Death in Her Hands
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- Create Date：2021-08-16 09:56:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ottessa Moshfegh
- ISBN：1984880837
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
While on her normal daily walk with her dog in the nearby forest woods， our protagonist comes across a note， handwritten and carefully pinned to the ground with a frame of stones。 Her name was Magda。 Nobody will ever know who killed her。 It wasn't me。 Here is her dead body。 Our narrator is deeply shaken; she has no idea what to make of this。 She is new to this area， having moved here from her longtime home after the death of her husband， and she knows very few people。 And she's a little shaky even on her best days。 Her brooding about this note quickly grows into a full-blown obsession， and she begins to devote herself to exploring the possibilities of her conjectures about who this woman was and how she met her fate。 Her suppositions begin to find echoes in the real world， and with mounting excitement and dread， the fog of mystery starts to form into a concrete and menacing shape。 But as we follow her in her investigation， strange dissonances start to accrue， and our faith in her grip on reality weakens， until finally， just as she seems to be facing some of the darkness in her own past with her late husband， we are forced to face the prospect that there is either a more innocent explanation for all this or a much more sinister one--one that strikes closer to home。 A triumphant blend of horror， suspense， and pitch-black comedy， Death in Her Hands asks us to consider how the stories we tell ourselves both guide us closer to the truth and keep us at bay from it。 Once again， we are in the hands of a narrator whose unreliability is well earned， only this time the stakes have never been higher。
Reviews
Rita Magalhães
，
3。5
bella
，
For a good portion of the first half of the book （up to page 100 or so） i really struggled to get through this read。 it felt very slow and repetitive but now that i have finished it， i understand that it was purposeful。 What truly redeems the book is the last 150 pages or so。 i read it in a little over an hour and could not put it down。 I feel like i really need to sit and reflect on this book before actually reviewing but my immediate response is that i am so glad to have read this book。 The la For a good portion of the first half of the book （up to page 100 or so） i really struggled to get through this read。 it felt very slow and repetitive but now that i have finished it， i understand that it was purposeful。 What truly redeems the book is the last 150 pages or so。 i read it in a little over an hour and could not put it down。 I feel like i really need to sit and reflect on this book before actually reviewing but my immediate response is that i am so glad to have read this book。 The last half of the book made it so worth the read。 Holy shit。 。。。more
lalo vera
，
this was ok but it was really similar to “drive your plow over the bones of the dead” and that book had a more compelling narrator/protagonistnotes: paperback， airport
Holly Cairey
，
incredibly slow start with a very unlikeable narrator。 I almost gave up on this book as the detail is extraordinary but the amount of action was barely palpable。 I can’t say at which point， but somewhere around the middle a switch flipped。 Suddenly I was engrossed and despite not liking Vesta I was still burning through the book。 I think this is a common think with the author’s books - unlikeable narrators with “pitch black comedy。” I think this is the best way to put it。 Overall， I think this b incredibly slow start with a very unlikeable narrator。 I almost gave up on this book as the detail is extraordinary but the amount of action was barely palpable。 I can’t say at which point， but somewhere around the middle a switch flipped。 Suddenly I was engrossed and despite not liking Vesta I was still burning through the book。 I think this is a common think with the author’s books - unlikeable narrators with “pitch black comedy。” I think this is the best way to put it。 Overall， I think this book was actually fantastic and I’ve heard great things about the author’s other books and so I will more than likely read them， but despite this review， I don’t know how quick I would be to recommend this book to others as I think it requires a certain type of reader who enjoys a certain type of genre… 。。。more
Asya Alekhina
，
