A sign of a good book is one where you think "god, I'd happily read 50 more pages and not be bored". I really liked the unreliable narrator/character and the horror and nihilism in this. Think this is one that will find its audience quickly!

Janet is kind of a jerk. She's not having a great time, living with a roommate who doesn't like her very much and working at Congo, an Amazon-like warehouse with bleeding-edge AI employee "support."
Madam Pamela is the most famous psychic in America. She's also Janet's old classmate, Pam Kowolski, and Janet knows she's a fraud. What better way for Janet to satisfy an old grudge and get her writing career back on track than to write the ultimate exposé to coincide with Madame Pamela's Big Reveal livestream?
But Janet's memories about school might not be correct, and Pamela might just be what she claims to be.

I think at this point I'll gobble up anything Sarah Langan writes. This novella is absolutely perfect. It's gutting in all the right ways. I loved hating Janet even as I regretfully could empathize with her quite a bit. The gradual reveals and slow descent were perfectly paced, and I ended up kind of emotional at the end. There was something off about the world Janet and Pam inhabit (other than the obvious), and I love how Langan refuses to pause and overexplain those things, instead just sprinkling them in frequently enough to unsettle us. And what a killer cover! My only wish is that it could have lingered over the end a little more.

Thank you to Raw Dog Screaming Press and NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

✅ For Fans of:
- Chuck Palahniuk
- Horror
- Self-Discovery
- Uncovering of Past Secrets
- Novellas
- Occult
- Reality-Bending

✏️ Spoiler-Free Review
While this book can be classified as horror, it also falls into a “self-discovery” category. It takes the main character’s premise of “Pam Kowolski is a Monster!” equating it with the embarrassment, the spinning hatred of everything and everyone, and all of life’s downfalls, and turns it into “Pam Kowolski is a Monster?” It does so by digging into the past, for the sake of an article but really for the sake of finally answering the questions and filling the gaps that the main character has either forgotten or tried to ignore.

If you’re a fan of the nihilism and anger that often courses through the characters of Chuck Palahniuk, I think this is a perfect fit for you. It has the quotable lines that make you consider yourself a moment too long to be comfortable but it also has a plot that pulls you along, written in a way that by the time you get to the end and everything is unveiled, the ending is still satisfying because the goal has changed.

This is my first book by Sarah Langan and I’m excited to go back and read her previous books/stories, especially since I finished this one all in a single sitting! I think their writing was the perfect blend of horror, storytelling, and nostalgic melancholy that leaves an impression. Can't wait for the next one!

🖤 Thank you to author Sarah Langan, publisher RDS Press, and NetGalley for the copy. As always, my reviews are voluntary, my own, and honest!

Really interesting horror-ish novella with a very unlikeable narrator who slowly improves over the course of the story, which involves her attempt to take down Madame Pamela, a psychic who promises that a Great Reveal is coming. Janet knew Pam when they were kids and is convinced that it’s a scam, even as general reality seems to be breaking down.

It was definitely worth reading. I felt happy after reading this novella because I grasped everything. A girl who has a slight obsession with rivalries from her past. She is also a journalist. Additionally, the former adversary is now a well-known medium and not an ugly lady, unlike in MC's visions.
It was a brief read that captivated me and got me wondering if it was true or not.

I feel like this could have been 50~ more pages.
The storyline between Janet and Madam Pamela, the renowned psychic started off really intriguingly - Janet had a good plan to enact revenge and expose her for her past « crimes ».

The whole plot around exposing the Reveal itself was rushed in my opinion! I loved the writing so much but the end was just a bit too fast. I usually love when novellas tend to leave some questions unanswered but that wasn’t the full case here.

Eager to read more from this author.
Thanks for the ARC!

This wonderfully written novella tells the story of a woman who feels that her childhood best friend, Pam Kowolski, deeply wronged her. She’s determined to destroy her!

She blames everything that went wrong in her life on Pam. Janet and Pam used to be close friends, but after a particular incident in high school, they drifted apart. As adults, Janet discovers that Pamela Kowolski is actually Madame Pamela, a well-known psychic! Curious, and perhaps a bit on a mission, Janet starts digging into Pam’s secrets in an attempt to write a story that might expose her.

