I loved the first 50-60% of the book. I was sure this was going to be a solid 4- to 5-star read for me. Then the plot took a hard left, and I was completely caught off guard. I thought I was reading a thriller, and it turns out I was reading a horror. This, however, is not the book’s fault. Had I taken a minute to look at the author’s backlist or even the genre listing on Goodreads, I would have known this. It’s for this reason, that I don’t feel comfortable giving this book a rating. It’s not the book’s fault that I didn’t love it; it’s just a purely subjective reader opinion.

So... if you love a good horror thriller with gothic elements, I think you would probably love this one. I will say that the action could be quite chaotic at time and extremely gory and graphic at others.

My thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

So, I’ve read Kelley Armstrong before and I’ve never associated her with straight up horror. Suspense thrillers? Yes. SF/Urban Fantasy with some supernatural elements? Yes. Crime thrillers? Yes. YA & Middle school? Yes, even that.

Well, apparently we need to add butt kicking horror novelist to the list.

This was sooooo good!

It’s gruesome, creepy, and has some scenes that will have you looking over your shoulder (what was that noise???). The storytelling is on point and it lulls you into thinking it’s straight suspense thriller at first. Nope! Next thing you know, the characters are facing unfathomable horrors and I was so into it.

I loved the characters, even those I didn’t like, and the author surprised me more than once with some of their secrets.

I loved this and I definitely want more horror from the author!

• ARC via Publisher