The Lamb cover art

The Lamb

The bestselling literary sensation of 2025

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The Lamb

By: Lucy Rose
Narrated by: Emma Rydal
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About this listen

 THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A gripping, sinister folktale set in contemporary Cumbria for fans of Sophie Mackintosh, Angela Carter, Daisy Johnson, Margaret Atwood and Julia Armfield

'A new generation of literary horror begins with Lucy Rose'
GENEVIEVE JAGGER

'Deliciously dark and shockingly bold. One of my favourite debuts in a long time'
KIRSTY LOGAN

'Superbly creepy . . . at heart it's about dysfunctional family dynamics, female rage and empowerment'
FINANCIAL TIMES

'An unforgettable, nightmarish tale. I ate it all up'
ANNA BOGUTSKAYA

A FOLK TALE. A HORROR STORY. A LOVE STORY. AN ENCHANTMENT.
Margot and Mama have lived by the forest since Margot can remember. When Margot isn't at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.

But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, little Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires and make a bid for freedom.

With this tender coming-of-age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire and animal instincts - and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.

'Stunning, shocking and surprising at each turn'
BENJAMIN MYERS

'A modern Grimm fairytale'
SUSAN BARKER

'Dark, poetic, gothic, folky and full of courage and beauty'
TIM DOWNIE

'Dear reader, I predict you will be as obsessed as me' 
MOLLY AITKEN

'Lucy Rose can certainly write . . . The Lamb grips all the way to an unexpected denouement'
GUARDIAN Genre Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Scary Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

Deliciously dark and shockingly bold - someone needs to make this into a film right now! Lucy Rose is one to watch. This is one of my favourite debuts in a long time (Kirsty Logan, author of NOW SHE IS WITCH)
Stunning, shocking and surprising at each turn - everything one would want from a novel, and so much more. Lucy Rose's fearful and fantastic imagination is a powerful weapon (Benjamin Myers, author of CUDDY)
Outstanding and disturbing and transformative. A new generation of literary horror begins with Lucy Rose. Brutal yet tender, The Lamb is a book that refuses to offer its reader the easy way out. A masterclass in suspense with an unflinching focus on intergenerational violence, The Lamb will leave you with a twisting feeling on the inside. Sensational. Read now, before everyone you know gets there first (Genevieve Jagger, author of FRAGILE ANIMALS)
Lucy Rose weaves together flesh, bones and mommy issues with unsettling deftness to create an unforgettable, nightmarish tale. I ate it all up (Anna Bogutskaya, author of FEEDING THE MONSTER)
This is the book I've been waiting for. Dark, twisted and utterly enthralling, The Lamb is a novel I will never forget. Lucy Rose's prose gave me chills, perfectly capturing the horrors and beauties of girlhood. Dear reader, I predict you will be as obsessed as me (Molly Aitken, author of BRIGHT I BURN)
Wild, evocative, and deeply felt, I was hooked on The Lamb from the first sentence. Reading Lucy Rose is like gently sliding your hand into the open mouth of a wolf - tender, terrifying, and exhilarating all at once (Sarah Rose Etter, author of RIPE)
A dark, fearsome novel that sticks between your teeth. Rose writes about daughterhood with poetic clarity and tenderness (Amy Twigg, author of SPOILT CREATURES)
The Lamb is one of the most horrifying, beautiful, and memorable things I've read. It's gorgeously written, deeply disturbing, and incredibly moving . . . I was so invested in this strange, dark, coming-of-age tale. Its landscape hums with a sense of threat, but is also shot through with an unsettling beauty. Read it, and see nature, family, and humanity through Margot's eyes for a while, and you'll come out of it changed (Sarah Brooks, author of THE CAUTIOUS TRAVELLER'S GUIDE TO THE WASTELANDS)
A modern Grimm fairytale. Heart-wrenching and sensuously lyrical, yet sinister, depraved and stomach-churningly good (Susan Barker, author of OLD SOUL)
Lucy Rose is extraordinary. I devoured The Lamb in one evening and I have not stopped thinking about it since. Poetic, visceral and wildly addictive, I dare you not to fall in love with Rose's imagination. Consume this book and prepare for it to consume you (Catherine Joy White, author of THIS THREAD OF GOLD)
All stars
Most relevant
I story that grabs you from the very first sentence and doesn't let up even at the end!

Deliciously horrific

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The idea was great but the story got boring and repetitive with nothing really happening.

Boring

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This is a gory tale of flesh and blood told through the eyes of Margot, the child. I read somewhere that this is a feminist horror story (there is an absence of male characters as a whole). Although there were parts of this book which I found hard to listen to as it went into detail of cannibalism, I found it impossible to stop listening. The story writing is almost whimsical but then it is shattered by the details of its subject. All in all I really enjoyed the story. X

Horrifically good

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This story is enchanting and almost magical. The performance is moving and touching, immersing the listener in every word. There are moments of humour among the deep emotion and its hard to stop listening, but the end is incessantly sad, with just a touch of redemption.

Relentlessly melancholy and completely captivating.

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I loved this book. It's grim and beautiful all at the same time. If you are easily upset avoid it. But if you love horror I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Finger food..

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