"It seems so obvious when you're the one with blood on your hands right? Like everyone's watching you. Like everybody's waiting". 

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones was one wild ride. It had my heart racing from the very beginning and it felt like my mind was literally playing tricks on me. It had all the campy, slasher vibes that gave me all the nostalgic feels and had me fighting with myself late at night wondering if I should continue reading and risk the nightmare or just wait it out until the next day. 

I still don't think I know if the monster was  real or just a figment of Sawyer Grimes', the protagonist's imagination or a reflection of his innermost psyche. Sawyer was the perfect psycho and I loved how the author tells the story through Sawyer's thoughts. This POV really made the story come to life and you got to experience all the creepy and horrific action in real time. You don't know if you want to look away or keep watching. The fact that it is all taking place while a slasher film plays in the background gives it that extra dose of mystery and irony. The author does a great job of laying out each scene but tricking you at the same time.

Even though this was a horror novella, I could not help but almost feel sorry for our teen killer. He thinks he is killing his friends to prevent others from dying. But I can't help but see how his character was a metaphor for teen angst. It wasn't until the very last two pages that I got the full picture of what he was going through inside his own mind. He felt out of place in his own friend group, pined away for his female best friend, longed for the feeling of family within his peer group, coveted their family lives and wore a mask so people couldn't see who he actually was. He tried to be the superhero. It was very reminiscent of some of my favorite slasher films.

This short gem embodied everything I love about slasher films. I am a SGJ fan for life. I cannot wait to read through his entire body of work now. My bookdragon rating is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