horror

Review: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

~ megs14malloy

The Haunting of Paynes HollowThe Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow follows Samantha Payne, who is shocked to learn upon the death of her Grandfather that she’s received a very valuable lakefront property that’s been in the family for generations.

It’s an extremely prized piece of real estate, a summer retreat on Lake Ontario, that the whole family has enjoyed for years. Samantha is left scratching her head as to why he would have bequeathed it to her of all people.

The property also has a bit of a lurid past though, one Samantha would rather not think about. It was at that lakefront cottage that her father was thought to have killed a local child. Sadly, he ended up taking his own life as a result of this horrific incident.

Since that time, 14-years ago, Samantha has been practically estranged from that side of the family, except for her Aunt Gail, who she’s remained quite close with.

As it turns out, the inheritance does have one small caveat. Sam needs to reside at the cottage for a month before the property will be officially conveyed into her name. There are very strict rules applied to this as well.

Needing the money the property could some day grant her, Sam decides to take on the challenge, and along with her Aunt, heads back to the property she hasn’t revisited in over a decade.

From the start things seem slightly off, like someone is trying to scare them away. Not only that, being back at the site, stirs up all sorts of long-buried memories and emotions for Sam. It’s a lot.

When Aunt Gail goes missing a few days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything she thought she knew, both about her past and their family.

Exhausted from nightmares and plagued by paranoia, Sam swears she sees lights and shapes moving under the rippling waves of the lake. Can the truth of what lies below also be the truth at the heart of her family legacy?

I had fun reading The Haunting of Paynes Hollow. This was my first Kelley Armstrong, and I was excited to check out her work. The initial set-up was fantastic, hooking me quickly. I always love an inheritance story.

I loved also that we follow a Niece-Aunt duo. I’m so close with my own nieces, seeing that relationship dynamic explored was extra special. It’s not one you see often.

I also tend to enjoy when people return somewhere from their past and try to solve old mysteries, which in a way, this is as well. Sam was just a child when everything went down with her father, so she has some repressed memories that start to bubble to the surface once she’s living there.

I liked all of those things. However, there’s also just A LOT going on. At times it bordered on being too much. I feel like it did come together for the most part though.

The lore of the family was interesting, as well as all of the long-buried secrets that were revealed. I think for me the setting was the best part, and the unsettling atmosphere created by the odd goings-on was a close second.

Though I did feel it started to get a bit repetitive towards the middle, the ending was worth getting through all that. I would definitely recommend this to Readers who are looking for something a little different in the Creepy Reads space.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m definitely looking forward to picking up more from this author!

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Review: Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward

~ megs14malloy

Nowhere BurningNowhere Burning by Catriona Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Nowhere Burning is a dark, melancholic novel set deep in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains.

Although told via three main perspectives, the perspective that kicks off our tale, and really serves as the heart of the story, is that of Riley, a young girl, who saves herself and her brother from the clutches of their abusive Uncle’s home.

Running away in the middle of the night, Riley has one plan in mind, to join a group of unhomed teens squatting on the abandoned grounds of a infamous movie star’s ranch, aptly named, Nowhere.

I don’t want to mention the other two perspectives, as the Publisher’s Synopsis leaves them out, therefore I don’t want to be accidentally giving things away.

Just know this story is much more complex and nuanced than the synopsis may lead you to believe. One of the most interesting aspects of this novel, in my opinion, was trying to figure out how all three were going to ultimately connect.

Initially it seems Nowhere is the only connection, but is that actually true?

This novel is quite stark and gritty. It feels bleak, the tone of which reminded me a bit of the 2010 movie, Winter Bone. It’s also a very slow burn, that sneaks up on you emotionally.

I didn’t realize how much it had captured me until the very end. I begrudgingly admit this book made me cry actual tears and they seemed to come out of nowhere.

I was shocked at the emotion Ward was able to draw out of me. It was like a punch in the gut. I feel like the way she pulled everything together, it was just beautifully done. It was hard to not feel emotion and empathy for this set of characters that life seemed to be so unkind to.

The world isn’t always an easy place, but beauty, hope and love can often be found even on the darkest of days. This story felt like moving through a deep, unending fog, but it’s worth the darkness; it’s worth the trudge.

