The hobgoblin of little minds by Mark Matthews. 
Kori dad is in a mental institution.  It is due for demolition.  Can she save him before the demolition?.
This was a very good read.  A little confusing but after reading it I found this dark on creepy.  Good story.  And some good characters.  4*.

First off, the cover of this book is amazing. A werewolf holding a heart. The blue and red’s were just beautiful together. 

I ripped into this book without reading the synopsis because it was a book by Mark Matthews. I have loved all his books so far. He writes addiction horror that really gets under my skin. “The Hobgoblin of Little Minds” takes a departure from addiction and explores mental illness.  

Kori Pershone Driscoll has suffered through her dad’s mental illness. She wanted him to get better but he does not seem to improve. One day, he disappears and Kori is determined to find him. She breaks into the abandoned hospital that used to treat him and is unprepared for what she finds. 

Every character in this book was so well written that you have sympathy for them. Dr. Zita, suffered her own trauma, which in turn caused her to be the villain. Although her acts are horrific, I could see the driving force between these actions. I wanted all the characters to find peace. 



This was a well written book about bipolar disorder. It touches on how medications and medical treatment can influence individuals with mental illness.

Decent book, but not as good as I expected from earlier reviews. I had a hard time relating to the main character. It just never grabbed me and I struggled to finish this one. Good, but not great.

This was an incredibly unique and thoughtful take on mental illness, bipolar disorder in particular, with a twist on the traditional werewolf lore. Ironically, I think the word werewolf was only used once? And then shut down really quickly, which I thought was a nice addition.

The descriptions of what it felt like to go through a manic episode were some of the most haunting and beautiful I’ve ever read. Bipolar disorder has some very negative connotations attached to it, however there is beauty in the heightened awareness that both Peter and Maya observe, and later Lilith.

“She wanted to rip the walls down, wanted to sing her song of rage and pain.”

“Atoms in her brain and all the fluids lubricating her spine started to ooze like hot lava”

The characters were engaging and very fleshed out. I wanted Kori to find peace with her dad. I wanted Maya to find Lilith and be reunited. I wanted Hades the dog to be ok! And I suitably hated Zita. It seemed she justified her cruelty and her Frankenstein complex with her past.

I was drawn to the book by the amazing cover, but I kept reading because of the descriptive prose that Mark Matthews wrote. I felt like I was living a manic episode.

5 stars and will be buying a physical copy when it comes out!

Sometimes I’ll read a book and feel unqualified to write a review. When the author is one whose work I respect and enjoy, I often feel that anything I might have to say would simply be silly. Such is the case with The Hobgoblin of Little Minds by the always excellent Mark Matthews. 

What’s so good about it?

First of all, this book was written by Mark Matthews. I know that anytime I crack open something he’s written that it’s going to be inventive and imaginative, and usually go in a different direction than what I might expect. THOLM is no exception; yes, it’s a werewolf story—but these are not your typical werewolves, and the direction the story goes is not what you might expect. 

Which brings me to my second point: the best horror writing is typically either allegorical or functions on multiple levels, and that perfectly describes THOLM. While it can be enjoyed as a mostly straight-forward story about werewolves, this can also be read as a dissection of how the children of parents with mental illnesses respond to growing up in that environment. The book centers around three relationships between mentally ill/werewolfy parents and their children, and the main meat of the book is really about how each of the children (some of whom are now adults) have dealt with their parents’ conditions. Some want to save their parents; some want to save humanity by any means possible; and some want to simply watch the world burn. The depiction of the mania and depression that is part of being a werewolf was compellingly written and extremely unnerving. 

So why four stars? Probably just personal issues. I found the overall characterization to be somewhat flat. The POV shifts every couple of chapters, but most of the characters seem to speak with the same voice. This was especially true of the female characters. 

However, the main issue that keeps this from being 5 stars for me is the extended monologuing (chapters 21-24) indulged in by the villain. If you need four chapters for the bad guy (or woman, in this case) to painstakingly explain what she’s been up to....well, there probably was a better (or more concise) way to give us that information. But what do I know—I am not an author. 

Overall, though, this was a wild ride and a good time, and I eagerly look forward to what Mr. Matthews has planned for us next time. 

*****I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*****