Meave Fly with Victorian sensibilities, I really enjoyed the sarcastic tone of the protagonist and had a lot of fun with it.

I was taken off-guard almost on the first page of this book. I thought at first it read like a man writing from a woman's perspective, but that quickly changes, and I was sucked into the story.

Winifred does not hide her strangeness from the reader, but does still have her secrets. You really start to feel sorry for her as she tells us her life story and we see how she is treated at the hands of the Pounds family.

This book reminded me of Sweeney Todd - garish, gruesome, but entertaining. Virginia Feito definitely keeps the story in the Victorian period, both with dress, food, description of child-rearing, and the actual dialogue of the characters.

I read that this book is being turned into a movie. I'm excited about this and feel that film is a much better medium for Winifred and her crimes.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I truly wanted to love this, American Psycho but make it Victorian England and female. We follow Winifred Notty, the new governess for the Pound family.

Here come my qualms with this. To start, the writing didn’t jive with me. I typically struggle with historical fiction of any kind so I knew this was going to be difficult for me but I still wanted to try one with a horror angle. Without giving anything away, that causal switcheroo was quite far fetched for me, I don’t know I rolled my eyes. Dragging bodies around, harder than we think. I guess I could account for adrenaline? But seemed unlikely to me. Typically with horror I have no issues suspending disbelief but maybe theI was too hung up on the Victorian era/the need for historical fiction to feel plausible more so than other time frames. I couldn’t stay invested. I was bored. The shock factor of the blood and gratuitous gore didn’t bother or phase me. I just wanted something different.

This is so eery and well done and, at times, even funny! The author does a great job handling this subject and tackling some very, very weird themes. I recommend this to a very specific subset of people but I really enjoyed it and want to read during Halloween time 👻

This was an unforgettable ride. I don't know if I liked it--do much gore. But I sped through. Readers familiar with gothic literature tropes will get the most out of the book.

Pre-Read notes

This is another one I wanted to read because of its perfect cover! I hope they never change it. Also, I liked the play on American Psycho in the title, though I don't think the books are similar. But it is a fun story, creepy, horrifying in different subtle ways. The mood and tone are perfect for a Gothic slasher.

Final Review

Review summary and recommendations

A lot of ableist sentiment front and center in this book. That's as much a problem with my beloved horror genre as it is with this story and how Feito chose to tell is. If you're sensitive to ableist depictions of mental illness, this probably isn't for you. If you're a depraved horror fan, this one is for you. If you're both, like me-- well, I warned you, but you're still going to try it, huh?

Reading Notes

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. Great concept, except I disagree with the suggestion that the book is in the style of American Psycho by Brenton Easton Ellis. Most importantly, these two authors' informing understandings of psychopathy are at odds.

2. Can we just take a moment to admire that cover? Super creepy! That alone made me ask Netgalley for this one!

3. There are some pretty grissley scenes of murder and mayhem in this one, all of which is pretty great horror fare. This first person narrator is very cold so it's pretty wild to get all this information from such a dispassionate perspective.


One quibble:

(This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.)

1. I feel like this one couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted to be about mental illness and psychopathy, or about evil. It conflates them a great deal, which really is ableist. A significantly large portion of psychopaths and sociopaths never kill anyone. And mental illness is not evil.

2. Also, I have to say, I get what this author is trying to do, but it's a very poor imitation of American Psycho by Brenton Easton Ellis. American Psycho carefully relates the deterioration of a man's sanity. This book, by comparison, is nothing but a murder romp with an unreliable narrator, an effect that was not executed well, at that.

Rating: 💄💄💄 /5 dangerous girls
Recommend? sure, unless you don't like ableism
Finished: March 17 '25
Format: accessible digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🔪 murder thrillers
🕯 Victorian setting
👠 frightening women

Thank you to the author Virginia Feito, publishers Entangled Publishing, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of VICTORIAN PSYCHO. All views are mine.
---------------

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. this book is NOT for the faint of heart, nor for people giving it their first shot at a horror novel. i really liked this, thought it was well written and that the gore/horror aspect was not just used for a reaction. i would read the future books that Feito puts out.

This was a very interesting book. I do want to note that when I say the characters aren't loveable, I'm not saying that as a bad thing about the book; these characters aren't really meant to be loveable. The main character is literally a murderous psychopath and the rest of the characters are mostly dissolute rich assholes who take advantage of everyone around them. I don't think you're really supposed to sympathize with any of them or find them at all likeable, though you can enjoy reading about their shenanigans, especially Winifred's. Her unreliability as a narrator also added to her unlikability; you just couldn't trust almost anything she said or thought. I enjoyed the several twists and turns throughout the book, especially with regards to Winifred's motives in coming to Ensor House, though the big twist of her accomplice at the end did throw me for a loop: I just didn't feel like there had been enough set-up to really plant the seeds that that character would be like that. It was a bit too much of a leap for me. I suppose it could be another case of Winifred's mind playing tricks on her again and maybe her accomplice didn't really help her with any of that big finale, maybe she did take that character prisoner for those several days until the police arrived and Winifred just thought they were in cahoots. Anything could really be possible given the state of Winifred's mind.
Overall, this was a very interesting if disquieting book, but I think that's what the author was going for in the end. I imagine that it's meant to be similar in style to American Psycho but alas, I've never read the actual book, I've only seen the movie, so I can't judge if the effect was successful or not. But it was a fast and somewhat enjoyable read, though not exactly what I was expecting when I first picked it up. But the ride was certainly interesting and I'd be down to see what else this author has up her sleeve.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this read relatively blind. This read took me on a wild ride, Ms. Notty has been hired to be governess to the children of the Pounds. Unfortunately, Ms. Notty has a penitent for obscene darkness. More than a few scenes shocked me and made me question what the heck I was reading. Definitely recommend for fans of horror and splatter punk. Plenty of shock and gore.

