4.5 stars

Is there anything the SGJ can’t do? This is perfect, putting 2 novellas together like this. I’ve already listened to Babysitter before but I get so much more out of reading it.
As far as Killer goes, it was just as great. He is a master at his craft.

Stephen Graham Jones has done it again—twice over—with this brilliantly twisted double feature that blends heart-pounding horror, cultural subtext, and razor-sharp psychological suspense. The Babysitter Lives and The Killer on the Road are two distinct yet thematically connected stories that showcase everything I love about Jones’s writing: bold storytelling, visceral emotion, and a willingness to stare into the darkest corners of the human (and inhuman) psyche.

That said—whew. The man does not make it easy on the reader.

Jones’s style, as always, is a ride unto itself: fragmented, feverish, and intentionally disorienting. The narrative voice spins you around until you’re not sure what’s real, what’s memory, and what’s coming for you from just out of frame. And I love that. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t also slow me down. It’s a familiar challenge for me with his work: I’m all in emotionally, but I often have to re-read entire sections just to stay grounded.

In The Babysitter Lives, Charlotte’s one-night babysitting gig turns into a psychological and supernatural gauntlet of trauma, inherited memory, and something much darker than just Halloween tricks. There’s such a vivid tension in how the story unfolds—it’s eerie, intimate, and deeply haunted by both history and identity. The way Jones weaves in Native experience and anxiety around assimilation and safety is powerful and often chilling in ways that go beyond the literal ghosts.

Then The Killer on the Road hits like a punch to the chest. It's faster, louder, and drenched in teenage defiance and dread. Harper's road trip-turned-nightmare delivers on the slasher thrills while also twisting the knife emotionally. There’s a strange tenderness in the way Jones writes terror—he gives his characters so much heart, even when he's putting them through hell.

Together, these two stories feel like they’re in conversation with one another: about girlhood, danger, escape, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

So yes, I loved this book. But like all of Stephen Graham Jones’s work, it’s not a breezy read for me. His prose forces you to work—and sometimes fight—for clarity. And while that can be frustrating in the moment, it’s also what makes his stories stick with me long after the lights are off.

Highly recommended for readers who don’t mind getting a little lost in the dark—because what you find in there is always worth it.

I love the idea of packaging a couple of longer novellas/shorter novels together, almost like a drive-in double feature in book form. And what better author to do that with than one of the modern masters of the genre, Stephen Graham Jones? Here we have two older stories - the first written in 2018 but so far unreleased, due to Jones turning out at least one full-length novel every year so far this decade that took precedent, the other only previously released in audiobook format. Two very different, but complimentary, stories, each a take on a popular horror sub-genre.

The Killer On The Road has been sadly gathering dust on the shelf since before Covid, which is understandable. When the author writes a full slasher trilogy and follows it up with a slasher origin story the next year, maybe publishers get a little nervous about releasing another one so quickly. While there are comparisons to those - Harper, a Native American final girl, will no doubt get held up against Jade Daniels despite being a very different character - this book is unique enough that it more than stands on its own two feet. Taking place in and alongside 18-wheelers, the story follows a young woman leaving home and trying to hitch a ride - maybe catch up with her trucker father, who left a few years before and never came back. There's another hitch-hiker out there, though, with very different motives. With a brutal prologue, some great characters, and a vibe that is somewhere between road movies like Joy Ride and Stephen King's The Outsider, I can see this book becoming a cult favourite amongst horror fans. I already know I'll re-read it soon.

The 'b-side' to the book is The Babysitter Lives, a story that Jones obsessives will no doubt have already consumed in audio format, here in print for the first time. While Charlotte, our protagonist, has a lot in common with the author's other final girls, this is much more his take on the haunted house genre than another slasher. The elements are all here - first time babysitting for this family, finding out that there was a murder of the previous family living in the house, a creepy dad and on-edge mother - but by now, I never expect SGJ to take the obvious route. There are some frequent descriptions of the house layout early on, which pays off massively as the story takes a supernatural and disorientating turn. Think influences of The Haunting Of Hill House meets We Used To Live Here, but very much its own thing. For me, this was the weaker of the two collected stories, but I was still excited to revisit in print format, and enjoyed it as much as my first listen.

