Caitriona 🧩🩸🦇
@briartherose.bsky.social
she / her. tawdry horror paperback connoisseur and Saw franchise apologist.
Storygraph: 2/30
current read:
Storygraph: 2/30
current read:
In the Cut: when I picked this up on a whim from the charity shop, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This is a short, complex, fascinating book about gender and language and urban life, with an ending that genuinely made me feel sick (complimentary). Not bad for £1.50, thanks Samaritans!
January 13, 2026 at 9:56 PM
In the Cut: when I picked this up on a whim from the charity shop, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This is a short, complex, fascinating book about gender and language and urban life, with an ending that genuinely made me feel sick (complimentary). Not bad for £1.50, thanks Samaritans!
The Countdown Killer: there is a much more interesting story that could have been told here about justice and vigilantism - who the 'real' villains are - but as it stands, this is just an above-average procedural. Once again, very surreal for one of these types of books to be set in my hometown!
January 11, 2026 at 4:13 PM
The Countdown Killer: there is a much more interesting story that could have been told here about justice and vigilantism - who the 'real' villains are - but as it stands, this is just an above-average procedural. Once again, very surreal for one of these types of books to be set in my hometown!
did we as a country just collectively decide we can deal with snow now? because I seem to recall that the slightest amount of it would grind the public transportation system to a halt a few years ago. do we just not give a fuck any more
January 5, 2026 at 5:30 PM
did we as a country just collectively decide we can deal with snow now? because I seem to recall that the slightest amount of it would grind the public transportation system to a halt a few years ago. do we just not give a fuck any more
sorry but was anyone ever going to tell me that someone made a movie starring Ross Noble as an evil killer clown, or was I just supposed to find that out on my own?
January 4, 2026 at 4:48 PM
sorry but was anyone ever going to tell me that someone made a movie starring Ross Noble as an evil killer clown, or was I just supposed to find that out on my own?
Christmas has been hard this year because if it's supposed to be all about tradition and continuity, what do you do when your childhood home is gone, and spending time with your family is a bigger logistical pain in the arse than it's ever been before?
December 26, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Christmas has been hard this year because if it's supposed to be all about tradition and continuity, what do you do when your childhood home is gone, and spending time with your family is a bigger logistical pain in the arse than it's ever been before?
spongebob big guy pants ok
December 21, 2025 at 7:41 PM
spongebob big guy pants ok
The Death of Us: a late contender for the best book I've read this year. Pulls off being both a heartrending romantic drama, and a properly stomach-churning thriller. When you've endured as much crime-thriller slop as I have, something this well-written and sophisticated is like an oasis in a desert
December 12, 2025 at 10:16 PM
The Death of Us: a late contender for the best book I've read this year. Pulls off being both a heartrending romantic drama, and a properly stomach-churning thriller. When you've endured as much crime-thriller slop as I have, something this well-written and sophisticated is like an oasis in a desert
Reposted by Caitriona 🧩🩸🦇
You know what would fix me is going on a game show and being asked a series of questions where I can derive the answer to each one by remembering a key incident in my life in detail, all leading up to the present moment and the solution to my problems
December 10, 2025 at 4:30 PM
You know what would fix me is going on a game show and being asked a series of questions where I can derive the answer to each one by remembering a key incident in my life in detail, all leading up to the present moment and the solution to my problems
as surely as night follows day, Gaga ends up on my year end list
December 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
as surely as night follows day, Gaga ends up on my year end list
do you think the guy playing the Grinch in the Asda advert had to go through CIA torture endurance training like Jim Carrey
November 20, 2025 at 2:03 PM
do you think the guy playing the Grinch in the Asda advert had to go through CIA torture endurance training like Jim Carrey
Pop Goes The Weasel: without the Saw trappings of the first book, I'm a lot less forgiving of this series. I appreciate that it barrels along in such a breathless rush that you don't have time to think too hard, but fuck, is the writing terrible. Which is to say nothing of the plot itself...woof
November 18, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Pop Goes The Weasel: without the Saw trappings of the first book, I'm a lot less forgiving of this series. I appreciate that it barrels along in such a breathless rush that you don't have time to think too hard, but fuck, is the writing terrible. Which is to say nothing of the plot itself...woof
so I'm reading this series of books set in my hometown and it's making me fucking insufferable. the characters are talking about the latest murder and I'm over here going "ummmm ackshually there isn't a Caffe Nero on Shirley high street!!!"
a person wearing glasses and a crown is giving a thumbs up sign .
ALT: a person wearing glasses and a crown is giving a thumbs up sign .
media.tenor.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:59 PM
so I'm reading this series of books set in my hometown and it's making me fucking insufferable. the characters are talking about the latest murder and I'm over here going "ummmm ackshually there isn't a Caffe Nero on Shirley high street!!!"
