This was ok to start with but then it got a bit lost with going underground & it seemed to roam off into stranger directions.
Yeah I know it’s horror & made up but how varied can you go.
I’m sure it’ll be someone else’s ideal & id say go for it. You’ll definitely get lost in it.

Chuck Wendig and Stephen King have a new adversary! J.J. Alo has written an incredibly frightening novel and I could not put it down. What a roller coaster! Curtis, the main character, has a one heck of a time in his basement dealing with one of the scariest moments in the book. The basement floods and what stalks out of the water still gives me the creeps! The whole book is like that, from one horror to the next. I can't wait to see what Mr. Alo writes next! I'm in!
Highly recommended reading....great story, great horror!

The Street Between the Pines by J.J. Alo is an intriguing debut in psychological horror that blends emotional trauma, slow-burn suspense, and a classic creature-feature vibe.
The premise is compelling – Curtis Reynolds, a struggling Gulf War vet with a troubled past, returns to Forest Street and encounters a terrifying presence in the woods. There’s a lot to love here: the eerie New England setting, creepy monster moments, and an undercurrent of folk mythology and mental health struggles.
However, the novel is bogged down by overly detailed descriptions and extended character introspections that stall the narrative. While the creature scenes are engaging and some side characters are quite charming, Curtis is a difficult protagonist to fully connect with. The pacing is uneven, and the horror impact gets diluted in the long internal monologues.
It’s worth a try if you’re a fan of Stephen King-esque horror, slow builds, and atmospheric dread. Not a perfect book, but definitely shows promise for future works.

This is my first read by author JJ Alo and it won’t be my last. Creepy, eerie, intriguing, fleshed out, suspenseful, disturbing, written in a descriptive immersive style with great characterization—are a few ways I’d describe The Street Between the Pines. For me, it’s a solid 4.25/5 read.

The protagonist, Curtis, suffers from various forms of PTSD. Hi life is spiraling down a dirty drain of misery as a hurricane approaches, threatening his family and home. The level of detailing and weaving together of multiple oppositional forces and conflicts, impressed me. As did the author’s ability to paint the characters’ world, whether physical or emotional, realistically.

Unexpected nightmares, difficulties, and twists of events compelled me to read quickly. The pacing is good. There are layers to this story, and not one of those subplots became lost as the story unfold, which is a rarity.

If you’re looking for a creature feature with some mad scientist vibes like some of Koontz’s work with a good spicing of King, this one may be for you.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Overworked Curtis Reynolds is called back home due to a hurricane approaching his Connecticut riverfront house. He has a lot on his plate between a home life that is deteriorating and the possibility of losing the house, not by the hurricane, but by the government. There is also the trauma sustained in both war and on the streets. Due to the latter of which is the result of a fatal accident, having fallen asleep at the wheel. His return to the neighborhood is nightmarish, finding it devastated by the storm. The thing in his basement isn't just one of the many unfettered felines meandering around, and the formerly alive but now dead or on life-support residents of his neighborhood do not appear to have succumbed to natural causes.

The author’s writing is focused, creating a fast-paced and action-packed narrative that never slows down.. His ability to intertwine multiple threads of tension—the raging storm, PTSD-induced hallucinations, nightmarish creatures, marital conflict, and secret government installations—keeps the intensity impressively high throughout, weaving a thick tapestry of terror. The overuse of description in places sometimes slows the narrative momentum. However the jaw-dropping plot twists will keep one on the edges of their seats. It is page-turning horror.

I was hooked from the beginning, but then gradually let down with the amount of unnecessary words and details. The character backstories could have been shortened to keep the story from dragging on, but I kept reading because of the horror/mystery elements and I wanted to know more. I especially wanted to see more of the “monster”. Overall, great writing and pacing, I would definitely read more from
this author.

I really enjoyed the way this built up throughout the book, and kept me on my toes. Definitely something I have recommended to friends and customers alike, even when out of stock!

