Books
‘Victorian Psycho’ Is Disturbing Gothic Satire That Goes For The Jugular [Review]
The world has always been full of death. It’s an unavoidable tenet of existence, yet one that society has almost become numb to. Death is inevitable, which means that people can either confront it head-on or hide behind endless coping mechanisms and means of distraction. Virginia Feito’s Victorian Psycho is not just obsessed with our relationship with death, but the schism that’s felt when it bubbles up to the surface, when it’s least expected. Set in 1850s England, Feito’s gothic psychological thriller gets into the head of Winifred Notty, the newest governess at Ensor House, who is tasked to lighten the Pounds family’s load.
Notty indoctrinates herself into this opulent family, while dark, disturbing impulses fill her head and threaten to spill out into the world. Victorian Psycho is Jane Austen by way of Brett Easton Ellis. It begins with its twisted tendencies suppressed and internalized until they culminate in an explosive rampage. It’s a strong – albeit flawed – sophomore novel from Feito that shows her progress as a growing voice in psychological thriller and horror literature.
It’s very apt that Victorian Psycho begins with a beautiful preface on death’s ingrained nature in society, both subtly and overtly, and how it’s the true currency that spins the world round. Feito routinely contrasts ornate pomp and circumstance against gothic death and decay. Death is culture, as far as Victorian Psycho is concerned. There’s an especially evocative spectacle that’s described where Londoners fight over mummy corpses like it’s a Black Friday sale, unconcerned if they happen to maim the bodies or tear off limbs in the process. Death’s commodification is reduced to a status symbol and fashionable centerpiece.
This is the perfect context for Winnifred Notty, someone who is filled with darkness and evil that, as much as she tries, seeps out of her like viscous sludge. Notty sees death everywhere, and it acts as her grounding North Star. Victorian Psycho features an adage about cuckoos and how their chicks “kill as soon as they are born.” This essentially becomes Notty’s mission statement through this infiltrative exercise.
It’s clear from the jump that Notty’s torturous past has more than a little to do with her placement at Ensor House. Victorian Psycho never folds into a full-on mystery. However, Feito gets a lot of mileage out of what’s not said about Notty as the audience attempts to fill in the blanks. She’s a powder keg of pent-up revenge that’s ready to blow, and the reader is just waiting to see how big the blast radius will be. There’s a grim, foreboding nature to Notty’s narration as she teases the death and tragedy to come, like she’s a messenger of darkness who is fulfilling her poisonous destiny.
Feito’s novel leans into tongue-in-cheek satire that pokes fun at how well Notty passes as high society, only for it to be more of a commentary on her attempts to pass as a caring human and not a murderous sociopath. As Victorian Psycho’s title suggests, there’s a very Patrick Bateman-esque arrogance and disdain for humanity in everything that Notty does. Also, much like American Psycho before it, Notty is a fascinating unreliable narrator who is constantly taken over by flights of fatalistic fancy as both she and the reader are left to parse out where the truth lies.
Victorian Psycho keeps the audience guessing over how truly lost Notty may be or if she’s just looking for excuses to disguise viciousness as mercy. This cascades into an unnerving performance that highlights the increasingly ill-fitting human suit that she uses to masquerade as normalcy. One of the more successful aspects of Feito’s text is how it subtly normalizes such ridiculous, brutal ideas so that you don’t even flinch when Notty reveals another horrendous omission.
Feito’s prose has such a knack for making things – and more importantly, people – come across as extremely gross. At times, they feel like the exaggerated caricatures you’d find in a Roald Dahl story. This spills over into such disdain for nearly everyone in the Pounds household. Victorian Psycho has a lot of fun with the many housekeepers, staff, and insular hierarchy that exists within the Ensor house. It plays with these expectations and finds ways to push them to new places. Class and privilege are deeply baked into Victorian Psycho’s storytelling.
It builds to a really wild, cathartic Christmastime conclusion that brings everything together in a frenetic, debaucherous fever pitch. That being said, it does feel like the whole novel is just a setup for this wild final spectacle and biding its time, to some extent, before it reaches this raw release. At just over 200 pages, Victorian Psycho makes for a brisk read. It still gets a little monotonous and repetitive as Notty cycles through many of the same motions. The final act also feels rather rushed, and it’s an instance of a novel that could stand to be a little longer.
Victorian Psycho already has a cinematic adaptation on the way starring Maika Monroe, and this feels like a story that is actually better suited as a movie that can streamline the madness into a tighter, more visually chaotic package. The novel is a dark, disgusting satire of life, death, status, and everything in between. It’s not necessarily one that necessitates a re-read, but it’s still full of powerful passages that will stick with the audience.
There’s a lot of meat on Victorian Psycho’s bones, even if some of it is rotten. It’s no American Psycho, but it’s an encouraging evolution of Virginia Feito’s storytelling.
The paperback edition of Victorian Psycho publishes on May 5, 2026.
We’re in the thick of summer reading season, and that means loads of fresh genre books to take to the beach or cozy up with by the pool. July’s top horror books bring everything from a new spin on Dracula to young adult cosmic horror to books by genre mainstays like Chuck Tingle and Christopher Golden, to name just a few.