I would recommend this to Readers who like a dark, emotional slow burn. It feels very Literary Horror, with plenty of dark subject matter to really sink your teeth into. For fans of Ward, this is a must read.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I feel like this one is going to stick in my mind for a long time to come!

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Review: Another by Paul Tremblay

~ megs14malloy

AnotherAnother by Paul Tremblay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚

Another is beloved Horror author Paul Tremblay’s Middle Grade debut, and it was such a delight to read. I found the concepts fun, well-imagined and eerie. There were some genuinely creepy moments that got under my skin.

I would have been obsessed with this as a kid!

In this story we’re following Casey, a middle school boy currently living with Transient Tic Disorder, or TTD. The disorder first presented itself, unfortunately, when remote learning was a thing during the Covid pandemic.

All of Casey’s classmates witnessed his tics during a Zoom session. Casey has since been treated like a social pariah, and he has started isolating, keeping to himself a lot more.

When his parents receive an odd phone call one day, and then report to him that he has a friend coming to the house for a sleepover, Casey is confused. Who could it be? What friend? He knows nothing about it.

When Morel shows up, Casey is even more confused. He’s never seen this kid in his life. And what’s going on with his skin? It looks like clay and Morel doesn’t speak.

In spite of the oddness of Morel’s appearance and behavior, Casey’s parents act like nothing is off. In fact, they seemed charmed by him, and Casey is certainly in no position to turn away a potential new friend.

The longer Morel is there though, the more unsettled Casey becomes. Morel is evolving the more he interacts with the family, and Casey is left scratching his head about the nature of his new friend.

Another is an extremely well-crafted story. I didn’t know what to think when Morel first arrived. The whole circumstance with him being there, it felt dangerous, before I actually knew whether it was or not. It left me unnerved.

This story definitely channeled the nostalgic feel of classic kids horror from my own childhood, but done in a modern, more thoughtful way.

I feel like Tremblay put a lot of care into these characters and Casey is so well-developed and empathetic. He’s a character you can get behind and I felt like I went on this wild and crazy journey with him.

Morel’s presence was entirely unsettling. Particularly, because it felt like Casey was so on his own in this. His parents were captivated by Morel’s presence, they could see no wrong, leaving Casey to navigate all the mysterious happenings on his own.

I did enjoy Casey’s relationship with his older sister, Ally, but she was away at college, so couldn’t be much help to him in this situation.

I also enjoyed the real world issues that Trembay explored, such as the challenges of remote learning and isolation. I don’t tend to enjoy any stories that touch upon Covid, but I feel like it was done well here, and in a way that didn’t feel overwhelming to the rest of the plot.

I would highly-recommend this to anyone who enjoys Spooky Middle Grade stories. This has such a vibe and was so much fun to read. It’s fast-paced and engaging, with an excellent audiobook to boot.

Thank you to the publisher, Quill Tree Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m hoping to see a lot more of Tremblay’s work in the Middle Grade space!

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Review: One Bad Night & Other Stories an Aardvark Original Horror Anthology

~ megs14malloy

One Bad Night & Other StoriesOne Bad Night & Other Stories by Isabel Armiento
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One Bad Night & Other Stories, a Horror Anthology, is an Aardvark Original developed to celebrate Aardvark Book Club’s 3-year anniversary in October.

I knew immediately upon seeing the cover that I had to have it, but then I read the list of authors and was doubly-sold. Those authors are Kay Chronister, Del Sandeen, Kylie Lee Baker, Rachel Harrison, CJ Leede, Jennifer Marie Thorne, S. A. Barnes, and Stephen Graham Jones, all of whom have had previous novels offered via Aardvark.

If you are unfamiliar with Aardvark, they are an online book subscription service offering new and varied releases each month. The quality that makes Aardvark my favorite service is the amount of new Horror they offer, my favorite genre.

This collection features 8-stories, and below are my brief thoughts/ratings on each story:

1. Two Observers of the Slaughter Rites on Gannet Island by Kay Chronister — ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — This story follows a husband and wife duo embarking on some cultural anthropological field research on a remote island. It was so bizarre and fun and I became completely invested in it.

2. My Lithopedia by Del Sandeen — ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 — This was fun and it definitely got under my skin. Anything involving dolls, or things resembling dolls, which I would categorize the feel of the stone baby from this story as, usually get under my skin. I felt like this had such a classic horror feel, but was also a creative concept, so it played on past tropes, but brought something completely new to the table!

