Derek Milman's Reviews > The Ones Who Come Back Hungry

THE ONES WHO COME BACK HUNGRY by Amelinda Bérubé is a fascinating spin on the classic vampire tale. It is eerie, chilling, with both ghostly and procedural touches, but the novel ultimately takes on the tone of an icy thriller, upending the conventional gothic touches long-associated with the genre.

After Jo's popular sister, Audrey, dies suddenly and mysteriously, she returns very much undead and very much hungry. For blood. The book tackles ambitious themes involving grief, family dynamics, and explores the reverberations of heartbreak, especially involving the death of a loved one at a young age. It also tackles what few books do: the complexities of sisterly relations and the idea of absence.

Bérubé expertly intertwines (razor sharp) humor and romance throughout this story, even queer romance, and somehow makes all these elements work. A stunningly written tale of loss, coming-of-age, and the darker side of the supernatural, THE ONES WHO COME BACK HUNGRY is a vital entry into the modern vampire genre.