The tone and atmosphere of this novel is hauntingly lonely， and evokes in me the exact same mindset as did Shirley Jackson’a Hangsman。 What deliciously delirious drivel the narrator produces - and yet， it is exactly how my own mind works ， as much as I hate to admit it。 How isolating yet freeing it is to live inside your own head， alone seemingly by choice yet always craving validation and connection from others， finding dramatics in the most mind-numbingly mundane situations。 Some may argue tha The tone and atmosphere of this novel is hauntingly lonely， and evokes in me the exact same mindset as did Shirley Jackson’a Hangsman。 What deliciously delirious drivel the narrator produces - and yet， it is exactly how my own mind works ， as much as I hate to admit it。 How isolating yet freeing it is to live inside your own head， alone seemingly by choice yet always craving validation and connection from others， finding dramatics in the most mind-numbingly mundane situations。 Some may argue that nothing of interest happens in this novel， but perhaps those people would be more entertained by a Danielle Steel paperback from CVS… Would love to re-read this book as I chainsmoke a pack of cigarettes in my bathtub and cry over a lover who never learned my name。 。。。more
Kelpia
，
Disturbing （ospravedlnujem sa za anglicky vyraz， lepsie slovo mi nenapada） kniha s nesympatickou hlavnou hrdinkou， kde sa dokopy nic nedeje， napriek tomu v cloveku zanecha prekvapujuce emocie。。 Asi vsak nebude pre kazdeho。
Nan Patience
，
Loved this not-so-cozy mystery！ A 72-yo sleuth/widow ruminates about her long marriage and life with an unfaithful， belittling， gaslighting man as she navigates through a murder of a young woman。 Marooned with her faithful canine companion in a cheap， dead end little town in the middle of nowhere， everyone the protagonist encounters is dangerous， demented， stunted， abused， crippled， obese， or strange。 What is real， what she imagines as she licks her psychic wounds？ It gets harder to tell。。。 Quit Loved this not-so-cozy mystery！ A 72-yo sleuth/widow ruminates about her long marriage and life with an unfaithful， belittling， gaslighting man as she navigates through a murder of a young woman。 Marooned with her faithful canine companion in a cheap， dead end little town in the middle of nowhere， everyone the protagonist encounters is dangerous， demented， stunted， abused， crippled， obese， or strange。 What is real， what she imagines as she licks her psychic wounds？ It gets harder to tell。。。 Quite a delicious page-turner！ 。。。more
Mia
，
not as good as r&r but still liked it
Jordan McKay
，
Moshfegh's hate of self help books， love of Harrison Ford and ability to write from perspectives that I relate too much to is beautiful 🥲Idk why this is her lowest rated book， all I can say is even though it's billed as a 'thriller' don't go in expecting Gone Girl or The Woman in the Window， it's much closer to Henry James or Dostoyevsky Moshfegh's hate of self help books， love of Harrison Ford and ability to write from perspectives that I relate too much to is beautiful 🥲Idk why this is her lowest rated book， all I can say is even though it's billed as a 'thriller' don't go in expecting Gone Girl or The Woman in the Window， it's much closer to Henry James or Dostoyevsky 。。。more
Katie Mac
，
This is not something I would pick to read， but I felt obligated to try it for my local library's book club---plus， I really enjoyed My Year of Rest and Relaxation。 The concept also intrigued me enough to finish the book。While this has some depth and poignancy as a reflection of loneliness and its effects on the human psyche， I had a hard time reading it。 The focus is not clear--I know it's because of the protagonist's mental state， but it didn't work for me--and the narrative is brutal。 There's This is not something I would pick to read， but I felt obligated to try it for my local library's book club---plus， I really enjoyed My Year of Rest and Relaxation。 The concept also intrigued me enough to finish the book。While this has some depth and poignancy as a reflection of loneliness and its effects on the human psyche， I had a hard time reading it。 The focus is not clear--I know it's because of the protagonist's mental state， but it didn't work for me--and the narrative is brutal。 There's an intentional killing of an animal that's particularly unpalatable。 If you're looking for something different， you can give this one a try; it just isn't for me。 。。。more
Meg
，
really boring
mía
，
idk if i liked it or hated it 🤨
Jennifer Jank
，
I'm not sure I always get this book， and that's OK。 I did enjoy the narrator very much！ I'm not sure I always get this book， and that's OK。 I did enjoy the narrator very much！ 。。。more
charlotte
，
strange little book。 everyone on goodreads LOVES this author， but i must say i did not care for this book as much as i had hoped。 i think the writing style is promising， and i like the unreliable narrator and twisting tangent-ey prose。 i didn’t understand the ending。 i think reading this book soon after “woman in the window” kind of ruined it for me， as they are both about unreliable women/ unlikely faux-detectives who try to solve a murder that may or may not have happened。 they are very differ strange little book。 everyone on goodreads LOVES this author， but i must say i did not care for this book as much as i had hoped。 i think the writing style is promising， and i like the unreliable narrator and twisting tangent-ey prose。 i didn’t understand the ending。 i think reading this book soon after “woman in the window” kind of ruined it for me， as they are both about unreliable women/ unlikely faux-detectives who try to solve a murder that may or may not have happened。 they are very different books stylistically， but they blend together in my mind and are overwhelmingly average。 。。。more
