The Blair Witch Project meets The Ritual, with a generous helping of The Menu, in Morsel, a delicious folk horror novella perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Cassandra Khaw, and Paul Tremblay.

Lou did what the children of parents with back-breaking, poor paying jobs are supposed to do; pulled up her bootstraps, went to college, and got an office job with coworkers who won’t stop talking about their multi-level marketing scheme disguised as self-betterment.

Determined to lift her ill mother out of poverty before it’s too late, and in the spirit of climbing the corporate ladder, Lou accepts an assignment in the rural hills of Ohio. She quickly finds herself stranded in the middle of nowhere with a sabotaged truck, a dog she’s determined to keep safe, and something stalking her through the ancient Appalachian woods.

If she can’t escape the woods in time, she’ll come face to face with the fact that her job isn’t the only thing that wants to eat her alive.

Morsel is a chilling testament to the burden of generational poverty and the all-consuming nature of capitalism, where the monster and the monstrous, in the end, are not the same.

I received an advance copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

I had a ton of fun with this one. This was another case where I needed a shorter audiobook to get through the day, and it definitely scratched a creepy itch while entertaining me as I worked in the yard.

I could totally see this book being made into a movie and they wouldn’t need to cut or change a thing. It’s a quick one, and it wastes no time in getting to the creepy stuff.

The book focuses on twenty-something Lou who grew up poor with a mother who made sure she always had what she needed. Lou is now fresh out of college and trying to make enough money to help her sick mother before it’s too late. Her coworkers are insufferable and won’t shut up about their MLM schemes disguised as self-improvement and she’s certain she’s about to get fired. But her boss offers her a different position and she gladly accepts, hoping this assignment might be what helps her move up in the company. Her first task is to go to rural Ohio to assess a new property the company has acquired and this is when everything goes sideways fast. Her truck gets sabotaged and she’s stuck in the middle of nowhere with her dog. There’s no cell service. No wifi. Just woods. And a coyote who acts like it has rabies, but should probably be dead by the looks of it.

The setup is familiar but perfect for this type of story. We have a small town with spotty cell service and no wifi. A mysterious rabies-like disease that makes animals aggressive even though they look like they should already be dead. A main character who is isolated with no clear path to safety. It all comes together in a way that is highly entertaining

There were plenty of shocks along the way, and also a few expectations based on relationships and interactions. But even though I suspected/expected some things, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. Lou is a solid protagonist. She’s competent and relatable. She’s trying to do right by her mom while dealing with a corporate job that’s slowly eating her alive. And now she’s dealing with something in the woods that literally wants to eat her alive. The parallels aren’t subtle, but they work.

The story is fun, fast-paced, and well-written. It has a few unforgettable characters and some genuinely creepy moments. It’s also got things to say about generational poverty and capitalism without being preachy about it. The horror is the metaphor, but it’s also just good horror on its own.

The pacing is where this one really excels. The book moves fast. It doesn’t waste time on exposition or buildup. You’re in the thick of it almost immediately, and it doesn’t let up. For a short audiobook, it packs a lot in without ever feeling rushed or overstuffed.

The audio narration by Lindsay Dorcus is well-executed. She nails Lou’s voice perfectly and brings the right energy to the tension and the fear. She makes the whole thing feel immediate and visceral.

If you’re looking for a quick, creepy read to get you through the day, definitely pick this one up. It’s the kind of book that would make a great movie. Everything is visual. Great characters, fun story and it doesn’t waste any time getting to the action.