My thanks to Subterranean books, Richard Chizmar and Netgalley.
This was a story that I wish had been extended and built upon. It was a damned good story. I loved the characters, and the playfulness between these friends, family and some neighbors. Where it came apart though, was of course at the end. The big reveal! Dum,dum, dum! What bothered me was the fact the there weren't clues leading to the who-dunnit. A few red herrings, but no one pays attention to those. So the end was abrupt. This was a 3 1/2 star novella. Normally, I'd go down to 3, but again, this was some excellent writing. I enjoyed every single moment of it!

Another winner from the author. Short but sweet.. Basic, interesting mystery. This is a novella that I would recommend to others.

Richard came onto my radar with Gwendy's Button Box and his work with Steven King. He has a great ability for weaving a story quickly, especially in novella form, and get to the point. Not much fluff. The suspense was good, the interactions were good, the friends were good. Personally, the ending fell a little flat for me. It felt anti-climatic after our who-done-it chase. Overall, I wanted a little more. More back story into the guilty person's life, or more story of the girl on the porch.

This was slow cooker incredible. A thriller from the standpoint of a married couple with a teenager..Mainly told from the vantage of Kenny the husbands standpoint then ve to Sarahs the only issue I have was I wish they had fleshed out their friends as well as their neighbors in context to what Kenny and Sarah would think of them. I could have used another 10 or 20 pages but am glad I decided to try to get it to read. Who knows the best within.

Another near-perfect read from Richard Chizmar!

While a family sleeps, a half-naked woman in shackles rings their broken doorbell... only they don't know it until they see her on the security camera the following day. She vanishes without a trace. Where did she come from? Is it a hoax? Or is someone in their neighborhood hiding a deadly secret?

I loved this story! It's short enough to hold your interest, but long enough to tell a wonderfully creepy tale that makes you second guess every single character. I can see this being made into a movie. Definitely a winner!

Thank you Netgalley and Subterranean Press for a copy of this book. This is my honest review.

I am typically not one for Thrillers, but I was in a mood for one and this book in particular kept popping up on my Goodreads by quite a few of my friends. I was excited when I saw that I was approved to receive an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. The book is not long, but is full of action and suspense. This a great "Who did it?" book. I typically can figure out who the bad person is rather quickly, but this one kept me suspicious of quite a few characters until the end. This was a quick read and I see great things in this author's future when he starts writing longer books. This is a great book for those who typically do not read this genre, or who are wanting to start trying out reading this type of book. The end is borderline creepy and satisfactory. This story will keep you on your toes.

Richard Chizmar can write! I would like to read more from him and intend to but this short story or novella was too short to really satisfy.

The premise is amazing, the cultural observations felt spot-on and the resolution was satisfying enough but I was left wanting more. Perhaps the issue is that there is some disparity between the marketing of this book and the actual product.

I am very grateful to have been offered the opportunity to read this novella and hope my review dissuades no one as these observations are completely my own.

TW: Animal Abuse

Thank you to Richard Chizmar, Subterranean Books and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
This was a decent little mystery book, and by little, I mean very short. It was not a bad book, by far... But nothing amazing. It was basically, a wam-bam-thank -you -mam of stories. Wish it had been a bit more thrilling.

I really enjoyed this quick novella! When a battered woman shows up in the middle of the night ringing Kenny and Sarah's doorbell over and over, the neighborhood is sent into panic. Because the doorbell was broken, Kenny and Sarah didn't know anything unusual was happening until they saw it the following morning on their security camera. The woman is now gone, and no one knows who she is. That was definitely the creepiest part of the book!

Now referred to as 'the girl on the porch', the missing girl and her case become a media sensation. Who is she, where did she come from, and where is she now? Kenny and his neighbors have theories, and want to help. The rest of the book mostly centers around his family and the detectives on the case trying to figure out what happened. The book moves from what could have been a horror book to more of a mystery/suspense, which was fine with me.

While I was surprised by the ending, I would have loved to see the novel go a little more in depth with some of the details about what the woman experienced, and how she ended up ringing the doorbell in the middle of the night, just to circle back to some of that extra creepy horror aspect that the book started with. I think that would have made the ending more chilling, rather than just surprising. All in all, I enjoyed the book and will definitely check out more by this author!

Unfortunately with this novella the blurb was the best part. I did not find this exciting or chilling. There really no mystery to solve because no information was given. The plot was a bit flat and the characters underdeveloped . this just didn't do it for me.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I decided to read this because a trusted Goodreads friend posted how excited she was to read this and it immediately grabbed my attention. The book summary sounded amazing so I thought for sure this would be a winner - especially when I heard it was so short (only around 150 pages). Unfortunately, I was mistaken.

