I’m not quite sure what to make of this one. It seems like it’s supposed to satirize reality TV, particularly The Bachelor type shows. In this case, the show is called The Catch, and we’re down to the final 4 contestants competing for a scummy D-lister. I think my problem is that the book didn’t go far enough with the satire. The characters read as one-note instead of the exaggerated characters they could have been or perhaps were supposed to be. The exception was Renee, who was a little too “not like the other girls” to be likable but still somehow wasn’t given enough nuance.
It also took a while to get to anything horror-y. The setup, as we got different perspectives from the contestants and a producer, took a while; I liked what I was reading but also got impatient for the novel to get a move on. The titular character doesn’t show up til late in the book, and I didn’t feel like the title, cover, or description really matched what I was actually reading. It seemed like it would be funnier or more skewering than it was, and I expected to see more of Patricia.
That’s not to say I didn’t like it. I’m just starting to try out horror books, and this seems like a good way to start easing in a little more. It’s fairly light on creepiness, and the gore has a bit of a camp element in how it’s described. I enjoyed my time with the book, and it wasn’t a slog to read. If you, like me, are looking for kiddie pool horror, this would be a good one to check out. I just wanted more from it.