"Hetty" Book Review

I’ve said this in many reviews, and I’ll continue to say it. There are some writers whose work I will just dive into without reading the synopsis because I know they won’t disappoint. Eddie Generous is one such author. And, as a bonus, I never know what I’m going to get. Sometimes it’s a straight-up monster story like Great Big Teeth. Other times it’s a family drama with monsters like What Lurks Beneath. Occasionally it’s coming-of-age horror like various short works in his collections, and sometimes it’s just flat-out creepy-ass horror like Hetty. Generous’ work is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. But unlike that box of chocolates, I’ve never bitten into an Eddie Generous tale and didn’t enjoy it.

Hetty opens with the termination of a teacher and how she lashes out because of it. It rhymes with “she poisons her class.” A group of vigilantes catches Hetty and dish out old-school justice by cutting a hole in a frozen pond and dropping her down in it. It’s not a spoiler to say there are some strange goings-on around that pond from then on, so much so, they fill it with concrete. That doesn’t help much, but I digress.

Years later (as in YEARS, maybe a 100), Dane, a struggling artist, moves into the home he inherited from a friend and, wouldn’t you know it, that pond is in his backyard. He quickly finds a friend and possible romantic interest in Winona, a woman who, with son Casey in tow, has moved back to her childhood town in an attempt to get away from her jerk of a husband. The house she’s living in? You got it, the old schoolhouse where Hetty used to teach.

Yeah, things are going to get interesting. Especially when there is a kid involved, because kids in horror are only good for two things: to kill or be killed by. In Hetty, it’s a little bit of both.

In his writing, Generous excels at a lot of things, but what he’s arguably best at is character development. His characters, in particular the protagonists, are so real. They are sometimes broken and always relatable. In Hetty, Dane and Winona each have their own issues they struggle with, which complicates their relationship. Almost from go you root for these people, so when it really hits the fan, you’re drawn in and feel the fear Dane and Winona feel. Hetty is no joke.

I also love how Generous can make you actually feel sorry for an antagonist. There’s a particular character that is just up to no good at all, but because of their circumstance, you don’t hate them. You hate their actions, but man, you also feel sorry for them. I don’t like feeling sorry for people I don’t really like, but here we are.

Hetty has genuine characters, creepy situations, and some tense-filled action. Yet another great outing from Eddie Generous you don’t want to miss, but hurry. Hetty’s waiting.