3. Lady Jawbone by Kylie Lee Baker — ⭐⭐⭐.5 — I liked the feel of this as well, but was left a little dumbfounded by it. I feel like, having read other things from this author, this was very different from her other work. I like the description of the setting, being in nearly constant dark, it sort of took away the visual sense, so it made me feel like I was in the dark as well.

4. A Necromancer’s Guide to Reconnecting with an Ex by Rachel Harrison — ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — I love Rachel Harrison’s writing so much. Her MCs always feel so true to life. While this didn’t pack quite the punch as her regular full-length novels, it was still very well-crafted.

5. Red Tide by C.J. Leede — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — This story was so interesting, including some sea-related horror, which I tend to enjoy. There were some super yucky descriptions, which I loved and also enjoyed how full-circle this felt.

6. 47 Pineview Way by Jennifer Marie Thorne — ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 — This was eerie. If it were a full-length novel and I was writing one of my regular reviews, it would be rounded up to a 4. This is a suburban-set story with the feel of the goblin market to it. It was def interesting and I cannot imagine being in the MCs position.

7. A Meditation on the Existence of Certain Cutlery by S.A. Barnes — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — This story was very S.A. Barnes! It almost felt like it contained a whole novel, it was so well-imagined. I don’t know what to believe about the end, I have different theories, and I love that Barnes left it open to the Reader’s interpretation.

8. One Bad Night by Stephen Graham Jones — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — I almost didn’t make it through this story, NGL. The topics explored mirror pretty closely things going on in my own life at the moment, and I’ll tell you, it’s wasn’t easy.

I pushed through, skimming certain sections, because a friend read it before me and I sort of knew ahead of time the direction it would ultimately take. I was gutted by this story. It’s written with such raw detail and emotion. So, yeahhhh, SGJ, one of my favorite authors of all time tearing my heart out yet again. I love his writing so much. It’s always so heartfelt and real. What an end to the collection. Wow.

Overall, this was such a fun and well-rounded collection, ending with that gut-wrenching story from one of my favorite authors of all time, SGJ, which spoke to my soul.

Aardvark did a phenomenal job with their selection of authors and works for this anthology. I hope they create more of these in the future. I’d definitely be buying and reading them!

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Review: Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

~ megs14malloy

Coffin MoonCoffin Moon by Keith Rosson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Coffin Moon centers around Duane Minor, a Vietnam Vet working as a bartender in his wife, Heidi’s, parent’s bar, and his 13-year old niece, Julia, who the couple recently took in.

Duane is struggling with his sobriety, while Julia is struggling with some very traumatic events in her home life that has left her separated from her mother and brother.

When Minor ends up crossing the baddies that try to pull some shady sh*t at the bar, it changes all of their lives forever. Leading the charge for the bad guys is a man named John Varley, not your average killer, who sleeps during the day and whose teeth grow extra long at night.

After Heidi is killed in retaliation for Minor’s interference, he is wracked with guilt, while Julia is filled with rage. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game of pursuit across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Their goal is to root out John Varley and make him pay for all he’s taken from them.

Will any amount of blood be able to sate their grief and guilt?

This was devilishly good. Set in the 1970s, I feel like Rosson did a fabulous job channeling the gritty Crime Fiction vibes of that era. The tone of it, it’s morose, devastating and heavily vengeance-focused. We love to see it.

I’d love to read this again and take more time with it. This time through, I went rather quickly, so focused on what was going to happen. In future, I think it would be worth a revisit to focus in more on the character work and relationships.

I loved both Minor and Julia. Their interactions together and the way their bond evolved, it felt so natural and it truly tugged at my heart-strings.

Additionally, John Varley was fascinating. We learn quite a bit about him and his history, and those are some of the moments that I would like to revisit the most. There was something sweeping and epic-feeling about his story that brought even more to the historical meat of this story.

There were so many devastating moments in this book. Moments where I would read it and think, OMG, how would you get over that? But Minor and Julia just kept on going on, and I love that resilience and even if it was driven by rage in Julia’s case, I respected the hell out of their strength.

It felt like Rosson poured a lot of emotion into this one. It hurt my heart a bit, not gonna lie, but it was so worth it. I was sad about much of it, but impressed with the fact that Rosson could make me feel so much for these characters in such a short amount of time.

