Even in death you won’t be free of them.

This book was horrifying. And yet I couldn’t put it down. To say I loved this book would be wrong. It angered me, disgusted me, made me fear for poor Luci every time that man came near. Horrendous story. Give me five more.

I started this book wondering “well, where is the horror part?” And then this man leeched onto this poor teenager. And I thought “okay, so this is the horror part.” Spoiler: it was NOT. This story made me sick and I just could not stop reading.

Hats of to the author for creating a man so vile, it made me sick to my stomach. I am for sure recommending this to all my friends to experience the same trauma. Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc!

I think i'm going to love this book, but sadly had to DNF at 7% cause it's impossible to read due to all the errors in the galley edition, there are words missing the first letters, and it was making me so nervous.
So my rate in this case has nothing to do with the book itself, i put a 1 star cause i couldn't read it.

DNF due to too many errors in the galley that distracted me. Lots of combinations of letters are simply missing, like "fi" and others.

Excuse me whilst I run off to google the true story that this is based on.
Because this is truly creepy, and pushes the idea of obsession to the maximum.
I really felt for the family, loosing their sister, and all that followed.
But some of the best bits were when the doctor voiced his delusions.
Cracking story.

Deeply unsettling.
A book about what happens when a man with the audacity that men usually have, acts on his impulses and selfish desires. I liked both of the povs, the were distinctive enough to follow both lines clearly.
The writing style was a bit dry for my personal taste, but it suited the story well.

3.5 stars.

Orpheus Builds a Girl is a dark and deeply unsettling novel inspired by a chilling true crime from the 1940s. Told through dual perspectives, we follow a disgraced doctor whose obsession with experimental treatments leads him down a disturbing path, and a young woman desperate to save her sister, who is battling tuberculosis. What begins as an unconventional medical intervention quickly spirals into something grotesque and horrifying.

What really stood out to me was how closely the novel clings to real events—so much so that I often found myself pausing to research the case behind it. It's a horror story not in the traditional sense—there are no supernatural frights—but rather one of psychological terror. The doctor’s voice is so clinical and composed that it becomes genuinely chilling, especially as his obsession with Luci, the sick sister, deepens in disturbing and nauseating ways.

The inclusion of Luci’s sister’s point of view added a necessary emotional weight to the narrative. While the historical record tends to focus on the doctor, her voice humanizes the tragedy and offers a contrasting lens that reveals the true horror of the situation. Shifting between the doctor's delusional perspective and the sister’s grounded one brings a growing sense of dread that becomes hard to look away from—even when you might want to.

This is a grim, compelling read that won’t be for everyone, but fans of psychological horror rooted in real-life darkness will likely find it both fascinating and haunting.

I DNFed this quite early for two reason. The file copy was missing quite a lot of letters, especially the combinations of 'fi' and 'th', so every 'the' reads like 'e' and something like 'finally' reads 'nally'. It is impossible to properly read a book published like this, let alone enjoy it.

On a more substantial level, I hadn't realised just to what extent the narrative is built on a real story. It is not just 'inspired', it is literally beat to beat following what happened to a real woman. Heather Parry is a White woman trying to 'give voice' to a Latina woman whose corpse was desecrated in a most vile manner by writing from a Latina POV without any reference or acknowledgement of the real story and real Elena. It is creatively boring, on par with those endless Greek myth retellings (speaking of Greek myths, calling it 'Orpheus something something' is total slander on my boy Orpheus, and a romantisation of what was done to Elena), and morally bankrupt, as it is not Heather Parry's place to tell this story (if it is anybody's at all).

The bits I did read did quite a good job of recreating a deranged modern Frankenstein POV, I guess one star for that. Would have stuck with it for longer if not for the terrible quality of the copy.

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC!!

This book is extremely different to what I usually read but completely blew me away. It is unsettling, uncomfortable, creepy and infuriating!

It follows two separate storylines. That of a German doctor who emigrates to America after the war, and a Cuban family who move to America during the rise of Fidel Castro. Wilhelm Von Tor (the doctor) is fascinated with death, and believes people can live a second life after death by returning their soul to their body. When he starts to care for Luciana, her family realise something is wrong but are powerless to stop him.

This story was so amazingly written. I found myself so angry throughout the story at the treatment of Gabriella and her family, and also Wilhelm’s selfishness and clear insanity regarding his project. He was driven by misogyny, fascism and a fascination with a scientific project that left no regard for others.

