Head Like a Hole by Andrew Van Wey

Title: Head Like a Hole

Author: Andrew Van Wey

Year Published: 2023

Link to Buy: Amazon

Genre: Fiction, Horror, Supernatural, 90's

Summary:
It's the mid-nineties. Grunge and flannel are fading as the Spice Girls and Hot Topic conquer the malls. Cherry gloss glistens on the lips of the youth. Modems hiss as America comes online. And in a fog-drenched cove at the edge of New England, something terrible awakens when a fisherman reels in a gruesome catch: the remains of a young woman.

Remains still pulsing with furious life.

For Megan Monroe and her friends, this is hoe their nightmare begins: a wet whisper over the shoulder, a dark hand reaching out from the edge of their sight, a name clawing at the back of their minds. 

A young woman scratched from their memory.

To stop this devouring terror, Megan will need to mend broken friendships and reassemble her fractured past, for what stalks them hungers to remake itself in their image... piece by bloody piece.

Dig into the haunted past with Head Like a Hole, a novel of malignant secrets, shattered friendships, and twisted bodily horror.

Ten Sentence Review:
I finished this book in less than 24 hours. The pacing made it feel like I was passing time at the same rate as the characters. It felt more like watching a horror movie than reading a book, but blissfully longer lasting. After a slow-ish first ten chapters, I was floored by how engaging the story was. 

The detailed (and disgusting) descriptions of body horror were mixed surprisingly with elements of marine biology and fantasy. When the cause of Oksana's condition was finally revealed I didn't know whether to laugh, sigh with relief, or scream, so I kind of did all three. I fell in love with the character of Chun-hee and she became the main character for me whenever she was present.

The big final confrontation in the story-within-the-story, and then the FINAL final reveal, were insane in the best way. My jaw still hurts from staring with my mouth wide open for about an hour. 

I'm so excited to read more by this author. 5/5!