Title: Sisters DeRosa

Author: L.J. Dougherty

Release date: August 1st, 2025

*Huge thanks to L.J. for sending me a digital ARC of this one!*

Over the last number of years, Dougherty has worked hard to create himself a horror-niche that I could only describe as European Giallo-esque. With his espionage trilogy, as well as his novel, ‘Daughters of Cruelty,’ L.J. has cemented his styling as that with well detailed, Euro set pieces and engagement, while also utilizing fantastic amounts of 70’s flair. Harkening back to a time where every alley housed a criminal and every woman carried a set of Double D’s with a pistol strapped to their garter belt.

And you know what – it works. It really works.

And I say that as someone who never liked spy or espionage stuff growing up. I wasn’t drawn to the James Bond world or the action adventure thrillers where a heist takes place and the race is on to track down the bad guys.

But somehow, Dougherty has managed to wrap his fingers around me and make me not only read and enjoy these books, but to also love them. The outlier of his bibliography is, of course, ‘Woodhaven,’ which is a phenomenal piece of isolation/dystopian horror, and I highly recommend you give that one a go too.

But with ‘Sisters DeRosa,’ Dougherty took what he built in the finale of his trilogy, in ‘Blood Opus,’ and ramped it up, churning out a demonic-cult horror novel that was equal parts erotica and espionage. This novel really showcases Dougherty’s screenwriting sensibilities as we get a novel ripe for cinematic adaptation.

What I liked: The novel follows Viv, a young woman struggling to find her way in New York. She was going to art college, but had to drop out due to cost and now works as a barista. She was born in Italy, but a moment as a youngster in a church sullied any desire she has of ever returning. But return she must, as her brother is now married and expecting his first child and has invited her over for a visit.

After checking into her hotel, she hears an argument in an alley outside and intervenes, inadvertently stepping into the deep end of something she could never have predicted. It’s here she meets Luna, who has run away from a convent, after discovering it’s not really a place for women to become nuns, but rather a front for a demon worshipping cult. She’s now set on returning and rescuing her younger sister.

Dougherty sets things up well and we see Luna and Viv connect, while also seeing a bunch of moving parts reveal themselves. The cult runs deep, infiltrating every avenue of the world around them and as they get closer to finding Luna’s sister, we begin to slowly learn the truth about what happened in that church all those years ago. A moment that’s forever stained Viv.

The final quarter of the novel is one big explosive finale. Frankly, it was awesome. We see truths revealed, loyalties tested and how Viv and Luna must make huge sacrifices in order to remain together and keep each other safe. I think it’s fair to say that while the first seventy-five percent of this was influenced by 70’s and 80’s religious horror, the final twenty-five percent was a Clive Barker comic book splattered across the written page. It was gloriously insane.

What I didn’t like: As odd as this sounds, I wasn’t overly fond of the epilogue. I’m not sure if it was the location where it takes place – and staying spoiler free means I can’t reveal that – but it felt like there was a marked attempt at ‘elevating’ the way some of the characters spoke and, for me at least, it just didn’t hit home like I think it was supposed to. Saying that, I liked where things went, I just wasn’t a fan of the dialogue adjustment.

Why you should buy this: Much like S.J. Shank has worked his magic on historical/fantasy/horror and Joseph Sale has revamped fantasy/imaginative/horror, Dougherty has really cemented himself as a leader in 70’s influenced Euro/Giallo horror. Between him and David Sodergren, we’re getting some phenomenal entries into a world that seemed to fade away from the written page, while going through a revival on film, but Dougherty has brought it back full force.

This book was dark, delicious, uncomfortable and brutal, all in equally pleasant doses.

I can’t recommend this one enough. It was phenomenally captivating.