Overall, I found this to be such a unique and classic-feeling Horror story. I have never read anything from this author before, but I will be reading more in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I think this will definitely be one of my most memorable reads of 2025!

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Review: 13 Months Haunted by Jimmy Juliano

~ megs14malloy

13 Months Haunted13 Months Haunted by Jimmy Juliano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

13 Months Haunted follows Piper Lowery, a public librarian, who meets a strange young girl while volunteering at the local middle school.

The events of Piper’s tale take place in the 1990s, but the set-up of the story itself, is Piper actually relaying these events to an interested relative. I did think that was a fun and slightly-different way to present this story.

The young girl’s name is Avery and she is new to the school. She does have some odd behaviors, but the oddest thing about her is the fact that her mother attends school with her, sits in all Avery’s classes, and literally tails her daughter like a shadow, even to the restroom.

Piper begins hearing rumors about Avery and her Mom. They’re sort of the talk of the town. People say the Mom is a witch, that they fled their old town after Avery’s sister and father were killed by a supernatural force.

While Piper finds this a bit extreme, there is something off about the mother-daughter duo. Through multiple interactions, Piper ends up befriending them and the rest proceeds from there.

This book started off great. It captured my attention early and I loved the small town setting, and the fact that the main action takes place in the 1990s; definitely a nostalgic period for me.

I was about the same age as Piper was during this same time period, so I could relate to a lot of what she was experiencing starting out her life as a young adult. There’s also a lot of focus on the new, popular use of the internet.

For people who grew up using the internet from the time they were small children, let it be known, it was very different for those of us who never really had access, or even email, until around college-age. It was like a wild-west landscape. Unless you were in IT, you didn’t really know what was going on, or how it worked.

Piper has a blog and she shares a lot on it. It was really more of a diary for her and she does relate the odd goings-on after she meets Avery for the first time.

So, there are some fun details involving that whole aspect of her life as well, particularly after she starts getting comments on what she’s posting. It added a bit of a mixed media element, which I do tend to enjoy.

I loved the mystery surrounding Avery and her Mom as well. I really wanted to know the truth about them, and their past. Was something supernatural actually at play?

Even though the rumors circulating about them were fairly vicious, Piper comes to learn that there may have been some truth to them, but how much? She starts digging in with force, really out of an effort to try to help Avery, and I enjoyed those amateur sleuthing components.

Unfortunately for me, eventually the intrigue started to wear off. I’m not sure exactly why, but the plot just seemed to drag for me after about the halfway point.

I had theories, none of which I was particularly confident in, but it did start to seem repetitive and took me over 2-weeks to finish. I can’t explain why I felt this way about it.

I just think once the initial mystery of what was going on with Avery was out of the way, it sort of lost it’s main excitement factor. I did like the way it wrapped-up though. I felt the conclusion interesting to contemplate. There were some real repercussions there at the end.

Overall, I did find this to be an interesting and unique story. Although some of it did seem a little drawn out to me, I did love the ending and overriding premise. Additionally, the mysterious elements were solid, as were the details of Piper’s amateur investigation.

Thank you to the publisher, Dutton, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Juliano is very talented. I love his concepts and will continue picking up his work for a long time to come!

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Review: The Whistler by Nick Medina

~ megs14malloy

The WhistlerThe Whistler by Nick Medina
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

The Whistler follows our MC, Henry, a young man who is grappling with his new reality of being confined to a wheelchair after being paralyzed in a horrific accident.

Before his accident, Henry was happy. He was a talented musician, had a beautiful girlfriend, Jade, who he had a great, active relationship with, and his ghost hunting channel was actually gaining some traction.

Post-accident, Henry has to move in with his grandparents, relying on them for even the simplest tasks. His relationship with Jade, as well as with his best friend, is estranged. He feels useless, hopeless and emasculated.

His grandparents, Jade, everyone is trying to talk him up, telling him he can still live and have a good life, but they just don’t understand how he feels. Henry feels so alone.

Oh, and he’s also being haunted…

As the being haunting him gets continuously closer and more bold, Henry realizes he needs to confront his past, and the events that caused his injury, if he is to have any hope of banishing it for good. He can’t do it alone, so Henry is forced to open up to those around him that he’s been shutting out.

The Whistler took me completely by surprise. Not because of how incredible it is, but because of its connection to Indian Burial Ground, which I wasn’t expecting at all.

