I've been putting off writing this review for a couple months. Giving this book a 2 really hurts, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that this was one of the worst books I've ever read. And I loved the previous two installments.

While I'm willing to extend my disbelief in a lot of horror novels I read, Angel of Indian Lake expects you to accept an outrageous amount of bullshit.

Maybe I would've been less disappointed, if the book didn't have such a strong opening chapter. If we didn't have Zombie axe-dad, killer sugar-hungry bears, extreme helicopter stunt kills, masked fake-therapists/former murderers, so many more idiotic things which felt pure fantasy verses the villains Jade had confronted before. Don't get me wrong, there was always a supernatural element in this series (and those elements also come back to haunt us,) but ultimately the killers were grounded in some sort of reality.

I remember getting to the sequence across the lake, and it was going on, and on, and on, with the same references we've sat through for two novels. Sitting with Jade in the woods, and I just thought to myself: Why am I doing this? How long is this happening for? Is Jade wandering the woods for a week disassociating and mumbling incoherently? This slipstream-of-consciousness look into Jade's brain is mind-numbingly dull. I kept loosing track of what was happening and would go back to discover that: nope, I didn't miss something, this is IT. Maybe the middle third of the novel could be trimmed out with zero repercussions to the ending.

And by the time we swim across the lake another time, and see the ending that mirrors the beginning, I just felt that Jade was cheated out of her grand finale.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for an arc of this title.

Who gets emotional over a horror trilogy? Everyone, apparently.

Because this is the third in the series, it's tough to say anything without spoilers, but the finale kicks off with a bang and does. not. let up.

The Indian Lake Trilogy remains one of the gnarliest things I've picked up. If you aren't one for gore, this isn't for you.

But if you are one for gore, and also sass and badassery and being reminded, yet again, that maybe we should just listen to the woman and we might make it out of here, it's one hell of a ride.

Jade Daniels has a forever place in my heart, and it was a pleasure to see her journey from angsty teenager to true icon.

Book three of the Indian Lake Trilogy pulls no punches with the esoteric horror movie references and elaborate deaths. I love Jade in My Heart Is a Chainsaw and Don't Fear the Reaper, so I had really high hopes for the final installment.

The first 30% had me riveted but then fell flat. With the change of POV between all the books, the first person point of view in this ended up being my least favourite. Jade wasn't back to her fever dream dialogue of book one but she just couldn't keep my attention with the meandering. There ended up being too many out of nowhere threads to wrap up and I lost my sense of caring. I don't know how I managed to be bored with chainsaws, bears, and "Chucky" but it happened.

Happy to have read and finished the trilogy, but I think I'll be imagining that it's only a duology.

The girl whose heart is a chainsaw, and who doesn’t fear the reaper, is back in her third and final outing. That is, horror superfan, Jade Daniels, who once again stars in the finale of Stephen Graham Jones’ Indian Lake Trilogy, entitled: The Angel of Indian Lake.

Several years have passed since the events of Don’t Fear the Reaper, and Jade is out of prison. In fact, she’s even managed to score a good job, having received special permission to teach History at her favourite high school. Thus, she’s returned to Proofrock, Idaho, and has matured quite a bit. She’s even made a name for herself that isn’t just based around her obsession with slasher movies. That’s all even tailed off some.

Slashers, and monsters, haven’t forgotten about Jade though. In fact, The Angel of Indian Lake starts with a bang, as three teens meet trouble while filming a documentary about town. However, since it happened in the middle of nowhere, the townsfolk aren’t aware that something dangerous has come to town yet again.

Then, the local forest catches on fire, and the need to keep the town safe becomes more paramount than perhaps ever. Locals rush across the lake with chainsaws and axes, ready to do their part of keeping the fire from progressing towards, you guessed it, the Founders’ expensive homes.

They unfortunately have no idea of what awaits them over there.

If you read my reviews of My Heart is a Chainsaw and Don’t Fear the Reaper, you’ll know that I’ve wanted to love these books more than I’ve ended up doing. The first one was confusing, and took a really long time to get going, but the second one was better. It wasn’t great, but it was a notable improvement, and is still my favourite of the Trilogy.

