Thought-provoking, dark, twisted… there’s nothing more I need.
This was probably the most disgusting book I’ve ever read and the fact that it is based on a true story is even more horrifying. However I have to say that it was masterfully written, the descriptions felt so real (even too real at times) and the fact that the author writes the character of this manipulative and evil man in such a skilled way… hats off.
I have to say that it was very difficult for me at the beginning to get fully absorbed in the story however it kicks off after 40%.
I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

4.5/5 🌟

my gosh, girl, allow me to breathe. i couldn’t count how many times i stared at random spots because this was a lot to take in.

first off, while i was informed in the foreword section that this was based on a true story, i wasn’t made aware until the latter half that it was a fictionalized account (the scenes, the dialogues, the names, are all made up) of the real-life individuals Carl Tanzler and Elena de Hoyos (God bless her soul).

what started as a fascinating story of a man obsessed with the idea of metaphysics and “second death”, a concept to him that a dead can be transformed back to life (aka resurrection), turned macabre and disturbing the moment he acted it out on an actual human being.

but what truly captivated me was the dual pov and how it was delivered: between the actual account of Wilhelm and Gabriela (the sister of Luciana, the one Wilhelm was obsessed with), it gave us not only different perspectives but also an in-depth understanding of how everything came to be.

this book wrapped everything up well, especially in the final chapters, which grew even more grotesque and page-turning as you’re left wondering just how far Wilhelm would go to hide it all, and what Luciana's family did to uncover the truth.

for anyone who loves true crime documentaries, this might be a good read for you (but proceed with caution, lol). overall, despite the gruesome details in the book, it did not fail to give justice to the life of Luciana. 🥹

I’m always drawn to books based on real-life events, and Orpheus Builds a Girl didn’t disappoint. Heather Parry has created something truly chilling and unique. The writing is sharp, haunting, and at times even poetic, pulling you deep into a story that’s as macabre as it is fascinating.

The novel is told through two interwoven narratives. One is from Dr. Wilhelm, a fictionalised version of Carl Tanzler, a man consumed by obsession and control, whose voice becomes increasingly disturbing as the story unfolds. The other comes from Gabriella, the sister of Luciana, the woman at the centre of his obsession. Gabriella’s voice brings heartbreak, clarity, and a fierce sense of protection over Luci, offering a vital counterbalance to Wilhelm’s delusion.

The alternating voices throughout kept the tension high and gave the story a layered, unsettling intimacy. It also sent me straight down a rabbit hole afterwards, reading up on Carl Tanzler and the bizarre true story behind the novel. I always find fiction rooted in real events more compelling, and this is a brilliant example of how to do it well.

If you’re into gothic fiction, morally grey characters, or stories that explore obsession and control in deeply uncomfortable ways, I’d definitely recommend this. It wasn’t an easy read emotionally, but it was absolutely worth it.

Creepy, atmospheric, and thought-provoking.
A solid 4 stars from me.

Honestly, props to Ms. Parry, because godfuckingdamn, being able to write a truly deranged POV of a man who believes he's entitled to the body (both in life and death) of a patient of his who he straight up kills with malpractice and uses the apparatus of the state to separate her from her family and leave her even more vulnerable to his predation, and make me truly root for the opposing pov (the sister of the patient who sees and knows exactly what he is trying to do) and the ultimate ending like this, is a very good mark of craft. There is necrophilia, in case you haven't figured it out by now. The afterword continues to be deeply relevant as 2025 goes on. Highly recommended read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

It is rare that I will read a horror novel and have a visceral reaction to it, particularly one where I feel repulsed enough to taste bile. I remember only very select instances of it across my life, and it takes a lot of effort. ‘Orpheus Builds A Girl’ decided to put in that effort, and boy, does it pay off.

We are presented with a story that is rooted in reality but is made alarmingly real within the book. I think there’s a certain art to being able to make such a reprehensible character as Wilhelm presents as. Initially, he ducks around quite how bad he is - an allusion to the Hitler youth that could be passed off as Scouts, various lies about where he comes from, and an ‘honourable’ interest in science. Is he ever good? No. Could people see him as such to begin with? Possibly.

