This book is so fun! If you love dark comedies, you'll enjoy this one.

Virginia Feito's "Victorian Psycho" is a delightfully dark and gory tale about governess Winifred Notty. She has just started at Ensor House, but things are afoot at the dreary estate. As things come to a head on Christmas, Winifred has some little gifts to bestow upon the Pounds family and their guests.

AH! I loved reading this a lot. It was such a fun little romp. I thought Winifred was hilarious and a little crazy, but I love her for it. I honestly wanted this book to end differently but I guess there is something cyclically lovely about the way that it did end. I thought Feito did such a fun job with this. It felt like reading "Jane Eyre" but with a very well done modern twist to it.

I did dock a point mostly because although I did enjoy this, it did feel like something was missing. I don't know what though and that makes me sad because I wish I could verbalize it.

That said, I would absolutely recommend this. If you're squeamish, probably a safe idea to skip this one.

This was a very spooky and fun time and with immaculate vibes!

And apparently it's already in pre-production to become a movie?? And the book isn't even out yet? That's insane and I'm so excited for it. After having read this book, I can definitely picture it being such a creepy and atmospheric film that I will definitely be seeing!

Spooky vibes from a spooky gothic manor and a rather obnoxious family that lives inside. This book follows the new governess of this family and the weird (in a bad way) things that she gets up to. Like criminal and insane things. She is a weirdo, there's no other way to put it.

This is also a super short book (only about 200 pages), so you could probably read it in one sitting if you wanted to.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Whew! My goodness, Virginia! I thought I knew what I was in for after reading (and LOVING) "Mrs. March", but this Virginia really said "Oh, you liked "Mrs. March"? That's cute.", and then immediately proceeded to put her writing skills on nightmare mode and took my ass for a RIDE. I fear that Virginia Feito may actually be the Victorian Psycho here, and I say this in the best way possible.

This book is very short (around 100 pages less than "Mrs. March"), but this tiny book packs a huge punch and it went by SO QUICKLY, not due to the short length but because Feito is a master at pacing which has you continually turning page after page after page like you're a druggie waiting for your next hit.

Miss Notty (naughty?) reminds me SO MUCH of the Jorg Ancrath from Mark Lawrence's "Prince of Thorns" book. Just an absolute fucking menace, a total psycho that had me going "Oh Fuck" several times, and rooting for her the entire time. I love COMPLEX villains, and Miss Notty is just that. She's a terrible, horrible creation that I was rooting for the entire time. The comedic relief in the book made the horrific atrocities committed in this book not feel so overwhelming, but this book is absolutely dark as all hell and Mrs. March wouldn't stand a chance against our naughty Winifred Notty.

I'm SHOCKED at how far Feito went in this book, and it makes me wonder what other messed up shit she has up her sleeve for the future. This was just so so so so good.

The book cover is great, but it is quite deceiving as it is just does not prepare the reader for the horror that is to come. I can see this being not for everyone, but this was for me. It's so for me that it feels like Feito is rewarding me for buying "Mrs. March" in every edition and format possible.

5/5 stars. Loved it. Will be recommending it and buying it the second it is available for hard copy purchase. Please never ever stop writing, Virginia! We need more unhinged characters who are way past their medication time.

Thank you so much to Virginia Feito, W. W. Norton & Company and Netgalley for allowing me to read a truly twisted read that has set the bar for 2025 book horror.

⭐️ARC REVIEW⭐️

2/4/2024

Victorian Psycho
Virginia Feito
@liverightbooks
@netgalley

SOON TO BE A FEATURE FILM STARRING MARGARET QUALLEY

“Simmering with rage, propulsive and laugh out loud funny, Victorian Psycho speaks profoundly of horror both within and without us.” ―Catriona Ward

Book in Emojis:
🧒🩸👶🍼🤱🔪👸💃🩸🔨🛠🩸🐗🏰💲😨

My Mini Review:

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced copy of this wild book! I have seen several bookstagrammers talk about this book so I had to move it to the top of my list. People have said that it is gross. That it is insensitive and grotesque. It is creepy. The book is perverted. It truly is all of those things wrapped into a nice gothic mansion story.

The author uses such creepy imagery in her story, where the gore or blood is the not the disturbing part, but how it is described. The story forces the reader to experience the story through their senses. This might mean hearing the teeth crack as the character bites down or seeing limbs hanging from trees as outsiders come to investigate. This is not necessarily a Slasher book though. I think it is truly exploring evil in its Victorian Era where the question is, who is the most evil? Is it the person who hires children to do dangerous work in factories or abuses women in their home? Or is the evil person the one who stabs people, hides bodies and keeps victim heads in their closet? The governess is showing her side of the story and wants the reader to decide, who is truly the most evil? Regardless of our thoughts, she will laugh at the head of the mansion's table.

