I read this after seeing Delilah Dawson speak at ComicCon. She was amazing. Told heartfelt stories, was entertaining, and gave sincere answers to audience questions about the craft. The book she was plugging, It Will Only Hurt for a Moment, is set at an artist’s retreat where our protagonist, while digging a pit kiln, uncovers a coffin where someone was buried alive. Shit ensues.
This was a hard book to read, and I mean that with maximal praise. The writing was excellent and effective, the characters were compelling, and the chills were real. The hardest part for me was all the social awkwardness. Multiple characters suffer, multiple characters are at each other’s throats, and our protagonist is recovering from an abusive relationship and has to cope with that, her PTSD, and all the triggers in addition to coping with, you know… ghosts.
The title comes from the words of the abusive husband of our buried alive-person. We get her perspective through the dreams and hallucinations of our protagonist. She was a young, petite woman married off to a misogynist banker, who whispered “It will only hurt for a moment…” as he forced himself on her in marital rape. This book isn’t gory or overly explicit in the details, but it is artfully written and impactful. You feel for this woman, you feel for our protagonist, and you absolutely detest the people that are going out of their way to make life hell for the both of them.
There’s not much more that I can say without spoilers, so I won’t. This is a solid horror novel and I will definitely read more of this author. 11/10.