We follow him into a dissatisfying life, followed by the attempted (or did he even actually try?) saving of Luciana, a young woman who is dying of tuberculosis. He turns her into a possession even in life, gives her wants and needs that she clearly does not have, and, upon her death, engages in the most heinous and reprehensible conduct one could ever think of.

The commentary this book provides on the commodification of the female body is fantastic too. There’s so much to be said for the ‘value’ of women to men, and how easily we can be discarded or ‘possessed’ depending on intention. This book emphasises that women are not viewed as humans, but rather as objects, and it sets a small flame in the heart that I feel will be there for quite a while.

The first half of this book creeps up on you, and the second half is just absolutely reprehensible in terms of what it describes. I feel like this is what modern gothic literature should be- so appalling you can’t look away, and willing to push into territory that makes you feel slightly nauseous. Which, realistically, is what a lot of horror is missing these days.

Oh My God…

The fact that this is based on multiple true stories is insane, and yet also all too believable. I enjoyed the note from Parry at the end discussing the multiple inspirations for this story and her experience writing it. In this story, an older doctor meets a young tuberculosis patient, Luci, in the hospital and is convinced she is the bride he was promised in a vision when he was younger. He attempts to nurse her to health, but when that is unsuccessful he refuses to let their “union” die with her. The story is told in chapters from the point of view of the doctor interspersed with chapters from the point of view of Luci’s sister.

to summarize: men are terrifying.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

""...No one is held above the injustice that is done to them; they are dragged down by it, diminished, and everyone who comes after them is diminished too. Everyone who comes later must rise above, rise above, and if they dare to refuse, they are damned twice."

I feel very conflicted with this book.

Orpheus Builds A Girl is a harrowing tale told from two different perspectives--Wilhem and Gabriela. The book alternates perspectives between the two, giving the reader two sides of the same story. I found this method of storytelling extremely effective for this book, as the narrators' stories have an unreliable tone in some places.

The main story centers around Luciana, who is Gabriela's sister and Wilhem's obsession. Her life and death are told through two different sets of eyes as they battle for control of her fate. While I enjoyed the prose of this book, I feel that some of the language was repetitive, especially in Wilhem's chapters, and was slow to start.

What I didn't know going into this book, was that this is heavily based on a true story. Luciana is based on Elena Milagro de Hoyos, who died of tuberculosis in 1931 and was subsequently defiled by a man named Carl Tanzler (Wilhem in the book). If it had not been for the authors note at the end, I would not have known Elena's story, and for that I applaud the author for bringing her story to light.

However, the main issue with modern true crime is the unwilling vilification of the victims and their families. While Parry cites that this story was based on true events, she does not give any indication of whether or not Elena's real sister, or any of her family for that matter, were notified that this story was being published, or if they had any insight into the project at all.

Let me be clear, I do not think that Parry had any malicious intentions when writing this novel. In fact, I think that she truly wanted to bring this story to light as a means of portraying a poignant message -- the only person whom owns a women's body is herself. I think the author's note clearly gets this point across, but I don't think that dedicating half of a novel to the insights of a monster like Tanzler is doing this message justice.

In fact, I think this novel would have been infinitely more impactful if we had heard from Luci's perspective. She is either infantilized and lusted after by Wilhem, or critiqued and vilified by her sister. She was never given the opportunity to tell her own story.

Overall I think that this is a well-written story, but I urge that others go into this knowing that this is a retelling of someone's actual life and the horrors they face.

Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel. This review is completely honest and voluntary.

Thank you so much to PushkinPress & NetGalley for the e-arc!

3.75!

This was a tough one to rate as I wanted to know what went on and what would happen in the end given the two sort of narrations we get which tells us two different perspectives on the story, also different emotions. But I also did not want to read because I just could not stand Wilhelm at all.

I was more angry than anything as I read it and the felt it was based on a true story and with how it ended which makes the reader sort of wonder which is which or what to go with made me even angrier lol

I honestly don’t know how to start this review. The story is so horrific, so unbelievable, that it reads like a perfectly crafted horror story. And then you learn it’s based on real events. And that just leaves a deeper, lingering discomfort in your gut.

