The Smell of Hate on Your Skin: A Review of Bite Radius, by Francine James

Bite Radius is a tight and heady horror novelette that’ll leave you emotionally (and kind of physically?) reeling when it’s over. This an extremely visceral piece that keeps you locked in for its short length.

The story follows Elle, who frequently fantasizes about killing her abusive ex-lover to the point that the thoughts basically run her day-to-day life. The character-work here is impeccable. Obviously, you get to know Elle intimately, along with another character who enters her orbit (or is it the other way around?), but you also get a snapshot of an extremely believable antagonist. I love a good villain that encapsulates so much real-world wrong in a vaguely sympathetic (emphasis on pathetic) package.

The craft here is top-notch too, with some fantastic first-person storytelling and some novel(ette) style choices. Honestly makes me envious of Francine James, because I can barely write short fiction to save my life.

Now, I don’t know about other horror book fans, but I’m typically wary of jumping on indie horror like this because, while I’m not squeamish, I don’t like “extreme” horror that has too much fun with violent imagery. So I was very happy to find this little book wasn’t violent just for the “fun”/exploitation of it. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of violence to be had, but I wouldn’t call it unnecessarily cruel.

I’d be excited to take another dive into this world if James writes another installment. Even if she doesn’t, this is a great little bite that any horror fan worth their salt/iron would find more than filling.