‘The Burial Tide’ is a fantastic horror novel. The pace was set in the first few pages and did not let up until the story was over. The way the author was able to twist Irish mythology into a modern setting was amazing. The complex characters, the twists and turns. You do not want to miss this one‼

Thank you to NetGalley, Neil Sharpson, and Zando for the ARC.

When I say I couldn’t put this book down, I mean it with every fiber of my being. I was completely consumed from page one. Sharpson proves himself to be one of the most captivating storytellers writing today. Weaving together elements of body horror, folk horror, and psychological dread into a story that commands your full attention.

The island setting is so vividly rendered, it felt like I was right there alongside the characters, breathing the salt air, feeling the damp chill, and constantly glancing over my shoulder. The pacing is pitch perfect, the tension unrelenting, and the twists!! Let’s just say you won’t see them coming. And the horror isn’t just skin deep. Sharpson explores the monstrous in humanity as much as the supernatural, leaving you unnerved in the best way.

This is the kind of horror that seeps into your bones and lingers. Visceral, unsettling, and utterly unforgettable. Burial Tide is a must read. Don’t sleep on this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Neil Sharpson, and Zando for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had that Irish folklore that I was wanting from the description. I was invested in the horror mystery element to it and enjoyed the overall feel that I wanted. Neil Sharpson has a strong writing style and was able to create characters that I was hoping for and enjoyed getting into this world and characters. It was everything that I was hoping for and was glad I got to read this.

Between this and Knock Knock, Open Wide, I can confidently say Neil Sharpson KNOWS how to write a first chapter. I went into this book blind but I was absolutely hooked after the opening pages! It grabbed me fast and kept my attention the whole time.

This entire book takes place on this small Irish island, and was so atmospheric I could practically smell the sea air. The village is full of people who have a secret, and the main character Mara has no idea who she can trust. Who is she really and how is she connected to the island? I really can’t say any more without spoiling— but if you like isolated, small town, folklore inspired creepy books, you’re gonna wanna pick this one up!

Content warning: This review quotes and discusses examples of body horror. If this isn’t your thing, you may not way to read further.

The coolest thing I noticed about Irish author Neil Sharpson’s folk horror novel The Burial Tide was the delightfully grotesque and innovative scenes of literary body horror (moderate spoilers follow).

As an amateur creature designer, I am used to combining disparate human and animal anatomical elements for either a creep or a cute factor, sometimes both. Call me Dr. Frankenstein! Sharpson’s descriptions are so visceral and clear, I could draw these creatures in my sketchbook.

Welcome to Innishbannock, a somewhat blasted island off the coast of Kerry. The skies are possibly the gloomiest in all of Ireland, and so are the inhabitants who are locked in centuries of hatred. These are village feuds on steroids.

The book opens as a woman, who has been buried alive, struggles to free herself from her own coffin, bloodying her knuckles and breaking her toes. This is a desperate fight for survival. Ever since I read Poe’s Cask of Amontillado as a child, I have been terrified of being interred while not quite deceased. The Victorians used to put bells on a string which the poor unfortunate individual could ring from the grave. With wind being a variable, cremation for me please.

When the buried woman finally frees herself with the help of a massive storm that has loosened the heavy soil pressing down on her, she has no recollection of who she is and how she came to be lying in an unmarked grave next to three other unmarked graves.

When she stumbles into town, ravenous, she breaks into the cottage of Declan, a poet in residence on the island. This is not your regular zombie story, so she isn’t going to dig through someone’s skull to get to the gooey goodies, but she does raid the refrigerator. Declan finds her and calls Dr. Helen Quinn, the island's only doctor.

Dr. Quinn informs the revenant of her past, her husband, and her deceased mother’s name. The only problem is that none of this feels right to Mara. The name perhaps belongs to her, but everything else seems fake.

Declan believes Mara is being lied to. The pair meet Natalie, a barkeeper in the tourist town of Farvey, which is quite separate from the traditional village. The trio seeks to uncover the mystery of Mara’s identity. The more they dig, the more they uncover, the deeper the mystery goes.

In one scene, an unfortunate island resident seeks to remove hideous growths with a pair of garden shears. Understandably, the man wishes to keep his humanity and resists his own tragic metamorphosis.

