On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Schofield Review

A tense thought-provoking Southern Gothic horror debut that balances beautiful prose with brutal, grisly scenes.

Judith Rice flees from the horrors of an abusive home to a haunted secluded cottage in the depth of the forests of northern Georgia. Although her new abode has an unsettling nature, Jude manages to find a peace of mind to rebuild her life. However when an uncanny stranger appears on Judith’s door step, her “tentative peace” is disrupted by this newcomer’s presence. Judith is ambivalent with this mysterious enigmatic woman; caught between desire and exasperation which disrupts her solitude. This presence forces Judith the revisit her past trauma and the life she escaped from before.

Whilst all horror novels written to frighten and shock readers – I’d like to flag that She Picked Flowers on Sunday deals with some particularly dark themes. [Please refer to the content warnings at the end of this review

It is important to note that these dark topics aren’t present just for shock value. Schofield explores these themes with significant depth, using the horror as a vehicle to examine the long-term psychological effects of trauma and the complexities of survival. This isn’t a book that exploits its triggers; it explores and interrogates them.

Despite some of the harrowing topics, the wordcraft here is undeniable. Yah Yah Schofield is a wordsmith; the worldbuilding and atmosphere is incredible in this book. Even the ugliest and goriest of scenes are described with the most beautiful selection of prose. I can’t believe this is Schofield’s debut novel, the writing style is just… I have no notes, chefs kiss. I found myself slowing down to savour the writing, even when the content was difficult to witness. The character arcs are masterfully handled, and the plot delivers several twists that I genuinely did not see coming.

And yet – the romance and its conclusion left me a bit bewildered. As I want to keep this review spoiler free, I’ll restrain myself from oversharing plot points. I felt the motives and connection were slightly too ambiguous for me and I wanted to have a bit more to form an understanding of the dynamics of that relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and now the next literary horror I read has a LOT to live up to. There are elements of this story still replaying in my mind—utterly chilling and thought-provoking. Sign me up for whatever Yah Yah Schofield writes next. I’m hooked.

Acknowledgements: A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.