The Lamb

A Novel

By: Lucy Rose

Narrated by: Emma Rydal

DAKOTA JOHNSON TEATIME BOOK CLUB PICK · INSTANT #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A FOLK TALE. A HORROR STORY. A LOVE STORY. AN ENCHANTMENT.

""A dark, gorgeous concoction.”—New York Times

“Beautiful, terrifying . . . . Destined to become a classic.""—Washington Post

From an incendiary new talent, a contemporary queer folktale about a mother and daughter living in the woods, for fans of Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, and Julia Armfield.

Margot and Mama have lived by the forest ever since Margot can remember.

When Margot is not at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. People who have strayed too far from the road. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.

But Mama’s want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a beautiful, white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires, and make her bid for freedom.

With this gothic coming-of-age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire, and animal instincts—and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.

wow

My rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5)
(Taking off half a star only because I may never emotionally recover.)

Haunting

As soon as I started this book I was hooked. I genuinely had a hard time doing anything else because all I wanted to do was listen to this book. It was so disturbing and my heart broke for Margo. I think the ending was incredibly sad and beautiful.

Perspective

I enjoyed the story but it didn’t meet expectations I had of the book from others.

Recommend

This book was excellent. I recommend the read for someone looking for an interesting story with a different point of view. This story is told from the point of view of the child.

The ending saves it from being a total loss

I went into The Lamb expecting a dark, unsettling horror story — something eerie and emotionally charged — but what I got felt more like cruelty without a pulse. The narrator does a good job capturing the thick, rural atmosphere, but even her performance can’t give life to characters who are hollow from page one.

Ruth, Eden, and Margot never evolve; they’re simply mean and monstrous, which makes it hard to care what happens to them. In great horror you should still feel something — disgust, dread, pity, fascination — but this story offers none of that. It’s just grime, violence, and repetition until the final chapters.

The last portion finally delivers some payoff; Margot’s quiet revenge has the emotional depth the rest of the book lacks. Still, it’s too little, too late.

If you enjoy bleak, body-horror tales purely for their imagery, this might work for you. But if you want depth, dread, and emotion with your darkness, this one never quite gets there.