Category: Book Review

Book Review: ‘The Family Upstairs’ by Lisa Jewell

Leave a comment

Although horror is my favourite genre, I sometimes pick up a thriller.

Lisa Jewell’s ‘The Family Upstairs’ intrigued me so much that when my book club chose it, I was eager to start. Stories with cults, troubled childhoods, or domestic horror always draw me in. So, this novel was a perfect fit.

Jewell’s book begins with Libby, a woman adopted as a child, learning that she has inherited the family home. This house saw strange events: police discovered her there alongside three bodies. It was an apparent cult suicide. Rumours of others living in the house circulated for years, but nobody’s heard from them since. From there, the story jumps back and forth in time, shifting POV among three characters.

I had a great time with ‘The Family Upstairs’. The book is fast and easy to read, and contains many twists and turns. You’re never quite sure who to trust, even at the story’s conclusion. The past sections captured how the children trapped in the cult-like household felt. It was claustrophobic, unsettling, and often edged into horror. The modern sections were fun, but there was never any real threat; it was all in the past sections.

I’d recommend ‘The Family Upstairs’ to anyone looking for a fast and somewhat dark thriller.

It has a sense of danger that’s often imbalanced, but it’s always entertaining and will linger in your mind.

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Book Review: ‘The Deep’ by Nick Cutter

Leave a comment

I loved ‘The Troop’ by Nick Cutter, and the ocean depths have always awed me, so my heart was racing as I dove into ‘The Deep’.

The book follows Luke Nelson during a plague of forgetfulness. People walk into walls, forgetting what they’re doing. Eventually, they forget to breathe. But there’s hope: a substance discovered on the seabed may be a cure. Luke’s genius brother is at the bottom of the ocean researching it. When contact between the surface and the deep is lost, the last message asks Luke to join them, despite this not being his field. Things soon take a turn for the weird and horrific.

Some have described this as ‘The Shining’ meets ‘The Abyss’. That’s an excellent comparison. It’s claustrophobic and packed with psychological terror, with the crushing pressure of miles of ocean bearing down. Once I started, I raced through it. I had to know what the mystery was and how it would end.

This is not an easy read. It’s bleak and deeply disturbing, and several scenes made me squirm. The story carries a heavy sadness that lingers. I finished it feeling hollow, but in the best possible way. I read to feel the way Stephen King’s books made me feel as a teenager. Few things hit me as hard as a frightening, heartbreaking novel.

If that’s your kind of horror, don’t sleep on ‘The Deep’.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: ‘The Evil Dead: 40th Anniversary Edition’ by Mark Verheiden and John Bolton

Leave a comment

I’ve loved Evil Dead for decades, so when my wife bought me ‘The Evil Dead: 40th Anniversary Edition’, I was ecstatic.

Written by Mark Verheiden, this graphic novel covers the first movie. In case you’ve lived under a chained-up basement trapdoor all your life, here’s a summary of the movie. A group of friends drive up to a secluded cabin in the woods for a fun weekend away. They expect peace, solitude, and a place to relax. In the basement of the creepy place, they find a wrinkled book and a tape player. Upon listening, something awakens in the woods: something that hungers to take them, one by one. It has fewer comedic moments than later entries and sticks to horror, though it still has a few gags. Sam Raimi also made the movie with this childish playfulness, which makes the whole thing so much fun.

Verheiden sticks close to the original script but explores some unanswered questions. For example, what happened between Scotty running out and returning ripped to pieces? What happened to Cheryl after they locked her in the basement? He also makes some tiny changes, such as Cheryl no longer being Ash’s sister. I’m not clear why Verheiden made this latter change, but it doesn’t harm the story. I liked that he played with the ideas a bit, to make his own thing, without deviating too much.

John Bolton’s illustrations are somewhat dreamy and nightmarish, which fits the content well. The deadites (zombies) in particular shine on these pages in all their gory glory. Bolton leaned into the nastiness of the first film, which used practical effects. The full-page illustrations in particular were fantastic.

