The Dreadfuls

 

The Dreadfuls is a very well writtetn YA historical horror/mystery by A. Rae Dunlap. Released 31st March 2026 by Kensington, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

Brooding, atmospheric, and by turns darkly sarcastic and humorous, the MC is roughly 15(?), FULL of angst, and unwillingly sent to a reform/boarding school for wayward young women. It's marketed as an adult historical mystery, but works much better for the older range of YA audiences. There are themes of (awkward) found family/allies, non-graphic f/f love/lust, unjust punishment and censorship, misogyny, anti-semitism, sexism, and more - historically justifiable for the time period, but uncomfortable to read in places. 

There is graphic violence and body horror (including dismemberment and disemboweling), domestic violence (on page), and corporal punishment. Despite having an LGBTQ+ label, the representation is implied and never explicit. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 10 hours 49 minutes and is capably read by Anna Burnett. She has a well modulated alto voice for this read and does a capable job with the wide variety of regional character accents both male and female and a range of ages. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Three and a half stars. Well written, a bit splattery, with a satisfying denouement and resolution. It would make a good choice for public library acquisition, home readers (true crime/historical crime), or a buddy read.  

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.