100% Match by Patrick C Harrison III

Title: 100% Match

Author: Patrick C Harrison III

Year Published: 2022

Link to Buy: Amazon 

Genre: Fiction, Horror, Extreme Horror, Splatterpunk, Mental Illness, Novella, Thriller, Twist Ending

Summary:

Bart is thirty. He is bald. He is overweight. He wears glasses. He is a fry cook. He hates cats. And kids. Bart occasionally does very bad things. He is looking for his perfect match. He has done his research.

Ten-Sentence Review

This is yet another splatterpunk book that I will not recommend unless you know what you’re getting into—but if you’ve walked this disgusting road before, read 100% Match immediately! The only thing I loved more than main character Bart’s nonsensical depravity was the unexpected twist at the end. I read the whole thing in two short sittings, but unlike other horror novellas I’ve read, this one is the perfect length for the story. I would definitely read a prequel where we find out why Bart is the way he is, but this is a rare time when I feel that really isn’t necessary. The whole point of Bart’s existence is chaos and I wouldn’t want to ruin it by finding out about his childhood trauma. 

The narration was very American Psycho, describing the minutiae of everything he does without explaining why he does it; much like Patrick Bateman, we don’t know if this is because the narrator thinks the reasons are obvious to us, or because he doesn’t bother to assign reason to his actions at all. The main difference between the two characters is that Bateman is notoriously unreliable, but I’m fairly certain everything Bart describes is actually happening. Bart also has distinct similarities to Tyler Durden from Fight Club, and not just because of his additions to recipes at his fast-food job. 

Bart’s fatal flaw is assuming Sara is just another generic woman he can manipulate into thinking he is the perfect partner… But, he doesn’t seem too disappointed in the outcome when she reveals her true motives. 

5/5

Against Medical Advice by Ruth Anna Evans

 Title: Against Medical Advice

Author: Ruth Anna Evans

Year Published: 2024

Link to Buy: Amazon

Genre: Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Horror, Medical Horror, Mental Illness, Novella

Summary:

Frank's six-year-old daughter Maddie is sick. Very sick. Her mother is out of town and he's on his own to handle the emergency. But the doctors can't find anything wrong and money is quickly running out. Frank is desperate, and he begins to consider the unthinkable. Shelly is a social worker with a pill problem. When a case spins out of control, she finds herself out of pills and at the end of her rope. Then she gets a call to check into a tip from an A father who may be making his own daughter ill. Will Shelly intervene in time, or will she fail to save a child...again? From the author of OH FUCK OH FUCK IT HURTS comes this gripping, fast-paced novella of medical horror that will make you How far would you go when the only thing you can do is Against Medical Advice?

Ten-Sentence Review

The desperation and poorly processed childhood trauma of both main characters, Shelly and Frank, are what makes this too-short novel really special. Shelly allows her dependence on Xanax to get in the way of her social worker job, and Frank allows his paranoia over his daughter’s illness and their lack of money to push him to do something completely irrational. They both make poor decisions that may or may not be totally their own fault. 

When you have PTSD you aren’t always in your right mind when you get triggered, and Evans captures that perfectly in both people’s fractured thoughts and frazzled actions. I can’t say that I would have jumped straight to home surgery as quickly as Frank does, but he watched his mother waste away in the hospital when he was a teenager and has no trust left for the medical profession. 

The descriptions of abused and neglected children are so heartbreakingly accurate, and I appreciate how good Shelly is at her job even as she’s wrestling with her own demons. It was refreshing to see a horror novel where the characters have consciences and good intentions, but everything still goes terribly wrong. 

Solid plot, beautiful writing, realistic characters, and a strong resolution. My only complaint is that it was too short! I’d love to see a sequel about what happens to Frank in prison, his daughter and wife’s life without him as Maddie gets older, and Shelly checking in on them as her habits and PTSD either get better or much, much worse. 

5/5