> “It was the realization that some of the growths had bones in them. The biggest one actually gave the shears some trouble, the bone was so thick. He could feel the weight of them as they tumbled down his back after each one was cut…”

It is no secret that gross things often happen in horror movie bathrooms. Think of the bloodbath Beverly endures in It and the decrepit grinning woman behind the bathroom curtain in The Shining. We’ve always felt vulnerable, exposed in our nakedness before the mirror in a tiled room where our blood would be easier to mop up.

In the quote above, we feel the heaviness of these living tumors as they thud moistly to the floor. We also suspect that these protrusions will grow again, perhaps making this exercise futile.

In one scene, when Declan is acting as a lookout for Mara and Natalie, he encounters a grotesque being who radiates an ancient hatred. A wizened female creature curls her serpentine lower half around a tree, watching and waiting.

> “There was a woman, or rather half a woman. The top half of her body was naked. Long wisps of filthy silver hair grew from her head and trailed all the way down to her waist, where her body ceased the pretense of humanity. The lower half of her body was a massive fleshy phallus, thick and prehensile and the color of spoiled milk. He could see dark veins pulsing under the translucent flesh. She was coiled around the tree like a serpent and fixed him with eyes that spoke of a furious terror. She seemed mad with fear, her lips trembling and her tongue dancing in her skull, making a wet tapping noise as it hit the roof of her mouth.”

As an artist I have a brilliantly clear description of a female monster, who is half phallus, and that spoiled-milk colored appendage is prehensile in a Freudian serpent kind of way. I can even hear the “wet tapping noise.” Fortunately, I cannot smell her, because I think I would faint from olfactory overload.

In good horror creature design, the viewer isn’t just afraid of the image, they feel sorry for the monster. I think it is impossible not to feel for the creatures in movies and literature because there is most usually an element of anguish that is unearned, a type of hell we wouldn’t wish on our worst enemy.

In the next section, a hapless man is transforming into an organism that is only part human. A mouth opens in his side as if he is birthing something new and terrifying. Whether the man in question is likeable or not, the reader will feel horror and, yes, pity for his ordeal.

> “And then the seams pulled apart and a great maw opened in his side and he screamed and screamed as he saw teeth, rows and rows of razor-sharp baby teeth. The massive shark mouth in his side snapped shut.”

The grossest things I’ve done in a bathroom are change a yellow, pustulent surgical dressing and lance a juicy boil on a (good) friend's posterior. This scene is worse than any possible human activity in the throne room.

The mention of sharpened baby teeth completes the picture of a nascent life-form coming into being and is reminiscent of alien young bursting forth from rib cages, screeching into the world. Here he places the word baby, which is emblematic of innocence with “razor-sharp,” a terrifying perversion of the natural order, as are all monsters.

Sharpson’s expert description of body horror reminds me of Carpenter’s The Thing; humanity in a tooth and nail battle to remain human. This is betrayal by the human body writ large in horror. It gets at the fear we all have regarding disease and our inevitable decline. Horror speaks to the truths we feel and magnifies them. Perhaps seeing this amplified makes the actuality less frightening.

Come visit Innishbannock with its creepy beasties! If you enjoy inventive body horror that is as ingenious as it is disgusting, you will love Sharpson’s writing as much as I do.

**Thank you so much to NetGalley\Zando\Neil Sharpson for this eARC of The Burial Tide in exchange for my honest opinion. Expected publish date September 9th, 2025.**

I'm already a fan of Neil Sharpson's work- you'll know him from his debut folk horror novel Knock Knock, Open Wide- which published in October 2023 and told the story of a Changeling. In his latest novel, The Burial Tide, Sharpson tells the story of a Selkie (seal people who can shapeshift between human and seal form in Irish folklore).

This is such a fantastic novel! I enjoyed every second of it! The story starts off with a bang, and kept my attention throughout the rest of the book. The storyline was expertly written-you'll find no plots holes in this book. And if you need great character building in your books, this one will definitely satisfy your need for that as well. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil anything, but if you love a good folk horror book with lovable characters (i.e. Slewfoot) then I definitely recommend reading this one! This novel will work great for those wanting to try out the horror genre as well as it has minor gore/blood scenes.

A Haunting Dive into Irish Folklore and Identity

Neil Sharpson’s The Burial Tide is a captivating blend of horror and mythology, set against the eerie backdrop of Inishbannock, a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The story follows Mara Fitch, a woman who awakens in a coffin with no memory of her past. As she navigates the island's unsettling landscape—where roads are strewn with teeth and villagers harbor dark secrets—Mara's quest to reclaim her identity becomes increasingly perilous.