As she digs deeper, Janet uncovers suppressed memories and dives deep into their shared history. What she finds out was life changing and eye opening for her!
Is Pam Kowolski really the monster that she though that she was?

I wholeheartedly recommend this unexpectedly fun and thrilling read! It has been a real rollercoaster of emotions!

Thank you to NetGalley, Author: Sarah Langan, and RDS Publishing for this arc.

Genuinely obsessed with this. I'm a sucker for a story with a deeply unwell, unreliable narrator, but (and this feels like spoilers even though I'll be vague) I love the way it turns, and I just love love love the ending. I really don't think enough books exploring really difficult issues have the most satisfying endings, but this one really did. It felt realistic in the most beautiful human way. I really loved it.

Janet Kwan could have been an amazing Northwestern alumni journalist if Pam Kowolski didn't ruin her life in AP physics. 20+ years after the incident, she's working a dead end job, has no friends, and is full of rage.

Janet realizes that Pam Kowolski has reinvented herself as Madam Pamela - a psychic that can connect people with their lost loved ones, and she has gained an insane following of Pam-a-maniacs. The Big Reveal is coming, where Madam Pamela will share her secrets live, and the world is going to shit in preparation for this event. Janet is on a mission to ruin Pam and she's exploring all possible leads, including a deep-dive into her own past and her friendship with Pam as kids.

This novella was a nonstop action-packed page-turner! As the story went on I could feel myself reading faster and faster, having to backtrack to make sure I don't miss any details. I like that Janet's in this slump but it's hatred that gets her motivated and passionate about something again.

Some parts of this book are SO creepy and really have you thinking IS THIS REAL?? We really go back and forth on the "psychics are frauds" and then "wait does the supernatural exist?!" I loved going on this rage-filled journey with Janet. It was such a funny and creepy read.

A sharp, unsettling novella that I tore through in a single day. We follow Janet Chow, who’s convinced her teenage years (and everyone in them) are to blame for her failed adult life, especially her old nemesis, Pam Kowolski. Pam is now an internet-famous psychic threatening to “break reality” and show the world what she sees. Determined to prove Pam a fraud, Janet digs in… only to find far more truth than she bargained for.

The unreliable narration here is chef’s kiss — because can we really trust Janet’s version of events? I really enjoyed how this story sank its teeth into memory, trauma, and the tangled, toxic dynamics of teenage girlhood, all layering it creeping dread, a splash of gore, and even a streak of dark humour. My only critique? The ending felt a bit too abrupt (I would’ve gladly read twice as much), but at the same time, it weirdly worked.

When I read the synopsis, I totally wanted to read this book and I’m glad I did. I loved it! It was definitely a punch in the gut and there was so much going on but not in a confusing way. I couldn’t put this book down!

This was a novella with a good premise. The story of a woman who learns that a famous psychic, Madam Pamela, was none other than her classmate who was extremely cruel to her.

The story of Janet Chow was what made me read this book. I wanted to know how Pam wronged her in the past. But nothing prepared me for how the story turned out to be.

The main character of this story was definitely Janet. It was interesting to see how she focused on Pam more than herself. This story acted like a personal journey into Janet's thoughts and feelings.

The one element that was repeatedly said was about Pamela's Big Reveal. But the ending of the story, where the Big Reveal was supposed to happen, felt a bit rushed. And the ending was ambiguous and this affected my reading experience.

There were a lot of moments when I felt the story was going great but there were times when I was confused as to why this happened. So it was a okay read for me.

3.5 ⭐

Thanks to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for providing me with an eARC.

This was a fun, quick read. I was really interested in the premise but the execution let me down. I definitely enjoyed reading it and binged it in one sitting because of the easy writing and the fast pace of the book. It felt like a lot of themes were being pushed into one small book -- jealousy, revenge, horror, paranormal, friendship, random roommate situations etc. It took way too many tangents, that didn't make a lot of sense. I also found there to be a lot of unexplained things like what was actually causing all those events to happen and the ending was somewhat underwhelming. I would recommend this to those looking for a quick read about friendship and past trauma but slightly supernatural.

