Maggie's Grave

I went into Maggie’s Grave expecting either effective pulp horror or genuinely unsettling folk horror, based on the premise and cover. What I got instead was a book that never commits to a tone, never builds sustained tension, and relies on juvenile shock in place of atmosphere or plot development.

The biggest issue is structure. Scenes are constantly cut short before anything meaningful happens. Instead of letting tension build, the book jumps POV or location at the first hint of momentum. This makes the story feel fragmented and prevents any moment from becoming genuinely cinematic or frightening.

The characters are extremely thin, even by pulp standards. I’m fine with archetypal or “wooden” characters in fast horror, but here show more they barely feel human at all. They exist only to advance the plot, with almost no interiority or lived-in behavior. As a result, major events—especially deaths—land flat because there’s no emotional groundwork.

The book also leans heavily on fake-out scares (“someone’s in the house!” → “oh, it’s nothing”), which quickly become predictable and annoying rather than suspenseful. By the midpoint, I felt consistently ahead of the book instead of drawn into it.

Tonally, the novel collapses in the second act. What seems intended as extreme or shocking horror instead reads as unintentional comedy. The gore is graphic but not frightening, largely because it’s written in a juvenile, slapstick register that undercuts any sense of dread. Several scenes felt more Scooby-Doo than horror—except written with crude shock value rather than wit or charm.

Finally, the central mystery has nowhere to go. Key revelations arrive too early and flatten the narrative stakes instead of escalating them. By around 40%, it was clear the book had shown its full hand, and nothing suggested a deeper or more coherent payoff ahead.

I DNF’d not because the book was “too gory” or “too pulpy,” but because it lacked tension, atmosphere, character weight, and narrative momentum. It didn’t trust scenes enough to let them breathe, and it mistook shock for horror. show less

A gruesome spectacle with a great premise!

There was actually a nifty little trolley problem running underneath the story that made it more interesting.

Why is the life of one baby more valuable than the lives of all the adults? Why should all the residents of Auchenmullan (plus a handful of outsiders) die hideously and painfully at the hands of Maggie when a solution is at hand? At first, the question isn't considered, because everything happens too fast. The adults of the town work to prevent the tragedy from happening in the first place, and then, to solve the Maggie's return, they … yeah, I'll never figure WTF they were trying to do. That's when the wholesale slaughter begins.

Eventually, the sacrifice must be considered, and our show more protagonist Beth begins to think about it after she loses everyone that's dear to her, except for her best friend Alice, the mother of the baby. It's not unreasonable, but it is far too late.

Not sure how I feel about the end. It twisted a bit too much. I should have known because Maggie always followed Beth. It was also far too easy for Beth to become the “final girl” when so many others had tried so much more and failed. As Beth watched Maggie gather herself together again, I understand why she turned. It wasn't fair to Beth as a character, but I get it. It was the same way I felt about Maggie. Conflicted.

None of that was a complaint. Maggie's Grave was loads of fun to read. It's a great example of why I read horror. There are always interesting problems, moral dilemmas, questionable actions, and awful, horrible consequences.

I like Sodergren's style and I look forward to reading more of his books. I loved The Haar and I loved this one. show less

Maggie's Grave didn't strike me with the same emotional sucker punch as The Haar, BUT it was still an excellent book! Great atmosphere, creative gore, just enough slapstick/incredibly grim humor, and LOTS of heart. Sodergren is definitely on my favorite authors list, even if I can't recommend him to ALL of my friends (I keep trying though)!

The almighty algorithm's of both Goodreads and Fable seemed determined to toss books written by David Sodergren my way, along with all the glowing reviews that accompanied them. So finally, I relented, and decided to give one a shot.

Here's my take.

When I was young, there was—and sadly, I believe it may still exist today—a soft drink called Fresca. This was slightly before Fresca became known as the "old person's pop" (though that designation may have only existed amongst me and my pre-teen friends). Regardless, Fresca seemed ubiquitous in every older-adult household I visited. I can't tell you how often some adult would offer me a pop, and tell me to help myself, for me to open the fridge and be faced with any kind of soft drink I show more wanted, just as long as it was Fresca, and Fresca only.

Why am I telling you this?

Because Fresca is a dull, boring, less tasteful version of much better sodas. Give me a 7-Up. A Sprite. Hell, a Mountain Dew. Anything but that somewhat tasteless, no-zing liquid. Because now? If I have the choice between Fresca and damn near anything else, I'll choose the anything else.

This short novel is the literary Fresca. The first bit—the coming of Maggie Wall—while decently written, is still just a riff on teen slasher movies. Some kids go to some spot that has local significance. Inevitiably, there will be intercourse. Inevitably, those intercoursing shall pay for their indiscretion. Sodergren does seem to be fascinated with having Maggie bust out, or through, a human body. Why? Probably because it allows for more gore.

So, the first bit is mildly amusing, but unfortunately rather predictable. I will say, the author does try and provide some characterization for the main players, but unfortunately, not enough. I could not keep any of the guys straight, and it was only when I figured out which of the women had a baby that I was able to separate Beth and Alice.

Sadly, it's a mostly downhill ride from there. There's a very silly—and requisitely gory—death in a bathroom that was unnecessary. Literally, Maggie could have taken a far easier route, then dispatched the guy, but hey, that wouldn't necessarily scratch the extreme death itch would it?

But—and normally I'd tag this as spoiler, but so many other reviews reference it, why bother—there's the orgy. My question is, why? It literally served no purpose other than to bring the entire town together and make them naked. There's literally no connection between forty-odd adults banging each other's brains out and sending Maggie back from whence she came. It's silly, it's unnecessary to the plot, and it's just there to be shocking... yet the author, who didn't seem to have much issue getting explicit with the first sex scene, seems quite reluctant to—ahem—milk this one for all it's worth. But once again, the gore is slathered on.

My final issue—that I'll keep general to avoid spoilers—is two characters toward the end. One thanks the other for saving them. They're very grateful, as one would expect. But then, in the span of three or four more lines of dialogue, that thankful character is ripping their saviour for not being a good friend.

Really? They just saved your life? Now you're mad that they're not a good friend? Like...right now?

Overall, very much like that dreaded Fresca, this is a pale imitation of what could have been a far more impactful and original horror novel. There's nothing new here, nothing that breaks any new ground, so instead we're left with an increasing amount of gore, an increasingly illogical storyline, undercooked characters, and a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion.

All it left me with was the remembrance of a crappy soft drink on my tongue, and the realization that, once again, the algorithm did me dirty.

Then again, what the hell do I know? My books have lless—far less—than 100 reviews each, meanwhile this one's got 13K on Goodreads, and 5K on Amazon. Obviously this book is scratching more of an itch than mine do, so I'm probably the one in the wrong. show less

holy shit what the fuck bro. that ending just blew my mind. quite brilliant. 4.5/5 stars.

also, pretty much everyone in the book sucks.

4.5/5

This was bananas, ha, ha.

I have no idea what to rate this or say about it. (0_0)