A well-paced and fun horror novel, with a premise well-woven around the piece of furniture at its heart. While I wouldn't say the horror aspect of the book will keep me up at night, it is certainly a page-turner, with an enjoyable family drama thrown in on top of the horror.

BOOK REVIEW: Credenza by Wendy Dalrymple

5 cursed stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some credenzas hold fine china, this one holds family secrets 🤫

Synopsis:

This story follow Veronica- a vintage dealer and tired, stressed single mom just trying to do her best for her 13 year old daughter Star. When her grandma Maddie passes away, Veronica is left with an old credenza that seems to bring more than just memories. Strange things start happening in Veronica’s life, and then out of nowhere, a mysterious man offers her $10k to take this credenza off her hands. What is so special about this piece of furniture and what secrets is it hiding?

Review:

Wendy Dalrymple has officially won me over! After reading ‘Birthday Party Demon’, I already really enjoyed her writing style- but Credenza really sealed the deal for me! This story is fast paced, fun, and quietly eerie in the best way. The tension builds slowly and then hits you all at once with some pretty gruesome details.

Final thoughts:

At its cursed heart, I found this to be a story about motherhood and generational trauma. The relationships between Veronica, her daughter, and her own mother are very raw and real, and the story’s back and forth shifts between the present and the past add such a haunting, layered feel.

Recommendation:

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun, eerie, character driven story that blends family dynamics, suspense and a touch of the supernatural! I had a blast reading this and I look forward to reading other works from this author!

Themes:

💔 Generational Trauma
🧑‍🧒 Motherhood & Family Dynamics
🔪Cannibalism
📕 Legacy

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill And Crow Publishing House for this ARC of Credenza by Wendy Dalrymple!

Publication date: June 13th 2025

A cursed piece of furniture, this sure peaked my interest. This is a short read that I flew through in one night. Well done, with some very good twists.
Thank you to Quill and Crow for an opportunity to read.
4 star

Pink horror?! Sign me up, every time!

Cursed object, family secrets, ghosts!? This book features a strong female lead in Ronnie, and fully delivers on the creepy front. As with many horror novels, the first half or so sets us up with the eerie beginnings, and then ramps up from there.

To me, the flashback chapters to tell the story of this cursed credenza really shined! On the flip side, some of the dialog felt a little stilted, but never enough to take me out of the story.

Overall, this book really delivered on the twists, and blended the gothic and folk horror elements really well!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

Wendy Dalrymple has this amazing talent to make things feel eerie and creepy without making it gimmicky. I didn't know how much I would enjoy a horror book about a piece of furniture, more specifically a credenza. The story moved along really well and kept my attention the whole time. The characters felt really fleshed out and real. i will say makes you think twice about accepting a family heirloom. Felt that it was just the right length and something that could be made into a duology.

She's a short and frenetic ride, this one. Dalrymple's story is centered around a Credenza that has been passed down from a grandmother to a granddaughter. While creepy old family heirlooms probably exist in the corners of all our homes, this Credenza has a dark history and an even darker present. Is it evil? Is it conscious? Or, are the women who've housed the credenza plagued by some hereditary mental illness? Read this book, indulge yourself in some pink horror, and find out the Credenza's secrets.

It's a quick read, jam packed full of action.

This is a novel of a cursed family heirloom, family secrets, and folk horror.

Ronnie's grandmother dies and she's given an antique credenza, which has been in her family. But once they acquire the credenza a chain of horrifying events ensues. Ronnie starts seeing her grandmother's ghost, her daughter starts hearing voices coming from the object,

This is a shorter novel with great characters, a twisted backstory, and family secrets. It’s a journey of mothers and daughters. It’s about sacrifice and breaking generational curses. I loved the movie The Shining reference as it's my favorite movie. I really enjoyed this one and highly

not exactly a horror in the overtly maniacal sense, more of a slow descent into it. super well written and shockingly good. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I had no idea how much I would love a horror book about a credenza, but here we are! This novel is emotional and full of gothic pink horror! I went into this book thinking that, oh it can be that horrific, because it’s just about a credenza. I was completely wrong! While this book does revolve around a cursed heirloom, it dives deep into family trauma and relationships. It starts off slow and confusing at times, then it quickly picks up and things start making sense! It is very well written, easy to read and captivating.

It’s an emotional journey of mothers and daughters. It’s about sacrifices and breaking generational curses. There are multiple characters in this book, both likable and unlikable. This also comes with several timelines, which was important in this book because it gave insight into the cursed credenza. My favorite characters in this story were Fernando and Star! Oh and I loved the movie The Shining reference in this! It also comes with some humor and a potential love story. Don’t let this beautiful cover fool you! Overall, I give this a 4.5 out of 5 star rating!

Content warnings include death, fear, trauma and memory loss. I think people that like to read fictional dark horror books that involves haunted furniture would enjoy reading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Wendy Dalrymple and Quill & Crow Publishing House for this digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This book is expected to be published on June 13, 2025!

Solid book...like the credenza...

Credenza starts with a gruesome prologue, which helps your brain to do a "tilt" when you keep reading.

Granda Maddie passes away, and Veronica (Maddie's granddaughter) inherits a few pieces, one of which is a Credenza. Massive piece of furniture she managed to haul away to her small house. But then, everything goes awry, and Veronica needs to protect herself and her daughter Star.

Wendy Dalrymple's book might look cute and all pink with this cover, but inside is a tale of horror. Haunted furniture is not something new, but the author managed to get her own twisted vision, and it works beautifully.

This is my second book by Quill & Crow Publishing House, this publishing house hosts a few gems. Go check out their catalogue.

This is a fantastic novel of a cursed object, family secrets, and has some really creepy folk horror vibes.

When Ronnie's grandmother dies she's given an antique credenza, something which has been in her family forever. Ronnie and her daughter have seen some rough times but they always manage to get through it together. But the presence of this credenza begins a chain of horrifying events. Ronnie starts seeing her grandmother's ghost, her daughter starts hearing voices coming from the object, and eating food from the China stored in it causes sickness and sometimes death.

When a mysterious man offers to purchase it for a staggering amount of money, Ronnie is conflicted but reluctantly agrees. But this doesn't end the curse, it has much more far reaching things in store.

This is a scary shorter novel with great characters, a twisted backstory, and family secrets waiting to be revealed. The pacing is spot on and, as always with this author, she keeps the narrative crisp and lean making it an easy book to immerse yourself into.

Folk horror elements that tells the story of how this object came to be and why it's cursed really gives the chills as these things unfold. There are also some excellent twists near the end which pulls these events together in the creepiest way possible. I highly recommend this one.

I loved this book like a dear friend. This is Wendy Dalrymple's best book to date. There are so many twists in this book, it honestly keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire page count. Veronica is a fantastic, multi-layered character that I loved spending time with for a few hours. The whole idea of the haunted credenza is fantastic, and anyone that grew up in the 80s or 90s is going to sympathize with a lot of what Veronica went through as a kid, and if they're like me they are probably in similar situations or at least have been in similar situations, as she finds herself in the book. The final half of the book is absolutely action packed and surprising over and over again, and there is a scene towards the end that had me open mouthed in shock and then gagging in horror right after. Overall, this is a highly recommended horror story that will definitely keep you entertained the entire time.