My Five Word TL:DR Review: Intense, Insane, Brutal Insectile Horror

This is a strange review for me to write because I don’t read a lot of horror.  That being said I feel I’ve read more horror books last year than I normally would do but I think The Queen is possibly the most ‘horror soaked’ book I’ve read for a while.  The ick is almost immediate – so be warned, no hand holding here.

I haven’t quite made my mind up, even now, how much of the story to share so this review could meander a little (although having just taken a peek at the blurb there’s quite a lot more detail than I would probably have posted so I’m probably not going to be giving away any spoilers).

Our storyteller is Margaret who wakes up one morning to find a new iphone on her doorstep. The phone has a message from her best friend (Charity) – who has been missing for at least a month and basically is presumed dead at this point – as you can imagine Margaret’s interest is piqued and she sets off to follow the most bizarre trail of breadcrumbs ever.

So, let’s take a minute to work back a little.  Firstly, we receive the backstory of one Rudyard Crate, a multi millionaire who has made it his life mission to experiment with insect and human DNA – mainly as a result of childhood trauma when he witnessed the brutal death of his sister.

From there we jump forward to Margaret.  Hiding in the kitchen during a big social event to avoid the insect invasion that is taking place in the ballroom (think Carrie).  Now, from this point, Margaret is going to go back and relay events from the past 24 hours at which point the two stories converge again for the grande finale.

What worked for me with The Queen.

This is a fast paced, no nonsense read that also takes a little time to explore the relationships involved, primarily between the two main females, Margaret and Charity.  Theirs was a friendship that felt like it had run its course and there was definitely something of an imbalance with Charity still clinging to the last threads of what the two had shared growing up.  So, we’re told they’re inseparable friends but really as the story unfolds it starts to become apparent that things were already going wrong and certain resentments were building.  Margaret’s trajectory seemed to be on the rise and Charity was being slowly left behind.

In this particular instance the two are about to become aware that they truly, barely knew each other.  Charity is one of Rudy’s test cases.  She’s been living, unknown to herself, a false life waiting to reach an age when something would trigger irreversible changes.  Basically, that trigger has now happened, you can make your own decision, if you choose to read this, about what was the catalyst that set things in motion, but for me the slow separation of the two friends seems to be the real event.

I will say that this is a disturbing read.  The ick is real and might not be for everyone.  Plus, if you’re a bit squeamish about insects then you’re going to be in a world of hurt what with ants and then mutated wasps running and flying amok. I mean, to be honest, I’m not a big fan of insect horror so how I managed to read some of the more insect soaked parts is still something of a mystery to me – although I put it down to the intrigue.  I really wanted to know what was going on, and even when I knew what was actually going on I had to press forward to see what the outcome would be.

I think the ending felt a little abrupt, almost under explored somehow, but, at the same time it felt oddly appropriate.  Like this entire horror soaked ending had become a thing of legend, almost like an urban myth with nobody seeming to get to the bottom of what really happened and how it all concluded. I’m still thinking about it to be honest.

If you fancy some ick in your reading then given this a try.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 3.5 of 5 stars (rounded to 4 for being the craziest friendship breakup ever)