Thoughts

This was a good traditional horror book in the lane of Stephen King. It was detailed and very focused on the characters.

I thought it was good. It was creepy and kept me guessing what was going on.

It didn't feel completely unique but the details were different from things I have read before.

I think if you are a King fan then you will enjoy this book. It comes out January 10th 2023!

Having a novel published should be an exciting day for an author..... but Ben Bookman's Pub Day is spoiled by a rash of murders committed in the exact same way that the characters in his book are killed.

This book is essentially the 'Basic Instinct' theory; if I was going to kill people why would I do it in the exact manner as I describe in the book? Wouldn't that make me the most obvious suspect?....or is it so obvious it gives me the perfect defense??

I liked the plot of this book, but I really, really hated Bookman's wife to the point where it was distracting. It also felt very long at some points even though it's not an especially long book. Some parts of it in the 60%-80% of the way through range just dragged for me. Still, overall, I really liked this one. It's creepy and unsettling and I really enjoyed it.

I have always been a fan of horror movies but have had a hard time enjoying horror books the same way. The Nightmare Man has finally broken that barrier for me. The story is not a very scary story but it is unsettling to say the least.

The Nightmare Man has a plot you have definitely seen before but I like the way it gets told. There are murders taking place that seem to be following author Ben Bookman’s novels. The story takes the idea of nightmares becoming real and takes a very interesting twist on it. I don’t even want to describe it here, it has to be experienced in the story.

My only complaint about the story was it could be a little hard to follow at times. It not only jumps between characters but also jumps back in time. It’s written and done well but I found myself getting lost a few times and having to remember where I am at.

Overall this was a very enjoyable story and it’s finally a horror book that I enjoyed.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of The Nightmare Man by J. H. Market in exchange for an honest review. This was a very creepy book. I stayed up all night and was thoroughly disturbed. No nightmares for me, but it was scary enough to create them. I really enjoyed it. A perfect pre-holiday book.

TW: gory scenes, suicide, language

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of New Haven. Ben Bookman, bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, spent a weekend at the ancestral home to finish writing his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. Now, on the eve of the book’s release, the terrible story within begins to unfold in real life.Detective Mills arrives at the scene of a gruesome murder: a family butchered and bundled inside cocoons stitched from corn husks, and hung from the rafters of a barn, eerily mirroring the opening of Bookman’s latest novel. When another family is killed in a similar manner, Mills, along with his daughter, rookie detective Samantha Blue, is determined to find the link to the book—and the killer—before the story reaches its chilling climax.As the series of “Scarecrow crimes” continues to mirror the book, Ben quickly becomes the prime suspect. He can’t remember much from the night he finished writing the novel, but he knows he wrote it in The Atrium, his grandfather’s forbidden room full of numbered books. Thousands of books. Books without words.As Ben digs deep into Blackwood’s history he learns he may have triggered a release of something trapped long ago—and it won’t stop with the horrors buried within the pages of his book.
Release Date: January 10th, 2023
Genre: Horror
Pages: 336
Rating: ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
• The plot sounded scary

What I Didn't Like:
• The names for the characters aren't good
• Confusing parts
• Most all the characters are named alliterative's
• The writing is cheesy

Overall Thoughts: First off what a great acknowledgment;
For The Fist, All five fingers, It’s been a fun ride, so let’s keep it going. I laughed at this longer than was needed.

Wow this town has had a lot of Batman sounding villains - Bad Cop, Lamplighter, and Boogeyman. So far 3 references to Batman in this book. How have they had these many killers in a town so small its compared to Mayberry?

Our main characters name is Ben Bookman and he's an author. Talk about on the nose. We've also met Amanda Blue and she's a detective (blue because cops wear blue). The boogeyman killer is Bruce Bagwell. Michael Meeks. The names in this book are just terrible.

So Ben's wife Amanda is mad because he didn't put out another book and procrasted. That part came off confusing a bit. I couldn't tell if she was mad at that or that he had a vice when he does work, since he likes to drink.

"I hope it gave you nightmares." Stupid line.😑

Pet peeve: when people say iPhone instead of phone.

Ah, Amanda is such a horrible character in a book. Does she even like her husband, Ben? The whole book she acts like he's not good enough for her and is annoying.

Most of the lines are beyond cheesy in this book.
“Someone read my book , Amanda. Some cruel piece of shit acting out some morbid—”
“Ben.”“Amanda . . .” He was almost pleading. “What?”
“Your book came out last week. The Petersons were killed almost three weeks ago.”
Like maybe his book was leaked? Maybe a publisher - editor is a murder, but stupid Amanda just goes to Ben being a murderer.