Jade Daniel is an interesting character with movie knowledge and a memory that I wish I possessed, but she isn’t the best narrator, likely by choice. She goes off on a lot of tangents, and can be hard to follow, which is once again an issue with The Angel of Indian Lake. I found a lot of this book pretty confusing, and somewhat hard to follow. There were a lot of tangents, and a lot of name drops from previous books.

I’ll admit that I don’t have the best memory, but even still there’s a lot of name dropping and memory required. As such, you’ll likely get the most out of these books by reading them in succession. I read each one when they came out, and it’s been about four years.

The Angel of Indian Lake also suffers from an everything but the kitchen sink approach. After reading it, and finishing it early this morning, I must admit that I’m not sure if the author had a true ending in mind. There’s so much going on here, and there seems like a new reveal (and/or monster) is right around every corner. Some didn’t even make sense.

Then again, Jade is a pretty unreliable narrator.

I’ve read four Stephen Graham Jones books now, and while I liked them all, I struggled with each one at times. This was no different. It’s very stream of consciousness, and can be quite confusing from moment to moment. Plus, there’s even more going on in this book, which isn’t as tight as its predecessor.

In the end, The Angel of Indian Lake is an ok finale. It doesn’t ace the landing, and is hard to follow along minute by minute, but it’s a decent book nonetheless, which fans of this trilogy should enjoy. It’s more of the same, after all.

This review is based on a digital ARC of the book, which we were provided through NetGalley.

** spoiler alert ** Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the eARC of The Angel of Indian Lake in return for my honest and personal opinion.

Unpopular opinion:

Firstly, I’m a huge slasher movie fan but the complexities of Jade’s state of mind, deserved more than a mass murder cover up.

The Angel of Indian Lake is the third and final book in The Indian Lake Trilogy by Stephen Graham Jones.

In The Angel of Indian Lake, we reunite with final girl, Jade Daniels, now turned high school history teacher. Within minutes, she comes face to face with a cold case murder and a yet to be discovered murder of two of her students; immediately followed by a Dad losing his head to which bloody hell ensues. Literally.

Things that made me go hmmm??

a. Killer trash bears
b. Cinnamon Baker plot twist? No way
c. Lemmy
d. Jade's axe wielding zombie dad

Riddle me this?

i. Would you watch a movie on the side of a dam, in a town that’s damned, on Halloween night?
ii. Are we going to say anything about the objectified, mystic negro final girl?
iii. Can you actually use a moving helicopter blade to kill someone and not crash?

Shoulda been the main plot, imo:

1. Rexall's grandpa's cabin ~ every detail in this entire plot line was horror perfection.

2. The resurrection and thus dismantling of Ezekiel and his church is Netflix worthy.

I tried so hard to love the story, but the writing and dialogue didn't land for me. And I just couldn't connect with Jade. I wish the author conveyed stronger emotional empathy/compassion on her behalf.

Have you read this? Thoughts?

Thank you to NetGalley, Stephen Graham Jones and Simon & Schuster Canada for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series - one of my favourites in this genre. But this novel starts off much slower and the writing is a bit confusing at times. I still enjoyed it and the slashing is still very gory and delightful.

Happy pub day to the end of this incredible Indigenous horror trilogy!!
Thank you so much to @simonschusterca for the ARC and @netgalley for the eARC!

I can’t believe that this series is over now! When I first started the first book, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be for me, but I really grew to love Jade and Proofrock.

As the series went on, I just got more and more into the story (and the many horror references that, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t get lol), the more fascinated I got.

This last instalment had another time jump, so it was cool to see where Jade ended up after Don’t Fear the Reaper and find out what’s been brewing in the meantime.

One thing that I continued to appreciate about this story is that Jade is a final girl, but she’s never perfect. She’s complex and super traumatized, which adds a lot to her decisions and reactions. Since the start, she’s never been the stereotypical virgin innocent who survives despite everything, she’s a real fighter.

I also am grateful for the references to the previous books to help remind me of what happened, since I never reread to lead up to the next book lol. Getting the little recaps when people tell stories about the town really helped me keep track of things haha!

