Book review of "The Macabre" by Kosoko Jackson ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Cursed paintings, bloodlines, and a house that can take you anywhere! Kosoko Jackson wrote a wonderful horror novel, and this is my review.
I've told my husband a few times now that I don't like horror, despite his love for it. "It's just not my thing!" Something about the thought of horror just turns me away. Too spooky. Nope.
Well...unless it's like a slasher film. Those I can do. Or a murder mystery. Or ones with, like, a really good plot/story. "The Fall of the House of Usher" on Netflix is like ~95% my kind of horror (the first death, in the club, is not and that will haunt me). The "Scream" movies are my kind of horror. "Buffy," "Carrie," "Until Dawn" (the movie, probably not the game), "The Last of Us" (same), "Final Destination" (somehow)—all my kinds of horror.
Okay, so, apparently, I do like horror, it just has to come in a specific package.
(Though, "The Strangers" is not my kind of horror. No thank you. PLEASE keep it moving.)
When I saw the cover of The Macabre, (and I guess the very fitting title) I just knew it was going to be my kind of horror. I pre-ordered the book on Google Play back in February of 2025, and it landed in my library upon its release in September. Sadly, I was already waist deep in Oathbringer and that took up the rest of my year. Lucky for me, I finished Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert pretty quickly, leaving me plenty of time to end out Black History Month with another Black author. Also lucky for me: this one also features a Black gay male lead! Two for two. Winning.
Tavon Gatling
The Macabre's primary POV is an artist named Lewis Dixon. Shortly after his mother's death, he's requested in London to showcase his art. Big shock to him. Naturally, shit goes left from there almost immediately. The primary supporting cast is there, which only helps a little in that moment. Without giving away too much, he has a connection to a series of paintings called the Macabre, and is vital for a specific task which includes finding all of them.
When I consume media, I typically can't "just" consume it. I have to also analyze it from a writer's mindset; I'm constantly taking notes and trying to internalize things, find ways to improve my storytelling. You really only have to satisfy my consumer brain, but lucky for me, this book easily satisfied both.
The reader in me enjoyed the ease of writing, not overly descriptive but not lacking either. Muuuuch more description than Sanderson, but not so much as The 7.5 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (that book was so prose-y, but fuck it was good. Another review for another time). There's magic, and I love magic. Easy win there. The supporting cast are trained experts and can do a lot more, but Lewis eventually picks up a trick or two. (Costs him an arm and a leg for one of them, though. wink) There's danger and high stakes and—honestly, shocked me, completely unexpected for some reason—love. The Macabre also has a few nice messages in them that I feel will find me again later in life, ready for a new understanding. I also really enjoyed that consequences were not magic'd away. Magic can do a lot, but not everything, and that helped cement the stakes.
The writer in me wanted to devour the magic system. That's where that part of my brain was focused almost the entire time. It's Soft, but just enough limits that, with another book or two, we could get a good description of what results were possible. Also, unsure if it's intentional, but I swear there's a Dungeons and Dragon's/TTRPG reference in there. (Chapter Six, during the conversation featuring Les Misérables)
And the descriptions. I highlighted so many good ones. Like I said, they're not overly flowery, but still so good. Just the right words to hammer home the tone. Here is one of the earlier things I highlighted. Doesn't contain any direct spoilers, but it does clearly define that this is a horror book.
He knew, even if he split his chest open and dug around his insides, he wouldn’t find the source of the itch. No, this was something deeper. Something spiritual.
I shivered. It made me feel unwanted things.
I smiled.
Also: the ending. I won't spoil it, but I have CHOICE WORDS for you, Kosoko Jackson. Good job.
I enjoyed the book so much that, once I realized I had a gift card lying around, I immediately snatched up the beautiful hard cover so it could join my growing collection of books.
Also, it took me until about halfway through the book to realize that the painting on the cover is the first painting Lewis comes into contact with in London. And it's way more horrifying than I originally thought. I need—NEED!—to see the others now.
The Macabre gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. I honestly want a sequel. There's enough wiggle room left in the ending to give us a book 2, even if it's not a "direct" sequel.
You can find Kosoko Jackson over on his website, which links all his socials: https://kosokojackson.com/
If you buy from the BookShop.org affiliate link, you'll be helping me out a ton!
