Vanity Kills

By: Erica Summers

Narrated by: Jake Blagburn

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Haunted by his tragic past, Jack LeBlanc, a heavily scarred introvert, finds himself volunteering for the clinical trial of a miraculous new tissue-regeneration drug nicknamed Obsidian. Jack and the other test subjects soon discover that the medication is not what was promised. They’re about to find out the hard way that the pills have nightmarish consequences and that Jack’s pained conscience isn’t the only thing with teeth.

With every pill taken, one thing becomes more clear: the path to perfection will be paved with gore. From the author behind Bad God's Tower, Writhe, and Mantis comes a truly unsettling, Cronenberg-style body horror novel that will make your skin crawl and have you questioning every pill you take.

©2023 Erica Summers (P)2024 Erica Summers

Critic reviews

"Definitely one of my favorite reads this year!" - Justin Boote, author of They Are All Monsters

"Summers drops you right into the story and refuses to let you look away." - Mia Coppola Faller, author of Buried Women Speak

"Vanity Kills is creative, terrifying, and beautifully written." - Nat Whiston, author of Feel Her Pain.

What would you do?

Would you undergo a completely experimental test to possibly remove any scars or ailments, even if you are completely unsure of any side effects?

In Vanity Kills, seven people said yes, yes they would. From a model with an appendectomy scar, to a paralyzed man, to a woman with a vicious scar from a hideous attack, they all agreed to be Dr. Walsh's guinea pigs. They would be paid handsomely to live in a test center for three weeks while they are given a new drug called Obsidian, a pill that comes with the promise of getting rid of any old scars and ailments.

Jack is riddled with burns from a car accident years back that killed his wife (in a rather... interesting death scene). He is extremely self conscious of these, and has found life very difficult in the time after recovery. He is desperate to get rid of them, even after seeing who was behind the study.

Does the treatment work? And if it does, at what cost?

The characterization is STRONG in Vanity Kills. It's a slow burn that doesn't really feel like one. Once you get to the true meat of the book, it's brutal and it's descriptive, and you can really see everything well in your head. And the last third of the book really hits hard when everything finally comes together.

The narrator did a fantastic job.

If you're looking for a disturbing and fascinating look into body horror, this is the book for you.

Well written story

Enjoyable story line with well written characters. Mick was my favorite. Don't mix your meds lady's and gent's.

How far would you go to fix your “flaws”

This story follows a group of people testing a miracle drug that heals all injuries and scars. If that sounds too good to be true, that’s because it probably is.

I really enjoyed this one. The narrator read a little fast, sometimes blending multiple sentences together but it was still easy to follow along.