Fans of Iain Reid’s We Spread will delight in this cosmic horror story about the terrors of growing old… Highly recommended!

Following the death of his wife Jerry Campbel isn’t so much looking for a new start, as a place to spend his final years in peace. Elderly, aching (physically and mentally) and grief-stricken, he expects to be among likeminded people when he moves into a retirement community in the Poconos. But life at Fairview Acres isn’t what he’d imagined it to be. What begins with strange noises at night and the homeowners-associations chairman’s almost cultlike obsession with forcing Jerry to join in with their neighbourhood-parties, soon turns into something far darker.
Some neighbours exhibit strange behaviour at night, which the others chalk up to “sundowning”, a form of dementia. But Jerry suspects there may be more at play; something that goes beyond these individual cases and affects the community as a whole…

What I loved
Five-star horror novels are rare for me, but The Sundowners Dance fully deserves the distinction! This had so many of my favourite things balanced and blended into the perfect concoction. Cosmic horror, cult-like-vibes in American suburbia, and that age-old universal fear that gets me every time: the fear of growing old and all that comes with it. The Sundowners Dance wraps all of that up in a tight suspenseful narrative with some genuine moments of terror, sparks of levity and a whole lot of emotional core. At its heart, the story explores themes of the grief of outliving your spouse that you can barely remember living without, the fear of losing yourself and your dearest memories to dementia, and the relentless cosmic horror of ever-progressing time and aging. It (incredibly!) wraps all that in a supernatural story without ever cheapening the emotional weight of its themes ánd without using dementia as a cheap plot-device for memory-loss. I genuinely didn’t expect this story to have the emotional impact on me that it had, yet there I was near the end, silently grieving (with) our protagonist…
A story this emotionally impactful couldn’t happen without well-written characters. I always appreciate a little variation on the ‘dumb-teenage-protagonist” cliché in horror. Jerry wasn’t born yesterday (literally); he has enough life-experience and baggage to know when things don’t add up, and acts accordingly. He’s emotionally and literally mature enough to carry the book on his shoulders, and does so brilliantly.
If all of this talk of the stories “emotional core” made you worry whether you’ll be having a good time along the way; Todd Keisling has got you there too. Thanks to the tight pacing and the occasional moment of levity, friendship and humor, I flew through this book in 2 sittings and wished I could’ve started it all over again by the end.

What I didn’t love
If you’ve somehow avoided the Goodreads description and are interested in this book based off my synopsis, or the tagline alone, please don’t go back to read it before you delve into this book. The synopsis gives away two spoiler-y elements about the direction of the plot that I would’ve loved to discover organically through the story.
To the publisher: please consider taking out the mention of worms and the rock in the park and allow us to draw those connections for ourselves.

About the audio:
The narrator does a fantastic job of bringing to life Jerry as a slightly grumpy elderly man with a heart of gold. He balances the hardhitting moments of emotion with suspense and levity brilliantly in his voice acting. I just wish he wouldn’t have pronounced the “ugh, ugh” so literally, and would’ve instead given the creatures a more authentic sounding sound…

Overall, this was one of my favourite horror-reads of the year so far, the ideas of which will linger in my mind for quite a while after flipping the last page.
Many thanks to Shortwave Media and Highbridge Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Sundowner’s Dance is a cosmic horror story about aging, dementia, and ultimately love. I really enjoyed this story of Jerry who, after the death of his wife, buys a house in the Fairview Acres community where all is not as it seems on the surface. I loved the characters (even the ones that were truly awful people) and the increasing creepiness that propels you through the story as you learn more and more about this unique community and the mysteries within. In addition to being a great cosmic horror, The Sundowner’s Dance tackles questions of grief, isolation, mortality, dementia, and what it is to love. Malcolm Hillgartner did a great job with the narration and really brought Jerry, Arthur, and Kat to life while keeping the pace of this unfolding mystery. This was my first book by author Todd Keisling and I am looking forward to reading more from him.

Todd Keisling's "The Sundowner's Dance" is a poignant exploration of grief, love, and the complexities of aging, all wrapped in a narrative that is as heartwarming as it is haunting. The story follows Jerry, an introverted man grappling with the profound loss of his wife. Keisling masterfully captures Jerry's journey through grief, showcasing how his relationships evolve and deepen as he navigates life without his beloved partner.