Ariel
，
I really didn't need it to go that way， but I can see with Moshfegh made it so。I really DID want a dog / bagel。 I just wanted Vesta and her dog， none of the rest。 In a weird way， I wanted this to be more like "Nomadland。"I'm gonna say NO and points off for the fat / body shaming details which are way too easy。Still， Moshfegh is a master of dark comedy， even if this is not her strongest。 I really didn't need it to go that way， but I can see with Moshfegh made it so。I really DID want a dog / bagel。 I just wanted Vesta and her dog， none of the rest。 In a weird way， I wanted this to be more like "Nomadland。"I'm gonna say NO and points off for the fat / body shaming details which are way too easy。Still， Moshfegh is a master of dark comedy， even if this is not her strongest。 。。。more
abbi
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LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS。I absolutely ADORE moshfegh。 A thrilling mystery depicting a woman taking charge of her life & a really interesting depiction of female rage。
Brenda Rodriguez
，
id go 2。5 because i do like ottessas writing。 But this book was just weird， i barely get it and the 5 star reviews are doing little to help me rate it higher， so i know it just isnt that good。 i feel like it was very slow and nothing happened。 it was like nothing was real and reality was mixing with imagination which lead to a longer than necessary and confusing read。 I really wanted to love this book but it just didnt hit :/ i really like the cover tho
Lauren
，
Awful。 I’m about to start chapter 3 and I wasn’t really feeling it so I decided to come check the reviews here。 Turns out I already figured out the ending… and then reading about the animal abuse， I’m gonna have to pass on reading the rest。 The concept of this book was so interesting， but it doesn’t follow through and is honestly very boring。
Antara Basu-Zych
，
I think this author is a genius。 In this and My Year of Rest and Relaxation， the characters are so strange， not very lovable yet， in the end， completely redeemed。 That is the magic of the author's voice。 In this story， Vesta Gul， an old lady finds a note in the woods while walking with her dog: "Her name was Magda。 Nobody will ever know who killed her。 It wasn't me。 Here is her dead body。" The rest of the book is this old woman's obsession with creating the story of Magda in order to solve it。 W I think this author is a genius。 In this and My Year of Rest and Relaxation， the characters are so strange， not very lovable yet， in the end， completely redeemed。 That is the magic of the author's voice。 In this story， Vesta Gul， an old lady finds a note in the woods while walking with her dog: "Her name was Magda。 Nobody will ever know who killed her。 It wasn't me。 Here is her dead body。" The rest of the book is this old woman's obsession with creating the story of Magda in order to solve it。 With her wild imagination and pretty random rationalizations， many parts are laugh-out-loud hilarious and ridiculous。。。 yet as parts of her irrational imaginings start to turn real， the book becomes like a Hitchcock level psychological thriller。 Is she making this whole thing up？ Is all this a dream？ What is real？This spry old lady is clearly working out the story of her own troubled relationships， her marriage， relationship with parents， unfulfilled youth and all the abuse in her life through this imagined Magda。。。 and in so doing， she makes this already dead person into a powerful living entity which acts to also endear herself to the readers。 For me， this is why the book works and becomes so compelling: the way she loves her dog and this imaginary Magda for whom she feels fiercely protective。 There is a lurking monster， but it isn't clear if that is real or some unresolved character in Vesta's past， and it doesn't really matter because through dead Magda we are rooting for Vesta to solve the mystery， find the bad guy and find her own salvation。This is why Moshfegh is a genius， because she creates a character through the eyes of another character， the entire book is the slightly neurotic ramblings of this elderly and lonely character， whose main drama is walking the woods， gardening， and going to the library and yet。。。 the suspense and intrigue made this an edge-of-the-seat thriller and a quick and engaging read。 It was also fun how meta the book was， poking fun at the book itself: "If not a prank， the note could be tossed out as a false start， a bad opening。。。 it's a rather dark， damning way to begin a story:the pronouncement of a mystery whose investigation is futile。"