Synopsis:

When Carrie reclaims her body after being possessed by a hedonistic gang of dark spirits, life as she knew it is over. Before, she was a thirty-something data analyst who enjoyed preparing vegetarian meals, decorating her vintage home, and training for marathons. Now, she’s lost everything – her savings, friends, career, and reputation. The police want to question her for an array of crimes. Homeless and diseased, she’s also the star of her own mortifying viral video.

That’s not all that’s changed. She can now see ghosts, though not the traditional specters from books and films. These earthbound souls exist at the mercy of the physical world, where grass impales their feet and rain riddles their astral bodies like bullets. When she meets Daniel – who first encountered her body on a one night stand during the spirits’ debaucherous joy ride, they forge a friendship rooted in home-cooking and bondage. Just as Carrie finds a new normal, she discovers that sinister spirits have possessed another victim.

Will she risk everything she’s rebuilt to save a stranger?

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Carrie has been possessed by spirits and we see the tail end of that and the hideous self destruction it entails. Honestly, at this stage it was so saddening that I couldn’t tell if this was going to be a book about mental illness and was tempted to give it a miss rather than put myself through the turmoil but I’m glad I stuck with it.

Carrie loses pretty much everything as a result of the things she’s been doing while possessed, her friends gave up on her suspiciously quickly which was disheartening but someone she met during the possession takes her in and takes care of her while she works out what to do with her life.

There’s some gross body horror in this book. Including anti-possession razor testicles (it’s hard to explain, just read it for yourself and all will be revealed) and genital sores. It should also be noted that the consensuality of her sexual activity while being possessed is very dubious – if this may well be a trigger for some readers.

I loved Carrie as a characters and the plot itself, but my reservations were Daniel as a character – his motivations didn’t make a huge amount of sense, even if he does have a submissive personality, I wasn’t able to get a read on him to work out why he’d take in a complete stranger and clothe/feed/care for her on such an intimate level with sweet FA in return, and also that the solution to the mystery of how Carrie came to be possessed is cast aside really quickly.

The writing style is brilliant and the plot unfolds at a rapid pace, taking us from one unexpected event to another with some flashbacks to bring it all together.

I’d recommend this to horror fans but be aware of the sexual nature of some of the scenes and the consequences thereof.