Graveyard Shift is one of those short, eerie audiobooks that creeps up on you—not with jump scares, but with the slow, heavy feeling that something is wrong and getting wronger. Set over the course of a single night in a cemetery, it’s less about plot twists and more about atmosphere, regret, and the kind of insomnia that blurs reality at the edges.

The premise is simple: five strangers, all working late shifts, converge on a mysterious grave. What unfolds feels like a ghost story wrapped in a confession booth. Rio doesn’t spoon-feed anything. Each character is withholding something—not just from the others, but from themselves—and as the night wears on, what’s buried (literally and emotionally) starts to surface.

The full cast narration is a perfect choice. Every voice has its own rhythm and shadow. No one sounds like they're performing for effect—they sound like real people trying not to come apart at the seams. That naturalism makes the surreal elements even more unsettling when they hit. The grave itself becomes less of a plot device and more of a gravitational pull.

At just over three hours, this is a tight, intentionally claustrophobic listen. Don’t go in expecting all the answers—this isn’t that kind of story. It lingers in ambiguity, in moral decay, in the rot beneath polite conversation. It’s about what we cover up and what we live with.

If you like your horror quiet, literary, and unsettling in the way a dream can be unsettling—familiar, but wrong in a way you can’t shake—Graveyard Shift is worth queuing up. Just maybe don’t listen to it in the dark unless you’re ready to sit with the silence afterward.

Graveyard Shift was a super interesting read. I loved the character study and the writing felt propulsive. I'd read more from the author.

Originally I didn't love the audio version of this book, but once it was released, I listened to it again while having the physical book on hand. I loved this story and the originality of it. I'm very excited for M.L Rio's new book to release soon.

Great for people who love short horror fiction but ultimately I needed this to be full-length. I just could not connect myself with the stories, plot, or characters.

ML Rio did something amazing with her debut novel "If We Were Villains". I would not describe her style as easy - she has a specific style of sentence forming. As much as dark acedmia might need it, in this short novel - Graveyard Shift it was just simply unbearable. I couldn't find any indication who the audience for this novel might be. Also, the characters and pompous way of being sprinkled with the same style of writing, created something unpleasant to read.

"A ragtag group of night shift workers who meet in the local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave." Say less! I was so excited to get my hands on this audiobook and it didn't disappoint. It was so atmospheric and creepy. I loved it. I liked the characters, as well. This is definitely an audiobook worth listening to.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

GRAVEYARD SHIFT grabbed my attention as soon as I saw the cover. It’s an atmospheric story about a group of strangers working the graveyard shift when they uncover a fresh grave.

*many thanks to Macmillan audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

A gripping, atmospheric read with Gothic vibes that keeps you on edge.
A group of strangers working the the graveyard shift stumbles upon a mysterious fresh grave one night, their curiosity leads them down a chilling path that connects to a series of strange events happening around town.
A dark, twisting tale with a perfect mix of suspense, intrigue, and a touch of the supernatural.

My sincere apologies, but this was not good for me. I wasn't sober the first time I read it and I thought it was just me not understanding something while in that state. I reread it the next day after sleeping and my opinion didn't shift. This felt like the beginnings of something I could love. However it meandered away and didn't give me the joy of being a creepy mushroom book.

I will say the rat scene gave me the heebie jeebies so there was potential. I just think a novella did this story a disservice when another 40 pages could have given me more to love.

It was too short for me. I didn’t feel satisfied. I think I am just not a short story or novella type of human. It was intriguing. I just wanted more. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen in exchange for a review.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was my first M.L. Rio, and it flopped. I'm still planning on trying out "We Are Villains", but if I hadn't heard such high praise for that book, this book would have completely put my off reading M.L. Rio again.
I thought the story had such amazing potential, but it failed to meet it in any way. The story is extremely short and takes place over the span of a single night. I don't believe that a story has to have a point to be worth reading, but "Graveyard Shift" truly didn't give me anything. We spend so little time with the characters that I didn't care what happened to them. We are given all the information without any effort. If the story was novel-length, I think it could have been great. We might have been able to connect with the characters and care about the plot.
I listened to this as an audiobook and thought the quality was good. We get to hear from M.L. Rio in the beginning, and it's always a delight to hear the author's voice. The narrators were good. Nothing about the audiobook hinders the experience of this story. The story just doesn't offer a lot to begin with.
Thank you to M.L. Rio and Macmillan Audio via Netgalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

I sent a personal note to the publisher. I'd prefer to refrain from a public review for this book. Thank you.

M.L. Rio's Graveyard Shift is a captivating novella that masterfully blends modern Gothic elements with a dark academic setting. The story follows five night-shift workers—a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, a church steward, and a college newspaper editor—who converge in an ancient cemetery and discover a freshly dug, unmarked grave. As they delve into this mystery, they uncover unsettling events that challenge their perceptions of reality. Rio's atmospheric writing and intricate character development make this a compelling read for fans of eerie, character-driven narratives.

This novella felt dark and stormy from the beginning—it was well done and I wanted it to be longer, but that’s the nature of a novella!

I loved this book. The characters were interesting and very well described. They might not have been instantly likeable, but Rio does such a great job showing their humanity, that it makes perfect sense why these five characters is forming a bond around their insomnia. They have very different reasons for staying awake while others sleep, but they form a friendship and look out for each other.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Experimenting with writing craft and words creates a dark mystery in psychological thrillers. I appreciate the unique style this book offers. Although it's short, I wish it were a bit longer.

I love M.L Rio! Truly they do no wrong! I'm such a fan of everything that they write. I enjoyed the pacing of this book and was drawn in from the start!

A perfect atmosphere of a cold and damp graveyard visted by the most unlikely group of people. I loved the quick pace of this novel and the audiobook format was perfect for a night where I could not sleep myself. The full cast narration adds to the atmosphere of the novel and creates an immersive experience.

This was not good. I was truly bored and zoned out because of that. The narrators sounded like they were doing commentary on a true crime doc. I literally had to ask someone else what exactly the point of this book was. The writing style is good but this could’ve been so much better if it were a novel and explained things more.