OK, now THIS is a fun read. Insane and propulsive, violent and gross (complimentary), I read the whole thing in three days. I laughed out loud reading this line from another reviewer: " For a book about murdering people, this book was a breath of fresh air," because I wholeheartedly agree. It's a mix of Jane Eyre and American Psycho. What a ride!

What a solid read. This made me so incredibly uncomfortable at times and I had such a conflicted relationship with our main character here - I both loved and loathed her. I didn't see the twist coming from a mile away and was left with my jaw on the floor about the grotesquerie of it all.

Stunning.

I was really disappointed to DNF this book (@ 30%), but it just wasn’t for me. I was initially drawn to it for a few reasons: the cover, the American Psycho comparison, the promise of an unhinged female protagonist, and the upcoming movie adaptation with Margaret Qualley (?) and Abigail Breslin.

But despite all that, the book never really hooked me. I kept putting it down and never felt motivated to pick it back up. For me, it lacked a clear sense of purpose—I wasn’t sure where the story was going (or if it was going anywhere at all), and I didn’t feel any curiosity about how it would end or what would happen to the Pounds or Winifred.

The writing style is definitely eccentric, as advertised, and I usually enjoy that. The characters feel more like caricatures, the dialogue is awkward, and Winifred’s cold, detached narration does successfully put you inside the mind of a psychopath. But even with all that, it just wasn’t enough to keep me engaged.

That said, I actually think this story might work better as a movie, since film naturally has a more detached quality than literature. So, I’ll still be checking out the adaptation.

Bookstagram: @narrativasinfinitas

This book was insane and weird but so good. I really enjoyed it. It was creative and funny but also dark. I love an unhinged main character.

This is a brilliant, dark, twisty novel that any horror fan should love.

Reminiscent of other classic horror stories, VICTORIAN PSYCHO well earns its place int he world of classic horror.

The book is quite violent, so that could make a few squeamish people put down the book at time, however, it does feel pulpy every once in a while.

The plot and story are very fast, making the book one that you never want to put down.

Victorian Psycho is a dark and unsettling historical horror by Virginia Feito. The story follows Ms. Winifred Notty, a governess with a twisted past, who arrives at Ensor House to tutor the Pounds children. What begins as a seemingly mundane job soon spirals into the perversions and dysfunctions of the Ms. Notty and the family.
Feito's writing style reminds me a lot of Moshfegh's in Lapvona, in that this book leans unsettling and gross. The author uses such distinctly disgusting imaginary to depict the despicable caricatures of high society. This book is absolutely extreme and not for the faint of heart! Would have a hard time recommended it for the average reader, but love some weird girl fiction.
Rating this a tentative 3.5 stars, but rounding up.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

Victorian Psycho was like a mix of a penny dreadful and American Psycho. It stood on its own, though. Basically, this book was a bloody good time.

Feito managed to take an unlikable character and write her in such a way that the reader will find it hard to put the book down.

The violence in this got so over the top that it became ridiculous. (Obviously this was the author's intention). I found myself laughing at one scene in particular that involved shipping something. I was often taken by surprise by what Ms Notty said and did.

For a book about murdering people, this book was a breath of fresh air.

I absolutely loved this and will definitely be reading more from this author. I already have my eyes on the author's first book, Mrs. March.

I'd recommend this if you're into American Psycho, penny dreadfuls like Sweeney Todd, and stories about psychotic women.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

This novel follows Winifred Notty, a governess at Ensor House, who faces the unsettling behavior of the Pounds family. As she endures their perversions & her own violent urges, she plans to deliver “special gifts” to the family at Christmas, suggesting a dark & twisted conclusion.
***
This was a fun & wild ride. Quick read with short chapters, it'll keep you flipping the pages to see what absurd (and sometimes grotesque) thing Miss Notty does next. There were a couple WTF moments, ones that had me reread the page to make sure I was properly understanding what I had just read. This is a psychological horror that is perfect for readers who enjoy darkly funny thrillers with creepy, offbeat characters & a twisted Victorian setting.

If any of the following content is triggering for you, I'd recommend against reading this book - child death, murder, violence, animal cruelty/death, body shaming, miscarriage, adult/minor relationship, and fire/injury by fire.

Thank you to NetGalley for EPUB arc in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 ⭐️
I love a weird girl horror, but this needed a lot more work. The protagonist felt hugely underdeveloped to me and whilst I can appreciate that the shortness of the book makes for a fast paced punchy story, it also made it feel like there was significantly more to be explored

This was great

It’s about Winifred, a deranged woman that arrives at Ensor House to tutor the owners children, and about all the hell she raises during her stay. It’s like a mix between Maeve Fly and American Psycho, and is just as darkly comedic and depraved as both.

This was gross, with lots of disgusting descriptions of eating old timey food, lots of bodily fluids, and plenty of scenes of bodily dismemberment/injury details. EVERYTHING is fair game in this weird little story- animals, women, children, babies (actual infants), yeah this was *a lot*

The tone overall is comedic and irreverent, which is a bit jarring when you’re reading some of these horrendous things.

Yeah, just be warned!!

The writing in this book was incredible. The way Feito described everything in the story gave it this hugely sinister feeling that really set the scene. However, I had a hard time connecting to the book otherwise. I think I would have appreciated a bit more depth of character from the protagonist and a bit more reflection/self-awareness even if it wasn't actual self awareness, but something the protagonist thought of as being self-awareness. I did really like the ending though.