A mighty fine read that kept me turning pages. Lots of raw emotion, twists, and surprises. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

I would give this a 3.5 rating. I just don't think it was as tight a story as the first one. It seemed like it was trying to do too much and it definitely was bogged down by too many POV characters. I liked seeing where the characters from the first book have ended up and grown. I absolutely adore Jade and Letha and that is still the case, 100%. But, overall, this was just a little muddled for me.

However, I did really enjoy the last 20%. It was exciting and page-turning and bloody in the best way. I just wish the rest of the book had read like that.

Regardless, I still definitely plan on returning to the trilogy once the 3rd book rolls around. I love the setting, concept, and characters -- even if this dragged a little.

As a librarian with a penchant for horror, I recommend My Heart is a Chainsaw more than almost any other horror novel. Now I wish I had a list of everyone I recommended it to so I could tell them to keep an eye out for this sequel. And just like My Heart is a Chainsaw, I wish I could read Don't Fear the Reaper again for the first time.

Stephen Graham Jones' conversational writing style in this book is engaging and fun, even as both the body count and tension in the town rises. With all the subtle or obvious references to slasher movies, this novel is filled with little gifts for the slasher fan. Jade (now Jennifer) is just the person you want ushering you through a bloody blizzard in this lakeside town, and she's as compelling a character as ever. I know it's too soon to be after the third in this trilogy, but I am waiting!

Enjoyed this much more than book 1 of this trilogy. Jade struggling through keeping her references/interests behind her was an interesting way to show her growth from the previous book. Deaths kept you on your toes but stringing them together after the twist made it slightly confusing.
So grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.
4.5 stars

"Don't Fear the Reaper" continues the story of Jennifer "Jade" Daniels who readers met in "My Heart is a Chainsaw," four years later. She reunites with her friend Letha who is now married to a deputy sheriff (Banner) and has a small child that she named after final girls in horror films. In fact, in the past four years, Letha has become just as much of an expert on slasher films as Jade/Jennifer is. A blizzard is happening, a real serial killer is on the loose, and several high school students are dead with a new "final girl" (Cinnamon). The knowledge of slasher films becomes imperative for survival from all involved in the confrontations that ensue. Most chapters in the book are the names of horror films.

I enjoyed the book because I like horror films and really loved slasher films when I was growing up. It is definitely for a specific audience because there are a lot of pop culture references that might not hold up for someone reading this in the future. I look forward to the conclusion of the trilogy.

Am not a slasher novel reader. But can I say this book series has me rethinking that. I am totally hooked.

Am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. So exciting. Great plot, great characters and in your seat terrifying

Don't read this one alone at night unless you want to sleep with the lights on

Recommend

Thank you so much to NetGalley for granting me an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

Alright, so I know I’m partial to SGJ - I haven’t read a book of his that I didn’t love - but dammit, I loved Don’t Fear the Reaper.

We’re back in Proofrock, where just a few years before, the town experienced a horrific and gruesome mass casualty. I read My Heart is a Chainsaw about a year and a half ago, but it still stays fresh in my mind. If you haven’t read it, read it now.

Jade, now going by Jennifer, isn’t the girl we left her with in MHIAC; she’s reserved, she’s quiet, she’s no longer slasher obsessed, and when I thought she was broken before, she’s even more so now. It’s like the little spark she had is gone. I remember being so annoyed with her at first, until you find out so much more about her, and your heart breaks for her. I was able to connect with her in ways that maybe I wish I didn’t have to, but I did and I loved her even more for that. Anyways, Proofrock has been quiet for the most part since she’s been away, and with her return, coincidentally violence is upon them as well. Is it Jade? Is it someone after Jade? Just a bad coincidence… you don’t know, because there’s not one, my friends, but TWO slashers in Proofrock and they’re both looking for blood.

SGJ does a phenomenal job at going into incredible detail on all the blood and guts, which being the morbid person I am, I love. But it’s not just the slicing and dicing that hooks you, there’s twists and turns galore and I was here for it all. I can’t wait for book 3. Thanks to Stephen Graham Jones, Gallery Books and NetGalley for my review copy. Don’t Fear the Reaper will be published in February, but don’t worry - I will remind you relentlessly.

Oh, and please read the acknowledgments 🥺🖤

The sequel was a great addition because the first book was more slow in an aspect where this one was more of gore focused! The complexity of the character and the eerie vibes from the book gave me chills! Unforgettable!

While still a good book, I wasn't as hooked as with last year's fave, My Heart is a Chainsaw. I was often confuse by the time we circled back around to certain things because I had already sorta forgotten the who, what, where. A lot of the conversations are murkier too if you're not up on slasher movie lore.

Still really excited for book 3, I absolutely love Jade as a character!

Don’t Fear the Reaper
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The blurb: keeping it short since we can all read an excellently designed book jacket: Jennifer (Jade) Daniels is released four years after the events of the first novel to a not-so-serial-killer-free Proofrock. These people can’t catch a break—this time, the dark vengeance of one appropriately named Dark Mill South (a name, not a location) may just be the end to this reluctant final girl’s tale…if she can find time in between fighting off a few other serial killers in the making that is.

I enjoyed the sequel quite a bit more than it’s predecessor. Our protagonist was far more likable as a world-weary, realizing adulting is a scam but showed up anyway mc, rather than an angst-filled teen. Several familiar faces return for this 24 hour splatterfest and I gotta say I was rooting for them way more than the recent Halloween movies (looking at you, “Halloween Ends”).