So what's it about? A suburban neighborhood becomes the focus of media frenzy because around 3am one night, a girl dressed in ragged clothing with a shackle on her hand, frantically rings a house doorbell trying to find safety. She receives no answer so she goes to another house where she is caught on a security camera. She is frantically looking behind her as if she just escaped and is making sure her captor isn't behind her. Who is this girl? Where did she come from? Where did she go when no one answered? What happened to her?

This was such a clever idea, but it wasn't executed in a way that could bring the idea to its full capacity of fear, paranoia or spookiness. We didn't see anything from the girl's perspective at all, we learned almost nothing about her and there were a lot of questions left unanswered. It actually ended quite abruptly! What I find so strange is that the scariest part of the book (what is included in the summary) happens in the first chapter and from there are barely a few blips. The rest is suburban drama that frankly isn't that interesting.

I see that I am among the minority opinion, so if you're interested in this book I urge you to give it a try. It's so short it will be worth your time to check it out. I really thought the Stephen King endorsement would hold up, but that's twice now I've been burned by his recommendations. I know now I will proceed with more caution in the future!

Thanks to Netgalley, Subterranean Press and Richard Chizmar for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

Review Date: 6/11/19
Publication Date: 8/31/19

The Girl in the Porch is a fantastic creepy book that I could not put down. The characters are well developed and the book is well written.

A very fast story that grabbed my attention from the first page! Even tho I have two other books by this author, this is the first story of his that I’ve read.
I enjoyed the story and was kinda surprised by the ending. I can’t help but wonder if the accused really did it. Thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for the early copy

DO NOT READ THE BOOK’s synopsis!

It gives everything away!

When Kenny comes down to breakfast on Friday morning, he is surprised to see his wife, Sarah, glued to her cell phone.

Her friend and neighbor has texted that someone rang their doorbell, at least 10 times, around 330 AM.

Sarah remembers their dog barking furiously around the same time, so she checks their security camera footage. She discovers that a young woman frantically tried ringing their doorbell as well, not realizing it was broken. She was barefoot and dressed in an oversized t-shirt, and it looked like some kind of shackle or restraint was hanging from her wrist.

She becomes known as “The Girl on the Porch” in the media as police investigate.

I would’ve liked to see this creepy premise fleshed out into a full length mystery complete with news reports and social media, but this mystery is just a short novella (about 150 pages) which is really just a study in how paranoid and suspicious, your friends and neighbors, can become when a crime hits so close to home.

It’s a fast read, so when I finished, I skimmed back through to some of the scenes to see which were red herrings and which were clues. That turned out to be an interesting thing to do, because if one character in particular, had made a different decision than the one made....the result could’ve been even more devastating.

Realizing THAT is what gave me chills!

TRIGGER ALERT: 😾 killed.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Subterranean, and Richard Chizmar for the digital ARC I received in exchange for a candid review! This novella will be released on Aug. 31, 2019.

My only complaint is that I wish this story had been longer, because it seemed like there was a lot more character development than this short novel allowed for. I loved the story itself though. High tension throughout and an interesting mix of neighbors. Still wish it had been a fuller novel I feel like I missed some of the storyline.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆+

Synopsis

From New York Times bestseller Richard Chizmar, author of Gwendy’s Button Box (with Stephen King) and The Long Way Home, comes a thriller that will forever change the way you look at your neighbors and best friends…

When the Tuckers’ next door neighbor mentions someone rang their doorbell late the previous night, Sarah and Kenny Tucker check their home’s security camera and discover something shocking: the doorbell ringer also visited their house and it wasn’t a teenager playing a prank, but instead a terrified young woman with a shackle hanging from her right wrist. She anxiously pressed the doorbell again and again, glancing over her shoulder as if someone was coming for her, before giving up and taking off into the dark.

Almost overnight, she becomes known as The Girl on the Porch—and she’s everywhere. There are updates on all the local networks, national coverage on CNN and Fox News, and the video goes viral on social media. Before long, everyone has seen the harrowing security camera footage.

Kenny and Sarah figure it’s only a matter of time before someone recognizes the woman, but as the days pass and no one comes forward, odd things begin to transpire around the Tucker family: a man intensely watches them at a restaurant and then vanishes, fresh footprints appear in the garden next to their house where no one should have been, a neighbor’s pet is viciously killed and mutilated, and a mysterious man has started following their daughter Natalie…

A rollercoaster ride of compelling twists and turns, The Girl on the Porch demonstrates why Stephen King says Richard Chizmar’s writing is “powerful” and Robert McCammon calls his work “hard-hitting, spooky, suspenseful, harrowing, and heartbreaking.”

