I've just finished reading Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo. (Pictured: US cover on the left, UK cover on the right)
I've been a fan of her writing for many years now, and I am a little biased as she's married to one of my good friends. But I have to say how good this book is and recommend it because I know some of my followers will love it.
It's about a race of humanoid monsters called Guls, who are obligate human-vores, our own exclusive predator species (at one point the protagonist compared them to how koalas can only eat eucalyptus). While many vampire tropes come to mind, the execution here is quite different. They are not hidden but live alongside humans; they have their own culture, behaviours, practices, and even religious beliefs. Guls feel like an inevitable part of life entrenched among humans, much like the social constructs of our real lives which consume us metaphorically or not.
Ariadne is a young human woman who works at a health clinic studying under a human doctor who specializes in Gul medicine. He goes missing, and she is left to treat patients by herself, until a new Gul, Quaint, shows up looking for him. They must follow the clues of his disappearance to the Cabaré club in Rio de Janeiro, where Guls hang out alongside their human lunch...
What I love about Hache's writing is her entirely honest, vivid, unexploitative portrayal of trauma. Anyone who's experienced dissociation or flashbacks will recognize themselves in her imagery. Those who haven't will get a chance at empathy in the sensory descriptions she paints. But yes, this does come with a content notice: A very significant amount of the plot revolves around CSA, and it is not shy about discussing this both in the events that happened, and how they affect the characters involved.
But if you don't have a severe trigger about this, please don't let it dissuade you from checking it out. This is a rare type of writing where the horror feels refreshing. I found myself smiling at many points, because I was just thinking, yeah! someone get it! and the story is not here to traumatize you but to invite you into the headspace of someone who was there and still hasn't healed yet.
This is a story about flesh-eating predators and dictatorships and all the ways people can hurt each other, and it is wrapped in love, love, love.
Give it a try, if that sounds up your alley.