Parts of Vesta's life seemed romantically simple， she enjoyed cooking for her dog， walking the woods。 Yet the darkness in her thoughts gave an jagged edge to her: "Yes， yes， be alive， make your mess， but when you die， leave not a trace。 Sweep up any evidence of your existence。 Reminders will only trouble those who live on。" She created Magda in that same image， someone she would identify with and like。。。 but possibly pass by without noticing because "I'd been too concerned with my own feelings of being out of place。。。I probably clucked my tongue， and assumed the girl was on drugs， a bad seed。 Poor Magda。 What she needed was a soft cushion by the fire。。。 I'd have cooked for her， fed her back to health and serenity。" There is a whole passage that is so lovely and poignant where Vesta describes the loss of life both literally and metaphorically "There is nothing more heartbreaking than a squandered opportunity， a missed chance。。。 One makes mistakes when there is confusion between having a future at all and having the future one wants。" Much later also "Things might be theoretical， that was true。 I may be imagining it all， but it still hurt。 It was still sad to lose someone you loved"。 So there is a sadness and theme of missed opportunities and loss of hope， dreams， in yourself and others。 And really， of having that potential robbed from you。"That got me thrashing， mentally。 And then I thought of my loneliness， my approaching death， how nobody knew me， how nobody cared。。。 I'd never been loved properly。" Even in the stars she sees this pain and loss。。。 then， redemption "。。。 looked up at the sky， catching my breath and then losing it again at the audacity of all those stars glittering above me， blinking and shimmering without shame。 Even though so many had already burnt out， like me， they still glimmered。 They survived and hung there as though to say 'Remember me！ I was once beautiful！ Let my light shine on without me！ Never forget！" And with this， she dusts herself off and picks herself up。。。 literally。 This gorgeous passage was comically placed as she tripped over something in the dark and landed face down in a pile of dirt。 This book was such a delight to read because of these philosophical and linguistic jewels placed within pretty silly and ridiculous events， as if to say: have deep thoughts but。。。 just don't take yourself too seriously。 It was completely unexpected how deeply moved I was by the book。 It was like the marriage of Sylvia Plath and Frederik Bachmann。。。 an odd but powerful pairing！ 。。。more
Kaylee
，
this happened to me
Joy Solomon
，
I really didn't like this book。 I would have dropped in a quarter of the way in， but because it's a Shirley Jackson Nominee I suffered through it。 It's another example that is more tragic than horrific like True Story: A Novel an unreliable narrator and suffering from mental illness doesn't inherently make it horrific。 Once again I think that Night of the Mannequins: A Tor。com Original is just a better example， and incredibly horrific in it's execution and only about a third of the page count。 I I really didn't like this book。 I would have dropped in a quarter of the way in， but because it's a Shirley Jackson Nominee I suffered through it。 It's another example that is more tragic than horrific like True Story: A Novel an unreliable narrator and suffering from mental illness doesn't inherently make it horrific。 Once again I think that Night of the Mannequins: A Tor。com Original is just a better example， and incredibly horrific in it's execution and only about a third of the page count。 I'm disappointed in the Shirley Jackson awards， this makes it solidly half the nominees I have not liked。 I hope this is just a bad year for horror novels， and not an overall trend。 。。。more
ewa
，
3。75
Aharon
，
Overcooked， off-putting， weirdly compelling: welcome to Moshfeghia！
Bethany
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Themes of: transition， fear， faith， mental illness， and relationships。 Isolated in the woods with her dog， Charlie， Vesta sought out 'a new life' separate from her now-deceased husband。 Apart from Vesta's mundane routines， she often exemplified an imbalance of mind with exaggerated thought and reaction。 Vesta's character played on defense and commonly showed distrust towards her new community。 Vesta lacked the ability to connect to others which would only intensify her inner dialogue。 All along Themes of: transition， fear， faith， mental illness， and relationships。 Isolated in the woods with her dog， Charlie， Vesta sought out 'a new life' separate from her now-deceased husband。 Apart from Vesta's mundane routines， she often exemplified an imbalance of mind with exaggerated thought and reaction。 Vesta's character played on defense and commonly showed distrust towards her new community。 Vesta lacked the ability to connect to others which would only intensify her inner dialogue。 All along she desired the clarity in which she lacked。The validity of Magda's storyline is unclear （to me）， as is Charlie's reappearance towards the end of the novel。 The murder is a driving factor to the story， but did the murder exist， or did it only exist in the mind？ 。。。more
