Strongly don't recommend this book. I love horror, and I found this novel severely lacking in execution and tone. It seems really unpolished to me, and needs more editing for clarity. On the positive side: Good premise and cover though.

Bad Man sets the stage for a creepy tale in a small town in Florida. Ben begins working at the same supermarket where his brother went missing from five years prior and each day comes a bit closer to answers and a bit further from sanity as the chapters unravel.

This is a horror novel! There are some gory scenes that are explained in detail!

I enjoyed how creeped out I felt throughout most of the story, sort of like I was being watched without knowing by whom; much like how Ben must have felt throughout most of the book. There were moments that you knew someone else was around, but never knew why or who. This is a great book for those who like to imagine how things may have gone when they finish a book. Not all storylines were entirely wrapped up. The narrator was not entirely reliable throughout the book which can make for an exciting read. As he becomes paranoid about the people around him I couldn’t help siding with him and also second guessing myself for doing so. This book hits shelves in August so if it sounds like something you’d like to read - add it to your TBR shelf! I’ll remind you about it again in August. ;-)

Thank you to Doubleday books, Netgalley, and the Readers Community for a free ARC of this book. All views are my own.

A chilling and entertaining sophomore novel. I went into reading this book with high hopes, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
The protagonist, Ben is still searching for his missing brother, Eric. He takes a job at the same grocery store he lost his brother in years ago. He begins to find strange clues that seem to relate to his brothers disappearance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook.

When I think about what makes a good horror story, one of the most important components is the atmosphere. Auerbach sets us up in a small Floridian town and then strips us of all sense of security and comfort. He surrounds his characters with grief, poverty, and suspicion, and therefore creates a perfect setting for this creepy tale that weaves real-life horror with a little something extra.

Eric has been missing for five years and no one has any answers as to what could have happened to him. His big brother, Ben, was the last one to see him and seems to be the only one committed to still searching for him. When Ben takes a job at the same store where Eric went missing, strange things begin to occur that convince him that someone does know what happened to Eric and they're trying to reach out to him. But is it to help him or to stop him from asking questions?

The Bad Man will leave you guessing. The unreliable narrator, the creepy store setting, and Ben's shady coworkers and friends all manage to introduce more questions as you read than they answer. I found the book to be quite engrossing; however, the ending was wholly unsatisfying in that there were several strings left hanging that made even the epilogue seem incomplete.

I would recommend this book to lovers of horror and mystery that don't mind a story that leaves you with lots of questions at the end. This one isn't tied up with a neat little bow. And if you don't mind filling in the blanks for yourself, this is definitely the book for you.

A decent read, page turner...but complicated. A lot going on. Sometimes difficult to follow and stay with it. Ending was unsatisfying to me on a lot of levels...but the book is well written, characters are well developed.

Bad Man is a fantastically terrifying read that will keep you awake long into the night. I knew from reading the premise that this was going to be an engrossing read but I didn't realize how absorbed I would become. This is a must read.

Overall, not bad but it could have been better. And I was annoyed by the sad ending even though I could feel it was coming. The story definitely kept me reading, if only to see how it ended. Language could be tighter in places.

I started skimming this one in the second chapter. Not feeling optimistic about it.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read Bad Man by Dathan Auerbach. This book is really different - part supernatural, part mystery, and part strange....
Ben is a young man - he is a loner - he lives in the past. The reason for this - when he was eleven years old, he lost his 3 year old brother, Eric, in a store. He's grown up now, and he is still looking for his brother who would be about eight years old now.
Ben's parents are broken - each year since Eric's disappearance - they celebrate his birthday, his stepmother never leaves the house, and his dad is just broken. But Ben keeps looking for Eric. He puts up posters, he goes door to door, and just about anything to find him. He carries with him the weight of the loss and blames himself.
Ben gets a job at the store where he lost his brother - and everything changes - strange happenings, writings on the wall, odd co-workers, and an accident, lead Ben to look in places he never thought or dreamed of looking. And everyone seems to know something about the missing child - but no one will share this with Ben. Ben is determined to find his brother - and he will go to any end possible, maybe even murder, to find him.
You have to read this book carefully - it is intense and deep. I found it interesting and eerie....Recommend.

I really didn't enjoy the quality of writing in this, so it was really hard to enjoy. If you've read Auerbach before and not had a problem with the writing quality, I don't think you'll have an issue, but I couldn't get past the writing in order to enjoy the story.

