This is the exact kind of book that encompasses the whole "I support women's wrongs" thing, lol. The main character here is ABSOLUTELY UNHINGED, but in an extremely fun sort of way. Folks who struggle with gore or grossness or violence may not enjoy this, and I think anyone who struggles with a complex or "bad" main character - especially when they're a woman - will hate this. But I really liked it! I loved the self-awareness Fred seemed to have, balanced alongside this general disconnect she has with the world and society around her. The pacing for the first 70% was a little slow, almost dream-like with things happening and the reader being unsure if the narrator is reliable or not. Once the action starts picking up though, it's a wild ride to the end!

Victorian Psycho
Virginia Feito
Horror / Gothic / Fiction / Historical Fiction


Grim Wolds, England: Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect governess―she’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But long, listless days spent within the estate’s dreary confines come with an intimate knowledge of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family―Mr. Pounds can’t keep his eyes off Winifred’s chest, and Mrs. Pounds takes a sickly pleasure in punishing Winifred for her husband’s wandering gaze. Compounded with her disdain for the entitled Pounds children, Winifred finds herself struggling at every turn to stifle the violent compulsions of her past. French tutoring and needlework are one way to pass the time, as is admiring the ugly portraits in the gallery . . . and creeping across the moonlit lawns. . . .

Okay, this book was UNHINGED and I loved it.
It kept my attention the whole time & I honestly flew through it. If you are into deviousness, gore and blood, humor and snarky thoughts, then this book is for you!
At only 208 pages, it makes for the perfect quick read!
I will absolutely be recommending this read to everyone in 2025.

Thank you to @netgalley, @virginiafeito, & @liveright for a copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Many readers will look at this title and immediately have an idea of what this book will be. And they will be right, but it's so much more than a version of Bateman. Victorian Psycho finds its own voice and violent mayhem, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. It is comedically macabre, soaked in blood, and I enjoyed every page of this book. It was superb down to the last word.

Do you like absolutely UNHINGED horror books? Well do I have the book for you! Victorian Psycho is a bloody romp of a good time. Think American Psycho but set in Victorian England. The titular psycho is Ms. Notty, a governess who becomes employed by the rich and pompous Pounds family.

This book GOES THERE and it packs a lot into ~200 pages. The pacing is brisk and the chapters are short. Frito’s prose is gorgeous and also has a glee to it. I laughed out loud so many times because this book is DARKLY funny. Every time I laughed I immediately felt bad about it 😬. I love the tone she sets and the themes she explores.

If you are someone who needs content warnings, consider all of them present with this one. Like I said, she really goes there but it also somehow has a subtlety to it, in that she implies things MUCH worse than on the surface (which is saying something).

This will definitely go into the best of the year contention for later this year. Fantastic book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What made Victorian Psycho stand out was the subversion of the classic gothic governess. Winifred, the governess plays an anti hero with a penchant for violence. The murders she commits are disturbing and graphic, however they are followed with comical reactions. Narrated from Winifred's perspective, Victorian Psycho provides a unique and entertaining voice to the modern gothic.

This book has every trigger warning imaginable--most of it perpetuated by an unapologetic female character. While this story is definitely not for everyone, I really loved this brand of feminism. As a lover of gothic horror and strong female characters, I read this book quickly.

Thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

A delightfully unhinged (almost campy) horror romp with a fast-paced plot and memorable protagonist. There aren't any particularly big surprises or plot twists, but the story is action-packed and it's hard to look away from the violent spiral of events. Stunningly immersive, creepy, and disturbing. Perfect novel for anyone who likes a gory horror movie and appreciates a side of class commentary.

I loved Feito's debut, Mrs. March, so I was super excited to hear she'd written another book! Happy to say that this one did not disappoint, and Feito is now an auto-buy author for me. The theme of female rage has been quite popular lately, with some books being a bit better executed than others. The market is quite saturated, so for me, a book with this theme has to feel fresh and engaging in a way that hasn't been done to death. Feito has done that. Almost every sentence of this book shocked me, not only with how well written they are, but with the content. This book was gross and subversive in the best way possible, and at the end I actually laughed out loud and said "Good for her!" and meant it!

