Thank you so much to @stmartinspress for allowing me to read this awesome thriller in exchange for my honest review!

This horror story is told from multiple POVs and takes place on Halloween in 1984, Coventry, Massachusetts. It’s about some creepy-looking kids dressed in faded, old costumes from a different generation and they’re just popping up around the neighborhood, tagging along with the town’s trick-or-treaters, and looking terrified as they constantly check their surroundings.

This main storyline is woven between the multiple storylines being told from the different POVs of neighborhood kids, teens, and parents. The true horror of this book was the raw realities the characters were going through and how the same circumstances can affect those involved differently, but just as devastatingly and traumatic all the same.

All around GREAT story, I loved the folklore involved, and I felt an attachment to the characters which is always a plus for me as a reader. I do wish Barb having a faint memory of the Cunning Man came full circle though - I thought there’d be a curveball toward the end.

Unfortunately, this felt more like domestic drama than an eerie horror. I am not especially fond of books involving everyone’s quarrels unless it’s deeply emotional or done as social commentary. This was neither, so it lost me long before the horror arose. Plus, that horror stayed in the backseat while the neighborhood’s arguments took the wheel for almost 75% of the story. Hints of what might be up ahead were not enough to make the rest more intriguing.

I also found the simplistic writing style in All Hallows to be quite annoying. Had so many other aspects of the story not been lacking, I might have been able to overlook this component a bit more.

The novel did not have the maturity level of an adult novel. Some of the family dynamics may have been a bit heavy and some of the horror did get graphic, but the book still felt incredibly childish to me. That’s not to say I think it better suits young adults nor do I think young adult books are immature. They suit their target audience well. I don’t know who it suits, to be honest, but I found it overwhelmingly disappointing as an adult novel.

I will give credit to the surprising turn of events toward the end. This did draw me in a bit more, but it was not enough to alter my overall opinion of the book. I wanted an immersive creepy read and this just did not fit the bill.

I am immensely grateful to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this story - the writing was good and the characters were fine, I just found that I had to keep making myself pick it up. Unfortunately, something was missing for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for this advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I received an advanced copy of this one on a Friday and finished it up the next day. Let me just say that if you like a creepy tale that’s spooky and dramatic but not too scary, you’ll want to add this one to your list.

The entire book takes place on Halloween in small town Massachusetts in 1984 and has major Stranger Things vibes.

Available January 24 from author @christopher_golden and @stmartinspress.

Thank you @netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy.

All Hallows was the perfect spooky read! Intense, gory, full of action, I could not put this book down. It’s Halloween night, 1984, and everyone in the neighborhood is preparing for trick or treat. Through multiple character POVs we watch the horror unfold. Drama and terror weave their way through this creepy book-with legends of The Cunning Man roaming around. Golden gave a perfect “Stranger Things” vibe when he wrote All Hallows, a perfect Halloween read!

Welllll, I had to DNF not because it wasn’t good, but because it absolutely creeped me out.

All Hallows is set on Halloween, and follows a neighborhood, both adults and children, on Halloween night. Families are unraveling, all while kids are out trick or treating. This neighborhood is surrounded by woods, and “The Cunning Man” is haunting or terrorizing a group of “children.” These children assimilate as much as they can but something is off and these children attempt to convince the neighborhood to protect them.

The beginning is a little slow in setting the scene, but once the creep starts, it was completely creepy! If you like eerie feels or horror in general, you may like this. I am too much of a chicken to handle it.

Definitely would recommend adding this to your spooky season reading list.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've struggled writing a review with this one because even though I enjoyed it, I'm afraid that I'll give too much away.

All Hallows is set on Halloween night in 1984 on Parementer Road in Coventry, Massachusetts. The story unfolds as various bizarre and even sinister things begin to unfold to the residents of Parementer Road. The story alternates from various points of view of kids, teens, and adults of those living in the neighborhood.

The book contains:
▪️Very creepy kids
▪️A haunted woods
▪️A killer on the loose called the Cunning Man
▪️Stranger things vibes

I loved the fact that this book was set in the 80s it gave me so much childhood nostalgia.
The book begins as a slow climb and introduces us to the various characters as well as the neighborhood setting. Then when you least expect it, BAM! Action and unexpected occurrences begin to unfold until it snowballs into a spectacular ending.

