Critically acclaimed bestselling author and #HorrorBookTok sensation Nick Cutter (The Troop, The Deep) has just released his latest book, The Queen. This fast-paced, nerve-shatteringly poignant story takes readers on a harrowing journey, delving deep into the complexities of friendship, the weight of sinister secrets, and the visceral, unsettling realm of body horror. Praised by esteemed publications including Variety, Library Journal, and BookPage, The Queen further solidifies Cutter’s status as one of the most compelling and thought-provoking voices in contemporary horror fiction.
This twisted take on the high school queen bee story starts off one sunny morning in June when Margaret Carpenter wakes up to find a new iPhone on her doorstep. On powering on the device, a single message from a familiar name appears: Charity Atwater. Margaret’s best friend, who had vanished over a month ago; presumed dead by the police and the tight-knit community they both called home. Charity has been harboring a dark secret all this time—a secret she was now ready to unveil, even if doing so will set into motion a harrowing chain of events ending in tragedy, bloodshed, and death.
To coincide with the release of The Queen through Gallery Books, CinemaChords’ Howard Gorman sat down with author Cutter to discuss his latest work. In the interview, Cutter discussed his appreciation for attracting considerable attention on #HorrorBookTok and his penchant for incorporating Promethean motifs into his novels, all the while remaining mindful of including some form of beneficial takeaway for readers, despite the pervasive horror and depravity that often characterize his work. He went on to explain his meticulous approach to capturing the perspectives of his younger characters, which involved immersing himself in the high school setting and teenage experience. It was also impossible not to bring up just how meticulously crafted the antagonist in this story is and how, despite die-hard horror fans generally being averse to the appearance of cell phones in horror movies and novels, their use in this book was in fact beneficial and instrumental in deeply immersing the reader into the protagonist’s plight.