#horror #halloween #horrormovies #art #horrorfan #scary #horrorart #horrormovie #creepy #spooky #horrorcommunity #movie #horrorfilm #film #movies #horroraddict #s #terror #cosplay #goth #thriller #horrorcollector #dark #scream #shorror #slasher #gothic #cinema #horrorjunkie #artist

This was an incredibly compelling, grotesque nod to American Psycho. It was a bit TOO gruesome for me, but you may enjoy that!

Absolutely love this cover! All these trending covers always get me. The story was riveting and will keep you questioning your sanity until the end :)

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was fun! I love the time period, and it reminded me of other classic horror like turn of the screw.

God forbid a woman have a hobby! Winifred Notty is more putrid than Sweeney Todd and would find herself welcome in the most lurid and ghastly penny dreadfuls of her age. A delightful short read that should not be attempted after eating. Or before, really.

This book was weird, disgusting, grotesque in some ways. Horrific in many others. Baffling in others yet.

And I really enjoyed it.

This take on American Psycho goes Victorian was about as charming as the book it references, which is to say, sometimes very but often not? There is almost nothing likable about the Winifred (except the blackness of her heart and humor) and I imagine she wouldn't care because she is insanely compelling.

While it nods at its American counterpart, this book establishes itself as something entirely of its own (I didn't even notice the connection until it was pointed out to me). I found it compulsively readable, even though I couldn't stop asking myself why.
Ewwww. God, why.

It enters a well-loved genre of stories about unhinged women doing terrible things, but does so with such wit and ingenuity, it stands firmly on its own.

I suppose, the thing keeping it from its final star is that its lack of a point became too much of the point. There wasn't really a story here, I felt. I didn't mind that, since the writing is great and the main character was interesting, but at least to some degree I felt something lacking.

Some of grossouts just seemed to be gross for...grossness sake. They added nothing except a mild suspicion the author was scraping for shock value.

I'll definitely be checking out more from the author, even though this one will likely stick around, etched into my brain.

This is not what I expected…. In a good way. Morbid and gross and a super quick read. I couldn’t put it down and also couldn’t decide if I should keep reading. Perfect book to end the spooky season.!

4.25 ⭐️ ??

Victorian PSYCHO is right!! I feel conflicted by this book. I enjoyed it, but I didn't want to enjoy it. LOL. It was SOOO weird and revolting. I am not sure if it is a book closer to a 5 star, or if I need a mental health check. Haha.

Winifred Notty is hired on by the wealthy Pounds family as the new governess for the children of the house, Drusilla and Andrew. From the beginning, Ms. Notty is strange (I was saying, "WTF" many times while reading). The staff of the manor do not like her and make that clear. Mrs. Pounds tolerates her (until she absolutely despises her) at first. The children don't favor her and are quite rude to her. Mr. Pounds is the most pleasant and takes an interest in her, which irritates his wife further. Ms. Notty begins to wreak havoc subtly and she thoroughly enjoys it. Then all the shit hits the fan at the end. All the shit.

Ms. Notty is batcrap crazy, that is all I have to say. She is extremely unstable and unpredictable. She snaps almost instantly (0-100 violence in a mere second). She lacks any concern for animals, children, or basically any damn thing but herself. She endured a very cold, violent, and sad childhood (it did bother me) which has resulted in her lack of empathy or understanding of emotions or love. She is a true psychopath and has to remind herself to keep even her facial expressions appropriate.

This book is dark. But it had a strange humor to it. Ms. Notty was funny at times. This book is a handful of insanity. That ending was UNHINGED. The word "anus" was used way too many times though. LOL.

Not a book for someone who will be bothered by child abuse, child murder, animal abuse, and descriptive child and animal death.

This is my first book by the author and I will be reading her other books!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for access to the ARC of this book! I truly appreciate the opportunity!

This book is so much fun. Bloody, wacky and dark. We need more blood soaked gothic stories. I will read anything by this author.

Dear Author,

What did I just read?! Was I supposed to laugh, as much as I did? I think so. Such horror, such wit. This book is one of my favorite horror stories I've read this year. I couldn't stop reading and it was a bloody read.

Sincerely Yours,

J. D. McCoughtry

Thank you, NetGalley and W. W. Norton and Company/Liveright, for allowing me to read this e-arc.

