A Mask of Flies by Matthew Lyons
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**2.5-stars rounded up**
After a failed bank heist, Anne Hiller is forced to go on the run, along with her wounded partner, Jessup, and the policeman she has taken hostage.
Anne goes to the closest place she can think of where they can safely take refuge, her family’s abandoned cabin. This place should hold a lot of memories for Anne, but her entire childhood is hazy at best. She does remember that the cabin was the site of her mother’s untimely death though.
As she waits for help from other members of her crew, Anne ends up discovering some old relics of her mother’s. Could these items help her piece together the missing bits of her past. She’d love some closure.
Her mission to delve into the past is interrupted when the injured Jessup goes missing. They end up finding his dead body. They decide to bury him, thinking that’ll be the end, but when the dead man returns, knocking at the door in the night, they realize, this is only the beginning.
A Mask of Flies is the third book that I’ve read from Matthew Lyons. On paper, this should have worked really well for me. A Horror-Crime Thriller blend with people returning from the dead and a woman on the run for her life. What’s not to love about that?
Sadly, this didn’t end up being a good fit for me. I’ve enjoyed both of the other novels I’ve read from this author, but this ended up being a miss for me.
I never became fully invested. Anne was very meh, as were the characters surrounding her. The only person who ever really interested me was Dutch, just because of the circumstances he found himself in, but it still wasn’t enough for me to actually feel truly engaged with his plight.
With this being said, it’s not all negative. The writing is great and the ideas are solid. It just failed to capture my attention. That doesn’t mean it won’t work for others, however, including you, so please take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I did read this directly after reading Blood Like Mine, another new release Crime Horror novel that I absolutely loved. Perhaps reading them back-to-back was detrimental to my experience with this one. It disappointed in comparison.
I will also say, Lyons creates his landscapes really well. I’ve noticed this throughout his work that I’ve read. I can always picture these beautifully-stark landscapes the characters travel through.
This one, as with A Black and Endless Sky, gave me slight Desperation mixed with Revival vibes, which I even mentioned in my review for that previous novel. There’s something very Fundamentalist Religious group meets Tak about all this. IYKYK.
At the end of the day, even though this wasn’t the most fun experience for me, I still believe Matthew Lyons is one heck of a writer. He takes risks and is creative with his storylines. I’m definitely planning to pick up whatever he writes next.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
There’s a book for every Reader and a Reader for every book. Just because this wasn’t great for me personally, doesn’t mean it won’t be amazing for you.
Give it a shot. Check it out. Available now!!!