Black Sheep Book Review

 Black Sheep 

by Rachel Harrison

 Release Date: September 19, 2023

Genre: Horror

Age Range: Adult

Goodreads Avg. Rating: 3.67 stars

I was so excited to dive into another Rachel Harrison book. Such Sharp Teeth was so good. Maybe December wasn't the right month to try this in. Though after reaching the end I can't say that it might have made that much impact.

This is a book set in Vermont mostly. Our main character travels back to her family farm and we are there for the majority, either in present or memories. With this, you would think it would have been described a bit more. The main house is described with all of its horror movie and gothic memorabilia. Otherwise, we aren't given much.

Our main character is Vesper Wright, a 23-year-old waitress. She is working at a job that she hates just skating by in life. Vesper is not particularly nice to her coworkers or tries to make friends. She went through a traumatic childhood and attempted to bury her past. She really should have gotten therapy when she escaped. Instead, Vesper relies on tamping down emotions and passive aggression. I've read bitchy characters and felt they were justified before but this one just was not great.

Vesper escaped from her family's cult years ago. When you leave there is no coming back. But one day an invitation arrives for her cousin's wedding. They were like sisters and Vesper truly does miss Rosie. After an odd accident at work leads to her getting fired she decides to return home. The farm is just how it was growing up, but Vesper can't shake the feeling something is off. Her mother is just as icy as when Vester was little but everyone else welcomes her back with open arms. Odd things are happening and Vesper can’t help but ask questions that pull at old secrets.

The story is told mostly in the present first person. However, there is also a considerable amount of flashbacks. The timeline of the present is supposed to be only about a week or so, but everything is either very drawn-out days or time skipped forward. Somehow this leads to the book feeling very slow.

By the halfway point of the book, I was just ready for it to be over. Once the slightly "big" reveal of Vesper's father was shown I was not engaged. We knew from early on they were Satanists. Then it just continued to be too obvious to everyone except Vesper of course. Which made it very irritating.

Sadly this book was not as good as her others. I enjoyed those and the character growth they had. This one didn't give me a sense of Vesper learning much. Someone might get a sense of triumph or vengeance for the end but it just wasn't enough for myself.

You can find this book from the below retailers:
Amazon     Barnes & Noble