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Wretch

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By Eric LaRocca

Publisher Description

From rising horror star and award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke comes a nightmarish, haunting, tech-Gothic thrill ride about sorrow, memory, and the unabashed complexity of love as a transgressive act.

After his husband dies, Simeon Link finds himself overcome by grief and seeking comfort in an unusual support group called The Wretches, who offer an addictive and dangerous source of relief. They introduce Simeon to a curious figure known as Porcelain Khaw—a man with the ability to let those who are grieving have one last intimate moment with their beloved...for a price.

Hallucinatory, fiendish, and destructively beautiful, Wretch transports us to a world where not everything is as it seems, and those we love may be the ones who haunt us most.

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Wretch Reviews

3.0

ILikeEggs

Created 8 days ago

“Wretch is one of those books where it takes you on a wild ride, you hate everything the main character does, but you can't stop, you have to find out what's going to happen. This felt like a episode of Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, it gets so dark, not even just surface level, but psychologically too. This is a story that I'm never going to stop thinking about, especially that ending.”

Christi Jensen

Created 25 days ago

“Fuck I love this book. @eric_larocca what do you put in these things?? Wretch follows a man named Simeon- he’s just lost his husband Jonathan and he’s become a shell of himself. He’s falling behind at work, he’s not seeing his son anymore, he’s not caring for himself. His grief is overwhelming. He meets someone in a chat room who tells him about a group called “The Wretches” with a promise to ease his grief by helping him reconnect with his late husband. He then learns of Porcelain Claw, a man who can give him a few last intimate moments with Jonathan, but for a price- and Simeon is willing to pay whatever it costs. The writing is absolutely stunning, Eric has a way with words and is truly a master of his craft. Dark, heavy, and full of grief this book keeps delivering at every turn. I finished it in one setting, completely devouring every word. If you’re looking for something truly dripping with dread and horror with a shocking ending, this is it. Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press Books for the privilege of reading this ARC in exchange for an honest review.”

Tleinhos1021

Created 26 days ago

“This was my first Eric LaRocca book, and I honestly had no idea what I was getting into. I don’t read a lot of horror, mostly thrillers, so maybe that’s part of why this one didn’t totally work for me. The idea of a reverse haunting really pulled me in. The start was so strong, and I was hooked right away. I couldn’t stop reading and wanted to see how it would all play out. But around the halfway point, the writing started to wear me down. It’s very heavy and full of long, descriptive sentences that didn’t always add much. It kind of took me out of the story. Some scenes were hard to read (trigger warning: child abuse), and I didn’t think they added much to the plot. The story itself wasn’t scary, which surprised me. The villain fell flat, and the ending felt like a lot of buildup for not much payoff. On the bright side, the concept was cool and the cover is amazing. I can see why people love LaRocca’s writing style, but this one just wasn’t for me. Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!”

Flat

ayce

Created about 1 month ago

“Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for my first ever eARC! This was very poetic and so extremely sad. The grief this portrays is thick enough to drown in. The story explores some very dark and heavy themes and I think it’s done well. I was not anticipating a slow burn, and did want more of what made the story scary to begin with, but it was a wild ride for sure.”

Unlikable Slow-paced Bleak Dark Setting fits the story Easy to read Explicit sexual content Grief Violence

geist frau

Created about 1 month ago

“Once I got going with this I really enjoyed it! The start was a little slow for me but the story found its footing before too long and I ended up devouring the rest in one sitting. Larocca’s work is always brutal, with “Wretch” being no exception. Heavy themes, including child abuse and self-harm are main talking points so be sure to check tw before you take the dive. The only thing keeping this from a higher rating is that I found the middle of the book dragging. Intellectually I understand why it’s all important to the big reveal at the end, but it at times felt tiresome to wade through. Still an excellent story by an incredibly talented author. Special thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of “Wretch” in exchange for my honest review!”

Strong villain Unlikable Slow start, strong finish Descriptive Child abuse Death Grief Homophobia Self-harm

About Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca (he/they) is a three-time Bram Stoker Award finalist and Splatterpunk Award winner. He was named by Esquire as one of the “Writers Shaping Horror’s Next Golden Age” and praised by Locus as “one of the strongest and most unique voices in contemporary horror fiction.” LaRocca’s notable works include Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, Everything the Darkness Eats, and At Dark, I Become Loathsome. He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, with his partner.