Title: THE LAMB
Author: LUCY ROSE
ISBN: 9781399619721
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Pages: 329
Source: Private Copy
Margot and Mama have lived by the forest since Margot can remember. When Margot isn’t at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.
But Mama’s want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, little Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires and make a bid for freedom.
With this tender coming-of-age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire and animal instincts—and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.
Official Summary
15 July 2026
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
This was a beautifully written but deeply disturbing gothic horror novel.
Hidden away in a deserted forest, nestled among the trees, is a small cottage occupied by young Margot and her mother, Ruth. They are cannibals, surviving by preying on the lost, the vulnerable, and anyone unfortunate enough to stumble across their home. Everything changes the night Eden arrives at their door. Ruth falls in love with her, and before long Eden becomes part of their unsettling little family.
Narrated by Margot, the story follows a little girl who adores her mother without question. As she grows older, however, she gradually begins to understand just how manipulative and deeply flawed Ruth truly is. Watching Margot slowly lose her innocence while trying to make sense of the only life she has ever known was one of the novel’s greatest strengths.
Everything changes after Ruth and Eden kill and eat the gamekeeper—a man they knew and who regularly visited the cottage. When Eden convinces Ruth that Margot should be their next meal, Margot finally realises there is no escape. The two people she trusted most are prepared to kill and eat her. In one final act of defiance, she poisons the broth in which her own meat is to be cooked, ensuring that she will be their last meal.
I thought the author’s decision to continue the story through Margot’s spirit was both creative and surprisingly poignant, allowing the reader to witness Ruth’s final downfall from beyond the grave.
This is a dark, brutal, and often unsettling novel, but telling the story through Margot’s perspective transforms it into a deeply moving tale about a little girl who never had the chance to know a different life. As tragic as her fate was, I felt her death was the only ending that truly fit the story. Having been raised as she was, there was never really a path to an ordinary life.
I ultimately gave this book three stars because, despite its beautiful writing and compelling storytelling, it is an extremely unsettling read at times. Fans of gothic horror and literary horror may appreciate its haunting atmosphere, but it certainly isn’t a novel for everyone.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Lucy Rose is a Sunday Times Bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker with an interest in gothic, girlhood, horror, and literary fiction. Her short fiction and nonfiction have been published in Dread Central, Mslexia, The Observer, The Nerd Daily and more. Lucy’s debut novel, THE LAMB, is published by W&N Books (UK) and Harper (US). It was selected for Foyles Book of the Month, named best debut novel of 2025 by Cosmopolitan and Spotify, and was chosen for Dakota Johnson’s Tea Time Book Club. It was a Goodreads Choice Award Finalist and Netgalley’s Literary Fiction Novel of the Year 2025.
Her award-winning short film, SHE LIVES ALONE, attended BAFTA and Oscar-qualifying festivals before being acquired by WatchALTER. Lucy’s latest short film, TASTE, is visiting festivals over 2023/24 and has attended BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying film festivals. She is also a Forbes Under 30, a Books Are My Bag Fiction Award Shortlistee, Shirley Jackson Award Nominee and a Nota Bene Award and Somerset Maugham Prize Winner.
Lucy lives on the North East coast with her beautiful black cat, Figgy.
This one was a little different. I have not read a horror for a while; I added this one to my TBR after watching an interview with Lucy Roth who raved about this book. Do you add books to your TBR based on an author’s recommendation? I would love to hear from you; please leave a comment below. Until next time… Happy Reading!