I actually loved the ending of the series, but I won’t spoil of course. I will say it felt very poetic.

As a self-identified wimp, I felt like this series was a good amount of scary for me and that it had a good balance of monsters to monstrous people. I am a fan of both paranormal and true crime, so this series was the best of both worlds in a way.

Overall, I really enjoyed SGJ’s writing style and how it continued to evolve throughout the series. Sometimes Jade went on in her head a bit much, but sometimes it offered a nice reprieve from the wildness. I know that Jade will stay with me for the rest of my days. I highly recommend this series, though I think book 2 is still my favourite!

I received this book from Simon and Schuster Influencer Program in exchange for an honest review.

“In your head, and your secret heart, it’s easy to be tough,” (Jones).

Four years after Dark Mill South’s Reunion Tour, Jade Daniel’s is back in Proofrock, Idaho. Now a history teacher at her old high school, Jade tries to move on with her life until one day as her students are giving presentations on Proofrock’s history, one of her students shows drone footage that reveals the dead bodies of two missing teens from town, and right when a manmade wildfire has started in the forest nearby. As the sheriff and a number of volunteer firefighters go into the forest in an attempt to stop the fire, Jade stays behind, recognizing the signs of a slasher. But final girl Letha is away getting surgery, so who will be the one to save Proofrock this time?

Well, it took three books but we finally got it, a first person perspective from Jade Daniel’s herself! Yes, we got hints of this in My Heart is a Chainsaw with Jade’s slasher reports to her history teacher (which I argued were the strongest parts of the book) but now we finally have a full book from that perspective. It’s probably what made me enjoy The Angel of Indian Lake the most out of this trilogy. Enjoy, but still not love.

What can I say, I’m just not a slasher girl. While finally getting to read a book from Jade’s perspective made me enjoy the narrative more, it was still confusing. There are much more moving parts to a slasher than I can wrap my head around, and despite the fact that Proofrock’s population has been decimated twice by slasher scenarios there are still too many characters for me to know who everyone is, too much lore to remember which dead body is cursing who, and then trying to figure out if this is a person acting for vengeance or if there’s some supernatural involved.

And yes, while I’m happy with Jade’s perspective I don’t understand how each novel in the trilogy is told in such different ways. My Heart is a Chainsaw was told in third person following Jade with first person excerpts from her reports to her history teacher, Don’t Fear the Reaper was told in third person from a variety of perspectives (which I did enjoy), and now The Angel of Indian Lake is told in first-person from Jade’s perspective. I just think there should have been some consistency with how this trilogy was narrated, mainly making Jade narrate the whole thing.

The Angel of Indian Lake is a good end to the trilogy though, and those who’ve loved this trilogy from the start will love it more so. If you’re a slasher fan than continue on and enjoy the end of this series, but right now I think I’ve gotten my fill of slashers.

This review is also available on my blog: https://notsarahconnorwrites.com/2024/03/21/book-review-the-angel-of-indian-lake-by-stephen-graham-jones-my-heart-is-a-chainsaw-3/

4.25

What a wild ride this series has been!

I used to say that I didn’t really like horror but, Stephen Graham Jones has officially converted me. It wasn’t always easy. I do find the writing to be very distinct, sometimes off-putting, especially in the first two books in this trilogy. I feel that Angel of Indian Lake has the most accessible writing of all three books.

I don’t want to give anything away, this is the final book in a trilogy after all. I think that if you liked the first two books in this series, then this is the perfect blood-soaked ending. Where this book (and whole series) shines for me is the journey that we go on with Jade. I love her as a character, and I love her relationships with the side characters (Letha especially). This final chapter of Jade’s story is so satisfying. She truly is the most iconic final girl.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for the eARC. This is my honest review.

The Angel of Indian Lake – Stephen Graham Jones

Pub Date: March 26, 2024

Thank you @simonschusterca and @netgalley for this eARC.

