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🌑 ARC Review – Orpheus Builds a Girl by Heather Parry
📅 Release date: 30 Sep 2025
⭐️ 4/5 stars
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Synopsis

Based on a true story, Orpheus Builds a Girl is a novel of sisterly love, sinister obsession, and the battle for control of the story. A dark, chilling debut novel from award-winning writer Heather Parry.

German doctor Wilhelm Von Tore shares with the reader the story of his one true ove; a love written in the stars, decades in the making, a love so strong it transcended death itself. When Wilhelm emigrates to America he carries with him a vision of a dark-haired beauty, presented to him in his dreams by his beloved late Grandmother. In Key West, Florida, a beautiful young woman is taken to him in the grip of illness, and he recognises her immediately as his promised bride. Despite his efforts, the sickness takes hold and his beloved slips away from him. But Wilhelm will not be kept from his destiny, not even by death. Using research compiled over decades, he sets about attempting to restore his love to her body, so that they might be together forever.

But there’s another voice in this story: Gabriela, and she will not let this version of events go unchallenged. From between the cracks in Wilhelm’s story Gabriela recounts her own memory of her sister Luciana, a fiery and difficult young woman, and the madman who robbed her from her grave.

What I thought

I’m always drawn to books based on real-life events, and Orpheus Builds a Girl didn’t disappoint. Heather Parry has created something truly chilling and unique. The writing is sharp, haunting, and at times even poetic, pulling you deep into a story that’s as macabre as it is fascinating.

The novel is told through two interwoven narratives. One is from Dr. Wilhelm, a fictionalised version of Carl Tanzler, a man consumed by obsession and control, whose voice becomes increasingly disturbing as the story unfolds. The other comes from Gabriella, the sister of Luciana, the woman at the centre of his obsession. Gabriella’s voice brings heartbreak, clarity, and a fierce sense of protection over Luci, offering a vital counterbalance to Wilhelm’s delusion.

The alternating voices throughout kept the tension high and gave the story a layered, unsettling intimacy. It also sent me straight down a rabbit hole afterwards, reading up on Carl Tanzler and the bizarre true story behind the novel. I always find fiction rooted in real events more compelling, and this is a brilliant example of how to do it well.

If you’re into gothic fiction, morally grey characters, or stories that explore obsession and control in deeply uncomfortable ways, I’d definitely recommend this. It wasn’t an easy read emotionally, but it was absolutely worth it.

Creepy, atmospheric, and thought-provoking.
A solid 4 stars from me.