[Review] The Harpy Explores Woman’s Vengeance

Women’s rage is a wholly different beast than the rage of men. Most commonly articulated through the lens of vengeance for a wrongdoing (hell hath no fury like a woman scorned), it seems larger than any force imaginable. Women are afraid of the rage of men, but everyone fears a woman’s rage. It can take enough forms that it’s embodied and expressed through myriad mythical creatures.

Lucy’s rage is quiet, fierce, and all-consuming. Her husband has cheated on her with a co-worker, and in the midst of his apology they reach an agreement: as vengeance, Lucy can hurt her husband three times.

No advance warning.

No real limits.

It is through her chosen methods that we see the full spectrum of her rage and her pain. She becomes cold and calculating, and the further the novel progresses the deeper she descends.

Lucy has always been fascinated by harpies. Vengeful creatures of myth who traditionally punish the guilty on their way to the underworld. Megan Hunter creates and explores this fascination to articulate the complexities of Lucy’s feelings. One half of her life is lived as Mrs. Stephenson, faithful wife and loving mother. The other, as a harpy-esque seeker of revenge, no matter the cost. With smoothly sinister writing and a pace the pulls you along deeper and deeper into Lucy’s mind, Hunter has crafted a story that sinks its unforgiving talons in and refuses to release.

This is truly seething domestic horror with an entirely unique twist. A marriage in danger of mythic proportions. An unapologetically rage-propelled wife. I loved every pitch black second of it.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and the author of this novel. I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.