Ok WOW I thought all of the 5 star ratings might be a bangwagon everyone was hopping on... Nope. This is just as good as everyone is saying. I will be thanking my peer pressure-er's profusely.
I'm learning I'm VERY picky when it comes to horror (not in the sense that I think others are objectively bad, I just know they aren't for mmeee personally), but this checked all the boxes I didn't even know I had. I am so so so excited to have given this a chance.

This reminds me a little bit of My Men by Victoria Kielland translated by Damion Searls, though I'm not sure if it's simply recency bias.

{Thank you bunches to Virginia Feito, W. W. Norton & Company, Liveright and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for my honest review!}

There is a Darkness that lives inside Winifred Notty. A darkness that longs for something she holds most dear, and one her mother has tried to snuff out since birth. Dark, twisted, and witty all at once, Victorian Psycho packs a sinister punch.

One of my favorite things this story touches on is how men view women. How they won’t hold certain conversations in front of them as to not cause, ‘hysterics,’ or speak of violence as if it will intimidate them. The author touches on this in many different ways and places throughout the book that I truly loved and ground out my overall feeling that one of the larger jokes is the world's viewpoint on thinking less of women and what they are truly capable of. Like murder.

Victorian Psycho is a dark gothic tale of Winifred’s (whose darkness likes to go by Fred) of a woman on a set mission. She’s held onto letters her mother had kept hidden - letters from her father. A man that has plagued her throughout her life more than her madness. It’s shaped her life completely whether she is aware of this or not but throughout her twisted tale filled with murder. I fear I became engrossed in the psychological aspects of this tale, and it plagued me with thoughts of nature v. nurture and the circumstances of what made Winifred, well, Fred.

There is an interesting play going on throughout this novel that centers around children. How they used to be used for labor with one scene in particular, the Francey’s discussing how a boy, their chimney sweep, was stuck inside. The way Mr. Pounds groans at laws being passed to protect the children's laborers in his factories or even the baby that meets its untimely demise by Ms. Notty, whose parents are never wiser to the deceit she plays later. I did also enjoy the ridiculous beliefs that were held back in the Victorian era when it came to the views of women and their delicate and prone to ‘hysterics’ view. This mindset made it when Winifred outsmarted them or murdered them almost, gasp, enjoyable.

This book far exceeded my expectations and did more than I thought it possibly could. Highly recommend this to anyone who loves gothic horror with a dash of unhinged madness.

Thank you to @netgalley and @liverightbooks for this advanced reader copy.

This book is so grotesque yet so funny. I found the writing, despite being written in the late-1800s style, to be super accessible. The quick pacing suited it well; the short chapters made me hungry for more and I ended up ripping through it.

Do you ever read a book and think “what’s wrong with me?”

Victorian Psycho is 208 pages of pure insanity and I could not get enough of it but it did leave me questioning my integrity. Our main character Winifred Notty is wildly unhinged and so freaking vile making the title absolutely perfect and I loved her even though I know I shouldn’t. It’s the kind of book you have to laugh at sometimes because it’s so out there and absurd and incredibly intriguing even though it’s F’ed up. I loved this one so much and could have gone for another 200 pages of her shenanigans. Because of how much I did enjoy it and the fact that it’s a rather short novel, I flew through this in one sitting and loved the ending. I can only hope it gets adapted into a movie. 😅 I cannot wait to go back and read Mrs. March now, Virginia Fieto is staying on my radar. Thanks to Liveright for my eARC. Victorian Psycho will be published 2/4.

Winifred Notty is the new governess of Ensor House who arrives with ulterior motives and a mysterious past. She manages to ingratiate herself with the phrenology-obsessed Mr. Pounds, the master of the house, while Mrs. Pounds delights in finding new ways to humiliate her. And the servants just think she's weird. As Winifred tends to her charges - teaching them fake French and pinching them when they misbehave - small secrets from her past bubble to the surface. Along with these secrets, a bloodthirsty appetite for violence.

Prepare to be enchanted by Feito's delightfully psychotic female main character. Written from Winifred's perspective, the reader is given the chance to swim among the murky, blood-soaked morass of her mind. And it is delicious. The writing is sharp and humorous, keeping the pace tight and the text engaging as Feito buils to an epic conclusion.