Sharpson masterfully weaves elements of Irish folklore into the narrative, creating a world where the line between human and monster blurs. The island's inhabitants, from a doctor who only treats the dead to a poet who loses and finds his soul, add layers of intrigue and unease. The prose is both atmospheric and propulsive, drawing readers into a tale that's as emotionally resonant as it is chilling.

While the novel's rich symbolism and complex themes enhance its depth, they may also pose challenges for some readers. The story demands close attention, and those seeking a straightforward horror tale might find its intricacies daunting. However, for readers willing to immerse themselves in its layered narrative, The Burial Tide offers a rewarding experience.

In summary, The Burial Tide is a thought-provoking exploration of memory, identity, and the haunting power of the past. Sharpson's fusion of folklore and horror crafts a story that's both unsettling and deeply human.

Holy cannoli. The Burial Tide was bizarre and terrifying and filled with so many twists I did not expect.

The consequences of embracing darkness gives us a blend of Irish folklore and body horror.

Trapped on an isolated Irish Island where a new plague is killing the human residents but who or what is causing the other mutilated deaths. Then a woman breaks into your cottage, She’s covered in dirt and looks exactly like one of the four people who was recently pronounced dead and buried named Mira Fitch.

This book starts off running and does not let up. There are so many twists and turns, so many possibilities that you never know what will happen next. You never know who to trust or what to believe. One of the best aspects of this novel is the writing especially in reference to the body gore. It’s hard to say much about this book without ruining it and giving spoilers so just read it. You will not regret it.

Overall this was a fast paced story full of the darkest parts of humanity. Full of beautifully macabre body gore and mystery.

I unfortunately think that Neil Sharpson is just not an author for me. This is the second book I've read from him and the second I've not loved. I gave his previous novel, Knock Knock, Open Wide four stars but cannot recall anything about it after a year since reading it. His books are just not memorable to me, and nothing is standing out to me as really great or unique. I do believe that that fault is my own, as I am exploring my taste and preferences within the horror genre and am learning what I love most. If you enjoyed Sharpson's previous book, there is a high chance you'll like this one too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I really enjoy a bit of folk horror, especially when it takes place on a claustrophobic island in Ireland, with mythical creatures abounding. There’s certainly no punches pulled with the introduction to this novel, and we start with something claustrophobic and nasty with a burial alive (or, at least, alive-ish?).

We follow the main character, Mara, as she tries to discover who she is and what has happened to her. We follow her around the island and get the sense that there is definitely something amiss as she potters around the village.

I didn’t get a huge sense of character from this book, but the atmosphere is fabulous. There was a definite sense of menace and old magick in this book, and it was really lovely to read something that had such a punch to it.

While I enjoyed the narrative, it did have a bit of a lull in the middle, with the end really ramping up. I thought there could have been a little more development, but I really did enjoy this novel.

I recognize that art is subjective and there is no such thing as "perfect". But by god, this is a perfect book! If you want a bloody good time (literally) I cannot recommend this book enough!

Sharpson has a real knack for balancing horror and humor with some of the richest writing I've ever had the delight to read! I enjoyed the characters and dialogue so much; I feel a sadness after completing this book that I won't get to hear more of Mara, Natalie, and Declan's banter. Even side characters are just teeming with personality.

And mystery elements unravel themselves so deliciously! It reels you in with Mara's frenzied escape from being buried alive. But the twists and turn slowly build to a satisfying ending. I want to reread this soon so I can look over different scenes with a different perspective!

The world is so developed that it really makes the horror shine! From the beginning, you feel trapped in a town trapped with dangerous monsters. And the monsters thoroughly live up to the creeping dread you feel as you read!

Burial Tide is a truly remarkable book that I will continue thinking about for a long time. Neil Sharpson is an author to keep your eye on. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for providing me an advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book has every twist in turn covered. When I thought I understood what was going on I got a new question and answer. Absolutely loved the ride of emotions and the the amount of POVs we get to read through this book.

The Burial Tide by Neil Sharpson, it was an intriguing horror novel and the few pages led me into knowing I wanted to know more.

It started with a coffin, a woman in a coffin named Mara, she has no idea who she got there and what happened before then, when she breaks out of the coffin, she finds herself on an island, with no knowledge of her name and who she could be.