The first part of the book is a slow build, focusing on the main characters’ backstories, which helps ground you in who they are, where they’re from and what drives them. I personally would’ve preferred it to be a bit more condensed, as it does affect the pacing… but once the second half kicks in, the momentum shifts, hard.

Looking back at the notes I made while reading, I mostly felt anger, disbelief, and straight-up disgust, sometimes all at once. Watching the main character rationalise his actions “all in the name of love and science”, and somehow even find support for them, made me want to throw my hands in the air and just scream out loud.

So… did I enjoy this book? Not exactly. But was I completely hooked and unable to look away? Absolutely. And honestly, isn’t that exactly what you want from a good horror?

This book is impossible to read with all of the errors. I would happily reread it once it’s edited because I was very intrigued by the story’s premise. Hopefully this will be fixed so I can try out this horror novel

Thanks Heather Parry, Steerforth and Pushkin Press for giving me access to the book.

I sadly did not finish this advanced copy at about the 10% mark.
As stated in other reviews, unfortunately the copy I received is missing letters and I do not have the commitment to the book to try to push through and understand missing words and sections of words.
I would still be 100% be happy to ARC read this if the ebook is revised, so keep me in mind.
The storytelling that I was able to read was intriguing and I was very much looking forward to the book.

Very disappointing for the author to receive inconsistent feedback from her ARC team prior to the book launch.
I won't post my review on socials because it would be unfair to judge it publicly on some editing mishaps.

“𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨?”

Orpheus Builds a Girl was a harrowing and unsettling read, even more so that it’s based on a true story. Exploring the line between love and obsession, this was in equal parts compelling and disgusting, but deeply thought-provoking. I enjoyed the gothic style setting and writing, offering a modern Frankenstein-esque vibe.

The book is told from dual perspective which I felt really helped keep the pace moving, through a series of memoirs. Dr Wilhelm Von Tore, an exiled doctor who develops a deep and sickening obsession with a young girl called Luci—who dies of tuberculosis shortly after they first meet. I HATE HATE HATED this man with a burning passion for so many reasons, this is the sort of person we should have been burning at the stake.

Then we have the perspective of Gabriela, Luci’s sister, telling us of the person Luci was before her sickness and death, but also how the doctor worked his way into their home and their lives. My heart hurt SO much for Gabriela and her family, who had so much taken away from them, and not just in the way of death.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley! My review is dedicated to Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos and the other women Parry has taken care to reference in her Acknowledgments of this book.

The concept is chilling and the writing has its moments, but the ARC was full of missing letters and formatting issues, which made it really hard to stay immersed. The story itself felt uneven. A disturbing premise, but the execution didn’t land for me.

While the book is willing to have a an underage girl have a graphic and on page abortion using a hat pin, it is not willing to have a graphic and on page Nazi. Wilhelm’s connection to the Nazi regime is hinted at, coyly, with winks and nods, but by halfway into the book I’m bored. I understand that this is a slow burn, and meant to be a slow building horror, but I’m 40% into the book and I’ve seen Wilhelm abandon two wives, and listened to Luciana’s sister talk about Luciana’s underage sexual escapades. At 40%, Wilhelm and Gabriella are just now meeting, and I’m already tempted to put the book down because … I don’t care. I don’t care bout Wilhelm and the banality of his life, I don’t care Gabriela’s sister, and more importantly, I don’t care about Luciana.

Luciana is supposed to be the reason for this book, this young woman in the body of a prepubescent child who is beloved by her sister and the Nazi doctor both. But all I see is a blank, formless character for both of them to paint their thoughts onto without Luciana being a character in her own right. And maybe that’s the point that, like Lolita (which I think this book drew some inspiration from), she is meant to be an unknown, seen through two different points of view.

Which is fine. I like the idea. I just … don’t like the execution.

