Matt meets Rosie Shadow and is given the creeps (review)

Rosie Shadow

Louise Worthington

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“The aubade is as sweet as Daddy’s lullaby to a baby. When darkness falls, the sound of a lonely owl spills through its branches, settling in the shadows at the base of the trunk where it shouldn’t travel any further.”

We all know some children who are literally little horrors but damn, Rosie Shadow is right up there and if you want to be creeped out – this little six years old is a terrifying monster that will get in your head and mess it up… 

It could be something to do with having a demon for a dad, but destruction follows Rosie everywhere (and let’s not mention the animal mutilation or self-burial that she lists as one of her hobbies). Her Majesty’s Prison Shortbury, might be a fascinating Medieval tourist attraction but most people don’t get the secret tour which takes in the creepy underworld thriving in Ward ‘D’… I mean, it is not like there are demons down there feeding from the dead is it, oh wait, *checks notes*, sorry it DOES look like that’s what’s happening…

Rosie Shadow is a weird book that crams in a host of horror tropes. Some work really well – the scary Rosie being the star of this show, but others feel a bit shoehorned in just to try and up the horror factor.

There are car crashes, cannibalism, a Pagan yew tree, demons and more to explore, it’s a veritable horror all-you-can-eat buffet. You’ll be drawn into the obviously unwell mind of author Louise Worthington trying to guess who it is that decorates the branches of the yew tree where Clare's boyfriend crashed his car, what the voices in prison walls in time are trying to say and whether it’s possible to escape the orbit of destruction that Rosie Shadow seems to have… 

Yep, this is a dark and twisty Gothic horror, perfect for fans of writers like Gemma Amor, Laurel Hightower and Ania Ahlborn. If you like to be horrified by gore, disturbed as vile characters do nasty things and repulsed but little Rosie herself – step right this way horror lovers!!

This review is part of the excellent www.zooloosbooktours.co.uk 

'Rosie Shadow as an adult, erm, I mean Louise'

Author Bio

Louise writes about the complexity and the darker side of the human heart in the genres of horror

and psychological thrillers. She is the author of six novels. Many of her novels explore

motherhood, mental health disorders, revenge and family. Her tales are imbued with strong

emotional themes and atmospheric settings. She has a degree in literature and a postgraduate

diploma in psychology. Louise lives on a farm in Shropshire, in the UK.

Her latest novel is Doctor Glass, and her poetry and shorts are brought together in the collection

Stained Glass Lives. Rosie Shadow is book one in the Black Tongue Series. Louise is currently

writing a psychological horror...

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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(4 - Here be not just a little monster...)

Buy your copy of Rosie Shadow here: https://geni.us/sBXRJ

Still reading?  In the mood for something chilling? May I recommend this new anthology for which I had the pleasure of writing the foreword for and submitting a short story that is included. Proceeds go to charity too so jump in (click the image below):