There is this sentence has filled my mind while I was reading the book, “reality is a facade”, I guess this novel made me realize that, the truth is far more than what Mara thinks in this novel, and it made me realize no one can be trusted, not even yourself.

I think the writer carefully crafted this amazing novel with intriguing plot twits and details that caused me to ask for more, I would definitely recommend this novel to any person who loves a horror physiologically novel.

I would rate it 8/10, make sure go give it a read.

From start to finish, impossible to put down. I loved the complexity of the characters and the fact that I couldn't even guess what was really going on in this mysterious island. Also, loved how the author intertwined the mythology -so beautifully- with a modern story. Definitely a highly recommended book 🖤

wow, what an amazing book!
It starts out with the main character waking up in a coffin and having no memory of her past or how she got there.
Honestly that all you need to know, go into this blind and just expect the most weird and some disturbing stuff!
Thank you netgalley for the arc, one of my favourite reads of the year!!!

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

I enjoyed this book! It starts off well, with eerie things happening from the first page. I like how the pace was steady toward the middle of the book and some of the characters were really well written.

The setting of island itself was very well done, spooky, secluded and full of mystery. The horror elements of this book were really unsettling, the creatures particularly.

I liked that it was multiple POV and we got to see things from many different characters perspective, I loved the way the story unfolded throughout and the ending was excellent - I would definitely recommend this book!

Mara Fitch has clawed her way out of her grave. The doctor tells her it's nothing short of a miracle--there was a viral outbreak on the island of Inishbannock which killed four people, including Mara, yet she's back from the grave as if nothing happened, save for having no memory of her life before her death. The townspeople and her boyfriend, Cian, are willing to fill in the blanks for her as she adjusts to her life, but Mara notices that the things they say aren't quite adding up. No one in town is acting like there was a viral outbreak, her house contains no evidence of her having lived there, and people keep referring to her partner as 'Oisin'...

'The Burial Tide' is a beautiful, dark fairy tale. Set on the fictional Irish island of Inishbannock, it combines the suffocation of small-town secrets with Irish folklore. While amnesic main characters are not uncommon in fiction, Mara's memory loss helps to set the stage for the complicated narrative that the denizens of Insihbannock weave for her, and we find out the holes in the plot at the same times she does. Even the citizens that are kind to her slip up and reveal to her some things that leave her questioning everyone, and lead to her finding out the truth.

I love stories with an ensemble cast, and 'The Burial Tide' has a cast full of interesting characters, all of whom are driven by their own feelings and personal goals. With one exception, every character who is given a point of view chapter is given sympathetic traits, even if you end up rooting for their demise. While Mara was my favorite character, I couldn't help but love Declan, the poor asthmatic young man who becomes her closest companion after she broke into his house (she was awfully hungry after rising from the grave), and Padraig, the gay son of the tavern owner, Gráinne, who desperately wants to get off the island.

There's so much of this book that I loved, so I'll just list it out here. I love that there's a fat, asthmatic hero who is never put down by the narrative for being this way. I love that the power of friendship is a driving force for the story. I love how the story reveals its inconsistencies early on, so they'll always be in your mind when characters say something that goes against it. I love how being enamored with seals is shorthand for characters being trustworthy. I love the creepy body horror. Rarely do I finish a book so quickly, but I didn't want to put 'The Burial Tide' down because I was so enraptured by the story.

If you're a fan of Irish folklore and horror, I can't recommend 'The Burial Tide' enough. I picked it up because I thought it was funny to see my favorite animal on a scary book cover (while there are some scary seals in the world, I think the ones that are around Ireland fall closer to the 'objectively cute' side of the spectrum), and I'm happy that I did. It's definitely a story I want to read again to pick up on the details that I missed the first time around.

This book exceeded my expectations. The Burial Tide has a bit of everything: several types of folk horror, generational trauma and healing, some body horror, and bloody revenge! A background in Irish mythology and folklore will help you spot things coming, but I promise it won’t prepare you for the grand finale,

This is a new favourite. Had everything in it that I love in a horror book — folklore, the sea, a grim setting and feminine rage. I adore Sharpson's writing and Mara is a phenomenal protagonist. This book was a cathartic experience in a nutshell. I loved it so much that I am 100% sure it's going to make into my top 10 reads of 2025.