I read My Heart Is A Chainsaw – the first book of the Indian Lake horror trilogy – sometime last year. Set in Proofrock, Idaho, the story follows a slasher-movie-obsessed teenager, Jade, and some sinister things that start happening in the quiet town. While it took me some time to get into it, I did enjoy it, especially towards the climax (I gave it 4⭐️).

Last week, I picked up the second book, Don’t Fear The Reaper (happening four years after the first book and following the same narrative outline), and had an almost similar experience, but with an increased sense of detachment. I wasn’t really feeling for Jade, I couldn’t remember some characters (or their relevance) from the first book and overall, I couldn’t connect to the book as much. However, I did like parts of the ending (I think I gave it 3.5⭐️).

The Angel of Indian Lake, the final book in the trilogy, fits right into my pattern.

Taking place four years after the second part, the book sees Jade coming back to Proofrock. And, there are people getting killed. Again.

I felt even more detached with this one. I really didn’t care about Jade (I couldn’t have cared less if she died). All the slasher movie references felt repetitive. Again, there were parts of the ending that I liked and I did like the writing style. But sadly, this book didn’t work for me.

⚠️Spoiler alert: One thing that bothered me, by the end, was that Jade never seemed to get an opportunity to process her trauma. And she’s been through so much! Even though the third book mentions therapy, it felt very superficial. I felt Jade deserved better, instead of being put through the same slasher experience again and again. Spoiler ends.⚠️

I wouldn’t completely write it off as a bad book though. I know I’ll definitely be reading more by SGJ.

2.5/5⭐️

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review

Horror has a big place in my chainsaw heart. I loved it when I was growing up, and even when it scared me so bad I couldn’t sleep, I loved watching them. I love ghost stories and campy 80s slashers. In fact, every year in October my husband and I try to watch as many 60s-80s horrors as we can.

This trilogy was so engaging to me because for the most part, I’ve seen the movies Jade references. There are some pretty obscure ones too, but I think I’ve watched 90% of them. As such, as an homage to horror, this book and the series works so well. Jade’s referencing of these movies brings the story into our reality, making it even more immersive.

This book, in terms of sub-genres of horror, is definitely aiming for the “highest body count possible” as well as zombies and revenge thriller and well, unfortunately, it feels kind of like the end of Cabin in the Woods - there are so many baddies running around it’s just chaotic. As such, I was a bit torn at times whom I was supposed to be worried about as it seemed everyone was a threat - but perhaps this was supposed to be mimetic in that we feel as overwhelmed as Jade?

Similarly, but more successfully, once the action begins, it just doesn’t stop. Unlike the other novels, which take place over a few days, this one has a very short time span. This doesn’t make it seem rushed, though, as there is still development of side characters, tragic deaths, and emotional resonance, especially at the end.

Yet, aside from the great prologue, it takes a while to get going. I wasn't on board with what Jade was doing in the town, as it didn't really suit her and she had lost a lot of her fire. She does get it back, but given how the last book ended, this seemed a bit out of character.

This is also the heaviest of the novels, and there was a part where I had to stop reading for a bit because I was triggered by it.

I also felt a bit lost at a few parts because characters from the other books return but I just didn’t remember their significance or who they were. If you’re reading these books back-to-back, it won’t be an issue at all, but given I've read 100 or so books since I read Reaper, and the characters are just regular humans with average backstories, it was hard to recall who Jocelyn was, for example.

Like the other two novels, this is a horror that dips into the literary. As such, we have a stream-of-consciousness narrative structure, which allows Jade to bring in her allusions to films, and a not-quite-straightforward way of description. I did enjoy this unique approach, though at times I had to re-read a few sentences to parse what had happened, as sometimes events happen so quickly I was like, “wait, did what happened really just happen?”

Unfortunately, I would say this is my least favourite of the three, but it still manages to have an impactful and emotional ending. It’s definitely worth reading if you loved the first two, though!

Jade Daniels is back in Proofrock and just like every time she is home, the slasher shenanigans are in full swing.

The Angel of Indian Lake is the third and final installment in the Indian Lake Trilogy and is a solid conclusion to the story. These books definitely must be read in order to enjoy their full scope and trajectory. This installment continues its "Ode to the Slasher" vibes and throws even more slasher film references at the read; the easter eggs are endless and oh so enjoyable.