'The Street Between the Pines' was another early copy for review, thanks Netgalley. This book nearly broke my already fragile spirit. I had to take a break from reading for a week after. I just couldn't. The prose is well-written, more or less, and the characters are interesting. But... BUT...

There were paragraphs that made no sense. Characters with motivations so cracked it left me wondering if I'm the problem, it's me. A man must HURRY and defeat the villain. Then he sits and watches home videos for hours. And hours.

A basement that one moment if full of blood, then it isn't, then it is. A man suspected of multiple counts of murder because he accidentally killed someone in a car crash years ago. So many elements didn't make sense, which was disappointing as the author can write a good sentence.

4 stars

Curtis Reynolds is struggling - PTSD from an earlier accident is affecting his job, his homelife, everything. The insomnia and hallucinations are certainly not helping things either. Curtis comes home for a short furlough, only to discover his next-door neighbour was brutally killed. Between weird visits from numerous stray cats, strange activity happening at the abandoned pharmaceutical facility across the water, and a monstrous presence that keeps popping up around the neighbourhood, Curtis is pretty sure he's losing his mind. But is he really crazy, or is there something truly terrifying stalking the residents of Forest Street?

This was definitely a spooky thrill ride, albeit a bit of a slow burn to start. After Curtis returns home and the impending storm hits, things really seemed to ramp up exponentially. I really enjoyed that the story went in an unexpected way (to me) once Curtis got underground; there were conspiracy-theory-like inklings about what was going on with the old pharmaceutical site but I still didn't expect where everything wound up! Overall, this was a terrifying plot and I'm looking forward to the next stories in this promised horror anthology.

Thanks to NetGalley, author J.J. Alo, and SNE Horror LLC for giving me access to a free digital ARC of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and are provided here voluntarily.

J.J. Alo’s The Street Between the Pines is a haunting and deeply psychological thriller that blends horror, mystery, and paranoia into an unrelenting spiral of suspense. Drawing comparisons to the eerie mythos of H.P. Lovecraft and the slow-burning dread of Stephen King, this debut novel is a gripping exploration of trauma, guilt, and the monsters—both real and imagined—that lurk in the shadows.

At the heart of the story is Curtis Reynolds, a Gulf War veteran whose life has unraveled following a tragic DUI. Struggling with PTSD, insomnia, and the wreckage of his personal life, Curtis returns to his childhood home on Forest Street after the brutal murder of a neighbor. But something sinister hides in the pines, something that pushes his fragile mind to the edge as he uncovers a chilling web of folklore, conspiracy, and long-buried secrets.

Alo masterfully crafts an atmosphere of creeping dread, where reality blurs and every shadow seems to whisper of something unseen. Curtis is a deeply flawed but compelling protagonist, and his descent into obsession makes for a riveting, unsettling read. The novel’s pacing is razor-sharp, keeping the reader on edge with each revelation and psychological twist.

For fans of cerebral horror and psychological thrillers that get under your skin, The Street Between the Pines is a must-read. Alo delivers a debut that is as thought-provoking as it is terrifying, proving that sometimes, the scariest monsters are the ones we carry within ourselves.

I think this was an interesting take on the usual cryptid story - the flashes we get of the creature are jarring enough to be frightening without being over the top. I enjoyed that aspect of the book. However, I was not a fan of the two main characters. I think they were both a little flat in their development and I had a hard time really becoming invested in either of their fates.

The premise of this book is really cool. It's a folklore type (almost cryptid) creature-feature and the main "monster" of the story is very unique and was the reason I kept reading.

I was slowed down by the overuse of descriptive language, there were some parts that spanned more than a page of things being unnecessarily described to death that didn't end up having any weight to what was going on. And there were a lot of different plot points and side information that wrapped up great in the end, but while I was reading it was hard to keep track of what was happening and why it was important.

The characters are very realistic and were fleshed out really well but I wish there was a little less back story and a little more monster. I LOVED THE MONSTER so much, I wish it showed up more.

