I enjoyed the museum and oddities it stored. The characters, while few, were well-written. The cover art is also beautiful and haunting, though after reading the book, I thought the tree would look more like a typical willow tree.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine that you take a job in your crazy uncle's taxidermy museum, bunking in the back, following a marriage that went sour, a life falling apart. And one day left to your own devices you find a hole in the wall and a corridor that can't possibly be there behind the hole. Physics says nothing could possibly be there.

We all think that it would be cool to travel to another world and meet Barsoomian princesses, firebreathing dragons, Humpty Dumpty, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. But, maybe the other world ain't all that much like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

Well, it's a rabbit hole alright. But, it leads to a world where Newton's rules don't really apply and reality is warped beyond your imagination. It's not safe as in not safe like you can't comprehend.

With a great narrative voice, Kingfisher takes us on a horrifying journey to places we never wanted to go.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

This is something extremely dark, gory, twisted, inspired by H. P. Lovecraft’s story and I have to admit its dark humor and quirky, absurd characters acted like just left a Cohen Brothers movie fit interestingly well with its horrifying combination.

If you love the Twisted Ones, short stories of King, Lovecraft, Tremblay, this one is matched made in heaven with your dark, weird and nerdish soul!

There are two leading characters of the book carry the story from the beginning and making us get used to their antics, peculiar attitudes. Dear Kara and Simon.

Kara, newly divorced, penniless, losing her house, is forced to live with her mother who never stops talking. Her story starts like a surprisingly a romcom character. She gets an offer from his Uncle Earl who is owner of one of the weirdest museums of the earth: Natural Wonders, Curiosities and Taxidermy, located at Hog Chapel, North Carolina. He suffers from his bad knee and needs help in exchange of providing rent free life to Kara. She says okay without questioning because she cannot stand to live with her own mother and since her childhood, the museum has always being amazed her.

Kara’s cyber-stalking her ex and her inner monologues are entertaining at the beginning, using the coffee shop’s free WIFI, befriends Simon: queer, interesting taste of fashion, insisting he ate his twin in his mother’s womb and carries her eye which helps him have different kind views about the outer world. You may sense he is uniquely original and lovely kind of weird.

Then one day, Uncle Early leaves the museum for getting knee operation, is driven by Kara’s mom. Now she is alone in the place. It won’t be problem. She can handle it. Right? But wait for it… She finds a carved hole in the museum wall and asks Simon for help to patch it up but then they realize it’s not a regular carved wall. It’s a secret tunnel opens into other alternated universes. Two adventurers take their first step to find out where the tunnel takes them. But their curiosity may get them to the hollow places they’d never imagine at their darkest, spookiest, bleakest nightmares!

Their journey to Narnia meets Pan’s Labyrinth force them face the ugliest, most terrifying creatures, the person from alternate universe who already lost the last pieces of humanity. They think they achieved to escape. They think they can run away from it. But everything starts and connects with the willows which get more powerful and brightening at each day!

This is fast pacing, entertaining, smart, dazzling, horrifying story that I’ve devoured at half day. I loved the characters, I enjoyed the references, I liked the eerie, depressing atmosphere! I’m giving my 4 taxidermy stars and I highly recommend this to the genre’s lovers!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for sharing this remarkable ARC with me in exchange my honest review. I honestly had so much fun!

This dazzling novel pulls you in with its compelling characters and a horrifying thriller that keeps you in its thrall until the final page. The writing sizzles with a dark menace seemingly weaved from nightmares is unlike any I've ever encountered, in and out of books. A perfect story for contemporary fantasy readers who love their narratives razor-sharp and their secrets dark and deadly.

Hold on to your couch...or pillow, this book takes you on a thrilling, dark, ride that you won't want to end.


If you've ever watched Black Mirror, that's what this book reminded me. Creative terror. Pages turn themselves.

Well written, strong characters, highly recommend!

Dark and terrifying, this book takes you into a bizarre and dreadful world.

The main character Kara moves into her uncle’s house after her divorce. Her uncle has a museum of curiosities and taxidermy, called The Wonder Museum.

One day Kara finds a hole in one of the rooms and thinks that perhaps one of the customers at the museum knocked a hole in the wall.
Kara and her Neighbor Simon, who works as a barista at the coffee shop next door, decide to investigate the hole.

They find a different world on the other side with lots of doors to other realities. This new world is covered in willows and mist. Kara and Simon’s further escapades in the strange new alternate reality are full of terror. The sense of dread and uncertainty is palpable. The creatures and the atmosphere in the other reality remind me of Silent Hill, ( the way silent hill becomes terrifying and full of bizarre creatures in it’s alternate reality).

This book is certainly a horror fan’s dream. It is full of ghastly creatures and creepy scenarios. It is like a horrifying version of Alice in wonderland where instead of falling into wonderland, Alice goes into an eerie and horrifying place through a hole in the wall. I would recommend this book to people who love the horror genre.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book, so that I could review it.

The most terrifying book I’ve ever read, I can’t stop thinking about it! The disturbing imagery reminds me quite a bit of The Southern Reach trilogy but make no mistake, this is a unique world of its own. Pick this up and you won’t be able to put it down until you’re finished.

This book features one of the most unnerving and fascinating locations I've ever read in a work of fiction. The second our main characters entered that other place I was completely unable to put the book down, and after I managed to tear myself away I couldn't stop thinking about it for hours. I'm still thinking about it now!

And while the "place" certainly stole the show for me, the characters and story also were very enjoyable. Kara is a sympathetic, interesting, and believable protagonist. I found myself nodding along with most of her decisions and rationalizations throughout the book, which is always a good thing in a genre where many characters seem to be racing to be the first to climb into a body bag. I was a little surprised about how it ended, but I loved almost everything about this book.

Horror fans should run, not walk, to their nearest bookseller or library when this book comes out to get their hands on a copy.