Title: The Mean Ones
Author: Tatiana Scholte-Bonne
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Mean-Ones-Tatiana-Schlote-Bonne-ebook/dp/B0DY6R4JY8/
Release Date: September 30th, 2025
Summary
So what if Sadie hears talking dead animals and a strange, comforting male voice in her head? The therapist insists these are just symptoms of PTSD. It makes sense considering that she hid under the bed and watched as her best friends were slaughtered.
But the murders were seventeen years ago, back when her name was Sabrina. Now, she’s Sadie: a perfectly normal 29-year-old. She works as a physical therapist assistant and lifts weights with her boyfriend, Lucas, who’s the sweetest, most considerate man—as long as he’s not angry. But when Lucas spontaneously agrees to join a couples trip to a cabin in the woods, the visions get worse, a strange figure stalks her during the night, and that male voice in Sadie’s head keeps calling, asking her to do things she’s never fathomed.
Sadie’s not sure if it’s her paranoia or something else entirely . . . But she is sure of one thing—this time, she’s not going to sit idly by as everything starts to unravel.
My Review
5/5 Stars
I have been on a roll lately with reading books about female rage, and I don’t regret a thing. This book is fantastic! I’d categorize as “Good For Her.”
Sabrina witnessed a horrific and impossible to explain event at summer camp when she was a kid. Now, as an adult, she’s dealing with the aftermath of it. All she wants to do is be normal for once in her life, but is being normal really all it’s cracked up to be?
I loved Sabrina’s character. She felt so real, very authentic, and I could relate to her struggle to fit in both as a child and as an adult. [Spoiler] The way she slowly comes to accept herself and all her flaws was perhaps the most touching part of the book.
I think my favorite part of the book though was the parallel between the real monsters in her life and the things she saw in her head. Facing one meant facing the other, and I thought that was brilliant. [Spoiler] Also, I was VERY happy to see Lucas go.
The Mean Ones is psychological horror at its finest.
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