Wilhelm is no Humbert Humbert, too cartoonish and cartoonishly unstable to be believed as a real person. Gabriella has no real personality in my opinion, and her voice and Wilhelm’s are much the same, the only difference being the story they’re telling. For me, I would want a stronger voice for either or both storytellers, more a sense that Wilhelm is a real person with actual motivations and not some crazy Nazi doing things because the plot tells him to; to see Gabriella have some point of view about her sister — or even herself and her own life.

During the parts of the book where Wilhelm has Luciana as his ‘wife,’ taking care of her corpse and struggling to keep her body preserved — and dreaming of her having his child — it’s written with far more of an eye to style than substance, and there’s no sense of horror or obsession or anything beyond what the writer is putting to page. I feel like I’m reading an outline of where a story should be, filled in with vague notes in the hopes that I will fill in the blanks with my own imagination.

The writing is adequate, the story is dull, the characters are flat, and the horror is implied rather than being horrifying. It’s a safe book, and not one I enjoyed reading.

I was very excited to read this one but the eARC is full of grammatical errors. So many missing letters on every page. It’s very distracting and took away from me getting lost in the story. I plan on trying to read this again after it releases.

WOW! This book took me on a slow and descriptive ride through history from two different POVs. You have Wilhelm and Gabriela. Wilhelm describes a sad life with a grandmother who loved him, they lived through WWII, the destruction of his city. You are led to believe that he is a victim of circumstance but soon we learn that he causes his circumstances and then blames others. I went into a deep dive of Wilhelm’s psyche; I am a therapist and boy do I have some diagnosis for him. Delusions of grandeur, narcissism… I could go on but you get the idea and I don’t want to spoil anything.

Then we get Gabriela’s point of view, a Cuban woman, from a large family that is trying to make it through the rebellion in Cuba. They relocate to Florida, unfortunately for them at the same time Wilhelm does. The younger sister, Luciana, becomes a product of his fixation and obsession. He forces his way into her family, he takes possession of her and the darkness comes to light. He builds his control on lies and deceit and the fear of a immigrant family.

This book is a slow burn, it takes you through both people’s timelines, you learn where they grew up, how they lived, then the story brings them together. There are graphic depictions regarding a corpse, so please check TW before reading this book. It went from slow and descriptive to dark and descriptive, real fast. Parry’s ability to portray Wilhelm as his true demented self was brilliant, I don’t think I have seen a character with those diagnoses or traits depicted so accurately. It was actually scary that people like that exist in the world, but they do.

If you want a good, slow, haunting read, with some graphic and dark turns, that combines Frankenstein-esque horror with Norman Bates level mommy issues and obsession, then grab this book and read away. I truly look forward to reading more from Heather Parry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for a digital advanced copy of this book in return this is my honest review.

Flew through this and OMG this book is a fever dream! Orpheus Builds A Girl by Heather Parry is dark, twisted, and totally addictive. It’s got this Gothic vibe mixed with obsession, love, and death in a way that feels both romantic and horrifying. The writing is lush and unsettling—like every sentence drips with tension. If you’re into creepy love stories, unreliable narrators, and that eerie feeling that something is very wrong, this is your jam. It’s haunting, weirdly beautiful, and will stick in your head long after you finish.

I am such a sucker for an unreliable narrator and seeing the contrast between Wilhelm and Gabriela's chapters worked really well. In other books that use a similar format, it often feels like a slog going through each characters version of the same events but Parry keeps it interesting.

This book is gothic and grotesque - think Frankenstein and Lolita. It was a difficult read but also so compelling and well-written. I didn't realise it was based on true events until the end (I actually don't think I would have read it had I known...)

I really really urge people to look at trigger warnings for this one - there is one particular scene which I found so horrific and I'm not usually triggered by anything.

This proof was almost unreadable. There were letters missing on every page which made it hard to read and kept pulling me out of the story.

It's a dark, grim true story that's told in a slow burn, compelling narrative. It's an insane story but Parry made it feel credible. I loved the writing style and the voice of the sister added a necessary touch to the strange and unsettling narrative.

This was excellent. I was gripped by suspense from the first page. Thank you for making it available here.