Overall, this is a great pairing of books, and while neither lives up to the incredibly high bar Jones has set with his recent run of novels, there is a lot of fun to be found for fans of the author. Killer is a 4.5* read for me, Babysitter maybe a 3.5*, balancing out to a well-deserved 4* overall. I highly recommend anyone with a SGJ itch that still needs scratching after a prolific decade-to-date picks this up on its July 15th release.

excellent pair of novellas that I found quite interestingly written. Killers on the Road was far more straightforward as a road-based horror with a lot of cinematic action. The Babysitter Lives was a lot more psychological and strange. I found Killers a 4 star and the Babysitter Lives a 5 star, so together they come to a 4.5, rounded up. tysm for the arc.

Thank you Saga for my free ARC of Killer on the Road by Stephen Graham Jones — available Jul 15!

» READ IF YOU «
🔪 can't resist a badass final girl
🛣️ love a slasher story set on a desolate stretch of highway
👁️ would do anything for the people you love

» SYNOPSIS «
Harper is running away again, determined to hitch up the interstate to get away from her crazy mom. But her plans are instantly foiled by her besties and baby sister, who snatch her off the side of the road to talk sense into her. As they drive though, they realize something sinister is after them, and leaving bodies in its wake—but there's nowhere to hide on the remote Route 80, so they'll just have to push their little truck as fast as it can handle to stay ahead of the danger.

» REVIEW «
I know this might seem crazy to some of you, but Harper might be my favorite final girl?! It's a toss up between her and Laurie from Del Rio, honestly. She just has so much grit, and heart, and courage—I love her to bits. Stephen, I hope you write the sequel I know you're angling to! Trust me, you'll be drooling after a second book too, once you get to the ending of KOTR.

"Get her into a corner, I mean, she'll show her teeth, fight her way out, and then fight the whole world while she's at it, just because. These are the kind of people I prefer to believe in. They're also where I keep my heart."

So yeah, another slasher novel from the King of Slashers—lucky us, right? It's a beautiful ride down a treacherous highway, to be sure. Tears at the end for me, which is becoming the norm with SGJ books. And? I know reading this gore-filled horror story wasn't supposed to make me itch to head up to Wyoming so I can drive I-80 myself, but alas, here we are. I just want to pull into all the rest stops, look around for a teenage girl with a fire in her eyes...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(I'll post my Babysitter Lives review separately)

Killer On the Road:

4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

More action pact than scary, but I was still on the edge of my seat and anxious the whole ride. Honestly, I couldn't stop reading for even a second, dying to know what was going to happen next.

Very much reminiscent of The Hitcher. Southern / Midwest horror just hits different.

Thank You, Stephen for dedicating this to all the girls with mommy issues. Thanks! I cried!

The Babysitter Lives:

3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can't tell you why this one made me so nostalgic but it felt like reading one of those old horror stories, or even watching tales from the crypt. Just weird, anxiety inducing and all out creepy.

Truly think this had my heart racing more Killer on the Road. Part of me wishes this was longer, but at the same time it was the perfect length for the story needed to be.

The end became a little disjointed for me and I got a bit lost, but overall it held up and was fantastic.

Stephen can be kind of hit or miss (at least for me) but this was soooo good.

Thank you to netgalley and publishers for the arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for this ARC. This book is two novellas put into one book, the first book being "Kller on the Road" and the second book being "The Babysitter Lives."

Killer on the Road:

After an argument with her mom, Harper decides to run away at 16 years old and hitch hike from Wyoming to the West coast. The first couple who picked her up were very friendly and gave her food and water. She then gets picked up by a close friend, but what none of them are aware of is Bucketmouth, the serial killer who uses this highway as his hunting grounds. Can they outrun this serial killer who's set his eyes on them? Or will they die trying to get away? How far will Harper go to save the people she loves?

This book was very fast-paced and drew me in early on. By the middle of the book, I couldn't put it down, and by the end, I was speechless. This book had it all, including: cannibalism, torture, arson, murder, and much more.


The Babysitter Lives:

Charlotte is a high school student who babysits on occasion to make some money. Tonight, she is going over to the Wilbanks house to babysit their six year old twins from 7pm-midnight. It's supposed to be an easy night of feeding the kids, putting them to bed by 9 pm and having the rest of the night to study for the SAT's the following day.

Charlotte comes to find out that this house has a tragic history and the house makes strange noises, and the twins often talk about a grey mommy. She quickly realizes that things aren't as they seem.

This book was much slower than Killer on the Road, but it was still a good book. However, I did find most of the book to be confusing and hard to follow due to the "rules" of the house being made up by six year old children. That made me have to work to piece things together. The ending was definitely left open for a potential sequel? Or it was just left without a true ending or answer to what happened to Charlotte.

A double-dose of dread? Don’t mind if I do.

