Rachel Harrison: ‘Such Sharp Teeth’—a darkly comedic love story [Spotlight]
Author photo by Nic Harris
A darkly comedic love story…
A young woman in need of a transformation finds herself in touch with the animal inside in this gripping, incisive novel from the author of Cackle and The Return.
Rory Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby’s father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she’d put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into Ian, an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked.
Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She’s unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver—and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She’s changing into someone else—something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she’s putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?
This darkly comedic love story is a brilliantly layered portrait of trauma, rage, and vulnerability.
“I think horror is for everyone,” the author told The Big Thrill. “We live in a patriarchal society, and a lot of horror is a product of the world we live in. I would like to think there are a lot of really amazing people working really hard to make this world a better place, even though a lot of it’s been very difficult and it seems very hopeless.
“But I think there are a lot of talented artists who are relentlessly pursuing art that matters and will make a difference. And out of that, there are a lot of incredible up-and-coming horror writers who are telling different stories, and I think there’s a lot of room in the genre for different stories. There are plenty of seats at the table, and I think we need to start pulling out chairs for everybody.”
Such Sharp Teeth: A Werewolf Novel
By Rachel Harrison
Category: Gothic & Horror | Paranormal Fiction | Suspense & Thriller
Published by Berkley
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Reviews
“The book is part rom-com, horror and is all heart.” (Red Carpet Crash)
“Rachel Harrison’s razor sharp prose cuts straight to the bone. With its quick-witted dialogue and acutely human regard for its cursed characters, Such Sharp Teeth solidifies her spot as the alpha author of heartfelt horror.” (Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters)
“With prose as sleek as a wolf in full stride, Such Sharp Teeth feels at once like a classic werewolf story, and something delightfully new. It's a breathless, poignant, blood-and-flesh-licking tale that asks: when our distractions and coping mechanisms are shredded away, who–or what–are we? And it confirms once again that Rachel Harrison is horror's poet laureate of quarter-life dread and existential transition.” (Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror)
About the author
Rachel Harrison is the author of Cackle and The Return, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, and as an Audible Original. She lives in Western New York with her husband and their cat/overlord.