There is a lot of various points of view which can be sometimes confusing when keeping up with who's who but the author wrote each of their perspectives so distinct that I didn't have this issue at all. I also loved the fact that this book contains a diverse cast of characters that represent so many. This is my first read by the author and it will not be my last. All Hallows will be a story that I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

All Hallows by Christopher Golden will be available on January 24, 2023! Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Supernatural thrillers/horror are not a go-to genre for me, so this was definitely a harder read for me. Overall, I liked the premise of the book. But I really had to skim over the gore. And I think I would have liked it more if it the thriller/horror part wasn't based in the supernatural. Basically, it wasn't the book it was me....I learned that I'm not the right audience for this particular genre.

Book Review
All Hallows by Chritsopher Golden

⚠️What Its Got⚠️
Haunted house/ Dark woods
Domestic violence
Marital issues/infidelity
LGBTQIA relationships
Neighbourhood drama
Creepy children
Monsters
Racism

Thoughts
I could not put this one down! It reminded me of old school horror movies- think Candyman and Friday the 13th. There was a clear adults vs kids theme woven through out. Parents in the neighbourhood that are either disillusioned or naive about the true nature of their relationships with their spouses and children. Kids/Teens dealing with emotional growing pains, self discovery and young love.
A simple Halloween evening of trick or treating turns deadly for these families.
This book left me scared stiff.
The parallels between Grimms fairytale of Hansel and Gretal were not unnoticed- candy, witches, woods, glowing eyes…..Sleep will be elusive tonight as visions of the Cunningman invade my dreams.

This book would make an ideal horror movie adaptation!
It is THE perfect #horror read for the #spookyszn

Thank you to @sartinspress and @netgalley for My gifted copy in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

Told from many characters’ POV, All Hallows does build a nice tension and I quickly got into, but it didn't succeed in keeping my interest - after the slow build up (in my opinion), the middle and ending didn't stand up well, nor did it really seem to fit with the rest of the story. Ultimately, I finished my reading of this one disappointed.

Halloween night, 1984, in Massachusetts. The Barbosa family is preparing to host their annual “haunted woods” for the last time before moving out of the neighborhood. The neighborhood kids are excited, even as strange children that no one knows starts showing up. But as these children beg to be “hidden” until midnight, it becomes clear there is more going on here than meets the eye.

This was the most perfect “spooky season” book to read over Halloween weekend! It had vibes of “Stranger Things” and gave me an eerie feeling from the first few pages. Part domestic/neighbor thriller and part supernatural/horror, this story was exciting and kept me reading quickly! Without giving away any spoilers, I definitely double checked that all my doors were locked and reminded my kids not to talk to strangers after reading 😆

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Christopher Golden for the ARC! “All Hallows” will be released January 24, 2023!

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly 😊

Sorry, I just could not get into this book or finish it no matter how many times I tried. Nothing against the author, I have seen rave reviews for this book. It just was not for me.

.When I read the synopsis for this book I was excited, as I felt this would be right up my alley.
While I did enjoy the read there were a few things that I disliked about it. While I do love a
book with multiple POVs. There were so many POVs that it was hard to follow at times.
Most of the story isn't what I would consider horror, as nothing horror related happened until
around the 70% mark.

DNF

Sometimes you come across a novel by a well established author and you think to yourself how on earth did this guy get published?!?! That is me with this book and Christopher Golden. I hate to be harsh but I'm always honest. You've been warned.

1984 Coventry, Massachusetts. What starts off as a typical Halloween night ends in terror for those living along Paramater Road.

The story was interesting but I felt like it dragged a little through the first 60%. I kept waiting for the scary to arrive, and although it eventually does, the story is more focused on the family drama.

Each chapter was told from a different perspective. And there are a lot of perspectives, but author does a good job of differentiating them.

