Marketing this as "Michael McDowell's Blackwater meets whatever" was crazy. Fortunately I had a sense of what I was getting into, having read and enjoyed LaRocca’s previous works.

However, the story of Rupert, an LGBT boy trapped in a cultish town shaken by a massacre, didn’t quite work for me. I’m familiar with LaRocca’s exploration of disturbing themes, but this one felt pointless and needlessly cruel at times. I’m used to feeling uncomfortable when reading his work, and that’s part of the appeal, but here it felt excessive.

On top of that, I didn’t find the characters particularly compelling. That’s something I often experience with this author. I tend to feel detached from his characters, but usually the plot or the prose keep me engaged. In this case, though, it wasn’t enough. I definitely prefer LaRocca’s short story collections, where his creativity really shines.

In fact, the most interesting parts of this novel were the ones that felt like self-contained, parallel stories. In contrast, while there were intriguing elements, like the faceless people or the unsettling control the town’s elders seem to exert, they ultimately led nowhere. I understand this is meant to be part of a series, but nothing convinced me that future installments will deliver the payoff I was missing here. So I’m not sure I’ll continue reading it.

That said, I’ll still keep an eye on LaRocca’s future work. If there’s one thing you can say about him, it’s that he’s truly unique.

What can I say that someone else hasn’t already said, and more eloquently?

Let’s cut to the chase. This book feels vile. Something sinister is afoot in Burnt Sparrow. Who are the elders? Who are the enigmatic individuals responsible for such a tragedy? And what about all the other mysterious occurrences? I have a few loose theories.

Except for poor Rupert, everyone in this town is up to no good. The despair that oozes off the page is palpable. I am haunted by this town. I can’t wait to revisit it repeatedly, uncovering its hidden secrets. As usual, I feel helpless and disgusted, as I have come to expect from an Eric LaRocca book.

I eagerly anticipate the next two installments of Burnt Sparrow.

I LOVED this. Ive read several from this author before and enjoyed them, but this one blew them out of the water. I loved how graphic and aggressively horrible this book was. He didn't shy away from sensitive subjects and handled them bluntly and with frankness. Personally I often worry reading men horror writers because so many seem to use their craft as a way to act out their darkest desires in a way that is off putting to many women. So much so that it feels like the author should be on an FBI list. I'm very happy to say that didn't feel like the case here. I truly can't wait to read what happens next in this trilogy!

I am not sure what's going on, but I'm not a fan of where this is going. It's fast paced to the point where I feel like everything is being skimmed. I will not be finishing this book.

The only other work I’ve read by Eric LaRocca was Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke novella, and I can safely say his horror is unique. The first installment of Burnt Sparrow trilogy is one of the most psychedelic experiences I’ve had.

I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be completely honest. Some elements will stay with me - the mixed media sprinkled in, the claustrophobic and utterly hopeless atmosphere of a small town with its almost cultish community. I enjoyed the theme of thresholds, physical or moral, and no way back once some of them are crossed. The presence of the mysterious faceless people and bird-like creatures piqued my curiosity the most.

Nevertheless, I can’t say the story worked for me, and the writing style is mostly at fault. For the first three quarters or so, the prose seemed quite dull and repetitive, relying on telling instead of showing. (Just two of the examples are the word ‘father’ used more than ten times on a single page, and the overuse of ‘feel’ - it started to grate on me)

All that resulted in my struggles to connect with anything, to find an anchor that would make me invested in the characters and their unenviable fate. Mostly, I was left confused and floundering, a bit apathetic and in disbelief.

Fortunately, the last quarter definitely picked up, and what’s mind-boggling - the writing itself got infinitely better? As if that was the only part truly edited? I don’t know if that’s possible, but it saved the story for me.

Despite my misgivings, I encourage interested readers to pick this book up simply because horror tends to be a very subjective genre, more than the others. I prefer my horror to be more rooted in realness, with subtly building dread and atmosphere breathing down my neck, written in a way that would chill me to the core.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for allowing me access to the ARC for my honest review. My review will be posted on Goodreads closer to the publication date.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc copy!

LaRocca is easily one of my favorite authors. I can see how if you aren’t used to these kinda of stories, you might find it off putting.

I however, found it absolutely captivating in the darkest way possible. This is the horror I live for. Bleakness, sadness, and internal horrors bleed through this story. It’s so raw and poetic. If you are willing to see past the morbidity and listen to the underlying painful emotions you’ll find how beautiful the story actually is.
I can’t wait for the next book, because I am already longing to find out more.

Dark, lyrical, and hauntingly beautiful ⚰️🖤. We Are Always Tender with Our Dead is a masterful exploration of grief, desire, and the shadows within us. Eric LaRocca’s prose is poetic, raw, and deeply unsettling in the best way. I adored the eerie atmosphere and emotional intensity. A must-read for fans of literary horror with profound depth.

