Myrrh

“Clever, insightful, and insidiously vicious, Polly Hall’s Myrrh is a terrifying and profoundly visceral exploration of social appearances, identity, and family. One of the most remarkable novels I’ve read in quite some time.”—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke


“For every woman with a goblin inside her. This dark, lonely, yearning, twisty book is not for the faint of heart, and boy did I love it.” CJ Leede, Bram Stoker nominated author of Maeve Fly


“Myrrh swirls with sharp prose and personality. A dynamite stick of a book, pregnant with pathos and nitroglycerin.”—Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker finalist, and author of A Light Most Hateful


“Nothing can quite prepare you for the gift that is Myrrh, which mischievously reads like an unhinged Rumplestiltskin, a Daphne du Maurier suckerpunch, a Catriona Ward whirlpool of vertiginous proportions. Remember the name Polly Hall. Her novel breathes life in the gathering gloom.”—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters


“Myrrh is an extraordinary puzzle-box of a book which interweaves the lives of women to create an intricate web of identity. Polly Hall makes her fairy-tale allusions feel startlingly modern in this world of blood, lost girls, and psychological horror.” Ally Wilkes, author of Where the Dead Wait 


“Themes of motherhood, identity and obsession swirl throughout this atmospheric, fantasy-tinged literary thriller. […] [I]t’s a well-observed and empathetic look at two women in states of psychological distress.” – SFX


“[A[ dizzying specimen of hallucinogenic literary horror.” – Set The Tape


“A festering account of the horrors women hold within their wombs, and the ones their daughters inherit.” –Lindy Ryan, author of Bless Your Heart and Cold Snap


“Layered, luminous and profound.”—Alison Littlewood, author of The Other Lives of Miss Emily White


“Hall spins a slow and unnerving work of psychological horror around three women who stake their identities on their families… Immobilized by doubt and self-delusion, they yearn for intimacy from their partners and validation from their families—even as they gradually descend deeper into madness. Patient readers will be rewarded.”—Publishers Weekly

“It masterfully conveyed the many roles of women, the isolation of being adopted, and how secrets can be twisted. It’s thought-provocation tackles self-identity, the meaning of family, social appearances, marriage and pregnancy. The lush descriptions are beautiful and literary. “- The Horror Tree


PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR


Hall’s writing is lush, filled with startling conclusions about the nature of art and love and death. . . [A] shudder-inducing debut. – The New York Times


The menace increases slowly but relentlessly, permeating every corner, and the twists, plentiful but also well earned, pile up, resolving in a near-perfect horror ending . . . [A] lyrical debut, told with the confidence of a veteran. – Booklist, Starred Review


Creepy and sensual . . . the tension between Scarlett and Henry is riveting . . . making The Taxidermist’s Lover a luxurious, macabre romance. – Foreword Reviews


As strange as it is disturbing . . . It’s [Scarlett’s] highly personal confessional tone, exposed internal conflicts, grotesque dreams, and desires that draw the reader in. – Kirkus Reviews


Rich, decadent prose . . . allusions to The Bride of Frankenstein nicely ground the ending in the gothic tradition. – Publishers Weekly