Elizabeth Broadbent | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: Ink Vine by Elizabeth Broadbent

Ink Vine by Elizabeth Broadbent

Undertaker Books, 2024

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8218408091

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

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.

Book Review: Blood Cypress (Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena #7) by Elizabeth Broadbent

Blood Cypress (Selected Papers from the Consortium of Anomalous Phenomena #7) by Elizabeth Broadbent

Blood Cypress Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena #7) by Elizabeth Broadbent.

Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2025

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1947879881

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org. | Amazon.com

The swamp has always been a welcome setting for horror – and why wouldn’t it be? The sucking humidity, the stifling embrace of the flora, the mystery of what’s behind the next shadow as the sun is erased from its world… It’s home to many a southern gothic, and for good reason. Nobody knows what lies within, and those who have experienced it are often too frightened to speak of it.

In Lower Congeree, South Carolina, there’s a rule most people are wise enough to follow stay out of the swamp.

The Carson family is a reflection of the hard truths in many of our homes. The relationships are strained, although some semblance of love creeps through their the interactions. As a bisexual girl in a backwoods town that is a stronghold of repressed sensibilitiies, Lila struggles to survive in the backwoods town, and aches to break free.

Lila’s world twists like the tangled roots that grow in the swamp when her ten-year-old brother, Beau, vanishes. Nobody cares much about a neurodivergent boy who many believe is useless, especially a Carson. Lila is reminded quickly that ignorance in the town has more in common with the society of a hundred years ago than in the current day, from the sheriff to her delinquent mom to the townsfolk, and realizes that her journey will be a solo endeavor. She will have to break that cardinal rule if she is to find Beau alive.

Broadbent entered the horror fray with Ink Vine, a stunning entry into what hopefully will be a long career. Her greatest strength is the ability to breathe life into the setting and listen to how it speaks to the characters and readers. She harnesses the dark magic of the swamp and lets it become a major character, one that is ambiguous, untrustworthy, and dangerous. Its embrace is sought by some but feared by most.

As a journalist, her words hit the mark. In the novella form, this works perfectly. Everything matters and she is able to succinctly capture the flavor of this rotted southern town with apparent ease.

At this length, Broadbent shines. It gives her just enough space to explore and resolve the multiple conflicts within the story: the inner family tension, the dynamics of small-town life, and the apathetic darkness of the swamp, and allows the misfit Carson family and their secrets to grow. It’s a claustrophobic but intriguing read.

Comparisons have been made to Flannery O’ Connor, but Elizabeth Broadbent has her own style. Think Darcy Coates by way of Crista Carmen and Michael McDowell.

Raw Dog Screaming Press always produces quality products that sidestep the typical trappings of genre. As the seventh installment in the Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena series, this is a highly recommended reading, and their decision to bring Broadbent into the stable works just right.

Reviewed by David Simms