Early Review – Pinfeathers by Christina Henry (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: November 17, 2026
ASIN: B0GNYM9GCS
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone Book
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Nora Pacetti is a new stay-at-home mother—she’s tired but coping while caring for her happy, healthy baby, Olivia. But then one morning, something that looks like a feather starts growing out of Olivia’s arm. Or at least, that’s what Nora’s mother, Giulia, thinks. Nora thinks her mother has probably spent too much time watching conspiracy videos on YouTube.

Nora’s husband thinks Olivia needs tests, specialists, hospitals. But Nora senses that whatever is happening to her daughter needs to be concealed—and a mother’s intuition is never wrong. Soon sinister people begin asking questions about Olivia, and Nora starts to wonder if there really is something wrong with her baby. But she’s determined to discover the truth about her daughter . . . no matter the cost.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this from NetGalley for Review

Thoughts: This was a very well done thriller/horror sort of book. It was compulsively readable, very hard to put down. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect coming in, but the pace was non-stop, almost leaving you breathless. I am a big fan of Christina Henry and have read her Madeline Black seris (loved it), the Chronicles of Alice series (loved it), “The Mermaid” (liked it), “The Girl in Red” (loved it), and “Horseman” (liked it).

This story follows Nora as she navigates being a new stay-at-home mother. She is growing resentful of her husband who is dodging parental duty with excuses of work and his own social life even though they agreed to do this baby thing together. Then one day her baby daughter, Olivia, is inconsoable. That is when Nora sees a tiny black splinter like thing growing from her daughter’s arm. Nora’s mother (who is a conspiracy theory nut and doomsday prepper) absolutely doesn’t think Nora should take Olivia to the doctor. However, Nora’s husband is adamant that they figure out what is going on. Nora is exhausted and being pulled between the two. Things start to unravel as Olivia’s issues continue and creepy things start to happen to Nora and her husband.

For the most part I enjoyed this. The pain and exhaustion Nora feels is very real and well depicted. There are a number of twists and turns throughout the story which I really enjoyed and the story is incredibly fast-paced and hard to put down.

I think my only disappointment was in the story device used to explain the “why” behind the pinfeathers that start growing on Olivia. There were hints that the reason behind this was something more, but then the main reason given behind this was a story device that has been way overused to explain why a human starts showing strange traits. Really the “why” behind all of this felt a bit muddled, like we were given a reason why but maybe it was something else, but we’re not sure. Maybe that uncertainty was deliberate but it left me feeling a slightly unsatisfied with the story as a whole.

The above is a pretty minor quibble, this was a very well done story and incredibly engaging and readable. It was creepy in a very real way and I found the ending incredibly satisfying (if a bit unhinged). This is the first of a series of creepy Halloween month reads I have lined up and it didn’t disappoint.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this. I liked the fast-paced, the creepiness, the characers, and the twists and turns. I though the ending was spectacular. My only complaint is the over-used story device used to explain Olivia’s “condition”. I would recommend this as an excellent creepy read, especially for those who enjoy Henry’s writing and how unhinged it can be. I looked forward to what she writes next.