I absolutely love the creepy cover and wanted so badly to like this one. The setup was perfect for a spooky Halloween read and I know many will enjoy it, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

All Hallows is available January 24,2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sorry, trick or treaters! But, I will be leaving the porch light off-and the door locked-instead of passing out Candy this Halloween!

That is what I had HOPED that I would be saying, after I finished this book…

INSTEAD, I am disappointed to report that just like the candy you found inside that pillowcase you dragged around when you went trick or treating, what’s inside these pages, was also a mixed bag! 🍭🍬

What started out for me as the book’s strength, became its weakness.

It’s Halloween night, 1984, and it will be the last year that the Barbosa’s will be able to stage their “Haunted Woods” event. Tony Barbosa, and his daughter Chloe, want the event to be epic.

The Koenig’s will also be hosting a Halloween party, this year.

Parmenter Road was going to be a great place to be this All Hallows Eve!

UNTIL, the Cunning Man, decided to prey on the children of Coventry, especially those who lived on this street-

His bait:

Children dressed in vintage Halloween costumes-like a Raggedy Ann, a Clown and a Scarecrow-complete with faded, spooky make-up. Children who will pretend to be helpless and in distress-needing the help and protection of the local children.

Let the trick or treating begin….

The good 🍭 An authentic neighborhood feel, a strength, made this premise extra scary until…

The bad 🍬 It became its weakness as I ended up feeling ZERO fear or dread, because just when the tension would begin to build we would get sidetracked by a philandering husband, or a “coming of age” sub plot.

Too much “neighborhood drama” detracted from the Cunning Man and his bait”…. the reason I picked up this book!!

In addition- as a teen in the 80’s- some descriptions in the book were nostalgic, like going to the mall for an Orange Julius, but the overall feel of the book was a huge MISS.

If you weren’t a teen during that time frame, you won’t pick up on it-but as someone who was, I can tell you that you would not have felt confident to OPENLY explore what wasn’t yet an accepted sexuality in those times, nor would you think that an adult helping a lost child might be a pedophile.

Thank Goodness we have come a long way since then-but we weren’t there yet in 1984. This book would have been better if it were set in the current time.

The last 30% or so, gives you the slasher/horror theme vibe that screams HALLOWEEN 🎃 with the bodies piling up.

So, the porch light WILL still be on, this Halloween and my candy 🍭🍬 dish is ready for the trick or treaters-though if I see a Raggedy Ann, Clown, or Scarecrow through the peephole-I just might have to pretend that I have run out! 😮

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for a candid review!
AVAILABLE on January 24, 2023.

Fantastic horror story!
In the vein of Stephen King, we are introduced to a cast of characters in a small town on Halloween. A handful of neighbors living within a few blocks of each other have children on the cusp of adulthood. The teens plan to crash the adult party with alcohol of their own, but first they will visit the annual haunted woods put together lovingly by another local family. While all of this traditional, good natured fun is happening, something very scary and very sinister is lurking in the woods. Before the clock strikes midnight, every one will have a choice to make and the choice is a matter of life and death. If you like coming of age, small town scary stories or are looking for an excellent new horror writer, All Hallows is for you! #StMartinsPress

DNF - I was so thrilled to gain access to this title. I've seen it everywhere & everyone seems to have something positive to say about it. Unfortunately, I am not the target audience for this book & therefore could not make it past the first chunk of the story. This isn't a Horror for veteran Horror-lovers. This is a Horror for our dearly beloved scaredy-cats or those who might want some spook without the terror. To which I say - enjoy, I think you have found your read in this book.

Aside from the lack of what I was hoping to find within this story is the thematic approach of having a full & all-encompassing cast of characters. One might forget that to write a character one needs to hear them speak & adopt them fully; mannerisms, tendencies, flaws, quirks, and all. When there are too many characters introduced, all of which have to recount their own perception & experience of an event it becomes boring. It's dull to duck-duck-goose in a circle of everyone, most of whom I do not care about.

In all, this isn't for me though I appreciate having had the opportunity to try.

