Invasive Species is a genre-bending cozy horror with a strong feminist vibe.

Ellery describes it as a mutt: part folklore, part mythology, part female rage, part small town drama, part coming of age story. It also balances horror with hope and asks: What does it mean to be a monster?

Life in the coastal town of Cold Harbor is not all it seems. One mother—Elaine—will do anything to make her son’s bar-mitzvah the event of the season; another mother—Natalie—is determined to launch her career as a real estate agent. Standing in their way is Mrs. Smith, their mysterious neighbor who lives in the creepy Victorian house with an overgrown poisonous garden.

Mrs. Smith, aka the Mother of Eels, is an ancient sea creature enduring a half-life as a human. During the day she stays in a special hot tub inside her house; at night, she swims with the eels. She despises humans. They have claimed dominion over her world and forced her into hiding. Gone are the days when she ruled the oceans, existed on human sacrifices, and could hunt at will.

But she must eat to feed her immortality and mate to ensure the survival of her species.

And it’s time, finally, to feast on nine men-children in order to restore her ancient power. Once she’s gorged on four or five, she can transform into a beautiful temptress and seduce any man, thereby becoming pregnant.

First, she must out-smart a new threat—local women.

Times are changing for human women. They no longer stay inside their homes breeding her next meal. And observant women have always been her enemy.

One of those women, Natalie’s Icelandic housekeeper, Una, knows all too well that monsters can hide behind human faces. And Natalie’s smart, curious twelve-year-old daughter, Jill, increasingly believes something evil lurks in the water, especially after a yacht race for local teens ends in tragedy.

In the pre-Internet world of the early eighties, Jill and Una retreat to the library to find information about the monster they suspect threatens their community.

Meanwhile, the tension rises beautifully as Elaine and Natalie try to bend Mrs. Smith to their will oblivious to the fact that she’s using them for her own evil needs. I loved every dark, humorous twist and every eighties cultural reference—to Jaws and ABBA. Yes, there are a few severed body parts, but nothing  freaked out this wimp with zero tolerance for gore.

My favorite lines from the book:  “Women whispered. They whispered to one another. They whispered to their men. With enough oxygen, a woman’s whisper could light a torch. It could build a scaffold.”