Phantom Limb

How it reads

Phantom Limb is horror (psychological horror, specifically), and its dominant mood is dark. It goes to difficult places and doesn't look away. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a suburban setting, in the present day, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are family, loss and grief and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is dark — no rescue, no neat bow. At 260 pages it's a quick read. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.