This was a FANTASTIC eerie and spooky book. It was a page-turner and I was on the edge of my seat with suspense as I read (as quickly as I could!). The writer's haunting prose gives way to a terrifying tale that makes you question your own -- and the characters' -- sanity. What's REALLY going on in those woods? There's also a story within the story: Are monsters real? Sometimes they're men. What's happening behind closed doors? There's an unsettling and. unspoken philosophical component as well: are we doomed to repeat cycles until we die? How can we break them? There's only one way for you to find out...read it...if you dare. ;)

Halloween, 1984. It's the kind of night that will change everything for those living along Parmenter Road. Things start off innocently enough - trick or treating, a neighborhood party, and, for Tony Barbosa, one last Haunted Woods display to scare the pants off his visitors. But as the night wears on, secrets are revealed, and the families of Parmenter Road grow aware of the strange children in outdated costumes joining their own kids for the night's revelry, warning about The Cunning Man and begging for protection.

Christopher Golden's All Hallows is a terrific Halloween read, but also one that demands much patience for those looking for a straight-up scarefest and bloody murders. It's a slow burn, one that is heavily focused on and invested in its large, diverse cast of characters. Golden drafts some terrific character sketches here, building up the folks of Parmenter Road and fleshing them out, warts and all. The secrets each of them hold are enough to fracture families and turn neighbors into bitter enemies -- infidelity, alcoholism, pedophilia and child murder, bigotry and homophobia. Over the course of the night, all of their secrets will be revealed, and the fault lines that run through their neighborhood will be forever torn wide open.

Simmering in the background, almost entirely hidden for the bulk of All Hallows page count, are the strange and mysterious children who have joined the kids of Parmenter Road for their door-to-door candy gathering. I have to admit, for as good as Golden's character studies are, I found myself itching for the supernatural horrors to kick in by about a third of the way in, despite the built-in recognition from Tony Barbosa that "Nothing in these woods could be more dreadful, more terrifying, than the selfish cruelty of ordinary people." Golden reserves this aspect for the climax, but by the time issues concerning the children and The Cunning Man come to a head, it's a fast-paced race to the finish and so very much worth the wait.

As for those character studies, punk teen lesbian Vanessa was easily my favorite of the bunch. She's closeted, with only her best friend, Steve, aware of her sexual alignment. I found myself positively envious of their friendship, even as a straight, cis male. Their friendship is so open and honest, each so fully supportive of the other -- it's the kind of friendship I never really had growing up, and as I get older the more I realize that the friends I did have at that age were largely parasitic instead of symbiotic. Vanessa and Steve's relationship and love for each other is so pure and idealistic until it isn't, because such is the way this Halloween night shall go for everyone in this little suburban community, and it physically hurt to see them torn apart in the ways they were. Tony, too, is subject to much of readers empathy and sympathy, as this poor bastard's night just gets worse and worse.

It's interesting, too, that Golden chooses to plunk his story into the year 1984. Regan is president, Richard Ramirez is active, the economy is garbage (evidenced by Tony's recent layoff and months of unemployment), nuclear concerns with Russia abound, and Bruce Springsteen's perpetually misunderstood anti-war anthem, "Born in the U.S.A," is only a few months old. There's a certain amount of nostalgia embedded in the use of 80s-era Americana, but it's also a reflecting pool to show us just how little has changed in the 40 years since. 1984 may be an authorial conceit to avoid the use of cell phones and modern communications, or a reflection on Orwell's examination of the manipulation of truth in his seminal titular novel, but it's also an era rife with closeted racists and bigotry and in Golden's work they suddenly find themselves unburdened of social constraints and self-authorized to behave badly. Set this book in the present-day, and there's little distinction between Trump-era supporters and their '84 contemporaries depicted here. On the other hand, casting this story in present-day also means there likely wouldn't be much of a story here if our plucky teens were just able to phone home for help.

All Hallows is a slow-burn Halloween story, one that takes quite a while to build up to a roiling boil. But, man, once it does, it blows the lid right off the pot and spills over into a big hot mess in the best ways possible. Golden delivers a shockingly dark, at times mean-spirited and cynical, work of horror that leaves readers with an unshakable sense of melancholy, but also some slight slivers of hope even amongst all the rot and ruin.