Eeny Meeny: a reread of one of my favourite cheesy thrillers of all time. The extent to which this was written for me is absolutely bonkers: Saw-adjacent plot? Gratuitous violence? Southampton setting? Sign me up. Shame about the transphobia though, please fix this for future books Mister Arlidge
November 14, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Eeny Meeny: a reread of one of my favourite cheesy thrillers of all time. The extent to which this was written for me is absolutely bonkers: Saw-adjacent plot? Gratuitous violence? Southampton setting? Sign me up. Shame about the transphobia though, please fix this for future books Mister Arlidge
I can't stop laughing at this picture my partner just sent me of the cat. I promise she does have limbs under all that flab
November 7, 2025 at 1:55 PM
I can't stop laughing at this picture my partner just sent me of the cat. I promise she does have limbs under all that flab
love that cinemasins released a compilation of all their Saw videos and, while they took the time to bleep more of the swears, they couldn't be bothered to fix any of the factual errors they made. the Saw II video is particularly egregious and yet it remains virtually untouched. excellent work
November 5, 2025 at 11:44 AM
love that cinemasins released a compilation of all their Saw videos and, while they took the time to bleep more of the swears, they couldn't be bothered to fix any of the factual errors they made. the Saw II video is particularly egregious and yet it remains virtually untouched. excellent work
hate that criticising Labour has to come with so many qualifiers now. if I hate Starmer for being racist, and you hate him for not being racist enough, we are not the same
November 5, 2025 at 7:44 AM
hate that criticising Labour has to come with so many qualifiers now. if I hate Starmer for being racist, and you hate him for not being racist enough, we are not the same
Of Flesh and Blood: started strong. Good tension, evocative sense of place, interesting framing. Flagged a bit in the second half; Vincent is not a compelling character. I was hoping for True Detective S1 vibes, but it simply didn't stick the 'maybe supernatural, maybe not' landing nearly as well
November 1, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Of Flesh and Blood: started strong. Good tension, evocative sense of place, interesting framing. Flagged a bit in the second half; Vincent is not a compelling character. I was hoping for True Detective S1 vibes, but it simply didn't stick the 'maybe supernatural, maybe not' landing nearly as well
the tonal whiplash of ending last night's Grand Designs, about a terminally ill woman scrimping and saving to build the house of her and her wife's dreams before she dies, with a preview of next week's episode, where some rich twats seemingly spend 7mil building a castle just because they can
October 23, 2025 at 6:50 AM
the tonal whiplash of ending last night's Grand Designs, about a terminally ill woman scrimping and saving to build the house of her and her wife's dreams before she dies, with a preview of next week's episode, where some rich twats seemingly spend 7mil building a castle just because they can
Want: an intriguing collection of real women's fantasies from around the world, more varied and interesting than I had expected. Would have been more enjoyable without Gillian popping up every few pages to patronisingly remind us all that fantasies are, in fact, different from real life
October 18, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Want: an intriguing collection of real women's fantasies from around the world, more varied and interesting than I had expected. Would have been more enjoyable without Gillian popping up every few pages to patronisingly remind us all that fantasies are, in fact, different from real life
well this was a nice surprise. thanks Spotify! and thanks for introducing me to twilight zone while you were at it. was just thinking I was overdue a good sob on the bus
October 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
well this was a nice surprise. thanks Spotify! and thanks for introducing me to twilight zone while you were at it. was just thinking I was overdue a good sob on the bus
sleepy Bristolian bookshop kittykat 🐱 I think their name is Creams?? no amount of pspsps could wake them up but I respect their commitment to the nap
September 11, 2025 at 7:18 PM
sleepy Bristolian bookshop kittykat 🐱 I think their name is Creams?? no amount of pspsps could wake them up but I respect their commitment to the nap
I'm no legal expert but I would assume that if you are in court, and you repeatedly refer to your alleged victim by a nickname you have specifically invented to mock and belittle them, this does not do a great job of making the case for your innocence
September 6, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I'm no legal expert but I would assume that if you are in court, and you repeatedly refer to your alleged victim by a nickname you have specifically invented to mock and belittle them, this does not do a great job of making the case for your innocence
8:30 and it's already dark... autumn looms...
a black cat is wearing a red cape and a rhinestone necklace .
ALT: a black cat is wearing a red cape and a rhinestone necklace .
media.tenor.com
August 30, 2025 at 7:32 PM
8:30 and it's already dark... autumn looms...
I've got to take eye drops for a few days and I CANNOT FUCKING DO IT. it genuinely has me like this
August 29, 2025 at 12:11 PM
I've got to take eye drops for a few days and I CANNOT FUCKING DO IT. it genuinely has me like this