I was SO thrilled to be approved for an ARC of Victorian Psycho last night, and it was everything I had hoped for and more. I ended up reading the entire thing in less than 24 hours. I havent had a book that made me want to stay up reading until my eyes could barely open in a long time, but this did.
Fantastical, surreal, and dark, this is weird girl horror at it’s best. Feito’s writing is fantastic, and the prose is perfectly crafted to confuse and give pause at just the right times. I cant wait to buy a copy when it releases in February.
I was surprised to see that casting for a film adaptation has already been announced, but thrilled to see that they’ve chosen Margret Qualley, who I think is the perfect person to bring Winifred Notty to life.

I can’t even tell you have many times this book made me laugh due to *insanity*. This book was absolutely insane. But in the best way. It was dark yet cheerful, which was the *perfect* juxtaposition. I absolutely loved the main character. She was so delightfully unhinged. There were so many things that happened that I truly did not see coming. At times I was a little confused, questioning if what was happening was reality or a delusion - but all in all, I enjoyed this book!

Victorian Psycho
Virginia Feito 

4.25 / 5

There are grotesqueries galore in this gloriously wicked, gothic chiller that's equally horrifying and hilarious ... If you like your comedies dark black, with no sweetener whatsoever, give Victorian Psycho a read.

I will warn you, this novel is not for readers with sensitivities. 

(I saw another review mention this book as well ... it's a good comparison) If you're someone who struggled through the novel 'The Laws of the Skies', I'd skip this one. If you're super sensitive to animal deaths, this probably won't be for you either. 
Check your triggers on this one. 

The novel was another really pleasant surprise! 
I was excited by the premise, so I went in with pretty high expectations ... And, for the most part, it didn't disappoint me. 

Were there things I would have changed ...? Were there detours I didn't care to take ...? Well, yes! 

But isn't that almost every book? Oh, no?? Ok, maybe it's just the overly critical writer within me.

Regardless, the book really shook me ... both with its terrifyingly shocking content ... and with several belly laughs.  

Bottom line - this book is killer. 
4.25 / 5
Take a stab at it ... IF you think you can stomach it.

In Victorian Psycho Virginia Feito delivers a deliciously dark macabre tale that delves deep into the psyche of a Victorian murderess named Winifred who has many dark thoughts and impulses that she suppresses.

This is a tale not for the faint of heart or those who get a bit grossed out easily by body horror. Much of this is gruesome and very visceral. The scariness lies in the unpredictability of Winifred. As a character she is quite frankly a female psychopath and a very disturbed human.

What makes this story even more interesting is the fact that dark humour is laced throughout the chilling events that take place. The witty tone of the book made it feel even creepier.

If you enjoy historical horror, dark humour and gothic literature that is more macabre in nature then you’ll likely enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher LiveRight for my eARC.

Fine for what it is: something like American Psycho, but with a female main character and set in Victorian England. It's been more than 30 years since I read Brett Easton Ellis' book, so I'm not sure how similar they are. But that's the gist.

Miss Notty has been hired as a governess for two wealthy children in a country house. We learn early on that she is not your run of the mill governess. She's constantly imagining horrible things she will do or reminiscing about things she's already done. As the book goes on, we learn the particulars of her transgressions. None of this makes her likeable, but she's not there to be liked by us.

The family is detached from one another and dysfunction runs rampant. It just wouldn't be a book about a psycho if there wasn't a whole lot of murder before the whole thing is done. All of this wrapped up in the style and language reminiscent of a Victorian novel.

I was a little disappointed in the abruptness of the last quarter of the book. After humming along at a leisurely pace (with some fits and starts) for the first 150 pages or so (it's just over 200 pages long), there's a feeling that the author had to wrap it up quickly and just kind of threw everything at the reader.

I'm giving this book 3 stars, but it is full of squelching ickiness; so, if you like that, pick up this book!

My thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton and Company for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Victorian Psycho is the horror comedy that I did not know I needed. Virginia Feito has delivered a unique book that had me creeped out in spots and laughing in others. The main character, Winifred Notty, is an unforgettable character. Being inside her mind and seeing the Ensor House and all of its weirdness through her eyes was quite an adventure.

I was a big fan of this book and will recommend it to others.

I love when authors can take a genre like horror and make it into something new and fresh that will hopefully attract new readers to one of my favorite genres.

HOLY &*$% - this is the Ottessa Moshfegh/Downton Abbey/Mary Poppins/American Psycho mashup that I didn't know I had been waiting for all my life.

Winnifred Notty is the recently appointed Governess of the Pounds estate, tutoring Andrew and Drusilla. It rapidly becomes apparent that the household is bleak, but it is far from a match for Fred (the name her demons prefer.)

This brilliantly written, unhinged MFC does not hold back any punches. The lyrical Victorian/gothic prose juxtaposed with graphic violence and gross behavior was nothing short of delightful.

The book even has chapter header line illustrations to set the appropriate theme and tone.

I loved this so much! I can't wait to own a physical copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Liveright for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.