Jayden hasn’t been having a good year. He’s probably not going to keep his job long. His two oldest friends are getting way too judgy as they go about cleaning up their act and becoming “mature”. To make things worse they keep expecting him to do the same. As if they’re so perfect? But what’s the point, why bother? Jayden knows what sort of person he is, and aiming to “improve” himself is just a waste of everybody’s time.

Then those friends decide to introduce him to someone new; Katie. Katie seems to get it. Katie sees how pointless people can be. Now dinner is eaten and the four of them are going to the movies together. Will this be a chance for Jayden to turn over a new leaf and begin something new? Or is it all true what they say about him, what he thinks about himself? Is he really that awful?

But what happens among the dark seats of the cinema will start a chain reaction for Jayden and everyone around him. Still dripping from the rain outside, grotesque things will force all who encounter them to uncover their true selves, if they want any chance to survive.

Rotten is the latest novel by New Zealand author Aaron Dick. This nauseating horror story follows Jayden as he is confronted with the up close and personal faces of both death and deep regret. Not to mention he must face the unnatural things that just keep coming, keep crawling, keep stumbling closer every moment; while he scrambles to finally find somewhere he feels safe.