Book Review: Brother by Ania Ahlborn

The Morrows are a family residing in a secluded farmhouse, far in the Appalachians — far enough that nobody outside of the family can hear the screams...

“A party ain’t a party without a splash of red.”

If you asked me to describe this book in three words, I would choose the following: brutal, disturbing and tense. So basically any Ania Ahlborn book, right?! 

If you think your family is fucked up... meet the Morrows. Families who commit heinous acts together, stay together - is that how it goes?? Ahlborn develops her characters so well that we actually feel sympathy for one of the family members, because you can see right away that he is different - he isn’t straight-up evil like the rest of the clan! And boy, are they evil. What a cast of twisted, depraved individuals! I loved it!

I can’t recall the last time I read a book where the tension was just so palpable... the dread continually builds throughout the entire novel to a dizzying finale that is spattered with blood. Just how I like it!!

Not every horror book can easily elicit a range of different emotions and allow you to form those emotional connections, but this one put me through the wringer. I was angry, frustrated, sad, heartbroken... This one ticks all the damn boxes!

Ahlborn goes to the darkest places imaginable, she has yet to disappoint me and that is why I will continue to hail her as the Queen of Horror! If I didn’t know she was one of the most genuine and lovely people, I would be shit scared of her.

A must for horror fans! 5 stars.

Johann

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