The Haar

I really enjoyed David Sodergren's horror novel Night Shoot, but it has taken me over two years to find myself submerged in another of his books, The Haar. It was independently published by the author in 2022. The book is available in both hardcover and paperback, as well as a 7-hour Tantor Media audio narration by Mhairi Morrison. 

The novel stars an 84-year old widow named Muriel McAuley. Muriel lives in a cottage on the remote Scottish seaside. Land developers, led by an unscrupulous baron, have bought or bullied their way through the small village in a grand effort to create a golf community (side note – I despise golf). Muriel refuses to sell for any amount of money. She loves her little place, partly because she has lived so many years of her life there with her husband. He died years ago on a fishing expedition – this is important.

Often, Muriel journeys down to the rocky beach to enjoy a small watershed cave there, a place where she spent magical moments with her husband. In the opening pages of the novel, Muriel is in this place when she discovers a wounded sea creature lying on the jagged rocks. In an effort to heal the beast, she scampers back to her house and places the creature in her bathtub. Only there's a small problem with its healing...the creature doesn't just need water – it needs blood.

Soon, Muriel embarks on an emotional adventure with this strange creature residing in her bathtub. In a shocking revelation, the healed creature confesses to Muriel that it can appear as anything. It can also read her mind and cull from it her most precious memories – memories of her time with her husband. Muriel allows the creature to “become” her deceased husband, and the two cherish her memories together. Yet, Muriel knows this facade can only be temporary. The creature needs human blood in order to remain alive. 

The Haar is the best book I've read thus far in 2026. It is a combination of horror, dark fantasy, action, and romance. At a short page count of just 200 pages, Sodergren took me through different levels of emotion as Muriel experiences the ultimate reunion and is forced into some really dark decision-making. I described the book to a friend, and he immediately caught the Hellraiser comparison, but I'd also mention other influencing films like Splash, Lady in the Water, and maybe, to a lesser extent, Swamp Thing. It is a fish-out-of-water story, but it incorporates so many different aspects. It is violent, beautiful, gory, and wholly unique. 

The best compliment I can give to any book is how it made me feel afterwards. This book makes you feel something, and for that, I can't recommend it enough. You need to read this book.

Get The Haar HERE.