🧠 Psychological Horror

Fey Impulses: A Story of Obsession and Madness

✍️ Penny Fairland
Reader Score
4.6
(1 review)
$15.50
In stock — ready to ship Ships in 1–2 business days
📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

A mother invokes a dark deity to rescue her son.

Kiera Scruggs hides a violent past behind a facade of social activism. When her son Rory disappears in Kentucky, she abandons her legalistic approach to seek help from an ancient Gaelic deity. The goddess requires absolute devotion and a dismissal of standard morality. Kiera’s journey reveals the depth of her capacity for darkness. She must prove her fearlessness to secure Rory’s return. The story highlights the tension between public reputation and private guilt. It illustrates how far a person will go to protect their family. The narrative avoids easy answers or moral judgments. It leaves the reader with questions about the nature of sacrifice.

Key Themes
maternal obsession Gaelic goddess worship concealed criminal past
Literary Context

The text engages with Gothic and supernatural fiction traditions. It references ancient Gaelic mythology and the worship of a forbidding deity. The setting involves Kentucky and touches on social causes and women's rights movements.

Difficulty
●●● Challenging
Recommended For Fans Of
Shirley Jackson · Thomas Ligotti · Daphne du Maurier · Joe Hill
🧠
Psychological Horror
🏛 Fawnhaven Books 📅 2024 🌐 English 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9781917306577

📝 Description: Fey Impulses: A Story of Obsession and Madness

Penny Fairland presents a narrative centered on Kiera Scruggs, a woman who maintains a public image as a defender of women's rights while concealing a past conviction for murder. Her family enjoys comfort through an inheritance from her late father, but this stability fractures when her son Rory fails to return from Kentucky. After a fortune teller offers only vague warnings, Kiera turns to the ancient Gaelic goddess worshiped by her paternal grandmother. This crone demands fearlessness and a rejection of conventional ethics in exchange for fulfilling petitions. The story examines the psychological toll of obsession and the corruption of maternal love. Fairland draws on Gothic traditions and supernatural fiction to explore how desperation can erode moral boundaries. The narrative focuses on Kiera’s internal conflict between her curated self-image and her hidden criminal history. It does not offer redemption or comfort for readers seeking traditional heroism. Instead, it presents a chilling look at the costs of defying ethical norms for personal gain. Those who prefer clear moral distinctions may find the protagonist’s actions unsettling rather than sympathetic.

💎 Our verdict on Fey Impulses: A Story of Obsession and Madness

“
🩸
Horror Reads editorial team
Horror desk
Fairland delivers a chilling exploration of obsession, effectively blending Gothic traditions with psychological depth. The narrative excels in depicting the tension between Kiera’s curated self-image and her hidden criminal history. By refusing to offer redemption or comfort, the story challenges readers to confront the darkness within maternal protection. It suits audiences who enjoy unsettling protagonists and narratives that reject traditional heroism. The examination of how desperation corrupts moral boundaries is rendered with precision, making it a powerful entry in psychological horror for those willing to endure an ambiguous, morally complex journey.
✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Readers who appreciate complex, morally ambiguous protagonists will find this narrative compelling. It appeals to those interested in the psychological toll of obsession and the terrifying lengths maternal love can justify. Fans of cosmic horror and stories where desperation erodes ethical norms will engage with Kiera’s descent. The book offers a chilling examination of hidden guilt versus public image, avoiding easy redemption for audiences seeking unsettling, thought-provoking horror that questions the true cost of sacrifice.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Horror Reads —

Reader rating

4.6
Based on 1 reviews
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Horror Reads editorial team

Fairland delivers a chilling exploration of obsession, effectively blending Gothic traditions with psychological depth. The narrative excels in depicting the tension between Kiera’s curated self-image and her hidden criminal history. By refusing to offer redemption or comfort, the story challenges readers to confront the darkness within maternal protection. It suits audiences who enjoy unsettling protagonists and narratives that reject traditional heroism. The examination of how desperation corrupts moral boundaries is rendered with precision, making it a powerful entry in psychological horror for those willing to endure an ambiguous, morally complex journey.

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