WE HEAR VOICES

Malevolent inner voices plague young pandemic survivors in near-future London.

The J5X virus has killed millions worldwide and—unlike Covid-19—is particularly lethal to children under 10, so when 6-year-old Billy Stevens falls ill, his mother, 43-year-old divorcée Rachel Jackman, braces for the worst. After weeks of steady decline, however, Billy miraculously recovers and soon begins chatting nonstop with an invisible entity dubbed Delfy. Rachel assumes that Delfy is something Billy created to cope with the boredom of his convalescence, but the rest of the family isn’t so sure. Rachel’s partner, Al, and Billy’s 16-year-old sister, Nina, fear Delfy is a post-virus complication. Rachel’s mother, Orla, becomes convinced that Billy is possessed after “Delfy” tries to strangle her. Government health insurance doesn’t cover child psychiatric care, and Rachel and Al are broke, so when Billy’s violent behavior escalates, Rachel persuades her ex-husband, Henry, to pay for a consult with professor Graham Watson, whose website advertises a specialization in “post-flu imaginary friends.” Unbeknownst to Rachel and company, Graham has a secret underground clinic full of kids like Billy. Pseudonymous author Green’s debut suffers somewhat for her haphazard incorporation of the J5X outbreak; the characters’ cavalier attitude toward disease prevention strains credulity, particularly given current events. Although a subplot that spotlights the affordable housing crisis feels more carefully considered and Rachel’s mounting panic rings true, a deeply silly coda undercuts the tale’s largely gratifying climax and denouement.

A fusion of horror and social commentary that chills but proves too uneven to truly terrify.