One of the standout aspects of this novel is its embrace of elderly characters, a refreshing trend in contemporary literature. Keisling gives voice to the often-overlooked experiences of aging, pain management, and the struggle to find joy after loss. The depth of Jerry's character, along with the supporting cast, adds layers of authenticity and relatability that resonate deeply with readers.

The writing is nothing short of mesmerizing. Keisling's vivid descriptions create a visceral experience, with imagery that is both beautiful and unsettling. The word "writhing" perfectly encapsulates the sensations evoked by his prose, as it often leaves you with a skin-crawling awareness of the world around you. As the story builds to its climax, it takes on a cosmic quality that is thrilling, thought-provoking and creepy as hell.

Listening to the audiobook, narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner, enhanced my experience even further. Hillgartner's voice brought Jerry's journey to life, capturing the nuances of his emotional landscape with sensitivity and depth. His narration added an extra layer of connection to the characters, making their struggles and triumphs all the more impactful.

In "The Sundowner's Dance," Keisling has crafted a story filled with horror and heart, exploring the delicate balance of learning to love again after loss. It’s a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the beauty that can emerge from the shadows of grief. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a narrative that is both deeply moving and richly textured.

This one hits shelves on April 22, 2025. Thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for providing an ALC. All opinions are my own.

I was able to get my first ever ALC of this from NetGalley.

This story gives me a Heaven’s Gate cult type feel with the backdrop of a retirement community. Jerry intrigued me from the beginning with the recent loss of his wife. I felt for him with the internal struggles to cope and move on with his grief.

Then once all the odd noises and activity start to pick up after he moves into his new house, I was on the edge of my seat. I, like Jerry wanted to know what exactly was happening to his neighbor Katherine. Was it all just the cause of her sundowners with dementia, or was there something even more sinister and evil going on??

By the end of the book I was rooting for both Jerry and Katherine. For not only their survival but for their happiness.

I devoured this audiobook in 2 days. It starts off slow and then picks up the pace the more we learn about the background of the tiny retirement community. This is only my second Keisling book, and honestly my only gripe about both of them is that the endings seemed to take forever, the stories right up until that end point sucked me in, and then the ending just kind of was like meh. All in all though I would recommend this to my friends and family.

I didn’t absolutely LOVE this audiobook. I was really hoping it would be scarier and leave me on the edge of my seat. I’ve read three similar books this year alone, regarding aliens, worms, and a sinister town. It was just done before and nothing about this story really set it apart from the others or made it particularly great. Maybe if I had read/listened to this one first, I’d have liked it a bit more.

The narrator was great, I enjoy listening to him on audiobooks. He is a great story teller. I listened at 1.75x and it was a good pace.

All in all, a decently ok creature feature.

The good: well-paced, didn't take too long to get to the creepy stuff. decently written if nothing mind-blowing.

The not-so-good: a lot of elements seemed overly familiar/lifted from other things. Way too many uses of "A penny for your thoughts" which is just a phrase I'd like to see banished from the english lexicon entirely.

The worms dance at nightfall.

Todd Keisling slowly and deftly ratchets up the growing dread as the small community of Fairview Acres peels back it's peaceful facade to show the worms beneath.

There is something about Keislings writing that really gels with me. His characterizations always feel genuine and sincere and there is a lot of heart behind even the darkest of situations. Very well done and an easy 4+ stars for this one.

I have never read a Todd Keisling book. After reading The Sundowner’s Dance, I definitely want to read more of his work. This story is about Jerry, a widower who moves into a retirement community thinking he could just be left alone. Little does he know that the people of Fairview Acres aren’t sitting around quietly, just growing old. They have nightly parties attended by very interesting members of the community. Jerry is wary. Jerry is concerned. He see things and hears things that aren’t adding up. This book was great. I listened to the audio and the narrator, Malcolm Hillgartner, did a great job. Thank you Netgalley and HighBridge Audio for the advanced audiobook.

The Sundowner's Dance turned out that cosmic/Lovecraftian horror, which just isn't my thing. That being said, my lack of enjoyment isn’t a reflection of the quality of the story or the writing itself. The book is very well-written, with a narrative style that keeps your attention and characters you genuinely come to care about.