The creepy New England setting is amazing and I loved the characters. The story is enjoyable and eerie, especially the beginning. I think this would make an excellent tv show or movie. I did have to DNF though. I started out liking the writing but then it felt more descriptive for me, which started to cause the story to drag. I’ll probably come back to the book at some point, since I am interested in it but gonna shelve it for now.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc copy 💖

The Street Between the Pines by J.J. Alo was a good thriller with an eerie, slow-burning horror element that kept me entertained. The atmospheric setting in Southern New England added to the unsettling tone, making the mystery feel even more intense. I did guess the twist before it was revealed, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. The thriller aspect was engaging, and the mystery surrounding the addictive creatures in the woods was fascinating.

This book is well written and i ended up reading it in one sitting. I felt like I was reading a horror film and I've watched a lot. I thought it was very original. At some points in the book the tension kept coming to a head and that's when the author just rips it away from you and you just want to carry on.
I Absolutely can't wait to read more of this authors stuff.

An addicting creatures in the woods mystery. It was dark and thrilling. I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down. I was, however, A little disappointed by the ending.

I loved this book! It had me wanting to keep reading until the very end. A great blend of horror, physiological, and thriller. It however did feel like a hodge podge of ideas that left me scratching my head (I love cats but having it end the way it did with the monster was a choice, haha, but I still enjoyed the book overall.)

This book was enjoyable and easy to devour. I felt it was a thriller mixed with horror with amazing written detail that you could actually see and hear/feel if you closed your eyes. I loved the premise of the book, though I did have a feeling that pharma/government was involved in some way or another. I loved how his time across seas in the army connected with the story as well. I will definitely recommend this book to my thriller / horror readers!!

WYM you didn't want a creature feature? No, it is NOT the Mothman... BUT! hehe, we are kind of close.

"This whole goddamned place is cursed."

Thank you, Netgalley and SNE Horror Llc, for the Advanced Copy to review!
You know, I sometimes have to be pivot in horror to view it from a different perspective. I didn't have to do this here. J.J. Alo has a very interesting take on horror, specifically within the Creature Feature portion of the genre. This is really well done, and exceeded my expectations. Starting at the cover, which will end up drawing you in, you are immediately unsettled from setting to storyline. You have gruesome murders, followed by the introduction of a very troubled MMC, whom has a few bad qualities and issues stemming from past trauma. These issues wreak havoc in his personal life, and fully come to fruition when some of the neighbors go missing and the mystery as to why starts to unravel. In addition to an army of cats sitting sentinel to witness the unraveling of this neighborhood, which is seemingly becoming abandoned, and a monster lurking in the woods, The Street Between the Pines is unraveling and so is Curtis.

"It invaded his brain like a freshwater parasite, slowly feeding on cell tissue, disrupting his neural network. Incorruptible, until there was nothing left."

"Looking back at the creature, he realized they shared commonalities. He, too, had been created, so to speak, to kill--had killed, indiscriminately and without remorse. Maybe he was an abomination. But he imagined this thing must feel scared, alone, mostly confused..."


I really enjoyed the blending of elements in this story. You can tell J.J. Alo is a fan of the genre, because there is homage and inspiration layered in each portion of the plot. Curtis gives off a little bit of an Ash Williams vibe, and he is the only thing standing in between this mysterious monster and the safety of himself, his family and his neighborhood. Let's just hope he can get past his own demons in order to save everyone. I only have a few criticisms and they relate to the pacing of the story. At certain points, it feels a little draggy due to, what I feel like is, too much filler. If we cut out a bit of the excess meat, so to speak, it could be a quick paced and action-filled horror novella that would really rip your throat out -- but that's just my opinion and I loved it nonetheless! Lets be honest -- at the end of the day, aren't we all just a little misunderstood?

"And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul..."

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had that horror element that I wanted and enjoyed about the genre. It uses the psychological element that I was hoping for in a New England horror novel. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of this, the characters worked well in this universe and was invested in the world.