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The Lamb

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The Lamb

By: Lucy Rose
Narrated by: Emma Rydal
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About this listen

 THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A gripping, sinister folktale set in contemporary Cumbria for fans of Sophie Mackintosh, Angela Carter, Daisy Johnson, Margaret Atwood and Julia Armfield

'A new generation of literary horror begins with Lucy Rose'
GENEVIEVE JAGGER

'Deliciously dark and shockingly bold. One of my favourite debuts in a long time'
KIRSTY LOGAN

'Superbly creepy . . . at heart it's about dysfunctional family dynamics, female rage and empowerment'
FINANCIAL TIMES

'An unforgettable, nightmarish tale. I ate it all up'
ANNA BOGUTSKAYA

A FOLK TALE. A HORROR STORY. A LOVE STORY. AN ENCHANTMENT.
Margot and Mama have lived by the forest since Margot can remember. When Margot isn't at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.

But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, little Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires and make a bid for freedom.

With this tender coming-of-age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire and animal instincts - and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.

'Stunning, shocking and surprising at each turn'
BENJAMIN MYERS

'A modern Grimm fairytale'
SUSAN BARKER

'Dark, poetic, gothic, folky and full of courage and beauty'
TIM DOWNIE

'Dear reader, I predict you will be as obsessed as me' 
MOLLY AITKEN

'Lucy Rose can certainly write . . . The Lamb grips all the way to an unexpected denouement'
GUARDIAN©2025 Lucy Rose (P)2025 Orion Publishing Group Limited Genre Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Emotionally Gripping Scary

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All stars
Most relevant  
This book is not great at all. It’s dark and grim, and tough to listen to. Also the gapping silences between chapters reeks of bad production. It makes the flow of chapters very stop starty. Would not recommend.

Didn’t enjoy

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A review that almost put be off mentioned the very long pauses between chapters . Initially I agreee this was annoying but then began to see it as a moment to review the short, punchy chapters and the length added to the sense of unease . Superbly narrated.

Sparse, haunting , gruesome, good!

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Not a word wasted.
Pictures painted, page after page.
Addictive as it is absorbing.
Mr Shakespeare would have been delighted to have written this.
I consumed this book and ended asking for more.

Oh so good

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A genuinely chilling read, made darker by the innocent voice it’s told from. The moment the perspective changes and the realisation of what is actually being done hits home the second half of this book goes from unsettling to terrifying.

Disturbing but full of Beauty

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There were many parts of this story that were difficult to listen to, and I almost felt guilty for becoming engrosed. Margo's character made my heart bleed. I totally believed this little girls story, despite the nightmare-ish scenario.

Chilling tale, superbly written.

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The book is very well written and was narrated beautifully. There were many points in the story where I felt quite nauseous due to the intricate descriptions of cannibalism but overall the story was very good!

Interesting but Grotesque

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”On my fourth birthday, I plucked six severed fingers from the shower drain. The first finger I picked up had purple nail polish flaking away from its nail. The second was clean of cosmetics, but it was short, bitten at, and uneven along its ridge. My fingertip followed the edge of the nail. When I looked down at the plug hole, I realised the rest of the fingers were too far gone to tell anything about who they'd once been attached to.”

“The Lamb” is the astonishing debut novel from Lucy Rose. A delicious and evocative coming-of-age story that is genuinely disturbing and heartbreaking. The prose is literary, provocative, sensory, and - eh hum - easy to digest. Written from the perspective of Margot, the daughter in a complex mother-daughter dynamic whose character arc is equal parts frightening and tragic.

Cannibalism, folk-horror, body-horror, and psychological horror are all present, but so is love and all the risk that brings, and the dread builds and builds all the way through to those devastating final chapters. It’s no surprise this book was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. A gruesome, haunting masterpiece that will stay with me for a while.

A delicious and evocative coming-of-age story that is genuinely disturbing and heartbreaking.

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Writing pairs perfectly with the narration. Really horrific story, brilliantly written. If you like creepy books with twists, this is for you. I haven't read or listened to a book to the end since I was a teenager, I have finished this within days.

Weird, brilliant... and very dark.

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I might be a bit desensitised but I didn’t find this book too gory, maybe towards the end if you’re weak stomached.
The story is simply heartbreaking, the entire way through I wanted to reach into the book and take Margot out of her reality.
It’s well written and kept me engaged, especially because the story doesn’t give too much away until right before it’s about to happen and you kind of join the dots. I’ll definitely listen to it agin at some point.

Heartbreaking

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Absolutely hooked from the opening lines. The writing from Margot’s view point is remarkable. Read with such a captivating voice! Matched Margot and the story brilliantly.
The only thing that frustrated me, nothing to do with the story, was the massive gaps in between chapters, especially as they are frequent. Broke the story up and stopped the flow!

Wow!

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