Lisa Quigley uses motherhood and folk horror to craft a new tale of a community gone wrong. Faye, despite her recent struggle with postpartum, has been safe and happy within the boundaries of Edgewood. Ready but a little reluctant to step into a leadership role, she soon finds the forest and the people she loves are not what they seem.

A year ago or more, I was lucky enough to read the first bits of this novel in one of its earliest forms. The atmosphere and the little bit of the plot I experienced stuck with me as I waited and hoped that The Forest would find a home. The final form holds all the things I loved in that early preview and so much more. Set up to move from the present to the past, the timeline is well crafted and feels almost as if the reader is in Faye’s head as she does what so many do: thinks back on all the things that led her to where she is at that moment.

To be a parent is to know horror, and Quigley holds nothing back. Parenthood is also one of the more difficult things to incorporate into fiction, especially something as solitary as postpartum because there is such a wild variety of experiences and parenting choices. From Faye’s inner turmoil to how often (and how long) she breastfeeds her son, every choice makes sense for this character in this situation. There are several moments that reached something in my mom heart and I sat back and thought how stunning it was that a feeling I remembered was laid out right there in plain text. Something intangible that I had never tried to put out into the world was suddenly there and incorporated into a story I just couldn’t tear myself away from.

Personal experiences aside, The Forest is sure to find fans with readers who love folk horror, character-driven choices, and just a really well-told story. Because at the end of the day, all we really want is just a great story to get lost in for a while, and what better place than in an ominous forest and in the hands of an author with a fantastic imagination. The Forest is Quigley’s debut novel, and if it’s any indication of what readers can come to expect from her long-form work, they are surely in for a treat with whatever she comes up with next. Be sure to check this one out.