Writing a review of a sequel to a book you reviewed many years ago is inevitably both intriguing and humbling. That’s certainly the case with DEAR HANNA, a follow-up to Zoje Stage’s first novel, BABY TEETH. When I reviewed this much-talked-about debut for Bookreporter.com, I used the word “unsettling” twice, as it was an update of the horror classic THE BAD SEED. The book explored budding psychopathy from the dual perspective of a mother and daughter, the latter of whom is determined to hasten her parent’s demise.

I called BABY TEETH “a novel really worth thinking about,” and I think the same could be said of this sequel of sorts. Now Hanna (who was seven in the first book) is 20 at the start of the story and 24 for the bulk of the action. She’s trained as a phlebotomist, which is the perfect career path for someone who not only isn’t icked out by blood but is actually reassured by it. It also offers her an outlet to inflict just the right amount of pain on people who deserve it.

"It almost feels as if Stage is leaving the window open to craft a portrait of a psychopath over a lifetime. One wonders what Hanna will be like and where she’ll be at ages 30, 40 and 50. Perhaps Stage will keep readers acquainted with this bizarrely magnetic character over time."

Just when 20-year-old Hanna is growing eager to finally move out of her parents’ home, she is assigned to draw blood from Joelle, the 12-year-old daughter of handsome 40-year-old widower Jacob. The two share a flirtation, abetted by Hanna’s seemingly easy way with Joelle. On their first date, they bond over their shared love of running and of art (he’s an amateur photographer, and she loves to draw). Their relationship accelerates quickly, and although Hanna never really imagined being a parent or even a stepparent, Joelle makes that role easy (or at least easier).

Fast-forward four years, and Joelle is 16. Things are going well…until they aren’t. Suddenly, Hanna and Jacob’s home situation is thrown into chaos, and Hanna finds herself falling back on old tactics, the kinds of strategies she used as a child to keep her loved ones safe --- and to remove those she saw as a threat. Throughout, Hanna’s main release valve is writing letters to her younger brother, Gustav (Goose). Like Hanna, Goose has been sent away to school, and he seems to understand his sister like no one else can.

DEAR HANNA is somewhat of a slow burn, as horror novels go. Astute readers (and/or those who have gotten a bit of insight into Hanna’s childhood character in BABY TEETH) might guess the big plot twist early on, but that doesn’t really diminish from the steadily mounting dread perpetuated by Hanna’s increasingly damaging actions. And yes, “unsettling” once again is a good way to describe how Hanna chooses to approach her obstacles.

It almost feels as if Stage is leaving the window open to craft a portrait of a psychopath over a lifetime. One wonders what Hanna will be like and where she’ll be at ages 30, 40 and 50. Perhaps Stage will keep readers acquainted with this bizarrely magnetic character over time.