The style is still (I believe) more of an auditory narrative. This is designed as an oral campfire tale and it shows. So, at times it can feel confusing and meandering, much like someone actually telling a story out loud. Some readers may prefer an audible version (book on cd, or whatever you prefer).

I wouldn’t consider this scary in the sense I’m checking under my bed for hook-faced killers or murderous ungulates, but it was a satisfying ode to the slasher from an indigenous perspective. I kept thinking of it the Deer Woman at times, though I won’t say any more here.
This is a fun, unique thrilling winter’s tale.

-scene with Abby, Wynona, and Jensen is edited poorly. First the trophy is shoved into wynona’s mouth, then it says Abby a paragraph later. The whole scene is confusing and messy

The Grand Epic of Slashers and a sequel for the ages! Stephen Graham Jones has delivered one of the most bonkers, over the top, thrilling, f***ing awesome slasher tales I’ve had the pleasure of reading. So many twists and turns you’ll be dizzy by the end. Once again he’s packed it full of horror trivia that will have you smiling from ear to ear. And as with its predecessor there is a fiercely
Beating heart to be found amongst the growing body count. I don’t wanna say too much because you just have to experience it. Can’t wait to see what insanity he has in store for the next one! Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A worthy secret to MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW. Stephen Graham Jones' voice is so unique, and it is harnessed here to tell a harrowing story that equals the first in its evocative storytelling.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for e-ARC.

I love this book. This is a great a dark and twisty sequel which see our reluctant final girl step into what looks like another slasher in Proofrock. Jennifer "Jade" Daniels is cleared and released from prison, the same time she is being released, serial killer Dark Mill South is being transported across the state. From the very first chapter you can see where this disaster is going.

Where the first book is a slow burn, this book is a pageturning gorefest that left me begging for me. I easily could have stayed up all night reading this both from terror and because of how well it is written. I can't wait for the next book to come out to see how this trilogy ends.

I have to say this was better than My Heart is a Chainsaw but still fell a little flat for me. I really enjoyed The Only Good Indians but since then I have felt that Stephen Graham Jones has fell somewhat flat for me. I love the the novel is atmospheric and dark. Its perfect for the Halloween season, but the horror or fear aspect just isnt there for me. This one was just neutral for me. I didn’t love it or hate.

Stephen Graham Jones is a brilliant storyteller and master of horror. His tales are unnerving and Don't Fear the Reaper is executed in his signature style. A riveting follow up to My Heart is a Chainsaw. Indigenous representation, complex characters, this eerie novel will keep you on edge

I was so in love with the first book in this trilogy "my heart is a chainsaw" that when I was approved for this ARC of "Don't Fear the Reaper" I saved it for the seasonal read & promoted it on socials. BUT I am sorry to say I am a bit disappointed in this one. It has some returning characters which gives it that true to horror sequel vibes as well as plenty of slasher and horror references just like in #1 but it just felt lacking in something to me. I think that - like in so many sequels is part of the issue- trying to outdo the first. C'mon we know it's nearly not possible as so many fail and this is what happens here imo. The author just throws way to much into trying to get you to think it could be quite a few multiple people doing these killings. Two maybe three possible killers sure, but I got four possibilities maybe five in this book. Plus the myths, stories, legends of the town adds in more. If he took out at least two three of those it would of played out so much better with the story. The ending also felt rushed and thrown together quickly after so much going on in most the book. Maybe #3 will clean this all up better.
This is my honest opinion on the galley I was given to read.

I'll admit, I didn’t fall in love with Jade in book one. I liked her, I felt for her, I rooted for her, but I don’t remember loving her. I only remember loving that last image, that last moment. <br /><br />This book made me love her. The first thing Jade does when she returns to Proofrock, a town full of people who turned their backs on her, is embrace a traumatized young woman. The identity explorations, switcheroos, mother-daughter parallels, and connections between unlikely people had me cheering and guessing and crying and wanting. I was as desperate as Jade for things to work out in her favor, for the people she cared for to survive and care for her back. I wanted to cry when Jade made a sacrifice play at the end, again, but I'm glad she'll be back. The slasher references came thick and fast, and I haven’t watched enough of the genre to follow it very well, but ultimately it didn’t matter. Stephen Graham Jones redefines "compulsively readable" prose for me. This is a banger of a novel. <br /><br />Thanks to Gallery/Saga Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

While I didn’t love this follow up as much as the first book in the trilogy, this was still a perfect Halloween read. Unfortunately, I got a little put off by too many villains in the mix.

The much anticipated sequel to My Heart Is A Chainsaw, Don’t Fear The Reaper is does what many horror sequels (film or book) fail to do: surpass the original.

Jennifer Daniels (formerly Jade) returns to Proofrock four years after the disastrous Fourth of the July celebration. Her arrival coincides with the escape of infamous serial killer Dark Mill South. Will Jennifer attempt to save her town? Will anyone believe her?

Maybe it was because of my preexisting investment in the characters, but I was much more concerned with outcomes in this book. It took turns that I had not expected. I was continuing wondering what or who would happen next. I gave it 4 stars. An thrilling and enjoyable ride.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ebook ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Jade Daniels is back! I am an unabashed fan of Stephen Graham Jones and his interesting writing style. My favorite thing about his books is how clearly his love and respect for the horror genre shines though in all that he does, and “don’t fear the reaper” is no exception. This is a solid horror sequel which picks up a few years after my heart is a chainsaw leaves off. We are reunited with a number of characters from the first book and of course, more slasher knowledge. This one didn’t pack quite the emotional punch of my heart is the chainsaw, but is a solid read. Looking forward to the release of book 3 of the trilogy and the evolution of the legend of Jade.