This spooky little collector’s item serves up two tightly wound tales from Stephen Graham Jones—one haunted house babysitting gig gone horribly wrong, and one cross-country road trip straight into the jaws of a serial killer. So yeah… pack snacks.

🕯 The Babysitter Lives
We’ve got creaky houses, ominous twins, Halloween night, and a babysitter who really just wants to study for the SATs. Charlotte’s night starts with costumes and cartoons but spirals into a paranormal panic when she realizes the house is holding onto more than just old memories. There’s a slow, spiraling dread to this one that really creeps under your skin—and while the twins are adorable, I will be thinking about their eerie little one-liners forever. This one feels like a classic 90s horror flick that forgot how to blink.

🚗 The Killer on the Road
What’s worse than running away from home? Running into a serial killer. Harper’s spontaneous escape plan gets hijacked by her ex, her friends, and her little sister—and then absolutely demolished by a nightmare driving Route 80. It’s got slasher vibes, bestie banter, and a killer who is… horrifyingly creative. It’s like The Hills Have Eyes met up with Booksmart and said, “Let’s go feral.”

Overall:
Both stories are punchy, fast-paced, and absolutely unputdownable. If you love your horror with a side of adrenaline and a sprinkle of emotional gut punches, this one’s for you. It’s not the deepest dive into character, but it is a fun, freaky read that’ll leave you sleeping with one eye open.

💀 Perfect for: horror girlies, fans of final girls, and anyone who knows the babysitter never gets paid enough for this nonsense.

Reading *Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives* felt like stepping into a horror labyrinth built by someone who knows every twist of the genre—and exactly how to make you squirm in all the right places. Stephen Graham Jones doesn’t just write horror; he *dissects* it, warps it, and breathes strange, electric life into it.

This dual-novella collection is a punch to the gut and a jolt to the brain. *Killer on the Road* is a brutal, surreal descent into violence and identity—part road trip, part nightmare, and wholly disturbing. It felt like chasing a phantom across state lines while never quite knowing if the real monster is behind you or under your skin. It’s messy, mind-bending, and unforgettable.

Then there's *The Babysitter Lives*—which starts with a premise you think you know, and then mutates into something far weirder and more claustrophobic than I ever expected. It’s not just eerie—it’s *relentlessly* tense. Jones plays with space, memory, and perception in a way that made me question everything the narrator saw (and everything I thought I understood about what was happening). And beneath all that supernatural terror, there’s something painfully human—loneliness, responsibility, the weight of survival.

Both stories are brutal in their own way, but also poetic and strangely tender at times. Jones has this uncanny ability to take horror tropes and turn them inside out—never for shock alone, but to get at something deeper.

*Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives* is for readers who want their horror layered, unpredictable, and sharp as a knife in the dark. It left me disoriented, disturbed, and completely in awe.

"A must-have collector's item for horror fans, comprised of two novels, The Babysitters Lives and The Killer on the Road, from the new master of horror Stephen Graham Jones.

The Babysitter Lives

When high school senior Charlotte agrees to babysit the Wilbanks twins, she plans to put the six-year-olds to bed early and spend a quiet night studying: the SATs are tomorrow, and checking the Native American/Alaskan Native box on all the forms won't help if she chokes on test day. But tomorrow is also Halloween, and the twins are eager to show off their costumes.

Charlotte's last babysitting gig almost ended in tragedy when her young charge sleepwalked unnoticed into the middle of the street, only to be found unharmed by Charlotte's mother. Charlotte vows to be extra careful this time. But the house is filled with mysterious noises and secrets that only the twins understand, echoes of horrors that Charlotte gradually realizes took place in the house eleven years ago. Soon Charlotte has to admit that every babysitter's worse nightmare has come true: they're not alone in the house.

The Killer on the Road

Sixteen-year-old Harper has decided to run away from home after she has another blow-out argument with her mother. However, her two best friends, little sister, and ex-boyfriend all stop her from hitchhiking her way up Route 80 in Wyoming by joining her on an intervention disguised as a road trip. What they don't realize is that Harper has been marked by a very unique serial killer who's been trolling the highway for the past three years, and now the killer is after all of them in this fast-paced and deadly chase novel that will have your heart racing well above the speed limit as the interstate becomes a graveyard."

The summer slasher double feature for those hot July nights.

This is my official petition for Stephen Graham Jones to write every slasher villain from now until the end of time.
If you claim to be a fan of the Slasher Era and haven’t read SGJ, I’m afraid I’ll have to revoke your membership to the Slasher Fan Club—no exceptions.