I had a blast reading ‘The Evil Dead: 40th Anniversary’. Of course, I’m biased, because I love all things Evil Dead. Reading it reminded me of how much I love the movie while offering an alternate-reality Evil Dead. I read the graphic novel in two days; it’s not super long, and it’s easy to read if you can stomach the gore.

If you like Evil Dead, zombies, horror, or graphic novels, I’d recommend picking this up.

It’s a delightful retelling of a classic cult horror movie, and you can breeze through it in an evening.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: ‘All Hallows’ by Christopher Golden

Leave a comment

Christopher Golden’s ‘All Hallows’ is my first read of 2026!

I started it in October 2025, but life got in the way of my usual reading habits. I managed to get back into it shortly after NYE, and then I tore through Golden’s eighties throwback novel.

And man, what a novel it was.

‘All Hallows’ follows a host of characters living along Parmenter Road, Massachusetts. The story takes place on Halloween, 1984. The evening starts with some domestic issues, which begin to escalate. And then the spooky bits sneak in while folks fight with adultery and other matters. From there, Golden takes us on a joyful 80s thrillride, with a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.

‘All Hallows’ felt like classic Stephen King in some ways, but not in a way that I’d call it a ripoff of style or anything. Golden writes with his own flair. The multicharacter, 80s vibe was reminiscent of King. Oh, and Golden’s willingness to kill off characters without a second’s warning. It felt dangerous, like any character we cared about could bite the bullet next.

If you enjoy ‘Stranger Things’ or King’s writing, I can 100% recommend ‘All Hallows’ by Golden.

I would love to read more from him; I’m excited to have discovered his writing.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: ‘A Thousand Ships’ by Natalie Haynes

Leave a comment

Greek mythology has never been my thing; every time I approached it, I ended up bored to death.

The books felt dry and longer than the Great Wall of China, like eating dust while hoping for a tasty morsel that never materialised. The same goes for any movie. If I had to choose between watching a film on this topic or not watching one at all, I know what I’d pick.

Enter Natalie Haynes. For my company book club’s Greek mythology evening, we chose one of Haynes’s books. ‘A Thousand Ships’ is a retelling of the Trojan War from the women’s perspective. I was apprehensive, to say the least. But the whole point of a book club is talking to others and reading books you wouldn’t have otherwise picked up. So, I dove in.

‘A Thousand Ships’ begins with a woman waking up to Troy falling, with everything on fire. It’s an explosive start that immediately hooked me. From there, Haynes hops forward and backwards in time, exploring the lives of women connected to the war. We see both Trojans and Greeks, each aching with loss and longing.

The book doesn’t follow one woman; it follows a whole cast. It feels less like a single novel and more like a collection of interlinked stories that form a complete whole. That’s why I enjoyed it a lot more than I otherwise would have. This format kept it fresh and fast-paced, ensuring it never dragged. The pages burn away. And each character is sympathetic, regardless of which side they stand on.

The best compliment I can give Haynes is that this is the first time I’ve ever taken an interest in Greek mythology. Her writing is crisp and fast-paced; it’s never a slog to get through. She always makes it easy to understand. And even with the array of characters, she makes it clear who we’re talking about and how the others relate to them. Some of those well-versed in mythology disliked aspects; for a newbie such as myself, it was great.

If, like me, this topic has never hooked you, don’t skip over Haynes’s book.

While I’m not going to devour more Greek books, I am interested in trying more of Haynes’s Greek retellings.

She does it well.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: ‘Silver Nitrate’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Leave a comment

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s ‘Silver Nitrate’ is my latest read of 2025.

Moreno-Garcia first popped onto my radar with the release of ‘Mexican Gothic’ (which I’ve still yet to read). So, when I found ‘Silver Nitrate’ on the shelf, I grabbed it – and not only because that red cover oozes coolness.

‘Silver Nitrate’ follows Montserrat, an awkward sound editor. She’s in love with her childhood best friend, the washed-up actor Tristan. Together, they discover his new neighbour is a horror director from years past. For unknown reasons, he never finished his final film. Now, the director wants Montserrat and Tristan to help him complete it. Things go awry from there.

