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Doctor Knife
Leonora, shy, quiet and more comfortable with television than with real life, has come to England for love. She dreams of a London that never existed, except in melodramatic films and bad novels. When her reality falls far short of the dream, she discovers she can’t return to her country. To survive she takes a job working in Christopher Marlowe House, Deptford, as a live-in mother’s help for the oddball and out-of-step Dr. Nye and her husband, Duncan.
Leonora suffers her new existence without complaining. Until one day she meets the beautiful, lively Safie. Things start to go downhill with her employer at the same time Safie gives Leonora new hope in her life.
And then the one real friend she has made in the city, the one person she has come to love, disappears. The mother’s help job becomes impossible, partly because of Duncan, partly because Nye is abusive and demanding. Leonora finally realises she must flee Christopher Marlowe House — with devastating consequences.
Doctor Knife is a horror novella set in the south London of the early 1990s. It was originally accepted for publication in 1999 but is now published for the first time in 2012.
Please note: this is an horror novella written for an adult audience and as such contains material not suitable for under-18s. While it is *not* erotica, it does contain lesbian and heterosexual sex scenes and violence.
Leonora suffers her new existence without complaining. Until one day she meets the beautiful, lively Safie. Things start to go downhill with her employer at the same time Safie gives Leonora new hope in her life.
And then the one real friend she has made in the city, the one person she has come to love, disappears. The mother’s help job becomes impossible, partly because of Duncan, partly because Nye is abusive and demanding. Leonora finally realises she must flee Christopher Marlowe House — with devastating consequences.
Doctor Knife is a horror novella set in the south London of the early 1990s. It was originally accepted for publication in 1999 but is now published for the first time in 2012.
Please note: this is an horror novella written for an adult audience and as such contains material not suitable for under-18s. While it is *not* erotica, it does contain lesbian and heterosexual sex scenes and violence.
ebook
First published July 3, 2012
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About the author
Marni Scofidio
13 books9 followersMarni Scofidio was born in San Francisco, California, and raised near Buffalo, New York. She has been resident in Britain since 1991. Her modern ghost stories have appeared in semi- and professional magazines and anthologies, including BEST NEW HORROR and YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR, in four countries. She has been nominated for a British Fantasy Society Award for Short Fiction. She holds a BA (Hons) Design, University of Wales. Scofidio is married to her Welshman and Wicked Stepmother to one stepson. KNUCKLEBONES is her first novel.
Of her work Chet Williamson (ROBERT BLOCH’S PSYCHO: SANITORIUM, MURDER IN CORMYR) wrote: ‘Knucklebones is a brilliant debut novel -- written with a poetic eye, filled with characters that truly live, and a pace that had me barrelling through the last half of the book. For decades, Marni Scofidio has written such incredible short stories that I've long wished for a full novel, and Knucklebones is even better than I dared hope. It's dark, chilling, and delicious, written with a unique and individual style. You'd be a knucklehead to miss it. A marvellous book.’
Bram Stoker Award-winning poet, short-story writer and novelist Mark McLaughlin (co-author of THE ABOMINATIONS OF NEPHREN-KA and THE BLASPHEMY IN THE CANOPIC JAR) also wrote: ‘Marni Scofidio is a world-class writer whose stories have appeared in prestigious “Best Of” horror anthologies. If you consider yourself an aficionado of dark fiction, please do not miss the opportunity to read her new novel, KNUCKLEBONES. Her literary works are exquisite macabre treasures to be cherished.’
Of her work Chet Williamson (ROBERT BLOCH’S PSYCHO: SANITORIUM, MURDER IN CORMYR) wrote: ‘Knucklebones is a brilliant debut novel -- written with a poetic eye, filled with characters that truly live, and a pace that had me barrelling through the last half of the book. For decades, Marni Scofidio has written such incredible short stories that I've long wished for a full novel, and Knucklebones is even better than I dared hope. It's dark, chilling, and delicious, written with a unique and individual style. You'd be a knucklehead to miss it. A marvellous book.’
Bram Stoker Award-winning poet, short-story writer and novelist Mark McLaughlin (co-author of THE ABOMINATIONS OF NEPHREN-KA and THE BLASPHEMY IN THE CANOPIC JAR) also wrote: ‘Marni Scofidio is a world-class writer whose stories have appeared in prestigious “Best Of” horror anthologies. If you consider yourself an aficionado of dark fiction, please do not miss the opportunity to read her new novel, KNUCKLEBONES. Her literary works are exquisite macabre treasures to be cherished.’
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 28, 2025
Dark as all hell, and my God, that ending....
Books read in 2025 #96:
Doctor Knife by Marni Scofidio.
Jesus. This one has an ending that will stay with me for some time. Short, and dark as all hell.
Books read in 2025 #96:
Doctor Knife by Marni Scofidio.
Jesus. This one has an ending that will stay with me for some time. Short, and dark as all hell.
Displaying 1 of 1 review