I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Guillotine by Delilah S. Dawson
Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Titan Books (September 10, 2024)
Length: 208 pages
Author Information: Website
Guillotine by Delilah S. Dawson follows a talented but inexperienced fashion designer named Dez Lane who is struggling to find a job. And so, even though she loathes Patrick Ruskin and thinks he’s an arrogant sleazebag with too much money and not enough brains, she agrees to go on a date with him. Her reason? Patrick is the son of Marie Caulfield-Ruskin, the powerful editor-in-chief of the haute couture magazine Nouveau. Dez is not above using sex to get ahead in the world, and if it means having to endure Patrick’s clumsy advances in exchange for a chance to meet his mother and get her foot in the door of the fashion industry, well then so be it.
After only a few dates, Dez’s gamble pays off. Patrick has plans to travel to his family’s island mansion for the annual Ruskin Easter reunion, and she manipulates him into letting her tag along. Once they arrive, Dez is both awed and disgusted by the display of decadence and excess. Yet, despite the island’s well-appointed amenities and its army of pink-clad staff, the welcome she receives is cold and reproachful. After the NDAs are signed and her cell phone confiscated, Dez realizes she has left herself at the mercy of Patrick and his creepy family. She reminds herself that she only needs an introduction with Marie—ten minutes to convince the magazine mogul to give her the big break she needs–-but when things suddenly take a sinister turn, Dez begins to question if it is all worth it.
The plot of this book leans heavily into the “Eat the Rich” trope, and it is NOT subtle about it. The typical criticisms abound—class disparity, exploitation and oppression, white privilege, male privilege, the moral bankruptcy of wealth, and so on and so forth. Then, of course, at the end of this excoriation comes the bit about revenge and retribution. Problem is, the delivery feels incredibly heavy-handed and overly simplistic, perhaps by design, but this lack of nuance also caused the story fall short of being anything meaningful and made it much harder to take seriously.
Nevertheless, it had its moments. Guillotine was a fun read, despite the protagonist being almost as repulsive and unlikeable as the people she’s railing against. Kind of rich of her to sneer at Patrick when she herself comes across just as shameless and morally bankrupt (and also DUMB) but hey, I can and do often appreciate a book filled with characters you love to hate. Plus, once Dez gets on the island, the weirdness surrounding the Ruskin family pulls you in, not to mention the mysterious behaviors displayed by their staff.
Unfortunately, that’s as good as it gets. First of all, it’s important to note that, at least to me, Guillotine didn’t start off openly as satirical, though it sure was veering towards that direction near the end. The first half also gave no indication that the second was going to turn into such a bloodbath, but here we are. Next, the ending was simply a hot mess—rushed and disorganized with no real thought to plot, character development, or even logic—just plenty of sadistic violence which I generally have no objection to in my horror fiction, but then I also tend to prefer all the gore and bloodshed to be accompanied with, you know, actual tension and a reason to be shocked.
Overall, while the concept behind Guillotine was decently solid and entertaining, the ending sadly felt like a lot of wasted potential. Rather than a satisfying conclusion, we get what feels more like a formality, with little depth or impact. Still, even though I’ve read better books by Delilah S. Dawson, I didn’t regret reading this one. Despite the disappointing ending, the story was twisted enough to be interesting and thankfully short enough that it was over before its flaws could drag it down.