I had a good time with ‘Silver Nitrate’. The setting of ’90s Mexico is very cool and original. The childhood friends who always loved movies and horror resonated with me. And the idea of Nazi sorcerers is always creepy. The book is easy to read and doesn’t overstay its welcome. That said, I do have a few complaints.

I thought the genre was going to be horror when I went in. But, despite one or two scares (a couple of which were quite fun), the book itself isn’t terrifying. In fact, it wanders over to fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. I’d say it’s a romance novel wrapped in horror wallpaper.

Additionally, very few of the characters popped for me. Tristan, despite his interesting backstory, is whiny and annoying. Montserrat has her moments, but sometimes acts out for no clear reason. Abel was fun, as was the other guy who likes tropical décor (I forget his name). Speaking of forgetting, the main villains were all forgettable. We’ve all encountered these nefarious, lurking-in-the-shadows cult types before. Plus, there never felt like there would be any real repercussions if our heroes failed, only a vague ‘end of the world.’

These caveats didn’t stop me from enjoying ‘Silver Nitrate’, but they did make it disappointing. Judging by the cover and the blurb, this should have been a home run for me, yet it wasn’t. In the end, ‘Silver Nitrate’ didn’t quite cast the spell I hoped for. But it was fun enough to keep me curious about Moreno-Garcia’s other worlds.

I’m especially eager to check out ‘Mexican Gothic’.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆ ☆

Book Review: ‘Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’ by Olga Tokarczuk

Leave a comment

Olga Tokarczuk’s ‘Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’ is my latest read of 2025.

Like ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ and ‘Alias Grace’, this novel was a pick for my work’s book club. This month’s theme? Nobel Prize Winners. (Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2018 – nine years after ‘Drive Your Plow…’ was first published.)

The story follows Janina, an older woman living on a wooded mountain near a rural Polish village. The novel starts with a bang. Oddball (a neighbour) awakens her in the middle of the night to say that Bigfoot (another neighbour) is dead. From the names alone, you can likely tell this is a dark, quirky little book. You’d be right. Bigfoot appears to have choked to death on an animal bone. From this point on, residents begin dropping off, one by one.

I enjoyed ‘Drive Your Plow…’ a lot. The beginning was excellent – strange, with a terrific hook. The middle sagged a bit under the weight of astrology talk. (We get it: Janina is eccentric!) But Tokarczuk brings it back under control for the final third. The dark Polish humour that simmers beneath the surface is perfect. And the English translation is top-notch – I often forgot I was reading a translated work.

I wouldn’t call this a ‘mystery’, though. It was clear where the plot was going. To me, the whodunit aspect is scaffolding for the real story (which I won’t spoil here).

Still, I’d recommend ‘Drive Your Plow…’ – if only because I’ve never read anything quite like it. It’s a peculiar book. If you can push past the astrology, you’ll find the ending rewarding, if unsurprising.

As for me, I’m keen to read more of Tokarczuk’s work – especially ‘Flights’, the book that helped her win the Nobel.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆

Book Review: ‘Hunger’ by Rodman Philbrick

Leave a comment

Rodman Philbrick’s (writing as William R. Dantz) ‘Hunger’ is my latest read of 2025!

I am part of several horror reader circles, and the theme of aquatic terrors has come up. As a fan of movies like ‘Jaws’ and ‘Deep Blue Sea’, it piqued my curiosity. Someone recommended ‘Hunger’, saying it was like ‘Deep Blue Sea.’ It seemed like a no-brainer for a breezy summer read, so I was in. Yet, it took me a few minutes to find a copy. I didn’t know that ‘William R. Dantz’ was Rodman Philbrick’s pen name, or that newer editions bore his real name. But find it I did.

The setup is classic sci-fi horror. Six mutant sharks break out of their caged-in cove and escape to the deep blue sea. (See what I did there?) The lab that created these creatures goes into panic mode, scrambling to reclaim them. Meanwhile, a local couple running a dive boat have been caring for two dolphins that fled from the same lab. It doesn’t take long for the carnage to begin.

