Ink Vine by Elizabeth Broadbent

Undertaker Books, 2024

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8218408091

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

The horror novella can be a powerful entity. When handled properly, it’s a gut punch, a blade twist to the heart, and a mind screw, all at the same time. Elizabeth Broadbent has penned one of those stories here in Ink Vine, a sapphic horror tale that is deeper and more dangerous than the swamp she created within. At 118 pages it hits hard, building an effective setting in a South Carolina that reeks of the dank water, humidity, and scent of the trees which smother visitors who dare to enter. The story is a strong character study with a taut element of horror, yet is so much more.

Emmy is suffocating in her wasteland of a small town, hoping to one day escape. She eschews working in the local chicken plant to dance in the local strip club. She holds onto her core values and refuses to reduce herself to what others have done. Her home life is toxic, with her mother berating her for her choices, her sister just existing in their double-wide trailer, and her brother, who also has little hope of escaping town.

The world of Lower Congaree offers nothing to Emmy except dread, and dreams that will never come to fruition. The filth of the town, both literal and in human form, stifles her, yet she refuses to accept her lot in life. She’ll use the dancing to get out of the hell that plagues everyone around her.

The warning to stay out of the swamp echoes in her thoughts, but one day she breaks free and wanders deep. She meets Zara, a beautiful mystery who entrances her. Who is she, and why does she reside deep within the strange world far removed from society? Emmy begins to fall, realizing how poisonous her surroundings truly are, and wakes up changed. She can’t stop thinking about the swamp — and Zara — somehow aware of both the dangers and allure of the strange world.

Broadbent paints the words into a gorgeous setting and places her broken characters within, a juxtaposition between a dying town and the vibrant but dangerous swamp Emmy has been warned about all her life. The dark fantasy/horror that comes to life between the covers seethes with life, conflict, and dark threads, that threaten to pull Emmy’s world into the depths. Ink Vine is an entertaining, quick read that begs to be savored slowly.

Recommended reading, and a fine new author to watch.