The Queen

I have loved every novel written by Nick Cutter, and this one is no exception. He is my go-to author for horror recommendations that are deep, engaging, and genuinely creepy in an existential manner.
I can't wait until this comes out and will definitely be purchasing a hard copy for my own collection.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review.

The Queen by Nick Cutter grabbed my attention right away. The story follows Margaret, a teen whose friend has gone missing without a trace. Then, out of nowhere, a mysterious phone shows up at her door, kicking off a wild scavenger hunt to uncover the truth. What happens next is beyond anything she could have predicted, forcing her to confront things about her friend that no one should ever have to deal with. By the end, you’re left with a chilling question: If you found out your friend was a monster, could you still love them?

I ended up loving this book way more than I expected, especially since I am absolutely horrified of wasps. I’ll tell you, I have never read through squinted eyes before, but The Queen made me do just that. I couldn’t put it down—I NEEDED to know what was next—but I also couldn’t handle what was coming next at the same time. Squinted eyes clearly became my only option.

If you’re a fan of Stephen King or Joe Hill—someone who doesn’t need extreme horror but loves a story that’ll keep you up at night—then this book is for you. Also, if you grew up reading Goosebumps or watching Are You Afraid of the Dark?, you’ll appreciate this grown-up version of those kinds of tales.

This is the first Nick Cutter book I’ve read, and I absolutely loved his writing style, especially how he used text messages and .wav files sent to Margaret to tell Charity’s side of the story. I also really enjoyed how he wrapped up the story by closing it out with magazine articles, letters, etc. looking back on the situation—just brilliant. I’m giving The Queen a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars (rounded up to 5 out of 5 stars), and I’ve already ordered Nick Cutter’s other books.

Trigger warning: Beware if you absolutely cannot handle bugs.

Since childhood, Margaret and Charity have been inseparable. When Charity goes missing and no one seems to care, a mysterious package arrives on Margaret’s front step. Inside is an iPhone with a text that upends Margaret's world and provides insight into Charity’s whereabouts and perhaps who she’s been all along.

Set just outside Niagara Falls in author Nick Cutter’s hometown of St. Catherine’s Ontario, THE QUEEN is yet another unsettling, graphic, body-horror classic from the Canadian writer. Between the covers, this book goes to some truly wild places asking very little of the reader other than to sit back and marvel at the depravity of a horror writer at the top of his game. Cutter’s prose can sometimes feel like a gore-splattered car crash you just can’t turn your head from; you want to avert your eyes, but the true nature of human curiosity won’t let you. While I don’t think anything here is quite on the same level as the turtle scene in The Troop, it’s a different kind of horror that at times still left me reeling, audibly gasping “oh God”.

Although the book deals with some pretty intricate science surrounding gene manipulation, I never felt truly lost or overwhelmed by the amount of jargon (thanks to a few great analogies like you may find on the r/ELI5 subreddit). That said, it isn’t entirely four-hundred pages of carnage and sci-fi, there is also a tender coming-of-age novel in here about the power of friendship and young adults yearning for connection and understanding. People often dismiss genre-fiction, especially horror, believing that it doesn’t have anything important to say, but I would argue that those novels can be where authors can get the most introspective. Cutter does a wonderful job here digging into the awkwardness of youth, sex and the perils of personal growth.

I absolutely loved this book. Once I hit the halfway point, I powered through in a single afternoon to get to the end. If you’re a fan of Stephen King’s CARRIE, Cutter once again finds inspiration in King’s usage of mixed media much like he did with THE TROOP, expanding the scope of the novel’s true horror beyond Margaret's POV.

Nick Cutter (or Craig Davidson) rarely disappoints me and THE QUEEN is certainly no exception.

While the two books are quite different, the insect motif and body horror had me fondly recalling the Ian Banks classic, "The Wasp Factory" Once again, Cutter does a fantastic job crafting a creepy (crawly) under your skin discomfort from start to finish. A great addition to the author's body of work.