As for the plot/story, I did struggle a little bit with this one. I found the pacing a bit slow at times, especially when Jade was on an internal dialogue tangent. I found that there were too many potential killers to keep track of this time and some felt unnecessary. I also was not a fan of the intermixed investigation reports; I found they really slowed the pacing and other than just feeling like a plot device towards creating an unreliable narrator, which she already kind of was, they felt like filler we didn't need.

That said, as per usual, when the action picks up and the gorefest gets into full swing, this book packs the punch that fans of SGJ want and crave. This installment holds back no punches, literally, and almost nobody is safe (move over George R.R. Martin).

I am confident in saying that book 2, Don't Fear the Reaper, is my favourite out of the trilogy, but this is an enjoyable trilogy all the way through. Fans of the horror genre should definitely check it out!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for my eARC.

I suppose it was too much to hope that book one was the outlier in this series. But after really finding the love for this world and it's characters in the sequel I had pretty much expected to come out the end of this in a much better place than, well, this. But book three somehow amps up the disjointed pacey confusion I felt with the narrative in book one as well as leans hard on the unbelievability and OTTness of some of book two (which had been pretty minor in the sequel, leaving me not too bothered by it despite some side-eye, and was not minor here in the finale).

It's really disappointing to feel like everything that was so hard earned in book two regressed so hard in this one. What didn't help matters was also how repetitive and disconnected this felt, too. I feel like 60% of the time I didn't have a clue what was happening, really struggled to picture the action, and overall just completely felt this had less of a plot and was more just the result of chucking everything and the kitchen sink in the blender without a care for what the end result would be. Not to mention, people were dying left and right and yes, the meta-commentary of everything being even more of a blood bath disaster rager was there but like.. it just stopped having an impact. There was just too much going on everywhere and it was hard to track most of the time.

And speaking of everybody dying, I'm big mad about a certain death. I nearly quit right there. I know, I know, it's horror, but also a slasher (sorta? this one maybe didn't stick to the framework) and therefore no one is safe but fuck that. I object. Because of this I'll probably always think of DON'T FEAR THE REAPER as a weird standalone.

Also, I've said it before, and I'll say it again : stop with the references to a certain wizarding world. Do as you will in your own life but, for the sake of your readers, stop it.

Anyway, this has been a wild ride with some unexpected lows and, subsequently, unexpected highs. It's certainly a love letter to the slasher and horror genre and I respect so much of that. I just wish the experience had been a little more even keeled. But if you liked everything up until this point, especially book one, I think you'll (hopefully) be satisfied with the end.

What an epic conclusion to such a unique and entertaining trilogy. After liking the first book and loving the second book, I was so happy to also love the end of this trilogy. The finale was crazier and gorier and more intricate than I ever could have imagined. I was so impressed with how each character/story that we followed in the first two books wove into the third book seamlessly.

The characters were so well done, the growth of the characters throughout the series was so well done and overall if you’re a horror/slasher fan these books are certainly for you. I’m not even a slasher movie fan and I found these books SO entertaining and enjoyable. Jade Daniels and Proofrock, Idaho will be living rent free in my head for a long while.

Highly recommend the whole trilogy! Thank you to @simonshusterca and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review. I had so much fun with this!

4/5⭐️ My only critiques were that there was just so much going on at the end it felt a bit rushed for me and I didn’t love the change in narration style for the last few pages of the book. Otherwise, I highly recommend!!

Dream on, Slasher Girl.

The Angel of Indian Lake
Final instalment of the Indian Lake Trilogy
by Stephen Graham Jones


QUICK SUMMARY
Proofrock, Idaho just can't seem to catch a break. It's like the place is cursed to attract the worst.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Thank you, @NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this copy of #TheAngelOfIndianLake.

Leaving off from the second book I was excited for this third one, the second one was so strong in terms of a story I had high hopes... High hopes, that came crashing down. This book felt like it would never end, the inner monologue took me out of the story and by the end I truly didn't care. If we had LESS of the inner monologues and more of the story this book would be a winner, but it just felt like the monologues were put there for filler and became really repetitive. Which is truly unfortunate because the book did have a good story behind it, but in the end it just lost its punch.