One aspect I appreciated was the audiobook narration. The narrator did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life, and his voice was captivating throughout. Even though the story wasn’t my preferred style of horror, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him read.

If you’re a fan of cosmic or Lovecraftian horror, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a shot. It’s an immersive experience with strong writing and a top-notch audio performance.

This was a really interesting read for sure. I was a little thrown by the direction it went in though.. It was not quite what I expected- I won't go into that further here to prevent any spoilers. I found the writing to be really good though and I liked our main character. I binged this in a span of a day, it never made me bored, it just kind of lost me at some parts.

Note on the audiobook itself- I really enjoyed the audio book narrator! He was great.

Overall this is a solid read. I will definitely revisit this one in the future. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for a review!

The Sundowner's Dance on audio was a really interesting book by a new, to me, author. It was listed under horror. I found it to be less horror and more sci-fi. But, I grew up on all the greats from the 70s and 80s, so I'm a jaded woman who has seen (or read) it all.

Todd Keisling needs to be commended for the hook I didn't know I needed - all the main characters were senior citizens. In our new era of pretty influencers everywhere, it was refreshing to become immersed in a book where my skin matched the weathered faces of the characters.

Briefly, because you really should go in cold on this book, Jerry is a 73 year old widower deep in grief who wants to downsize and leave the daily reminders of his loss in his home and ends up buying in a retirement village. Things happen at night ........

Keisling also gets credit for creating an older, male character with depression and anxiety and how his life was before/after understanding what he lives with and the role his dead wife played in improving his mental health.

I had Bentley Little and Grady Hendrix vibes while reading and the narrator, Malcolm Hillgartner, was absolutely perfect. I recommend this one, and will also be looking at other work from both Keisling and Hillgartner.

All that praise is genuine, but I also have one criticism that stuck out probably because this was on audio and I kept hearing it over and over. Perhaps this was intentional, perhaps not. The word 'old' was used. A lot. Excessively. Jerry, in both inner dialogue and when speaking to others, described himself that way to the point I was annoyed. This old man. Just an old man. As an old guy. Old timer. Blah blah blah. I'm old. My husband is actually Jerry's age. We know we are old. We don't over and over and over again describe ourselves that way, and I'm not sure even in my inner dialogue do I use that moniker. It got........old. Sorry, I had to.

Do give this book a read if you like solid characters and an unexplained mystery that immediately draws you into the story. It's 5 stars because it was so dang original.

(3.5)
This was an interesting one. It wasn't my kind of horror at all. It was more of that sci-fi type of horror, so I struggled a bit to get through it. This isn't because the story is bad, or the writing is bad. It's simply just not m y usual type of book. This is very well written with characters you come to care about. The writing style is fantastic as it does keep your attention.
Since I listened to the audio version, I want to give a shoutout to the narrator. He's really good and brings the characters to life perfectly. I really enjoyed listening to his voice as he read.
It's hard to figure out what I can safely say about this book. One of my reasons for wanting to read it is that it takes place near where I live. I found that fun and knowing where the towns are, and the hospital always adds a little to a story. This book revolves around a small community of older folks that live in the Pocono area of PA. When Jerry Campbell's wife passes, and he finally retires he is done with the way things are. He's ready to make a change. He stumbles upon a retirement community and thinks that this place is a nice place to just live out the rest of his days in solitude. At first, he quite likes his community even though the residents are a bit strange at times. Soon though he starts to see and hear strange things and starts to wonder if this place is as serene as he first thought. (Spoiler, it's not!)
I won't tell you more because I don't want to ruin it for you. All in all, it's a well written book, the storyline was good, but I wasn't a fan of it due to the sci-fi angle. However, if you like that sort of horror then I would highly recommend giving this a go.

This is what horror should be, really. You find out what is going on alongside the protagonist(s), one step forward two steps back style, there may or may not be ghosts but there is DEFINATELY a haunting, maybe multiple hauntings, and if there is romance it is in it's proper place and does not contribute to the 'one step forward two steps back', and in the end there is always a cost. Curiously, the aging element hit me less than the... community?... element. Dementia is definately a big fear of mine, but perhaps it didn't hit me as hard as usual because I have to deal with an HOA (and other political crap) in the here and now.