Reading the acknowledgments at the end and finding out this story was based on true stories was heartbreaking and had me sitting and thinking about the book for a long time.

Parry wrote this story so phenomenally and I’m so glad I got to read it!

WOW!!! The closest author I've found yet to Hanya Yanagihara - in fact, this book had a lot in common with The People in the Trees. Everything in this book is absolutely bizarre from beginning to end - my jaw literally dropped when I finished the book to find it was all based on a true story. Without giving spoilers, there were several moments when I was like "oh come on, absolutely nobody would respond like that" only to find that, in the historical case that inspired the novel, people absolutely did respond like that. I couldn't believe I had never heard of the real-life Carl Tanzler and Elena de Hoyos. This is a VERY disturbing story - like The People in the Trees, you will be reading from the point of view of a seriously deranged and predatory human being. But it's a beautifully written exploration of obsession, gender roles, and perception and I couldn't put it down.

5.0

This book definitely gave me the ick when reading it - in a good way, as you mainly read from the perspective of the unreliable and unlikeable Wilhelm Von Tore, a doctor that tries to ressurect a girl he fell in love with when treating her tuberculosis.
A sensitive reader should definitely check out content warnings before reading this!
But it was brilliantly written and the context given in the afterword really elevated the experience for me (what do you mean this was based on a true story wtf).

The vibes it gave me were a mix of Frankenstein and Lolita-esque (yes, the girl here is 19, but the way he talks about her).

This is one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read and I mean that as a compliment because I've read a lot of horror books. Think of Frankenstein & Lolita—that's the whole book but with more gore, blood and very VERY GROTESQUE. The novel is inspired by the real story of Carl Tanzler, the man who dug up a woman’s corpse and lived with it like they were newlyweds. Yes, that actually happened. And yes, it somehow gets worse.

The author takes that horror and builds something even more unsettling: a fictional doctor named Wilhelm von Tore, who thinks he’s in love, but really just wants control over a woman, over death, over the narrative. He’s a monster with good penmanship. Which is horrifying. But also very on-brand for a man who refers to a human woman as a “project.” What makes it worse is that he doesn’t think he’s evil. He thinks he’s romantic. Thoughtful. Innovative. He calls it love. It’s actually medical-grade narcissism with a scalpel.

And then there’s Gabriela, Luciana’s sister and the only reason you don’t throw the whole book into the sea. Her voice is sharp, grieving, and completely done with the kind of men who rewrite women into objects. She says, “He thought he owned me because he loved me. He did not understand that love sets free.” Her chapters are what keep the book honest and human.

The horror here isn’t just what Wilhelm does to Luciana’s body. It’s what he believes he’s entitled to in the name of science, genius, and “love.” It’s gothic, yes. It’s gruesome. But it’s also a sharp, scathing critique of the way women are romanticized to death; literally and figuratively.

This story isn’t for the faint-hearted. It’s chilling, cerebral, and uncomfortable in exactly the way it should be. And it’s good. Like, really good. Just maybe don’t read it right before bed. Or during lunch. Or on a date. Ever, actually lmao

5 ⭐️. Would highly recommend.
But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Parry’s prose is lush and unsettling, weaving together beauty and brutality in a way that lingers long after the final page. The dual perspectives—Wilhelm’s delusional grandeur and Luci’s haunting resistance—create a gripping tension, exposing the horrors of male entitlement and the violation of agency. While not for the faint of heart, the book is a brilliant, disturbing exploration of love, control, and the monstrous lengths some will go to in the name of devotion.

I was very interested to read this book. However I cannot comment on the content, because the ebook is randomly missing groups of letters, making it impossible for me to comfortably read.

Still planning on picking this up from the library upon publication.

A modern gothic horror story of sexual obsession, medical abuse, and coercion masquerading as love. Creepy while being intensely gripping, sinister yet shot through with mesmerising beauty and grotesque whilst poetically beautiful. This is not for the faint of heart.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 & 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐤𝐢𝐧 | 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐀 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲

Orpheus Builds a Girl is a beautifully grotesque triumph—equal parts chilling, lyrical, and fiercely feminist. Heather Parry takes a real-life horror and reshapes it into something far more powerful: a reclamation. A rage-fueled, meticulously crafted response to a story that’s too often been told from the wrong perspective.

From the very beginning, I was gripped by the dual narrative—one voice cold and clinical, the other full of heat, fury, and tragic clarity. It’s a dance between the abuser and the abused, science and obsession, myth and monstrosity. Parry doesn’t flinch. She lays bare the violence of control, of romanticized possession, and forces us to look.