Magdalena Chappell
，
this lady was manic as hell
Matt
，
Pretty blown away by this one， but I can understand how this novel is a little divisive。 It's a first-person account of someone being eaten alive by loneliness and boredom — featuring possibly the best unreliable narrator I've ever encountered。 Maybe that's not for everyone？ But I personally loved every page。Other reviewers have said this book was slow-paced， but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time。 The sad， downward spiral of this story felt tense and filled me with worry and dread。 Ve Pretty blown away by this one， but I can understand how this novel is a little divisive。 It's a first-person account of someone being eaten alive by loneliness and boredom — featuring possibly the best unreliable narrator I've ever encountered。 Maybe that's not for everyone？ But I personally loved every page。Other reviewers have said this book was slow-paced， but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time。 The sad， downward spiral of this story felt tense and filled me with worry and dread。 Vesta is a great character; believably imperfect and sad。 Maybe it's the Covid times talking， but I was uncomfortable by how much I related to her loneliness。 The negative instinct to blame others for your isolation， while doing absolutely nothing to reach out or connect with anyone， is a very real thing。 Stream of consciousness can be hit or miss， but I had a fascinating time inside of Vesta's paranoid and increasingly-delusional mind。 Her imaginative speculations drive the story， but they also serve as a meta-analysis and deconstruction of the genre （and maybe even fiction as a whole）。 Outside of the paranoia and delusions， there's a lot of realistic reflection on the life she lived， her regrets， and even some ever-present existential angst。 A lot of good stuff going on at all times。 It's got layers， is what I'm trying to say。 Strongly recommended， if any of this sounds good to you。 I plan to read more Moshfegh and will be on the lookout for more novels that take place entirely inside a single character's troubled mindscape。 。。。more
Deb Rogers
，
What a mean meta mystery puzzle of a story， full of mind games and thick with contempt for everything and everyone， including readers。 Exquisitely painful because it's so well done。 What a mean meta mystery puzzle of a story， full of mind games and thick with contempt for everything and everyone， including readers。 Exquisitely painful because it's so well done。 。。。more
Kati
，
This was a wild ride。。。 I expected a murder mystery and got a stream of consciousness of an unlikable main character spiralling and killing her dog。 The story had an interesting concept， would have been better as a short story tho。
Aaron Piccirillo
，
“Death was like old， brittle， lace， the appliqué about to separate from the fine mesh threads， nearly shredded， hanging there， beautiful and delicate and about to disintegrate。 Life wasn’t like that。”so i mean i enjoyed this book but it was very slow paced and just took me forever to finish it。 i was dumb and went in thinking this would be a fun little murder mystery but it was just more about the rambling thoughts of a seventy-two year old woman which is fun but it dragged at parts。 i enjoyed t “Death was like old， brittle， lace， the appliqué about to separate from the fine mesh threads， nearly shredded， hanging there， beautiful and delicate and about to disintegrate。 Life wasn’t like that。”so i mean i enjoyed this book but it was very slow paced and just took me forever to finish it。 i was dumb and went in thinking this would be a fun little murder mystery but it was just more about the rambling thoughts of a seventy-two year old woman which is fun but it dragged at parts。 i enjoyed the ending and connecting everything together and realizing what was actually going on beneath the surface。 i love moshfegh’s writing and she’s great at writing books with no plot but i felt like something was just missing but i understand why it was written this way。 overall， it was a good book but i enjoyed my year of rest and relaxation more than this one。 。。。more
Una Ragnass
，
Þessi smá dissapointing eftir My year of rest en Moshfegh er samt sem áður einn besti rithöfundur samtimans að minu mati。 Skildi bara ekki alveg pointið með henni en hun var samt áhugaverð og skemmtilega skrítin。 Hlakka til að lesa hinar eftir hana🙏🏼
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Death in Her Hands
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Death in Her Hands&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Death in Her Hands&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0