The first 40% I was loving this, but it stalled out hard in the second half. I kept thinking ‘I already KNOW this, I already READ this…are there just 200 more pages of this?’. It was wayyy too long, spending time convoluting the previously intriguing moments.

 

Energy: Caustic. Irrational. Taut. 

 

🐺 Growls: Slogging through previously establish plot points and clues felt pointless. Poorly edited and seemed unfinished at times (obvious typos, some moments were so repetitive it made me wonder if it was just missed during editing after moving things around?). Too much going on…like, religious/possession explanation then dropping it for ‘they’re insane’, wait no, actually ‘it’s a conspiracy’…all within sub-plots built on sub-plots. Overanalyzing and overexplaining.

 

🐕 Howls: Dumb main character making irrational decisions (annoying in combo with the repetitive plot points). High stakes moments didn’t feel that way… the main character reacted to life-or-death moments with the same energy as getting lunch at Cracker Barrel. Seemed like it was going for a mix of OTT/bizarro satire + psychological thriller but it ended up watering down both approaches.    

🐩 Tail Wags: Building mystery and intrigue. Creepy family dynamics. Threading the ‘Get Out’ energy throughout the first 40%. Anchoring large cast of characters. Creepy immersive atmosphere. Writing style. 

 

Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in Hebron, Texas at estate of rich mega-church family.

Perspective: A single parent of a 7-year-old who has recently married into a mega-church family after a whirlwind romance. They are visiting their spouse’s family ahead of their honeymoon. Near the end we get perspectives of family members and staff. 

Timeline: Current (2020s)

 

🤓 Reader Role: Observing from the sidelines. 

🗺️ World-Building: Immersive and atmospheric for ~25% becoming less so over time. 

🔥 Fuel: Withholding (but giving us enough clues to infer). Interlocking mysteries, twists and turns. Race against time quests. Can Toby find a way out despite the storm and save himself and his son? Will he be blamed for the deaths? Who is responsible for the murders?

📖 Cred: Over-the-top gothic

 

Emerald lake. Spray paint. Saran Wrap. Memory palaces. Rain. Golf carts. Crash of thunder. Origami rose. Bas-relief art. Water stains. Wall sconces. 

 

Content Heads-Up: Car accident (off page brief mention; fatal). Intoxicated driving. Religious bigotry (homophobia, racism, ‘conversion’). Loss of sibling. Forced gender roles. Addiction, overdose (off page, recall). Drug abuse (anxiety meds, sedatives). Stroke (on page). Death. Murder. Nicotine (vaping, cigarettes). Physical assault, domestic abuse. False accusation. Dementia/memory loss. Bullying, toxic masculinity. Classism. Brain tumour (brief mention). Bribery/corruption (law enforcement). Infidelity (brief mention). Occult. Incest. Natural disasters (flooding). 

 

Rep: White and mixed race American (Black and White). Gay. Heterosexual. Cisgender.

 

📚 Format: Library Digital