I’m such a Nick Medina fan. I love the quality and richness of his storytelling. The tone of his stories, they take me through every different emotion and leave me simultaneously gutted and inspired. This story is an absolute roller coaster ride of feelings.

The Prologue, which doesn’t follow Henry, but is related to the events that caused his injury, was terrifying. I read it home alone in the dark, and I was genuinely creeped out.

From that moment on, I was gripped by the story, that’s mainly told through Henry’s past and present perspective. I loved the depths that Medina went with this character.

Seeing the difference in Henry between his past, happier, times and his present, post-injury, was very jarring. It made him feel so incredibly real, as everything happening to him, and the journey he was on emotionally, it was raw and messy. I felt that representation was done with great care.

The haunting elements were so well-imagined. Medina created some stellar horror imagery on page. I loved how the never whistle at night lore was woven through as well.

In fact, the first time I read Medina’s work was in the Indigenous Dark Fiction anthology, Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, which was where I learned of that belief. I was excited when I saw that Medina had written a full novel incorporating that lore.

As mentioned above, this story is related to Indian Burial Ground. It’s not a sequel, or anything, and of course can be read as a standalone, however, I do feel it will have the greatest impact for those people who have already read IBG.

Overall, I was so impressed by this. It’s such a gripping, mysterious, haunting, and well-rounded story.

I would definitely recommend this Horror readers, or readers of Indigenous Fiction in general. Also, anyone who read and enjoyed Indian Burial Ground, you have to check this out.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can’t wait for whatever Medina writes next!

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Review: Fiend by Alma Katsu

~ megs14malloy

FiendFiend by Alma Katsu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Fiend focuses on the Berisha family, who own one of the largest and most powerful import-export companies in the world. The patriarch of the family, Zef, rules the family, and his company, with an iron fist.

His three children, Dardan, Maris and Nora, all know their place within the family. As the only boy, Dardan is slated to take over the company, with Maris, just a girl, having a more minor role, and Nora, the baby of the family, basically excluded from it all.

This family, powerful as they may be, is dysfunctional as all get out. Basically, think Succession, but more messed up…

For most of their lives, the children believed the family was blessed, but as they grew, they come to understand the aura surrounding the family’s success may actually be a curse.

When things stop going as planned, the family splinters and cracks, revealing the dark underbelly hiding at the heart of the family. They didn’t become one of the richest family in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it may be their own to hit the ground.

Alma Katsu is well-known for her Historical Horror novels, of which I’ve read two, but this is actually her first foray into writing a modern-set Horror story.

I liked this one. I loved the super messy family dynamic and how it included Then and Now sections. There’s no way I could read this without thinking of Succession, so if you were a fan of that show, you should give this one a go.

I also like the ideas behind the Horror elements of the story, though the highlight for me was the family itself. We mainly get the story told through Maris’s perspective, and she did have an interesting role within the family.

I also enjoyed learning about this business. I do like stories that include business activities. I know that may seem strange to some, but it’s a personal interest of mine, so I do enjoy the rare book that includes those details.

I think for me, the reason I couldn’t rate this higher is that I wanted more of everything. It felt very surface level. Coming in at just over 250-pages, I honestly would have been happy with another 50-pages of content.

Especially towards the end, as the pace increased, I would have loved to have spent more time with those concluding events. I also would have loved a bit more of the family history. Further, the supernatural elements could have been descriptive as well, IMO.

Overall though, this is an entertaining story. It reads very quickly, and is worth picking up. I think if you are someone who enjoys family dramas, or stories that involve business dealings, you could have a lot of fun with it.

Katsu did a great job with this modern setting, and I’m hoping she writes more stories like this one. Even though this won’t make my Favorites List for 2025, I’m still really glad that I read it, particularly during Spooky Season.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Katsu is an author I’ll definitely be reading more from in the future!

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Review: Darker Than Night by Owl Goingback

~ megs14malloy

Darker Than NightDarker Than Night by Owl Goingback
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Darker Than Night, originally published, I believe, in 1999, follows a Horror author, Michael Anthony, and his young family, after they move from NYC to rural-Missouri when he inherits his deceased Grandmother’s house.

I picked this up because I’ve been really interested in Owl Goingback’s work and this one sounded perfect as my favorite holiday, Halloween, approaches.

