I Am the Monster Under the Bed

Emily Zinnikas

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Horror + Mystery Thriller

I Am the Monster Under the Bed is the story of Willa, who returns to her hometown years after a devastating massacre that left her as the only survivor. As she tries to confront what happened, memories of the strange entity that visited her under her bed as a child begin to resurface, while the mysteries surrounding the town, the forest, and the killings gradually come back into focus.

I went into this expecting a horror novel, but for me, it worked much better as a mystery thriller with supernatural elements. Surprisingly, I found the atmosphere rather lacking for a horror story. There are certainly some creepy ideas and moments, but I never felt that sustained sense of dread or unease that I look for in horror. The book's premise is probably its strongest element, particularly the idea of a childhood "monster" that may be something considerably more complicated than a child's imagination.

My bigger issue was that there are simply too many ideas packed into the story. There is enough material here for a very intriguing supernatural mystery, but the novel keeps introducing additional concepts and plot threads, which made the overall story feel somewhat scattered. The pacing also felt uneven throughout—some sections moved nicely, followed by stretches that felt much slower than they needed to be. I kept waiting for everything to come together in a more satisfying way.

There were a few genuinely interesting moments, and I can see why the premise has appealed to so many readers. Unfortunately, those moments were too sporadic to push the book into like or love territory for me. It wasn't a bad read, but it never quite became the atmospheric horror story I was hoping for, nor did the mystery fully compensate for that. A decent 3-star read with an interesting premise that ultimately felt more ambitious than successful.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.

Key Themes

• Guilt
• Trauma
• Memory
• Fear
• Isolation
• Secrets