Talk about an opener. It was pure carnage with all of the casualties that Carni wreaked havoc on the carnival. From this point I was hooked. It was a while before Carni made an appearance again. So, if you are looking for an instant horror scare read, this is not that book. Yet, if you are looking for a very well written, creepy horror that is not in your face, then this is the book for you.

Aurora is a free spirit. She definitely gave off "cult" vibes. I was never sure what she was going to do next. To be honest, Dag is one of those people that is kind of unmemorable but due to what was happening to him, it makes him interesting.

The voice of Carni is creepy. The last several chapters of this book is where it really amps up. This book will not calm your phobia of scary clowns.

This is a fantastic slasher type novel that brings the scares with many different tropes that I just love in a novel like this.

The setting is an abandoned island that was once home to a permanent carnival. After a brutal series of murders take place (which we get to read in the first chapter), it's shut down. But what caused these tragic events lives on.

In the present day, our protagonist is a journalist, a young man who was cancelled after some tweets and video footage were released that painted him in a very bad light. He moves back in with his parents but accepts a writing job with the small local paper. After he meets a strange, cryptic, but beautiful woman who agrees to show him around this abandoned island he thinks he's back because the story she tells is too incredible not to go viral.

But, as these things tend to do in a horror book, separating fact from fantasy becomes blurred. The clown known as Carni is itching to come back. And he's very thirsty for blood.

This novel is well written, suspenseful, and doesn't cheat on the carnage. As events start to unfold and the body count rises, the full extent of this urban legend becomes apparent and it's horrifying. But it might be too late for everyone.

I really enjoyed this novel and the legend behind Carni. It made for a creepy, brutal read and I highly recommend it.

This was so good. I love trying to overcome my crippling fear of clowns by reading as much clown horror as possible. R. Saint Claire is really good at bringing the horror, and telling an entertaining, creepy story.
We follow journalist Dag, and his ever growing fascination with an abandoned amusement park, and the legend of Carni. If you want a good clown scare with a stellar story please pick this up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book, in exchange for a honest review.

A couple of days ago, I saw a book trailer for this on insta. It looked super fun and creepy but clowns aren't really my thing. Then I heard a booktuber talking about it and I was like, 'hmm, sounds interesting.' Then it popped up on netgalley and I was like, "ok universe, I get it, you want me to read the amusement park clown book! FINE!"

And you know what? The universe was doing me a solid because this was such a fun time. It's so much more than just a creepy clown. There's gore and cults and possession, and a main character who could not make a good choice if his life depended on it. So much bloody chaos. Such a page turner!