“Monsters aren’t real.”
That’s what sixteen-year-old Lucy Brannigan has always believed, until, broke and desperate, she and her father move to an isolated farmhouse in the small Scottish town of Helsbridge. It’s their last chance, and they have to make it work.
For Lucy, life appears to be over. With no friends, and surrounded by miles of thick woodland, there’s nothing to do. But why did the previous occupants leave their belongings behind? And why is their new home surrounded by dozens of scarecrows? And worst of all… what is the cause of the horrifying screams that wake her in the night?
This summer, Lucy will be forced to learn the dark secret of Helsbridge. And as the bodies pile up, and the blood flows in rivers, she makes a shocking discovery that will change the course of her life forever.
Monsters are real… and no amount of flesh can sate their diabolical hunger.
I recently hit my ten-year Bookstagram anniversary, which is fucking wild. Oof.
I’ve made a lot of cool friends over the years, for sure. But there’s a small(ish) group of people I closely associate with my early days on the platform, the people I’ve been following for nearly all of my ten years there. David Sodergren is one of those folks! He was always posting the coolest horror books, and of course I (along with everyone) was in love with his pug, Boris. Boris sadly passed away recently, and it felt like a big part of those early days of Bookstagram left with him. Rest easy, Boris. We all adored you completely.
I remember when David published his first novel, THE FORGOTTEN ISLAND. I snagged a copy, excited to support a friend. And then I…never read it. Like a clown.
But as I’ve gotten more & more (re)immersed in horror the last couple years, it’s been so cool to see how popular David’s books have gotten in the community! So as I was trying to come up with an extremely loose summer-themed reading list, SUMMER OF THE MONSTERS seemed like a great fit! And I’m so glad to have finally read one of David Sodergren’s books, because I had a total blast with this!
Sixteen-year-old Lucy Brannigan and her father, Brian, are reeling from the death of Lucy’s mother. Brian is an author who has been dealing with writer’s block, and in a last-ditch effort to pull themselves out of the fog of grief, he and Lucy move from their familiar home in Edinburgh, and set up in an old farmhouse in the isolated Scottish town of Helsbridge.
It’s 1996, and Lucy is obsessed with the music of the time…Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins, Alice In Chains. And like everyone who was a teenager in 1996 (ask me how I know), Lucy speaks extremely fluent sarcasm. She’s upset to leave the familiarity of Edinburgh, and isn’t exactly embracing this idea of a fresh start. In fact, she’s righteously pissed off in the way only a sixteen-year-old can be. Lucy and Brian have a complex relationship, one that gets worked on and examined in detail over the course of the novel. But they are constantly giving each other shit, and that part of the story really charmed me. Because it’s ultimately rooted in love, however flawed it might be.
There are some Very Strange Things about the farmhouse they’ve chosen to settle in. The previous owners seem to have left all of their belongings behind, which is occasionally convenient but definitely a bit weird. Stranger still is the veritable army of “scarecrows” that surround the property. What in the world are those for?
And like in many of the great horror novels, THEN THE SCREAMING STARTS!
It’s the tail-end of summer, so Lucy has a few weeks before school starts up. At night, she begins to hear strange & disturbing sounds from the imposing forest that sits at the edge of the property, so she decides to investigate. There’s something off and almost magical about this forest, and in it Lucy makes discoveries that will change the rest of her life, as well as the lives of everyone in this peculiar town.
The book is a ton of fun & features some TRULY gnarly creatures wreaking utter havoc. Things get gross, no doubt. But there’s a tender heart to the story as well, and Sodergren’s writing really shines in these complex moments of family drama. While there’s some unholy moments of blood-splatter & gore, SUMMER OF THE MONSTERS is really about two people trying to navigate their way through grief.
There’s anger in this book, and super messy feelings. Lucy has been dealt a bad hand, and she frequently takes it out on Brian. They push each other away, understandably. But again, there’s so much love between the characters, even if it’s buried underneath all the layers of sarcasm and the occasional mean-spirited jab. I just really liked these two characters so much, and that to me will always be the most vital component to any horror novel I read. It doesn’t matter how grotesque the creatures are, or how creative the kills are, or how much blood is spilled. If I’m not actively rooting for the characters, it’s hard to feel totally engaged.
There’s a very dark side to SUMMER OF THE MONSTERS, as well. Even though the overall vibe is more fun/coming-of-age/creature feature, I was quietly dreading turning the page at times, as the story pulled me further and further in.
This was so great, I loved everything about it! Really excited to have read my first David Sodergren novel, and already in the process of acquiring some more of his work & planning what to read next! I think either THE HAAR or ROTTEN TOMMY will be next up for me!
Grimdark Dad 