This book is fucked. It is dark and disturbing, so if you like those kinds of books, proceed with reading this one. I however, had to stop. The writing is excellent.

The Vessel has an intriguing premise and a psychological edge that kept me curious. Josh Finley’s fractured memories and the looming presence of his childhood abductor create a tense backdrop, and I liked the way the story toyed with uncertainty and unreliable memory. I also enjoyed the subplots as they added interesting layers and kept the narrative from feeling one note.

That said, I prefer my horror stories’ writing style to lean more into atmospheric, detailed description. While there were some tense moments, the lack of richer sensory detail made it harder for me to feel fully immersed or unsettled. I wanted the eerie factor turned up a notch with sharper imagery, more lingering unease, and scenes that really crawl under your skin.

Still, it’s a solid psychological thriller with a slow burn pace, and it might land better for readers who enjoy suspense without heavy emphasis on descriptive horror.

From the very first page, The Vessel had me completely hooked. S.E. Howard wastes no time diving into the action, delivering a fast-paced and twisted narrative that kept me constantly on edge. Just when I thought I had things figured out, the story would take another unexpected turn, making it impossible to put down.

Josh, the protagonist, is a character you immediately sympathize with. His raw, emotional journey pulls you in, and before you know it, you’re fully invested in his fight for survival. Howard does a phenomenal job building tension while allowing readers to connect deeply with Josh, making every twist hit even harder.

This book doesn’t just tell a story—it plays with your emotions. It drags you through hope, fear, confusion, and heartbreak, right up to the very last page. If you're looking for a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you guessing and gets under your skin, The Vessel is a must-read.

There is a slight paranormal aspect that I wish had been touched on more, in order to make the novel more rounded.  And some holes in some statements that made pieces of it not seem likely.

But, overall, it was a good book.  It was a pretty short read.  The twists were not something easily figured out, and more twists would come when you thought there were no more... in true horror fashion.  The main character was very easy to connect to and to feel his emotions.  These things kept the plot very interesting, and myself as a reader very vested in wanting to know what would happen next!

as soon as i saw the blurb for this book i new i would be reading it. so it went straight to the top of my pile which i don't allow to happen often. and im so glad i did. but wow protect your emotions people as this is a big one for gripping them tight.
at 13 years old Josh was abducted and kept for 19 days with his captor. Josh has no memory of this time apart from the memory of another victim there with him. dead. he has no recollections of what else happened. is this a blessing or a curse? we do know and see how much it still effects him and as you'd expect it to.
then years later its his help Agent John needs as they want to identify the dead child he remembers. Josh agrees and in doing so will meet the man who took him Micheal Traynor. but there is so much more going on here. and there is a whole lot more about to be uncovered.
i started to get a feeling of unease in this book straight away. not just because of the dark event that obviously was horrific. but more, there was more i was feeling was coming or happening. i was right. there was more to come. some twisting twists to come yet. and when they were revealed...whaaaaat!?
this was a page turner. i fast paced and tension building book where things are what they seem but some thing really are not.
the characters were all described and plotted out well and i was invested to knowing how it would all fit and what was going to happen. oh and dont you think it wont get darker, it will and its going to get a whole lot more sinister than even the first setting of the plot has you believing.
this is such a brilliant twisting dark read. and also an emotional one. as this trauma lingers, covered and sometimes smothers all else in the victims life both present and going forward. im in awe of anyone who gets one inch of healing from things like this. and with Josh we got a glimpse of that. how it went on to effect and sometimes infect all aspects of his future especially with his relationships. this was heartbreaking and oh so real to read.
a great read.

At 13 years old, Josh Finley was abducted by a man named Michael Traynor, who kept him in his house for 19 days. All Josh can remember about that time is the dead body of another child. As a result of what he endured, he now suffers from localized dissociative amnesia, which allows him to luckily (or maybe not) have no other recollection of what else happened during that time. Ten years later, FBI agent John Rodriguez seeks Finley’s help finding the identity of the dead child. Josh, who’s grown up to be a bit of a loner, agrees, also agreeing to meeting with Traynor. As Josh attempts to piece together what happened to him back then, he finds that Michael Traynor is only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

Howard’s writing style is easy to understand, and they do a good job fleshing out Josh Finley, as well as connecting the various smaller threads that are a part of the larger mystery. However, I did have some questions. Josh mentions that his kidnapping and subsequent escape are discussed on various websites, including Reddit. However, when we learn about his second career, we are supposed to believe that no at-home true crime enthusiasts would have found out what he was doing? I also found Rodriguez to be not the most professional of FBI agents (putting it lightly) and that made it hard to believe he had Josh’s best interests in mind. That being said, you will not figure out all the twists in this book, and there are quite a few. In all though, this is a fun little scary book with a little bit of supernatural fun mixed in. If you can suspend your disbelief about a couple things, it’s entertaining and quick to read.

Characters were pretty good in this book, but the story was just okay. There is a paranormal aspect to this story that was in my opinion under developed. It had that opportunity to be scary, but fell a bit flat. Paranormal aspects are my favorite part in books. I am left disappointed when that part is not a bigger part of the book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

I received this book free from NetGalley for review.

