood established by the author, and the fact that Maggie found people to support her in her situation brought a spark of hope to the story that kept me engaged despite some of the grim elements. This added a nice balance. The major theme that jumped out at me here deals with perception, how things are versus how we want them to be, and how one person sees things is different from the next. This comes through with the ample allusions to cinematography and the wearing of masks.
The narrator, Jenn Lee, had an appropriately sober tone for the narration. I found her engaging and entertaining. I would definitely listen to her other work.
I enjoyed The Beasts of Vissaria County and look forward to future novels from this author. I received an Audible code from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
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