Title: Static Screams

Author: Nico Bell

Release date: March 6th, 2024

*Normally, this is where I’d thank Netgalley and the author for sending me a digital ARC of this book, and while I did grab it off of Netgalley, I had also purchased this on release day! Recently, I saw it on Netgalley and grabbed it, wanting to help Nico boost the profile of the book, but it was also a subtle way for me to bump it way up my TBR, because I try my best to keep a 100% review ratio on Netgalley!*

Over the years, I’ve become a big fan of Nico Bell’s fiction. From ‘Food Fright’ to ‘Beyond the Creek’ to her anthology (that I did have a story in, full disclosure!) ‘Shiver,’ she has a keen eye on what makes the reader unsettled. I still have to read her book ‘Open House,’ which is on my Kindle, and seeing as ‘Static Screams’ was such a wild ride, I’m going to bump that one way up the pile as well.

I loved the new artwork that A.A. Medina from Fabled Beast has created for this edition and the synopsis had me hooked. Any time I get to read a story from a steady writer like Nico, (one who perfectly crafts the tale in wonderfully dark ways) that involves our MC dealing with hallucinations, I know I’m in for a fantastic time.

What I liked: The first quarter of this novella very well could’ve been the entirety of the story and I’d have loved it. We open with a young woman, Carmen, who is dealing with significant PTSD. After her mother took her own life, Carmen struggles with seeing ‘dots,’ these weird, undulating things that float and converge around her in the sky. Her meds control it, but the story picks up with the pharmacy denying her new prescribed medication because of the dosage and without her meds, the dots come at her with a hurricane-level fury.

This could’ve easily been the story. Bell could’ve focused on the appearance of these visions, how Carmen and her aunt have a solid bond and work together to get Carmen the help she desperately wants, and the reader would’ve been richly rewarded for going on that journey with Carmen. Instead, Bell catapults us a million miles further down the deranged train, by introducing Barbara. Barbara is a doctor who is working on a mysterious experiment, one that is so far out of the ethical world of medicine, that she does it on her own, hidden, private property. Once she meets Carmen, she knows she’s the one, and from there the story really ramps up.

Bell does a great job of giving us the ups and downs of Carmen’s struggles. How she desperately wants to reunite with her mom, but also how she knows what Barbara’s doing is wrong and with the introduction of the doctor’s assistant, Neema, we get another layer of potential betrayal.

The final quarter of this one is a frantic sprint, where Barbara’s deception is revealed and choices about what is right and wrong need to be made. We see Carmen harness this ‘power’ she has, something I won’t stray too far into to keep things spoiler-free, but it works really well for the narrative and Bell doesn’t overuse it and turn this into a parody of itself.

What I didn’t like: I don’t know if I fully buy Neema’s role and involvement. It works well for the deceptive aspects and for the battle between right and wrong, but every time she started to defend herself, it felt a bit lite and not effective. That could just be me though finding that!

Why you should buy this: I’m a huge fan of seeing a strong, female lead battle back and not take shit from anyone. Carmen is fierce, powerful and it was great seeing her realize and then utilize her full potential. Bell does a great job of walking us through the opening struggles of Carmen’s mind frame, but also effectively changing that ‘weakness’ into a strength in the latter half and showcasing why Carmen wasn’t weak, but could overcome anything, which metaphorically adds another layer.

Another really great story from Bell! This was awesome.

5/5