Every time I’m lucky enough to get my hands on a SGJ ARC, it completely makes my day. My main thought while reading this one?
THIS. THIS is how you write a villain.

Bucketmouth was everything: creepy, vile, clever, and completely magnetic on the page. Both short stories played out so vividly in my head, I could practically see them on the big screen. They were intense, wild, and emotionally loaded—and I loved every second of it.

Personally, Killer on the Road was my favorite. It was so sharp and well-executed that if I had Hollywood-level money, I’d be sprinting to throw an adaptation deal SGJ’s way.

I loved this collection, and I’ll be first in line to buy the hardcopy when it drops.
Huge thanks to NetGalley & Saga Press for the ARC! 4 stars!

4.5 stars rounded up.

As always, Stephen Graham Jones blows me away with his incredibly enthralling horror stories. I truly loved this duo. I do think Killer on the Road is the stronger of the two, there were scenes where I was gasping and tempted to look away because it was so horrible. The Babysitter Lives is much more of a twisty, slow, crawling kind of horror, which was not as strong to me personally. Both had great characters and plots that hooked me in. I have yet to read a Stephen Graham Jones book that doesn't mess up my brain in the best way. Pick this one up and read it around a campfire this summer.

Many of the ARC reviewers have written that their copies only contained one story and not the other, so I consider myself very lucky that I ended up with both! (I wonder what happened?)

But anyway, most of this review will be dedicated to "Killer on the Road," the far superior novella of the two and the one that I liked way more. It was a novella that felt like a full movie and took me on a gruesome adventure.

In true SGJ fashion, parts of it were admittedly a little tough to follow. (I’m still not clear about the *initial* reason why the truckers were all mad at the teens…because they were parked too close to the road? Or was it literally just because of the arrowhead on the door? Can someone clear this up for me?) And sometimes with the dialogue I didn’t know what they were talking about. It felt like they were making inside jokes I didn’t get. This tends to happen with SGJ, though, so it’s just a thing I’ve come to accept. There were times during a couple of the more action packed sequences when I didn’t know what the trucker terminology or descriptions of the truck parts meant, so that hindered me from really picturing some of it.

However, the opening chapter was great, and the little twisty moments of violence and horror throughout the story hit just right. There were numerous shocking turns in the action. I got really invested in the story and I liked Harper a lot. Jones loves to create strong final girls that are easy to root for. I don't want to give much away about the aforementioned killer, but they were indeed a frightening and intimidating threat. You might need a strong stomach for parts of this one.

The setting was one I haven't encountered much, and while I typically don't seek out hitchhiker centric tales often, this very much worked for me and felt like a long, exhausting night. It reminded me of "The Hitcher," one of the movies that Jones did in fact mention as an influence in the afterword.

The second story, the babysitter one, was a bit of a disappointment. It had potential but became really weird and confusing, like a story with rules that a child might come up with that only grew increasingly nonsensical. And those rules needed a lot of explanation in order for me, the reader, to know WTF was going on. There was so much explaining rather than showing, as Charlotte the MC figured things out in paragraphs worth of speculation, that my head was spinning.

It also went WAY off the rails with its crazy logic and I had a hard time following it in general. (Much more so than the previous novella.) Eventually, nothing made sense anymore and there were no rules at all and I was just ready to finish it and move on to something else. I don't mind surreal and weird, in fact I seek it out. But there was something about this that didn't fit. Like trying to mix a puzzle with Playdoh.

I think SGJ was trying to do something more creative with the whole babysitting on Halloween idea and I really would have preferred his take on the classic “babysitter takes on a slasher while trying to protect the kids” scenario instead. Nice to see a gay relationship, though! And again, Charlotte was another good final girl who fought for those kids. I wish I had been able to focus better and follow it.

But “Killer on the Road?" Definitely one of my top faves from Stephen Graham Jones. Twisted, gross, and suspenseful. I highly recommend it. I would probably give Babysitter 2 stars and Killer 4 stars, but I’ll give this a 3.5 overall and round up.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Biggest TW: Racism, Cannibalism, Harm to children, Suicide, Self-harm, Sexual Harassment

The novellas Killer on the Road and The Babysitter Lives are must-reads for any fan of Stephen Graham Jones - especially of his Angel Lake trilogy. Though the two share some DNA, both cinematic slashers with supernatural elements and strong Indian final girls, Killer on the Road is an action-packed road trip in the vein of The Hitcher or Joy Ride, while The Babysitter Lives is a claustrophobic bottle story, and at perfect novella length, were easy to devour in one sitting.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this before publication! I think it was a brilliant idea to combine these two stories in one volume. I’ve been a long time SGJ fan, and these two stories are as wonderful as the rest of his work. I would love to own a physical copy for my shelf, and I’ll be sure to tell me friends about this one!

