However, in this book, the two character voices sound nearly identical.
LaRocca knows how to write compelling first person prose with a great sense of rhythm and style. The only issue I have with Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is the voice. They’re both desperate to be with someone and are willing to settle for a less than perfect match. The stakes keep rising after Zoey asks Agnes “What have you done to deserve your eyes today?” Zoey is trying to get Agnes to loosen up and be present in her life Agnes is trying to do everything she can to save this romantic relationship, even if she’s not totally onboard with all of Zoey’s challenges. LaRocca crafts a tense story out of these exchanges. That doesn’t mean that they are incapable of causing each other frustration, stress, or pain along the way. The two women are in a consenting relationship and even have it in their contract that either one can cancel the arrangement at any time. This is a true slipstream novella, playing with everything from true crime and detective stories to splatterpunk and erotica. The framing device is a true crime case, as Agnes is reported dead and Zoey reported the suspect from the opening paragraph. The entire book is a modern epistolary novel, told in DMs, live chats, and emails.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is an extreme horror novella from Eric LaRocca. Agnes just needs to do everything Zoey says, whenever Zoey says to, without question. If Agnes agrees to enter a virtual BDSM contract with Zoey, she will have more money than she could ever use. This gets the attention of Zoey, another lonely young woman, who is more than willing to help Agnes make her rent and find a new family. She decides to make a listing on a queer message board to sell her grandmother’s antique apple peeler. After being disowned by her family for coming out as gay, she’s been struggling to make her rent payments each month. Content warning: homophobia, violence against women, sexual content, animal abuse, gore, toxic relationship, mental wellness, foul language, self harm, medical contentĪgnes is a lonely young woman just trying to get by.
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