What struck me most was the way this book reclaims narrative power. The woman at the heart of the story—so often silenced in versions of this tale—is given voice, agency, depth. And that voice? It sings. It screams. It survives. Parry’s prose is razor-sharp, elegant and unnerving in equal measure.

This is horror rooted in reality, in history, in the way women’s bodies are mythologized, owned, erased. And yet, despite all that, it’s also a story of resistance. Of telling the story anyway.

If you’re drawn to feminist horror, gothic fiction, or dark stories that refuse to look away, Orpheus Builds a Girl is absolutely essential. It gutted me—in the best, most necessary way.

As much as I wanted to read this, it was unreadable due to the format. Whoever made this into an epub needs to look into how to fix it. There’s no chapters, it’s all jumbled up.

My Thoughts
Orpheus Builds a Girl is the kind of novel that leaves a permanent mark on your psyche. I finished the final page in stunned silence, wondering what dark alchemy I had just witnessed. Heather Parry’s debut is macabre and magnificent, a gothic tale woven with such care and emotional precision that it simultaneously horrifies and haunts.

Told in alternating perspectives, Wilhelm’s chillingly calm narrative and Gabriela’s aching, grief-soaked letters. The book masterfully contrasts obsession with love, scientific ambition with moral decay, and madness with memory. The duality is astounding. I found myself recoiling in horror at Wilhelm’s warped justification of his actions, and then, in the very next chapter, weeping with Gabriela as she mourned her sister in a world that never gave her the justice she deserved.

Parry’s writing is lyrical, controlled, and emotionally devastating. She manages to evoke empathy for both voices not because they’re equally right, but because they’re equally human in their need to be heard. Wilhelm’s delusions are written so intimately that you begin to understand (and fear) how far obsession can go when it’s fed by power and delusion. Gabriela’s voice is a vital counterbalance, grounded, raw, and painfully aware of the damage done not just to Luciana, but to her family, her culture, and her memory.

Who Should Read It?
-Fans of gothic horror and psychological thrillers
-Readers who appreciate literary horror with emotional and philosophical weight
-Those drawn to dark retellings of myth

Final Verdict
Orpheus Builds a Girl is an unmissable debut: a gothic masterpiece that dares to look love, death, and madness directly in the eye. It’s a book that shakes you, unsettles you, and then asks you to sit with that discomfort. The kind of book you never forget. The kind of story that dares to remember the girl, not just the monster.

Grateful to NetGalley, Pushkin Press and Heather Parry for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this story in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC. 

I realized while reading this that I've actually read about the true story that it's based on before. 

It made me feel a little weird to read a "feminist retelling" of a true event that happened to actual people. Especially when the real story already very much centers the sister's perspective instead of the guy's. 

So that was a little weird, but overall I do think it's a fascinating story. But I guess I'm just not sure why it wouldn't be better to learn about the story with the original details instead of a fictionalized version. 

But anyway, those are just my general feelings about fictionalized retellings of true crime. Never sure how to feel about it even when I do enjoy the actual piece of work. 

The actual book was a good retelling though, I enjoyed the way it way told and the writing was very strong.

Thanks to Netgallery, the publisher and Heather Parry for this ARC.

This is a challenging, dark and emotional at times read, taking the true bizarre story of Carl Tanzler and Elena Millagro de Hoyos as it's basis but changing the names to Wilhelm Von Tore and Luciana Herrera Madrigal aka Luci. There are two narrators in Wilhelm and Luci's sister Gabriela. His side being a written as a medical paper but you see his delusion, obsession, misogyny and racism and he comes off to me an unreliable narrator and just a creep, whereas Gabriela's version feels more truthful and shows that Luci was a complex girl but also shows how when she gets ill the mother of them who has suffered loss of one child would be swayed by a man claiming to be able to save her child even when she knows he has dark intentions. Also Gabriela writes about their childhood in Cuba and having to flee to America when Castro comes into power , adjusting to their new lives and circumstances that would make them susceptible to the manipulations of a man like Von Tore. Also you see the prejudices against Cubans and also just how the system allow for someone to some of the stuff he does. Also we see just as now that some people will sympathise with the criminal and support their actions. I really enjoyed this book and will read more from this author in the future.

I think this one is based on Carl Tanzler. it is impeccably written, and I love how well-written his POV is and how clear it is that he's an untrustable narrator.