The cover description reads like a mystery novel. A phone shows up on a woman’s doorstep—the phone of a dear friend who went missing and was presumed dead. Who wouldn’t want to know how that story ends!

I was anticipating something like Stephen King. What I read was much, much darker. Nick Cutter specializes in the grotesque. Classic horror tropes abound, described in excruciating detail.

The mystery element that frames the work was resolved in satisfying, if gut-churning fashion. This compelling novel will have you binging page count—assuming you can stomach it.

Cutter, Nick. The Queen. Narrated by Ariel Blake, Zac Aleman, Corey Brill, and Pete Simonelli. Audiobook ed., unabridged, Simon & Schuster Audio, 2024.