This book is the definition of a fever dream. I was entertained from the first page. I needed to see where this went and what was real vs what was the MCs psychopathic machinations. In the end I wanted a tiny bit more real plot out of it, but it was a fun, short, easy ride that left me laughing in disgust.

Thank you NetGalley and Liveright for this ARC Copy!

WTF did I just read and why did I like it so much, is pretty much what I though through this entire book. What a wild ride... The FMC was shocking, understandable, weirdly relatable at times, and completely and utterly violent with no remorse whatsoever. I never knew where this story was going but I was hooked throughout the whole story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Wowowowow.
This was so insane and diabolical. I couldn't look away even when my jaw dropped in horror/repulsion. American Psycho in a victorian era and I couldn't predict where this was going, it surprised and shocked me at every turn. I do think it will translate well to film with Margaret Qualley as the lead!!!
Will be buying a physical copy to annotate and I loved the writing style!

This book was just strange. Gory, graphic, dare I say, psychotic? It gave me weird vibes throughout and it kind of reminded me of a demented Mary Poppins or something. Maybe that was the point? To be weirded out? I don't know. Not really the book for me.

This book was truly a rollercoaster, and I think I will be looking at autumnal foliage a bit differently.
I went into this book not expecting it to be as grotesque as it was and that was definitely a poor judgement call on my behalf. As vivid as some of the imagery was, I did thoroughly enjoy my reading experience.
I also hope to never come across anyone like Miss Notty. 😂

Thank you Netgalley & Liveright for an eARC ♥️

Victorian Psycho: A Deliciously Dark Read

Meet Winifred Notty, a governess with a secret: she's got a taste for blood. But don't worry, she's got it under control... or so she thinks. As she navigates the creepy world of Ensor House, Winifred's patience is put to the test. The Pounds family is basically the worst, and Winifred's got some seriously clever ways of dealing with them.
I loved how this book was both dark and witty at the same time. Virginia Feito’s writing is so engaging, and the suspense is killer (no pun intended). I couldn't put it down, and I didn't see the ending coming at all.
If you're in the mood for a book that's a little bit creepy, a little bit funny, and totally addictive, then Victorian Psycho is the way to go. ♥️



Would I recommend it? Heck yeah!

A great blend of dark humor and horror!

Winifred is certainly a 'psycho' but she's also funny as hell. She perfectly straddles the line between batshit crazy and "oh, don't mind her, she's just a poor, uncultured governess." The social commentary is smart and entertaining throughout, the violence effective without being excessive. If the book had been longer the premise likely would have worn thin, but this is a quick read that packs a punch and ends precisely when it should. I even loved the tiny "twist" at the end.

Towards the end, Winifred's narration does veer strongly into fever dream territory and it can be hard to follow. You are never quite sure what is happening and what she's imagining. Other events happen in the blink of an eye and can be confusing. And while I think that most of her early exploits are perfectly believable, the climax does get a bit silly.

Winifred may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think a lot of people will find her, and this book, delightfully fun.

I was totally not prepared for the crazy mess of a character that is Winifred Notty, but here we are! She’s this super dark, totally twisted governess who, like, doesn't even try to hide her wicked thoughts. Honestly, I was laughing at all her crazy schemes, even though I shouldn't have been. But, seriously, this book just has that perfect combo of creepy, sarcastic, and—wait for it—bloody brilliant! The whole vibe is so eerie, and it totally sets the stage for some major chaos.

And don’t even get me started on the characters! Ugh, everyone’s messed up, but Winifred? She’s next level. Her descent into madness is, like, chef's kiss perfect! It’s not a slow burn; it’s more like a fireball of insane thoughts and, uh, some pretty gnarly moments (prepare yourself for that). But if you like dark humor and don't mind a little—okay, a LOT—of gore, you’ll be sooooo into it.

The ending? Shocking. Totally shocking. I did not see that coming. But I was here for it, like, all the way through. It was a quick read, and I totally could not put it down. So, yeah, this was a 4-star for me, definitely not for the faint of heart, but if you love a messed-up thrill, you’re gonna want this one.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!