What Comes Before by Molly Macabre
Tess just wants a quiet weekend away, a break from the chaos of her job and the constant noise of other people’s expectations. A remote cabin in the woods sounds perfect.
But peace is the last thing she finds.
When she stumbles into Aiden, a man who seems just as lost as she is, they try to navigate their way out together. But the forest has no intention of letting them go.
Beneath the trees lies something twisted, a presence with the mind of a child and the cruelty of something far older. Tess and Aiden aren’t just lost.
They’ve become pawns in a sinister game.
Tess just wants a quiet weekend away, a break from the chaos of her job and the constant noise of ̷o̷t̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷p̷e̷o̷p̷l̷e̷'̷s̷— yeah, let me stop you right there, Tess, you should have known better. Your first clue should have been ‘remote cabin’; your second was ‘woods’. Unless there’s a sign that says, ‘Hallmark’s Christmas Tree Forest’, about turn and scarper.
Good golly, Miss Molly! Molly Macabre (author of Dark Bloom) brings us hopeful, tranquility seekers yet another reason to give up trying to find a nice cabin to spend a few days and relax in with her unsettling novella What Comes Before.
This is a work of profoundly disturbing psychological tomfoolery that had me eyeing the trees with prickling suspicion, and when my dog barked, I had to have my head removed from the ceiling. What Comes Before is a wonderfully consistent short read and easily completed in one swoop (recommended to keep yourself immersed in the story, without breaking the flow), whether you’re reading or listening on Audible.
The trepidation of WCB, and Tess’ journey is laid in from the groundwork. Though we begin with Tess making her way to the cabin for a period of mending, and a much needed mental and physical reset, it is immediately clouded by dread and uncertainty, which Molly does incredibly well. The narrative is strong and engaging, and keeps you connected through its immersive descriptive text, which is balanced well between saying too much, or too little.
It doesn’t take long before things go wrong and start tumbling, and she finds herself lost in the woods, where she happens upon Aiden, who is also not having a great time of it in nightmare forest. The two then embark on trying to find their way out together. However, these woods are far from the enchanted spectacle one might hope for.
It is, in fact, a twisted torment of sight and sounds of frightening things. What follows for poor Tess, is what can only be described as an assault of cryptic madness; the woods seemingly taunting her with mind games and terror, as she wrestles desperately to understand what is happening and escape its grasp, alongside her new companion.
This level of confusion, suspicion and disorientation is handled deftly by Molly, never falling into alphabetti spaghetti nonsense. It creates a palpable feeling of anxiety, both in the character of Tess, and for the reader. And I feel that this is important, in that anxiety has deeper threading within the story, as much as I took it, which is why I feel that the idea of her being ‘lost’ in the forest is superb, with understandable layered meaning.
Tess and Aiden complement each other well, and the story runs smoothly with the pair of them carrying the weight of it. I don’t want to say too much about either of them for the sake of giving away too much, but I very much enjoyed their time together, more so than, I suspect, they did. They were nicely written with enough character development in the time the short story allowed. I found the dialogue believable and naturally flowing and enjoyed their interactions.
I felt that the story ran smoothly from the very start to the exceptional ending. Overall, What Comes Before is a captivating and beautifully written horror from Molly, that has valuable depth and is more than meets the eye. If you enjoy horror with a unique twist and take, then I can highly recommend WCB. I look forward to reading whatever the incomparable Molly Macabre delivers in the future.
You can keep up-to-date with all the latest news and releases from Molly Macabre by heading on over to macabremolly.com, where you will also find all her social links.