We Are Always Tender With Our Dead – Eric Larocca

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Burnt Sparrow is the strangest of places. It's one of those small towns that’s heavily closed off from the outside world... Macabre things happen here, but on Christmas Day, a massacre tragically unfolds, three faceless humanoid creatures open fire on a crowded parade, they are quickly captured. The catastrophic event forever changes the people of the town, but in seeking revenge on the family, they come to understand that not all is as it seems.

This book touches on quite a few interesting themes, such as but not limited to: death, family, identity, abuse of power, and justice. The parts that involved talks about identity really stood out to me.

This is certainly going to be a contender for my book of the year. It's grotesquely beautiful, macabre, and poetic. I absolutely adored Laroccas writing, but I think my favourite thing about this book was how they placed stories within the main story, either by using a news articles, or even something as simple as our main character literally telling a story to another. The embedded narrative really kept me hooked and added more depth to the story. this book kept me engrossed to the very last page. I didn’t want to put it down. I had to know what happened.

This book is the first in what will be a series of books on Burnt Sparrow, and i am super excited to read more.

We are always tender with our dead releases on September 9th and is now available to pre-order at all good retailers.

A huge thank you to Erica Larocca, Titan Book, and Netgalley for this outstanding read.

#titanbooks #WeAreAlwaysTenderwithOurDead
#Netgalley #ericlarocca #horrorrecommendations

The type of story you’d come to expect from Eric! Creepy, unsettling and unnerving. This was such a great summer read and being from NE myself he capture it perfectly.

this is definitely a horror that creeps up on you. wow! i had a great time reading this and, as always, eric larocca dishes out the perfectly unsettling story! the writing was engaging and i'll definitely read the rest of the books. i liked it and i definitely recommend it!

We Are Always Tender With Our Dead is an atmospheric, unsettling, and disturbing horror set in the small, suffocating, New England town of Burnt Sparrow.

Christmas morning sees three faceless individuals - they have no eyes or nose and just a small pin hole for a mouth - carry out a horrific mass murder in the town, which leaves the remaining residents reeling. We follow Rupert as he and his Dad are tasked, along with others, to guard the bodies of those murdered due to the town's elders deciding to leave them where they were killed. Rupert is a teenager struggling with the very strained relationship with his father, hiding his true self from everyone and, of course, the fallout from the massacre and his new role. As the town decides how to handle the three killers we start to unearth some of the darkness that already existed in Burnt Sparrow, long before the faceless people arrived, and the cruelty and horror that people willingly partake in. Burnt Sparrow is not all what it seems, and it gave strong Twin Peaks vibes!

I've sat on this review for a while now, trying to work out what I really think about LaRocca's new novel and the start of the Burnt Sparrow trilogy. And I've come to the conclusion that I really like it, but it definitely won't be for everyone. It's very weird, which is good as I like weird. There is so much that is not explained and so much that left me staring at the wall, confused and wondering what on earth I'd just read. But I couldn’t put it down and I have thought about it a lot since reading it. It's also very dark, and there are scenes of rape, child SA, necrophilia and strong body horror, amongst others, so check the trigger warnings. LaRocca has even penned a letter at the start of the book advising readers to tread with caution. But as a big Twin Peaks fan, the stifling atmosphere, unexplained events, and strange, terrifying characters really appealed to me, and I know I'm definitely going to read the rest of the series.

3.75 stars due to just a little bit too much left unexplained, but I'm hopeful the rest of the series will fill the blanks.

Thank you so much to Eric LaRocca and Titan Books for allowing me a copy to review.

I really liked how detailed and layered this book is. I'm really looking forward to the other two books in the trilogy. This one really left on a cliff hanger and I'm so very curious about the mysteries of this town. I really want to know more.

Thank you Titan Books and NetGalley for this early eARC.

I finished the story just moments ago... and I'm both scratching my head in confusion and sitting here with the odd sensation that I was just serenaded. The story is graphic, harrowing, and shocking. But I'm left with so many questions about the town and the bits of history we encounter throughout the story.

But my biggest question, who are these faceless people that carried out the massacre on the town? And what are they? While I like a bit of mystery, I would have enjoyed it more if somethings were revealed - which may happen in the following books.

For now, we wait.