With The Angel Of Indian Lake Stephen Graham Jones has done it again, this time with the heart racing conclusion to his Jade Daniels trilogy. Gruesome and beautifully written (two things which are a staple for the author), I had high hopes for this book and it STILL managed to blow me away.
There's no doubt in my mind that SGJ is one of the greats.
Please find my spoiler free youtube review attached: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3R9GDnQgWA

This was my most anticipated release of 2024 and it didn’t disappoint. Stephen Graham Jones’s final instalment in the Lake Witch series wraps up Jade Daniels’s journey laying to rest the reoccurring evil in Proofrock, her isolated mountain town that has been the home of massacres and final girls for decades. This series mixes together slasher, creature feature, paranormal, and other forms of horror into the perfect novel for any classic horror fan. This finale is the perfect closure for Jade’s story. Jones’s knowledge of classic horror tropes and the relationships between Jade, her past trauma, and her best friends and neighbours create an ending that ties up everything in a way Jade herself would love. Like all of the instalments in this series, the narrative voice is very ramble-y and chaotic, which some readers may not love, but I thought it was unique and perfect for horror fans with the same chaotic minds.

I started this book as soon as I received it. Don’t Fear the Reaper was one of my favourite books I read that year, and I’ve been (not) patiently awaiting Jades return to Proofrock.
This book is bleak. I can’t rate it 5 stars simply because i was so upset the whole time. I cried and read the last 50 pages (as you do with horror movies) through my fingers. Everyone is fair game to be caught by a chainsaw, or that god damn pick axe.
I had to put it down multiple times, knowing I would continue to pick it up and endure the pain again.

Stephen Graham Jones (SGJ) has catapulted himself to the mountaintops of the horror genre. He is, without a doubt, one of the leading voices of the new horror movement. I’ve said it before and I am saying it again, his horror prose is second to none. No one writes musical and poetic horror like he does.

What an absolute honor it is to have as my first full read of 2024 an advance reading copy (ARC) of The Angel of Indian Lake, the third and final installment in the most excellent Indian Lake Trilogy, or as some also refer to it, the Jade Daniels trilogy.

This trilogy is difficult to summarize given the impressive amount of horror it covers across the entire spectrum of the genre’s history. SGJ tackles it with respect, he takes pride in honoring it, and seems to go to great lengths to make sure he does not tarnish it, abuse of it, or even overdo it. Everything is in just the right doses, in just the right amount, so as to satisfy us while simultaneously entertaining us and scaring the living daylights out of us.

Like in the previous two books, there is a rich tapistry of classic horror realm references interspersed with more modern ones from the 90s and 00s to satisfy both an old horror fanatic like myself and the next gen. Only SGJ can instantly bring me back to browsing the horror section of the VHS rental store in the early 80s! Ah those cheesy covers and tacky slogans! Timeless horror classics.

It’s then and now, it’s retro and new age. It’s horror perfection and personified. All on a mystical backdrop that only SGJ can paint. There’s an aura to every scene, something lingering in the background, something there but unseen and unheard yet so menacing.

SGJ is also a master at writing about grief and dread. I will argue tooth and nail with anyone that tells me there’s no depth of emotion in horror books. I have absolutely no shame in admitting this book made me shed a few tears. The Angel of Indian Lake is also packed with so many magical and mystical moments that I got major goosebumps during several passages.

Steering clear of any potential spoilers, I will conclude this review by first stating that The Angel of Indian Lake is in and of itself an excellent book while also being a superb ending to an incredible trilogy. And secondly, I must restate something I have mentioned before in previous reviews… no one writes acknowledgments like Stephen Graham Jones. They are always so generous and insightful, like the absolute best bonus features that were included in special edition DVDs.

Let me tell you the excitement when I received this arc through netgalley was unhinged!
I almost didn't want to read it because then I knew it would be over 😭
The book was perfection and brilliant ending to the series.
I'm so sad it's over

Allllll the stars 🤩