Bad Man
By: Dathan Auerbach
Published By: Doubleday Books
Rating: 4.5/5
// I received this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review //

It started as any other day. There was a game of hide and seek and then a trip to the grocery store with your little brother. We've all been there, having to babysit a younger sibling while trying to get something done. For Ben, it was just another day until his brother Eric disappears from the bathroom. Ben immediately goes into panic mode and begins looking for his brother to no avail. Over the next five years Ben never gives up looking for his brother although it seems like the town has given up. In spite of the horrible memories the store invokes, Ben takes a job at the very grocery store where Eric disappeared. But the store has plans for Ben as he slowly unravels the mystery of what may have happened to his brother.

Wow. Just wow. I can't even put into words how confused, drained and invested I was in this book. I thought it might never end...in a good way! Auerbach has a way with words and character development that is often missing in horror books. I felt what Ben was going through has he looked for his brother. I actually yelled at the book at one point because I was so surprised what happened. I just wanted to know what happened to Eric and how it would all turn out in the end. Just when I thought it was over and everything was resolved, Auerbach threw in just one more twist that made me say "ugh, that ending!" It is really hard to write this review without giving away any details, so I will keep it short.

I highly, highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good mystery. I will likely pick up Pen Pal too because I can't get enough of Auerbach's writing!

#doubleday #badman #netgalley #dathanauerbach #mystery #kidnap #suspense

First let me thank the publisher and Netgalley for my copy of this book. I read every work and loved it. Awesome writing and an impeccable story. I was emotionally invested, creeped out and puzzled. The characters are so well written and now I understand why after reading the authors end note. I don’t want to give anything away, the publishers description is spot on. I highly highly recommend reading. I purchased Penpal immediately after finishing Bad Man, Dothan Auerbach is on his way to being a master storyteller.

WOW! "Bad Man" hooked me instantly and never let go. The sense of grief/depression from the main character jumped off the page for me, nonstop. I HAD to keep reading to figure out what happened with the disappearance. Damn well written book and I cannot wait to read more from this author! Five stars and two thumbs up!

First I would like to thank Dathan Auerbach And Netgalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Bad Man by Dathan Auerbach was an incredible book that had me hooked and I could not stop reading it til I finished it! I needed to know if Eric got found!! My heart ached so bad for Ben and his family! What torment he went through all of those years!! Not knowing what happened to his brother!!! So many twists and turns in this book!!! This would make such an amazing movie!!!

Review: BAD MAN by Dathan Auerbach

An engrossing horror novel which seems to start out carefully, but almost immediately segues into flat-out horror, from then on BAD MAN is non-stop horror, tragedy, grief, suspense, terror. There are no "normal" folks in this story (except perhaps Clint, Ben and Eric's father, store cashier Chelsea and a neighbor, James) but I think these are present more as a reflective backdrop in which we watch the dysfunctional, the villainous, the evil, and the barely-human abusers.

This novel is rife with the constant churning ups and downs which must be common in all cases of abducted or missing children, or runaways, when the child has not been located, either alive and recoverable, or deceased: the long durations without news, the mistaken or willfully intentionally false sightings, the unending grief, the fraying of family connections, the awareness that the loved ones left behind no longer hold a connection with "normals" (read: the unbereaved). But throughout the horror is unrelinquished and unmitigated. Throughout is the Shadow of the Store, in which or from which a joyful three-year-old boy "disappeared." Throughout is the oppressive influence and personality of Store manager Bill Palmer. There is something wrong in this quiet, almost backwater, North Florida town. There is something wrong at the Store. There is a lot wrong in the protagonist. In the end, who or what is the responsible, the culpable party--and why?

Ben was supposed to be looking after his little brother Eric, but somehow the boy disappeared on his watch. Ben is wracked with guilt and broken hearted. Five years later, Ben’s family has fallen apart. His stepmother is in a stupor, talking to the son that’s disappeared, refusing to leave the house they can no longer afford in case Eric returns. Ben is now a young adult and takes a job to help the family. But the only job he can get is at the very same store that Eric disappeared from. Stocking shelves at night, Ben is all to aware that something is very wrong there, wrong with the people, wrong with the boss, wrong with the building itself. This book is a slow burn to almost unbearable dread and fear