Review

Thanks to the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of The Girl on the Porch in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this ARC via NetGalley did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novella.

The Girl on the Porch is an example of when a promising premise is squandered by an unsatisfying plot. I can’t say for sure that it would’ve been better had Chizmar pushed the boundaries and made it into a full-length novel, but the novella just didn’t do it for me.

Secondary characters that are supposed to be highlights of the story end up being bland and underdeveloped. The supposed “rollercoaster ride of compelling twists and turns” felt more like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Pretty straight forward with a couple of “wee” moments. It is one of those reads where you finish, shrug your shoulders, and move on to the next. You don’t really take the time to grasp what you just read because it doesn’t have any staying power.

Look. I’m quite aware that not every single book ever written over the course of history as to be hard-hitting, gritty, and have a WTF type of ending. Unfortunately, it has sort of become the norm in today’s publishing world and The Girl on the Porch happens to be an example where it was a tad too soft.

Now, let me reel you back in. Chizmar does do some great things throughout the novella. I was fairly engaged up through the halfway mark and even shouted “WHAAAA” out loud at one or two points in time. The constant whodunit mentality I had while reading is what kept me going. The good news is: you literally have no clue where the answer lies until the very end. Not that the reveal is blindsiding, but the author does a fine job at keeping it hidden. The writing is good and pretty par for the course, so not much to add there.

Overall, I am glad I gave The Girl on the Porch a shot. I still plan on reading more of Chizmar’s works as I did really enjoy Gwendy’s Button Box (which I have Gwendy’s Magic Feather on pre-order) and I’ve heard great things about Widow’s Point and A Long December.

When Stephen King recommends a book, it's usually a good one and he sure got this one right. I read this book in one sitting and loved every minute of it! Who is this half naked woman with shackles running around the neighborhood? Where did she go? And more importantly, from whose house did she escape? I highly recommend this book!

Review Copy

Richard Chizmar is known for writing short stories and novellas that are in general tightly written and have characters that leave the reader uncomfortable in some way. THE GIRL ON THE PORCH is no different in that way. It is very well written and a very compelling read. It leaves no clues for one to figure out wtf is going on. Everyone is suspect, including the victims and that is the horror of it all.

My complaint is that Chizmar should have stretched himself this time and turned this into a novel. It would have made a stunning, gasping page-turner if he had even doubled the pages. I really, really liked THE GIRL ON THE PORCH and recommend it to all, but ask Rich to write a little longer next time. Your ideas are incredible.

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Girl on the Porch.

I was stoked when my request was granted, ready for something shocking, exciting, suspenseful.

But that's not what I got.

I got a blurb of a decent premise; a young woman rings the doorbell of the Tuckers' in the middle of the night. She looks distressed and in need of help. Unfortunately, the bell is broken, the woman disappears, and the shocking image is caught on video for all to see.

Now everyone is a suspect, including Kenny Tucker and his coterie of childhood friends.

Unfortunately, there's nothing exciting or chilling and the short length of the novella makes character and plot development almost non existent.

I really wanted to like this, especially with such a good premise to work from.

Chizmar is unquestionably a talented author and editor. So now having that been said…this slender volume starts off with pages and pages of praise lavished upon him and it sort of leaves you expecting…well…greatness. And frankly this novella isn’t great. It’s good, possibly even close to very good, but it isn’t mind-blowingly awesome. It reminded me very much of the late great Ketchum in a way (the meditation on the evil people do to each other and all that), but without the strong emotional engagement his work always provides and requires. But comparisons aside, this was a tight number of suspense, optimally to be read in one sitting and page count being so low, it’s easy enough to do. The story is set in an idyllic suburb with friendly neighbors., but Chizmar gets rid of that curtain immediately, in fact he rips it away from the get go when the eponymous girl appears in the middle of the night desperately trying to get someone’s attention. And now there is an ugly shadow of suspicion being cast around and a lovely neighborhood is no longer a place of peace and tranquility. This is by far the best aspect of the novella, the way Chizmar represents the insidious nature of mistrust and general unease and no one is safe from it. This provides for some fine character writing too. Plus he’s constantly throwing clues, misleading clues, mind you, so you’re never quite sure who’s responsible and what’s going on. It’s a good thing, of course, you won’t guess the ending and that’s one of the best things one can expect from a suspense thriller. Which this is, I suppose, but it’s also a pretty potent work of dark psychological fiction. For something like 60 minutes of your time, this book certainly has a lot to offer. So do yourself a favor and check it out. Greatness, such as it is, may be subjective, but it’s easy to agree that this is definitely a good story. Disturbing quick fun read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.