Look at that title! You basically know what you’re getting into with a title like that, right? I love a good audacious title.
If you are a horror aficionado, you will be shaking your head in despair right from the start of Nothing But Blackened Teeth. Five friends meet up in Japan, to celebrate the wedding of Faiz and Talia. But get this, the wedding will take place in a haunted house, and the guy who rented it out seemed very hesitant to disclose too many details about it. Sigh. They were essentially asking for this to go horribly wrong, the Scooby Doo-ass amateurs.
Our unreliable narrator is Cat, who is already unwelcome at the wedding, as bride-to-be Talia objects to Cat’s friendship with Faiz. And the fact she tried to break them up. Cat has previously been dealing with some mental health issues, and thinks they are returning when she sees ghostly figures in the haunted house. But no, the house has an incredibly bleak history, related to a ditched bride, among other things. And when Talia goes missing, all hell breaks loose.
I loved this novella for so many reasons. Cassandra Khaw is an immensely enjoyable writer. The amount of Japanese folklore in this book is fascinating; I know absolutely nothing about Japanese folklore, and now I’m obsessed. Parts of this book are absolutely gross, but Khaw writes with real humor.
Suehyla El-Attar does a fantastic job of narration, although more of a performance than a straight read, which can really make the difference in engaging an audience. She is incredibly creepy too; give yourself a spooky treat and listen with earphones on a dark night.
Nothing But Blackened Teeth was one of my most-anticipated releases of the year, and while it didn’t completely blow me away, it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours. It is released on October 19th, 2021, just in time for Halloween.
Thanks for Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook!
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