This is a book that feels like it grows as you read. It begins as if Stephen King and Lemony Snicket wrote a book together and worms its way through themes, teasing expertly at themes and tropes, while ultimately delivering something unexpected and uncomfortable - bleak and yet oddly cosy at the same time. While horror often holds a mirror up to humanity and grief, this book puts it under a magnifying glass, dissects it and prevents the reader with a comprehensive report in various media.
The author presents an overwhelmingly ugly world in a way so beautifully and delicately written that it becomes easy to lose yourself in the world, letting your guard down before you’re hit over the head with cold reality.
Painting a chilling portrait of the human condition and how grief can impact society from a mass down to personal scale, I was left with questions. But not questions that were left unanswered, questions that I wanted to ask the characters, motivations I wanted to explore. Most importantly I wanted to ask myself - did I enjoy this and… is it ok to admit the answer?

Absolutely love. Eric Larocca has become one of my favorite, autobuy authors and this book was excellent as always. His stories pack so much emotion, depth and ickiness into such a small package…it’s remarkable. So grateful I got to check this one out early.

The residents of Burnt Sparrow have suffered a massacre at the hands of 3 faceless murderers. The slaughtered have strangely been left dead and dying in the street as the elders seek a solution, and the best way forward for the town. The story is told through the eyes of young Rupert Cromwell, a rather complex child, struggling with his identity and his sexuality. As the story proceeds we learn that Rupert’s father, recently widowed, has a very dark shadow within him and an act that he performs will disgust his son, and the town’s elders in equal measures. This is certainly an unsettling read, yet as an example of transgressive literary horror it succeeds in not only shocking the reader but making him stop, evaluate and question his own standards and beliefs. Thank you to the publishers for an early copy that I found difficult to read but unable to stop!

*Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I recently read ‘Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Ladt Spoke and Other Misfortunes’ by Eric LaRocca and loved it! So when I saw this ARC on NetGalley I was thrilled to be approved but something didn’t quite hit with this first instalment of the Burnt Sparrow trilogy.

Basically I have no idea what I just read really, this family of faceless entities went on a mass killing spree and were captured and locked in a basement to be tortured in revenge.
There was also two people who died in a fire that isn’t really explained and a strange police tape that had no explanation either. However I’m hoping that these will be addressed in the next two books.

I did however enjoy LaRocca’s imagery and writing style, his horrors -while ultimately confusing and disturbing- definitely stay with you.

I just finished We Are Always Tender With Our Dead: (Burnt Sparrow, Book 1) by Eric LaRocca and my jaw is literally on the floor. This book is a masterpiece! The moral depravity of the subject matter is met with such tenderness, truly a feat that Eric does seamlessly. This is why they will always be at the very top of my favorite authors!

Thank you Eric LaRocca and Titan Books for allowing me to read this arc.

Well this was definitely disturbing. I could NOT put it down and think LaRocca is a really exceptional writer.

Burnt Sparrow is a place full of incredibly flawed characters. One Christmas morning, many in the town are brutally murdered. The three culprits are found and a man in town offers to keep them, for the town to torture.

Like other pieces of LaRocca’s, this contains graphic, disturbing, and taboo events and concepts that are depicted in a way that makes you as the reader uncomfortable— and is also clear the goal isn’t to glorify the violence, but present it in a way that will viscerally affect the reader.

I’m very excited to see where the Burnt Sparrow Series goes. I think LaRocca did an unparalleled job of depicted trauma and how it is passed down generationally, in very subtle ways. I feel like LaRocca is giving us examples of why and how these people ended up how they are. While undoubtedly I’m dying to see where the plot goes here, I think LaRocca is a uniquely gifted character based horror writer.


Would recommend to extreme horror fans. 5 stars can’t wait for book 2. Thanks Eric LaRocca, Titan Books, and NetGalley for the eARC.

This is my second Eric LaRocca book I've read, and I feel very honored to be able to read this one early! I'm new to reading horror books despite being a lifelong fan of horror, and I am brand new to the concept of the genre Splatterpunk.

To read this book is to stand at the threshold between our own reality and the realm the story's heart beats in. When you enter into this novel, let its current pull you along, don't keep yourself anchored to expectations. My mistake was keeping my mind rigid and as a result I didn't fall into the flow of the writing as quickly as I would have liked. I didn't immediately catch on to the vibe of Burnt Sparrow and it's residents -- but once I was in, I was in.

I didn't realize when I read this book that it was the first of a series and I'm DELIGHTED. Because while I was ready to accept the end which left me with countless questions, I can't wait for the continuation of this story. Reading this first novel leaves everything open, and while yes the horrors are endless--so are the possibilities. It was quite the adventure, that really dug at my brain and kept me thinking.

The one thing I struggled with throughout was figuring out the voice of whom I was reading. It's still a little unclear to me if the voice is meant to be semi omniscient with a preference for a particular character's perspective depending on the chapter indication, or if we were supposed to be wholly into each character's perspective. The tone and cadence of both felt very similar to me, sometimes almost identical. But then again their are similarities between these two characters despite how different they may present.

All in all, it was quite the experience and I look forward to the next one even though this one technically isn't out yet either!