A short novella with unhinged,fast paced narration, a mix of psych-thriller, mystery and supernatural elements. An enjoyable read, would probably only take you 2 hours max to finish. Super engaging, you wouldn't want to take your eyes off the book.

I really enjoyed Pam Kowalski is a Monster! by Sarah Langan. The writing was beautiful and often lyrical, pulling me into the atmosphere of the story. I’ll admit, there were moments when I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but that unpredictability actually made the experience more intriguing. Langan’s prose and character work kept me turning the pages, and the book stayed with me long after I finished.

This is an EXCELLENT cosmic horror with an unreliable narrator. The narrator's warped perceptions and her discovery of how warped they are through the story are so fascinating. The horror is largely in the background and is the set dressing for the characters to play off of in the best way. I went from hating Janet to absolutely rooting for her; she is written so sympathetically despite beginning the story as an objectively awful person. This book is FABULOUS and I highly recommend it!

Having read and enjoyed Sarah Langan's most recent books, I was excited to see this one, as well as intrigued by the title and awesome Pop Art cover. I ended up devouring this novella in two sittings. What seems like a classic revenge plot veers into unexpected and increasingly unhinged territory, so I recommend going in blind. A must-read for horror fans!

4.5 stars.

This book follows Janet, a 40 something year old woman stuck in a dead-end job, who holds a deep level of resentment for Pam Kowolski, a former classmate turned world-famous psychic medium. She is certain Pam is a phony, and causes harm to vulnerable people, so she sets out on a mission to expose her.
I was initially pulled in by the pop art cover of this book, having no idea what it was about, but I'm really glad I picked it up.
What I thought was the straightforward story of a woman plotting vengeance for old wrongs turned out to be an affecting horror about the lasting effects of grief and trauma. It didn't quite get five stars because there were a few convenient plot contrivances that bothered me a tiny bit.
Really good though, and one I'll definitely think about.

Thank you Sarah Langan, Raw Dog Screaming Press (lol), and NetGalley for the ARC!

How about a short little review for this short little novella?

For real, this book just zips by. It was to the point where I could physically see that I only had a few minutes left of it on my kindle and I couldn't believe my eyes. I wanted more from the ending and didn't appreciate it's abrupt halt! Langan's writing is decently good and borderline surrealist (which i'm into idk), but it would've benefited from maybe like thirty more pages? Is that too much to ask?

Special thank you to #NetGalley and Raw Dog Screaming Press for the eARC.

Immensely gripping and readable tale of two women who went opposite directions, PAM KOWALSKI IS A MONSTER! is a dark horse of a novella. I do tip my hat to any novella that can pack so much character in under 150 pages, yet Sarah Langan not only injects life into Janet, our POV throughout the story, but also happens to pack in creeping, unsettling dread as the countdown timer to Madam Pamela’s Big Reveal ticks down. The interviews, the backstory and that growing dread make PAM KOWALSKI a truly entertaining read as one barn burner of a book.

Janet’s life and career has gone rudderless all the way to middle age. Her high school classmate Pamela went viral and became a psychic influencer. Envy and jealousy rule the roost in Janet’s heart but things seem amiss when Madam Pamela has a Big Reveal that has her fandom saying is a “revelation of biblical proportions.” If ‘revelation’ and ‘biblical’ isn’t much of a hint, we have a fantastic story leading us up to it, as Janet pulls all the research and strings to score an interview with her old schoolmate.

Sarah Langan did an excellent job and Raw Dog did exceptional work editing and packing this tiny novella into the apocalyptic beast it is. It kind of stinks that the story is so short, because the writing is very readable and character revelations and development are just top notch. I look forward to more work from everyone involved and if you have a spare sit down or a few hours to spare and need a dark, wild yet awesome story to pass the time, you need to check PAM KOWALSKI out.