Sometimes it feels like Amanda is the one who is drunk. Telling the police every little bit about their lives. She's just terrible! Again, does she even like Ben?

Honestly about 30% into this book it feels almost like nothing is happening. The detectives seem to interview the same people and walk around to the same places.

I also didn't think this would be so detective heavy. I felt like I was watching a "ghost/horror" movie that was PG13

Final Thoughts: I had to dnf this book at the 50% mark. I wasn't enjoying anything about it. It was seriously a struggle to even pick this book up to want to read it. It was putting me in a reading slump. Maybe I missed something in this book that SO many other people saw in it. It's not scary. The writing is cheesy. The characters are boring. Nothing happens (for as far as I got). They interview the same people over and over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape for this ARC! I enjoyed the narrator used for this story and I liked the idea of the plot. However, it fell flat for me. There were too many characters and the back and forth got confusing. Most of it was hard to follow as well.

I had read this one previously but upon listening to the audiobook, which I chose to do so hoping it would pull me in more than reading it, I was happy to find I enjoyed it so much more!

This book was riveting and definitely not something that you want to read before bed.

This was equal parts supernatural thriller and crime thriller and it was thoroughly scary. I love the book within a book trope, and this was great because it was a horror novel about a horror writer and events inside his books becoming reality. Crimes, deaths, horrific acts are played out in real life to real people and a group of people in this book have to figure out how to stop it from continuing, while trying to determine who is responsible.

The nightmare sequences in this book are terrifying and written in such a way that it really painted the picture of the fear in the vividness. I found the characters all quite interesting even if some were unlikable. I really look forward to reading what suspenseful books this author brings us next.

Im rating this 4.5. Because i enjoyed it and kinda loved it but it wasnt scary enough. But this was the most unique plot and setting that ive read in a while and honestly i cant get enough of it. Ive listened in one sitting. And im questioning myself if im crazy. But honestly this is better than any stephen king book wver. And also questioning stephen king? I hope down the line this gets a movie because wow. Grrat writing. Great everything.

I split my time with The Nightmare Man between listening to the audio copy and the ecopy. In the audio, the narrator did a good job with all the characters.

So I am going to say, I really enjoyed The Nightmare Man. It was creepy as heck and had a concept that I, personally had not read anything like before. I mean, seriously, the idea that nightmares can actually come to life is, well, the stuff of nightmares!

The story was mostly set in a small rural town. One of the best parts of the setting is the mansion and psychiatric hospital that is at the center of the story. There were two main protagonists in the book, a horror writer, Ben, who seems to be writing books that some psycho is reenacting in real life, and an older detective who has been dealing with the bizarrely high crime rate of the small rural town in which they both live. The writer is part of the family who has owned the mysterious house and hospital for generations. He suffers from memory loss when he visits the house, but he writes like crazy when he is there and those end up being the books that life imitates. Ben's family history is doled out throughout the story tying the past and the present together. This is done well. The detective is in failing health, and is now partnered with his adult daughter, with whom he has a complicated relationship. Because he has been involved in the crimes throughout the decades, he is basically obsessed with resolving the crime before he dies....or to die trying.

There are lots of characters in the novel and all of them are interesting in what they add to the story. While Horror is not my favorite genre, I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Super creepy audiobook. If you enjoy Stephen King then you should enjoy this book as well.
Written well and the narrator did a good job too.

Bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, Ben Bookman, spent a weekend at his family's home to finish his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. But then the story comes to life.

Detective Mills is called to the scene of a horrendous murder scene. A scene which mirrors a scene from Ben Bookman's book. Then another family is murdered and Detective Mills and his daughter, Detective Samantha Blue, work hard to find the link between the author and the murders.

Ben becomes their prime suspect. The only thing he remembers from the night of the first murders was that he was in the atrium of his grandfather's house.

This book grabbed me from the very beginning. I had both the e-book and audiobook versions of this book but found myself listening to the audiobook more. I was captivated and made time to keep listening to the audiobook. I was certain this was going to be a 4 or 5 star read for me. But then toward the end, my interest began to wane. I also thought while listening that this might work better as a movie. There are a lot of characters and a lot going on in this book. Somehow, I think 'seeing' the characters on screen would make the cast of characters more engaging and interesting.

As I mentioned, I loved the beginning and middle but lost my way at the end. I found this to be enjoyable but missing just that little bit of something at the end to keep me loving the plot.

