The Witch Elm

by Tana French

The pain was so huge and diffuse that it felt like an element intrinsic to the air, something to be taken for granted because it had always been there and would never go away.

I was used to being, frankly, good-looking, in an easy, straightforward way that didn’t require much thought from anyone concerned;

It felt like being in one of those horror films where unspeakable entities take over the supporting characters’ bodies but not quite well enough, our hero spots the slip-ups and tumbles to the plot unfolding under his very nose—

garrote.”

I had a good feeling about that night, though. It sparkled tantalizingly in front of me like a fourth date, a final interview, the big one with the prize waiting at the end and I was all pumped up and ready to ace it.

“Cats are great, man. And a pet would take you out of yourself, give you someone else to think about.