Horror Romance meets science fiction in this dark and delicious gothic psychological thriller by NYT bestseller Karina Halle, perfect for fans of Gothikana, Ninth House, and Mexican Gothic.
Aspiring mycologist Sydney Denik is getting a second chance. When a dream opportunity presents itself with a prestigious foundation doing promising Alzheimer’s research, Sydney leaves the shambles of her old life to join a dozen other grad students at an isolated lodge hidden away in a remote, fog-shrouded inlet on Vancouver Island.
But the Madrona Foundation harbors more than brilliant minds. Everyone around her is hiding a terrible secret—including the resident psychologist she’s falling in love with. A student disappears, and no one but Sydney seems to care. Ghosts walk the halls. Snow falls in the middle of summer. Dead animals move like the living. The more Sydney uncovers about the foundation, the more she begins to question her own sanity. And if Sydney isn’t going mad, then the horrors in the surrounding forest are real, and the Madrona Foundation may be the biggest monster of all.
Content warnings: Grave Matter contains scenes of gore, body horror, animal body horror, off-page animal death, mentions of suicide, off-page suicide, graphic language and graphic scenes of a sexual nature, which include degradation and praise kink, breath play, bondage with ropes and belts, and various other mild-BDSM elements. Your mental health is important to me, and this book contains all sorts of fuckery, so please proceed with caution.
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
Grave Matter by Karina Halle is an unsettling mix of horror, suspense, and a touch of romance that keeps you on edge from start to finish. It’s unpredictable in the best way—just when you think you’ve figured it out, something completely unexpected happens, pulling you deeper into the mystery.
The story follows Sydney Denik, a mycologist who takes a chance on a prestigious research opportunity at the remote Madrona Foundation. Located in a foggy, isolated inlet on Vancouver Island, the setting is almost as important as the plot itself. The lodge feels eerie, and you can’t shake the sense that something is off. As Sydney gets to know the others at the foundation, she quickly realizes not everything is as it seems—students disappear, bizarre things happen, and the more she digs, the more reality seems to slip away.
The pacing of this book is spot-on. It keeps you hooked, and the creeping sense of dread builds with each chapter. The atmosphere is thick with suspense, and Karina Halle really nails the horror elements—there are ghosts, strange happenings, and a feeling of isolation that makes the whole story feel claustrophobic. It’s not just the big scares that work, but the subtle unease that comes with being cut off from the rest of the world.
Sydney is a great protagonist. She’s curious, determined, and a little lost, which makes her an easy character to root for. Her connection with Professor Kincaid is strange but compelling. Their relationship feels a bit off at times, which makes sense as you get further into the story and start to piece things together.
The best part of Grave Matter is how unique it feels. The combination of horror and psychological thriller elements works so well, and the setting adds another layer of tension. The island feels alive in a creepy way, and you can really feel the isolation. By the end, it’s not just the mysteries that are resolved—it’s everything strange about the characters and their behavior that falls into place, making the whole story come together.
If you’re looking for a suspenseful, eerie read that keeps you guessing, Grave Matter is perfect, especially around Halloween. It’s dark, unpredictable, and the kind of story that lingers long after you’ve finished it.
Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.
Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.
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