Oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for BEST HORROR 2019! what will happen? Highly recommend for the pleasure of your horror-loving heart! Overall, a fantastic ride filled with creepy folklore and nightmarish danger. When you're confused, it's certainly easy for things to shock and scare you. Honestly, though, that may have been intentional on the part of the author. Looking back, I'm not exactly sure how much of that portion I actually retained. I found that hard to follow a book within a book within a book. He was recounting bits of a book he had read, which tracked one girl's experiences with the beings in the woods. I didn't give this a full five stars because I found some of the writings in Cotgrave's journal to be confusing. Great examples of this type of character can be found in James Newman's, The Wicked and Stephen King's, The Tommyknockers.Īs an aside, I did listen to the audiobook and the narrator was fantastic. I have enjoyed this in many books and movies. Mouse's neighbor is a true gem in this fashion. I loved reading from Mouse's perspective, and having Bongo as a character was just so dang relatable.Īdditionally, this had one of my favorite tropes in horror, the older character, either a neighbor, friend or relation, who provides humor and a sense of comfort over the course of the story. There were so many times that I was laughing out loud, thinking, that is exactly what I would be thinking, or doing in this situation.

It's seems this author and myself share the same sense of humor. She begins to investigate and with the help of some very quirky neighbors, starts to unveil the nightmarish reality of her Grandma's house. While taking Bongo on a walk in the woods behind the house, she stumbles across something that leads her to believe Cotgrave wasn't imagining the mysterious beings recounted in his journal. Mouse is definitely intrigued by what Cotgrave's has to say and she wants to find out more. Seeking refuge in her Step-Grandfather, Cotgrave's, room, the only room her Grandmother left uncluttered, she comes across his journal with some pretty strange things written inside.Īre they a true tale of horror, or just the terrifying hallucinations of a lonely old man losing his grip on reality? While this gives her beloved coonhound, Bongo, plenty to sniff and explore, Mouse can barely find room to sit down. These really have no bearing on the story, I just get freaked out by dolls. Her Grandmother was a hoarder, never throwing anything out, including an entire room of creepy old dolls. Mouse figures she'll feel good about helping and how bad can it be? Her Dad has had some recent health troubles and wouldn't be able to do it himself. When Mouse's Father enlists her help cleaning out her recently deceased Grandma's house, she happily agrees.

The twisted ones kingfisher