I had an absolute blast reading ‘Hunger’. I wanted a fun B-movie horror novel, and that’s what I got – a high-quality B-movie horror novel, at that. The chapters from the sharks’ perspectives are fantastic. Philbrick captures the thought processes of these intelligent, primal animals. There are also some creepy moments, like the photographer exploring a shipwreck. And the chapter ‘What a Father Does’ gave me goosebumps with its moving, emotional quality. That last one caught me off guard.

As I said in my review of Steve Alten’s ‘Meg’, do you judge a book against other books, or do you judge it for what it’s trying to do? This novel is not Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’, nor is it trying to be. It’s a book about a bunch of mutated sharks ripping things up in a gory, spooky mess. And in that regard, it excels.

Are you looking for a fun summer scare? Do you, like me, have a salachian obsession? (That’s ‘shark’ for those of you who didn’t grow up reading/watching anything with a dorsal fin on the cover.)

Well then, look no further than Philbrick’s ‘Hunger’.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆

Book Review: ‘What Moves the Dead’ by T. Kingfisher

Leave a comment

T. Kingfisher’s ‘What Moves the Dead’ is my latest 2025 read.

This book has been on my radar for a while, often cropping up in online horror circles. Given its short runtime, I decided to give it a go on the train to and from Vienna. It’d breeze by and cleanse my palate after the heavy Margaret Atwood I’d finished a day prior.

The story follows Alex Easton, a retired soldier who receives word that an old friend is dying. They travel to the secluded House of Usher, where nothing seems quite right. The still lake has a matte surface, mushrooms emit foul odours, and the Ushers are no longer who they used to be. ‘What Moves the Dead’ takes inspiration from – or is a retelling of – Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. But, having not read much of Poe’s work, I can’t comment on how it twists the original.

What I can say is that ‘What Moves the Dead’ is delightful (if I can call it that) – a fast-paced horror romp. As expected from its 150-odd pages, Kingfisher’s tale wastes no time and carries little fat. It’s concise and to the point, understanding well what the reader wants from it. I loved the grotesque visuals of the hares and the unsettling descriptions of Ms Usher.

Sure, I’d have liked a bit more characterisation of Easton and the supporting cast, but this is both a minus and a plus. What the novella lacks in depth, it makes up for in momentum and eerie thrills.

If you’re after a quick, grisly read without the commitment of a full novel, I recommend ‘What Moves the Dead’.

I’m looking forward to reading parts two and three of the trilogy soon.

Book Review: ‘Alias Grace’ by Margaret Atwood

Leave a comment

I started a new job this year, and with it came a company book club. How cool is that? This month’s pick is Margaret Atwood’s ‘Alias Grace’.

The novel follows Grace Marks, a young Irish girl born into poverty. We journey with her across the ocean to Canada, where she finds work as a servant in wealthier homes. And that’s where the trouble begins. Two people end up dead. The law hangs a man and sentences Grace to life in prison. But what happened? Is she guilty? That’s the novel’s beating heart and the question that kept me reading.

I loved ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, but ‘Alias Grace’ didn’t hook me the same way – at least not at first. I struggled with the first third. For a 500+ page book, that’s a lot of slow going. It felt dry and meandering. But somewhere around page 200, things get interesting. Atwood finally gets her hooks in, and from then on, ‘Alias Grace’ keeps you guessing right up to the final pages. The palpable tension as we near the murder was excellent and breathless. The book also shows how women’s tales from the 1800s can mirror modern feminist struggles.

That said, the book is heavy with unnecessary detail. Atwood did her research and wants to show it, but we don’t need all the facts as readers. We need to trust that she knows her stuff. The book oscillates between building great tension and slowing itself down with excess.

In the end, I liked it. And that’s a testament to how strong the good bits are – they outweigh the negatives. With tighter editing and a slimmer page count (a la ‘Handmaid’s’), this could’ve been a four- or five-star read.

As it stands, ‘Alias Grace’ is a decent novel that urges reflection on modern inequalities.

⭐⭐⭐☆☆