A Review of Eric LaRocca's "Everything the Darkness Eats" (audiobook)

Who doesn’t love a horror novel that begins with a cursed archeological expedition? That and other tropes make Eric LaRocca’s “Everything the Darkness Eats” a satisfying read for most horror fans.

Before I go any further, however, this book does need some trigger warnings. Most notably for me, rape and hate crimes. Both are pretty graphic. Other reviewers had a hard time getting through the book as a result.

In this story, we follow multiple perspectives of people living around a rural New England town. Several citizens have gone missing. A mysterious, dashing man who drives a Rolls Royce and claims to sell funeral plots is involved, as is a widower who has a spirit around his neck and a police detective who has been the victim of a hate crime. In different ways, they attempt to bring an end to the paranormal threat facing the town.

This story, narrated well by Andre Santana, draws on a lot of tropes that will remind readers of Joe Hill and Stephen King: the car, the manor house, and the mysterious disappearances. LaRocca, though, doesn’t hold back with the graphic depictions of the struggles his characters are facing. The evil in this story is not just some supernatural being, but also the other people in the town who are bigots or disengaged. It’s a very quick listen if you can stand the darkness, and the ending is not as bleak as the rest of the novel.

I enjoyed it, and though I can’t remember having read other works by this author, I will seek them out. I received this audiobook from NetGalley.

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