I thought the narrator of this book did a fantastic job and I appreciated the author's originality and creativity. There was a sense of tension and unease through most of the book.


Thank you to Crooked Lane books and Dreamscape Media and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markers. I. This book really confused me! I'm still confused. I'd have to listen again I guess to get the full story.

The Nightmare Man audiobook by J. H. Markert
Narrated by David Bendena (12 hours 2 minutes)

J. H. Markert's The Nightmare Man is for hard-core horror fans. It is a very haunting and scary story that is not for the faint of heart. Written along the lines of Freddy Kreuger meets Stephen King, the book is multidimensional with cryptic characters. The writer successfully engages the reader's imagination with fear of the unknown. It combines ordinary circumstances with shocking and grotesque settings used to create a real sense of terror.

The fantastic narrative adds a delicious element of horror to the audiobook. David Bendena's voice is just right for reading. With the cover tightly cinched around my neck, it sent shivers down my spine. This is a must listen for horror fans!

Synopsis:
Ben Bookman is a best-selling author. As his new horror novel is released, he is faced with the fact that the brutal murders in his book are actually happening. Police Detective Mills and his daughter Samantha Blue are determined to solve this unusual case before the rest of the book comes to pass.

The Nightmare Man is too scary for me to review and not include a strong warning. The novel will have a huge audience with high reviews, but it will not appeal to everyone because of its extremely graphic violence. Be sure to check the trigger warnings before proceeding.

The Nightmare Man by J. H. Markert is available on January 10th.

(4.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫)

Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for sharing this totally spooky book with me. Your kindness is appreciated!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

How to put my thoughts in to words. I was very excited when I initially received this audiobook; however, that quickly subsided. The writing was good, but there was just too much going on in the limited pages this had. I couldn't keep things straight or get in tune with any of the characters.

Might be best to pass over this one.

3.5 stars

This is one creepy debut from J.H. Markert!

There are a lot of characters and a lot of things happening all over the place in this book. Ben is a writer whose plots are being coopted by someone committing heinous crimes IRL. A father and daughter detective pair are hot on the case. A mysterious/seemingly deeply scandalous grandfather is lurking in the background. The family home is...involved? We are just scratching the surface here.

At first, I chalked up my confusion to the audiobook format, which typically includes me listening to the book while doing a number of other activities (cooking, running errands, walking a dog, etc.). But it was still a surprise when at the 40ish% mark, I decided to start from the top thinking that I had missed or misconstrued some vital information. With a more intentional listen, I realized that I hadn't. It's not that there is an organizational or structural issue happening here; there's just A LOT HAPPENING here.

Despite the somewhat chaotic nature of the content, I still found myself engaged (enough to listen 1.5 times consecutively) and interested in the final outcomes. I'm hoping for a more focused and refined presentation on the next one, but I'll definitely read more from this author.

I wanted to thank Crooked Lane Books, Dreamscape Media, J.H. Markert, and Netgalley for granting me a finished physical copy and access to the audiobook version before its publication date of January 10, 2023.

The Nightmare Man could be any skittish person's worst nightmare, literally. The renowned author Ben Bookman has written a series of horror novels narrating how various terrifying monsters have gotten away with awful crimes. His success has landed him multiple press tours, fame, and accolades from publishers and authors alike. Still, one day, chief investigators begin to stumble upon a series of dead bodies whose crime scenes are starting to resemble that of the fiction that Ben has written about. Could it be a super-crazed fan looking to copycat these real-life incidents, or could it be something more sinister and perhaps even paranormal?

The town of New Haven has been plagued by the Bookman family and their domineering estate for decades, and it's about time that something older than time breaks through and haunts the town, day and night, but especially during the night. These monsters haunt people in their dreams, hence the title, and the danger doesn't go away upon waking up.

Ben Bookman's thriller. The Sacrecrow, is released the same day a family is found gruesomely murdered and left in a bizarre and disturbing tableau. The murder is way too similar to the opening of Bookman's novel to be a coincidence and Mills, the detective assigned to the case, along with his daughter, rookie cop Samantha, are worried the killer may be using the novel as a guide. They search the book for clues, desperate to find an obviously deranged killer before he can strike again. Meanwhile Ben, who has become the prime suspect in the murders, tries to remember the night he finished the book at his family's ancestral home, Blackwood Manor, and the Atrium, his grandfather's secret room full of books with no words. There is some graphic violence and gore in this book, but it didn't put me off. I found the book to be terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time. If you want a book to give you chills this summer, then look no further