Written by DE Fox
Some stories take delight in creating expectations, then subverting them. Although the cover image and blurb give you an accurate idea of what to expect, Second Hand Rose by D E Fox is one such book. It has a lyrical title that plays against the book’s subject matter (and works well for the cover design), and it takes place in a town with the ever so saccharine name of Friendship. Yet friendship is the last thing readers can expect from this horror story.
Even Second Hand Rose’s prose serves as a juxtaposition to its story. Although set in the modern day, Fox’s prose feels like a snapshot from another time, a slice of Americana from the decades following the United States’ colonial period. The text sometimes struggles to capture the beauty of books from that period, but when a book is filled with horror and is peppered with ghastly violence, there is only so much beauty the author can capture, yet the dissonant tone helps lure the reader into the story. With that said, I also feel that a little more character to the writing would have elevated it. The writing is clear and concise, but lacks a certain amount of character. While not a major issue, another round or two of edits could have benefitted the book.
This juxtaposition also applies to the story itself. At just 145 pages in paperback (or an estimated 101 pages on Kindle), it’s a short read. The book is paced slowly, which gives the story room to breathe. However, novellas only have so much space to offer. The story takes a number of chapters to get moving and resemble the horror story it was to become, after which point, it uses literary devices to chronicle the story. While it suits the book’s endeavour to subvert the readers’ expectations, I can see readers not getting to the horror after waiting so long for the story to move in that direction. With the amount of space dedicated to setting up the story, the ending peters out with any sense of closure and feels rushed. A full novel, which would have allowed Fox to build slowly, would have benefitted the book.
The novella’s story is written well. The plot is a little far fetched, but as it’s a horror story with enough Book Week promotional activities to keep the younger ones amused.
The novella is light on dialogue, with it preferring to focus on the prose. This makes it difficult to gauge how effective the dialog is, and whether the characters have their own voices. From what little there is, the dialogue is well written. It’s clear and easy to follow, and most importantly, the characters sound like real people.
Aside from Abigail, the book’s protagonist, Second Hand Rose‘s side characters aren’t presented with much depth. Abigail is an entertaining protagonist, and engaging throughout the novel. It would have been nice to get more of an idea about the other characters, but they all serve their purpose in context of the story.
As much as Second Hand Rose plays with the readers’ expectations, other than the prose and literary devices used, at its core, it’s a horror story. The horror isn’t particularly scary, but it is violent, bloody and gruesome. Each one of these scenes is written well, allowing it to flow naturally.
Horror enthusiasts may take issue with Second Hand Rose’s pacing. It’s a slow book that takes a while to get moving before diving in. However, readers who push through will be treated to an entertaining story that, while it finishes too quickly, draws the reader in.
Favourite Passage
Michael and Christian were cleaners. Not in the usual way – dusting and hoovering – but in the way of cleaning towns of useless people, the people who didn’t make a difference or contribute in any way. They’d done this job for centuries, and they were the best. They would offer the town’s more prominent residents immortality, and in return they would turn a blind eye to the horrors. It was the perfect deal – unless, of course, you fell into the wrong category. The townsfolk were too scared to confront Michael and Christian once they’d seen what they could do, so the demons had the run of the town, taking the lives of people who either crossed them or that they didn’t like the look of.
Second Hand Rose, Chapter 20
Second Hand Rose was provided by the author for the purpose of an honest review.
Second had road is available in paperback and Kindle, exclusive to limited to—Amazon.
Note: I do not post scores for reviews on this website, but do post them on my Amazon and Goodreads reviews:
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