My first read of 2025! Happy New Year! This is my third Grady Hendrix book, and he has definitely cemented himself as a must-read horror writer. I’m guilty of doubting him when I first start his books, because I start to worry that the comedy and kitsch are going to pull me out of that tense, creepy atmosphere I crave. But this one just proved yet again that he is SO good at faking his readers out.

The comedy is there to lull you into a false sense of levity, and then BAM! You get Chapter 12 of this book, which actually might have scarred me for life and unlocked a new fear at 36 years old for me. Seriously, I had a nightmare about the scene, and I have not stopped thinking about it.

This book also really captures the mood/vibe of the early 90s, the culture of the South, the antiquated expectations of women and their gendered roles in society. It had a lot to say about how women are not believed when they should be, and had some surprisingly nuanced things to say about race in America, then and now. For a white man, Grady seemed to really tackle those topics in a way that stayed true to the story he was telling and enhanced its plot.

That said, there were a few craft issues that cropped up here for me. The biggest one was that age-old horror trope of “Help! I’m an otherwise intelligent main character but now I’m making silly decisions that no one would actually make because PLOT!” There are quite a few instances of that in the second half of this book, and the writing is just a little too transparent for my taste. It took me out of the story a tiny bit.

But ultimately, this one kept me highly entertained, and I will NEVER turn my nose up at an audiobook read by Bahni Turpin. I have loved her voice since DREAD NATION.

RATING RUNDOWN:
Character (4/5)
Plot & Pacing (4.5/5)
Setting & Surroundings (5/5)
Dialogue & Diction (4.5/5)
Craft & Voice (3.5/5)
Reading Experience (4/5)

Final Rating:
4.3/5