I would like to thank Head of Zeus for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for fair and honest review

Publisher - Head of Zeus

Published - Out Now

Price - £20.00 Hardback £3.99 Kindle eBook

This is going to be a short review why this became a DNF after reading one third of the book I found this book’s approach to race concerning and stereotyped plus the dialogue for a novel printed in 2020 feels around forty years out of date.

I was intrigued by the premise of women mysteriously giving birth to strange demonic monsters and something lurking in the sewers of London. What I found hugely unimpressive though was the treatment of women. A Nigerian woman about to give birth unexpectedly gets her name mangled up by the Doctor and it felt done more for humour than for highlighting racism. A homophobic slur is dropped in for a character vaping. Police officers are told someone is planning a secret arranged marriage for a daughter and don’t do anything. A police officer asks a witness was her ex good in bed. This novel was published in 2021

I’m slightly stunned how poor this book is. It feels like re-heated leftovers from the 1980s the pace is also glacial and the dialogue clunky and I will not be reading this author again. Horror can be unpleasant and should be able to shock but this felt like it was enjoying it too much without taking any responsibility and a third of the way through I saw no evidence that this was being challenged - just because an author has a more diverse cast of characters doesn’t automatically mean it gets to ignore racism being an issue.

Not recommended