I'm so excited to have these in print and a double volume is fantastic. I love Stephen Graham Jones. I know when I pick up a book from Dr. Jones I'm in good hands. All I need to do is sit back and enjoy. The Killer on the Road/The Babysitter Lives hits shelves on July 15, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy.

I enjoyed these novellas and they reminded me of the old Friday Fright Night movies that played in the 80's. Overall one all horror movie and book fans should read.

Can We just talk about how bada$s this cover looks?! When SGJ dropped it on Instagram, I was instantly obsessed and knew I had to read it ASAP.

This book is such a fun concept-it's two novellas in one! Flip over and boom, a whole different story. Love when publishers get creative like that.

The Babysitter Lives:
This one was a trip. I honestly thought the parents were weird as hell and the twins?? Creepy little weirdos. The tension builds fast and then those spider scenes-_NOPE. They live in my brain now and I did not invite them in. Creepy, unsettling, and classic SGJ vibes.

Killer on the Road:
This one Was my favorite! It reads fast, full of tension, and I devoured it in one sitting. Loved the road trip gone wrong setup, and the kier's whole thing had me on edge the entire time. Definitely the more adrenaline-fueled of the two.
SGJ always finds ways to keep horror fresh and unpredictable. I'd say this is a must-have for his fans and horror collectors.

With this double feature, one hits you like a truck while the other slowly drowns you.


Killer on the Road

After yet another argument with her mother, 16 year old Harper decides it’s time to run away for good. Little does she know, there has been a very peculiar serial killer dwelling on Route 80 for the last 3 years.
When 2 of her best friends, little sister, and ex boyfriend tag along we begin to experience raw and beautiful relationships even in the depths of calamity.
I really enjoyed how fast paced this was, it kept me on the edge of my seat and biting my nails from start to finish. I love SGJ’s rebellious and persistent characters, this is usually where I can hear his voice coming through the pages.

By means of guts and gore were given another amazing bad ass female character with an even better story of resilience.


The Babysitter Lives

Charlotte plans on spending her entire night of babysitting studying for the SAT’s but learns quickly, this won’t be a comforting night of index cards.
Of course it won’t be a relaxing night after realizing the previous tragedies that have occurred in the house. Mix that with all of the strange noises and creepy tales from the twins and you’ve got yourself a babysitters worst nightmare.
The beginning was very slow and drawn out which felt a bit off in terms of his other writing. I found myself rushing through most of Charlottes backstory because it took unusually long to get to the substance of her character. The story continued on with twists and turns that kept me enveloped.
This was a great read for the complexity of the development, I can’t help feeling like I needed more though.
Maybe I just didn’t want it to end yet. 😉

Just another babysitting gig, another weekend night watching some tykes and getting paid to study. Should be easy enough, yeah. This is teenage life, this is routine. This particular exchange has been happening for decades. Hell, centuries, no doubt. Surely, once upon a faraway time, some nervous parents traded some eggs or grain or some who-knows-what in exchange for the guarding and protecting of their kids for an evening, said parents stepping out to engage in whatever that time period's mode of frivolity was. Nothing new, here. Only, no, not this particular Friday. Not this babysitting gig. It should've been fine, but that's how it always starts, right? "Should've been fine," yes. Should've been a lot of should'ves, but should've been fine has turned into everything's so very messed up and not right, with all the other should'ves close behind, those monsters no longer costumes on people, but all monster through and through. Even when the hands doing monstrous things look human, were human, even, they no longer are. Anyone, any person can become a monster. And if you're not sure if you're still in the land of costumes or if you've fallen into the land of monsters, well, you're already there, already in this "demented game of chutes and ladders."



In movies, there's this first shot/last shot association, and in Killer on the Road, Stephen Graham Jones plucks that out of fiction paradise, ports it to reality and engages readers directly, as this "ride" isn't a vacuum. Writers write so readers can read and readers read (and keep on reading) so writers can write (and keep on writing).

Thus, like the grateful first sentence hitchhiker:

"Thanks for the ride," Dr. Jones.

Unlike aforesaid hitchhiker, well, I didn't die at the end of my ride, but this book was one hell of a crash course in survival (thanks again, SGJ).

We all know this story. But we don't. Not like this. But, we know it enough that it's far too easy to spoil the tasty bits, so I won't.




Now,




Who'll take the first bite?