My Apologies to Tanya Grace, by Cat Voleur
28 Jun 2024The Book
![My Apologies to Tanya Grace](https://cdn.jamreads.com/images/a4edd434-aa3f-4250-aed5-aeb4366d9dc6.jpg)
Synopsis:
Tanya Grace is missing, and nobody seems to care.
When aspiring novelist, Mallory Brennan, moves back to her hometown to focus on her writing, the last thing she wants is to get tangled up with anyone from her past. This proves impossible when Mallory becomes the only person who can see Tanya’s ghost.
Repressed memories begin resurfacing and Mallory finds herself wracked with survivor’s guilt. Was she somehow responsible for Tanya’s death? Why else does she find herself so haunted? Mallory seeks the answers, along with justice for Tanya.
But what will it truly take for her to rid herself of the ghost once and for all?
My Review
My Apologies to Tanya Grace is a horror novella written by Cat Voleur, and published by Slashic Horror Press. A novella which features a really interesting narrative voice, unexpected twists and that makes an excellent labour exploring survivor's guilt through the main character.
The story follows Mallory Brennan, an aspiring writer who has returned to her hometown in order to focus on her writing; however, she didn't expect this return to resurface old memories from the past. She's now plagued by the ghost of a high school friend, and Mallory is unsure about why; uncovering the truth is the logical answer for our character.
In this process, we will see how Mallory starts dealing with her own share of survivor's guilt; Voleur deeply explores trauma in this piece, and how it affects the person. In the style of gothic classics, the novella includes some twists that are hinted during the read, but which enhance the enjoyment while keeping the spotlight on mental health problems.
As the novella is told in first person, we have a unique insight into Mallory's thoughts and memories, slowly unleashing the gravity of the truth; I feel it could have been a longer piece, with more character development, but it's really well balanced.
My Apologies to Tanya Grace is an excellent horror novella which explores difficult themes such as trauma and survivor's guilt in really smart ways; it's my first read by Cat Voleur, but it won't be the last, as she has shown her talent as author in this book.
The Author/s
![Cat Voleur](https://cdn.jamreads.com/images/66641879-553b-4cc4-ae54-c9bc5d4b2ae9.jpg)
Cat Voleur
First and foremost, I am a lover of all things horror.
In the ten years I've been freelancing I've dabbled in many areas; ghostwriting, editing, curating, translating and dungeon-mastering. Now it seems that I have settled into my true love of writing.
I approach horror writing a bit like I approach videogames; I am a completionist. I write everything from subtle gothic horror to splatterpunk, and I apologize for none of it. I want to experience all realms of this beautiful genre.
When I'm not at my desk, you can often find me relaxing with my small army of rescued felines, whom you can find pictures of at the bottom of this page if you scroll down.
I also have a deep passion for the study of fictional languages.