When Michael, his wife, and their two children finally arrive at the house after their long journey, they find it in a bit of disrepair. They’ve got a lot of cleaning to do.

The house is also populated with many of his Grandmother’s things, including numerous Kachina dolls and masks, figures common in several Native American communities.

It’s not the figures themselves really that are disturbing, but the sheer number of them, and the way they always seem to be watching you. The Kachinas aren’t the only unsettling thing about the house though. There are other details that seem to set the whole family on edge.

They all start to see shadow figures, darker than night, and mysterious stains, looking much like human faces, begin appearing on their flooring. It’s clear something is going on in this house and it’s put them all in danger.

Further, the locals are chattering about the famous author, and his family, that have moved into his Grandmother’s house, who they all considered crazy. The locals might have answers about what is going on at their property, but it’s hard for the Anthonys to decipher fact from fiction.

The more Michael and his wife dig in and look for answers, the more unsettled they become. Mysterious entities, locally known as Boogers, frequently are mentioned. It sounds silly. The Boogeymen; stuff of childhood nightmares, but when you’re actually living it, it’s much too real.

They’ve got to get the children and run, before it’s too late.

Darker Than Night is a classic-style Horror story, not perfect, but very entertaining. I loved the set-up of the inherited house and all the bits-and-bobs that came along with it.

I also enjoyed the small town Missouri setting, as well as the incorporation of some Indigenous cultural elements, such as the Kachina dolls. I feel like Goingback did a great job following through with all the concepts he brought to the page here. The beings were well-imagined.

Overall, it’s a well-rounded story that’s easy to fall into and read all the way through. It’s a simple story in it’s construction, and I appreciated that. Goingback isn’t trying to wow us all with extraordinary prose or jaw-dropping twists and turns. It’s just a well told story, start-to-finish.

Sometimes I get annoyed when authors try to do too much, to impress us all with their huge brains. I am just here for the story and that’s exactly what Goingback delivers. I need to check out more of his work.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who is just looking for a classic-feeling Supernatural Horror story. This one is super-engaging and can be read very quickly. Perfect for Spooky Season!

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Review: The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling

~ megs14malloy

The Graceview PatientThe Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Graceview Patient follows Margaret, ‘Meg’, Culpepper, who suffers from a debilitating autoimmune disease known as Fayette-Gehret syndrome, for which there is no cure.

Meg’s world has shrunk smaller and smaller as her symptoms and pain have caused her to continually isolate herself, and cut herself off from family and friends.

When offered the opportunity to participate in a all-expenses-paid experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial, though she has her doubts, Meg agrees to take part. She doesn’t really feel she has much other choice.

During the course of the trial, she needs to move into Graceview for a few months as a full-time inpatient. It’s explained to her that they will basically be completely destroying her entire immune system, and then regenerating it in the hopes it will eradicate her syndrome in the process.

As she settles into the hospital she meets nurses, another patient and others involved with the study. The further she gets into it, the weaker her grip on reality, and the weaker my understanding of the story.

I was following along swimmingly until about the halfway point, and then the fever dream quality took over to the point that I had no clue what was happening anymore. Seriously, what the hell happened?

If you asked me about this book, besides what is written above, I couldn’t tell you. While I truly appreciated the unsettling atmosphere Starling created at this hospital, as well as the Medical Horror elements, as far as the story goes, I didn’t ultimately end up enjoying it as much as I wanted. I can appreciate it, but I wasn’t crazy about it.

I frequently mention that I’m not a big fan of fever dream stories. Every once in a while, one will come along that I’m able to connect with, for example, The Starving Saints, also by this author, but that unfortunately wasn’t the case here.

As mentioned above though, the atmosphere is fantastic and it is definitely an intriguing plot. If you are a Reader who enjoys fever dream style narratives, and don’t mind maybe walking away with a few questions, you could end up loving this one. It’s worth a read.

The audiobook is very well narrated by Xe Sands, who did a phenomenal job upping the tension with their emotional delivery. I do feel the audio format is a great option for taking in this story.

At the end of the day, even though this isn’t my favorite from this author, I will always continue to pick up her work. I respect so much her range of ideas and her creativity with her concepts. I never know what I’m getting into when I pick up one of her books, and I love that.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with copies to read and review. As an atmopshere girlie, I’m glad I checked this one out!

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