So, whether you’re into grave robbers, creepy neighbors, vampires, or good old-fashioned Gothic chills, here are the books we’re most excited about in July of 2026.
The Brides by Charlotte Cross – July 7
The Dracula legend has grown to such titanic proportions over the last century and more that we’re still finding new ways to twist it into fresh stories. The Brides sets out to do exactly that with a feminist retelling of the story that attempts to lay out the origins of Dracula’s famous trio of brides. It begins with a journey to Budapest, an invitation from a Transylvanian noble, and a castle in the woods. It ends…well, read it and find out.
The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley – July 7
Do you ever wish the theater of vampires from Interview with the Vampire was a novel unto itself? That’s the world Sara Hinkley will dive into with The Red Sacrament, a vampire novel set in 19th-century Paris about a mysterious midnight theater troupe that never seems to age. Set amid a time of bickering and potential revolution in the vampire world, it follows a theater company full of blood drinkers as they navigate strange new tribulations, including the arrival of a witch who could upend everything about their immortal existence. I’m an absolute sucker for books like this one, and I can’t wait to dive in.
Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle – July 7
Chuck Tingle’s rise to become one of the most important horror writers of the decade continues with his latest novel, a wild ride pitched as a blend of Drive and Beetlejuice. It follows Poppy, a single Mom and fashion influencer who makes ends meet by dealing in black market body parts. It’s a tough gig, but Poppy’s ticket out might have arrived when the opportunity arises to transport the corpse of a newly dead rock star. It seems like an easy way to a big payday…at least until the rock star wakes up. I’m in the thick of this book right now; I’m having a blast, and I’m betting you will too.
Brave New Weird Vol. 4 – July 14
Tenebrous Press is one of the finest indie genre publishers out there right now, and Brave New Weird is a big reason why. Curated by Tenebrous editor Alex Woodroe, this book aims to collect the best in “New Weird Horror” published throughout the last year, bringing together nearly two dozen writers on the cutting edge of genre short fiction right now. If you want to read key works from the genre writers of the future, or you just like your horror really, really strange, this is the place to go.
Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold – July 14
The latest from the author of How to Survive a Horror Story begins with a really juicy hook: Three women all discover they’re dating the same man, and they decide to get revenge. To make that happen, they decide to team up and lure him to an isolated mountain cabin, where they’ll put their whole plan in motion and get some relatively nonviolent payback. But when he turns up dead, the women are plunged into a nightmare. They can’t trust anyone, even each other, and they might not be alone. I’m so ready to see how this one plays out.
Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist – July 14
A very promising debut novel, Home Sick follows Tamsin, a woman hoping to start over with a new house and a new life in Scotland, after her old life starts to crumble. She’s optimistic, but then she meets her neighbor, a perplexing woman with whom Tamsin shares a wall. When strange things start to happen in the house, backed up by local stories about the place, Tamsin starts to wonder if her neighbor is behind it all, setting off a dark psychological spiral. I’ve heard great things about this one, and I’m thrilled that it’s almost here.
Scary Movie Night by Miranda Smith – July 14
A woman named Tippi (I’m already on board) is turning 35 and breaking free from a crappy relationship, and her friends decide to celebrate by renting out a mansion and basically throwing her a horror movie-themed costume party. It’s a great idea, and it feels like it’s gonna be a great night, at least until Tippi’s friends start disappearing and her ex starts sending threatening texts. A slasher whodunit steeped in movie references, Scary Movie Night feels like a perfect summer horror read, particularly for those of us who can imagine attending a party exactly like this one.
Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden – July 21
Christopher Golden is one of modern horror’s heavy hitters, and Carry Me to My Grave is his latest page-turner. The book follows Malcolm, who sits by his dying mother’s bedside and makes her a very specific promise: In the coming two days, he will transport her body home to Maine, or there will be dire consequences. Does Malcolm understand those consequences? Not really, but the strange figures watching from outside, and the feeling that he’s being pursued, suggest he’d better hurry. I was lucky enough to get a very early look at this one, and I can tell you it’s Golden at his best, a freight train of a book you won’t want to put down.
Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf – July 21
Through books like The Clackity, Lora Senf made her name as one of the finest horror authors for young readers, and now she’s taking on the young adult world with a dose of cosmic horror. After the death of her father, teenage Harrow and her friends head to a seemingly impossible island to search for answers, only to find themselves in a world with rules they don’t understand. To make things more complicated, Harrow has coped with her own cursed life by making her feelings into personalities that live very full lives in her head, and now they’re all coming out to play. Throw in a mysterious creature, and you’ve got a book poised to be jam-packed with creepy fun from one of the best writers in the genre right now.
A Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan – July 28
Billed as a Gothic novel with a synopsis that hints at folk and occult horror, A Penance for Crows is set on an island off the coast of Ireland that’s like a trip back in time. Modern technology doesn’t touch it; the church is the highest authority, and residents still hold to old folk beliefs, including a sense of ill omens brought by the island’s many crows. It’s here that we meet Grizela, a local painter plunged into a supernatural mystery when a local priest turns up murdered, and a quartet of young girls starts holding strange meetings after dark. This one feels like it’s got everything I love about the genre bundled up in one satisfyingly haunting package, so I’m eager to crack it open.
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