I went into this one not really knowing what to expect. I knew it would follow our main character, a victim of a crime committed years ago, and his working through his memory to recall what happened to him all those years ago.
I felt wholly engaged through my entire read of this, the pacing in Howard's writing really flowed well with the story, not leaving those very slow dragging portions as some novels tend to do before getting to the plot climax. About halfway through, I thought to myself "Oh great, I see where this is going from a mile away." hahaha. Boy, was I fooled! There were ample twists to keep me on the edge of my seat waiting with my breath hitched to see what was gonna come 'round the corner for me, even at the very end.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those looking for a suspenseful read.

What a ride!! I could not put this down and read it in one sitting! A fast paced, twisty thriller with some elements of supernatural. The story follows Josh as an adult, but flashes back to ten years prior when he was abducted. Hoping to never have to revisit that time in his life, the story unfolds as he reluctantly agrees to help an FBI agent. The ending left me wanting to throw my kindle across the room!

My first written review, received a copy of the book from NetGalley for a review.

A great queer romance supernatural horror novel.

A great MC, very likable and smart. A good love interest, an interesting plot, with some pretty good twists along the way. Some revelations that truly dropped my jaw.

I'm looking forward to reading other novels by the author.

ARC Review -

Uuuuufff I haven’t read something so entertaining in such long time like this. What a page turner. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put it down. The twists, the turns, the plot, the characters.

Another solid horror from WHP. The Vessel is my first read by Howard but she’s an author I’d check out again. The Vessel follows 23yo Josh Finley. Josh was abducted at 13 and spent 19 days with his captor. He retains no memories of this time but it continues to intensely affect his life. When an FBI agent comes around with additional questions years later, Josh is thrown back into a world with satanic cults and murderous possibly pedophiliac billionaires (yep, some mimesis with current events). There are some big triggers in this one, so please keep that in mind when deciding to read.

I enjoyed the story and it pulls you along. The second half veered into a more complicated territory and the plausibility goes a bit wonky. All in all it was a very cinematic tale and surely to please those who appreciate a dark tale. I loved the last chapter. Completely savage but felt very fitting. It’s a dark, sad tale with cults and demons so if those are in your lane I would give this one a go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for providing a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.

Josh Finley was kidnapped as a child and held captive for 19 days. He manages to escape 19 days of horror at the hands of pedophile Michael Traynor, but suffers from amnesia and doesn't remember any of the events that took place during those 19 days. The last thing Josh remembers is seeing the dead body of another child (Avery Ormsby) in the room with him. Fast forward 10 years, Josh is living on his own, working third shift at a packaging facility while also doing risqué live streams for extra cash. He has become a recluse and lacks the ability to trust anyone he comes across, so he doesn't really establish any kind of relationships, romantic or platonic. One day he's leaving work and is approached by FBI Special Agent John Rodriguez who is seeking Josh's help in identifying and recovering the remains of the little boy Josh seen dead when he escaped and the only way to do that is to talk to Michael Traynor himself; but there's a catch, Traynor will only talk to Josh.
Josh contemplates for a while helping Rodriguez and ultimately decides to. Talking to Traynor leads Josh and his FBI counterpart to an abandoned mansion in the woods in Virginia. The events that take place afterwards make Josh question the validity between dreams, memories, and reality. Josh will soon find out that the events of the 19 days of being a captive are a lot more sinister than he thought.

I DEVOURED this one. The story gave off dark vibes and really taps into someone who has lived 99% of his life in fight or flight and how exhausting it is. You get a glimpse into the mind of someone who has suffered a lot, but doesn't know how to navigate it since they don't have any memories of the horrors they experienced. This also touches on how trauma can impact the psyche, which can then impact future relationships - we see Josh struggle having a healthy relationship with his parents and how he clings onto his dog, Lucy, for comfort.

I thought this book went into a really great direction. It was spooky, dark, tense, and even cringe-worthy (but in a good way). There was one aspect near the end that I wasn't a huge fan of because I didn't really feel like it fit into the story all that well, that's why I knocked it down a star. But otherwise, this made my horror/mystery/thriller-loving heart very happy.

The Vessel by S.E. Howard caught my attention, thanks to its intriguing cover and premise.
The story had some nice twists that kept me engaged, and the writing effectively drew me in at the beginning. Although I felt the pacing was slow into it ultimately came together nicely.
One area for improvement would be more character development. Despite that, I found it to be an enjoyable read that held my interest.
Thank you to NetGalley and Independent Publishers Group for the opportunity to read and review this book

A fast-paced horror-thriller that starts as a childhood abduction trauma story but evolves into a complex tale with an unreliable, but very likable, narrator, Josh, who may have had far more (possibly nefarious) involvement in his own childhood abduction that he can’t seem to remember. There’s a mysterious cult-y group of rich folks, buried bodies, a serial murderer…

...and maybe something even worse…

There definitely seems to be some real-life conspiracy theory inspiration to some of the story – I’m thinking of all the stuff that's been permeating the online world the last ten years – with rich cabalistic satanic worshippers and all that.

Howard does a very good job of holding your interest throughout and right to the very last page, peeling back layers and layers of the horrifying puzzle, as Josh tries to hold on to himself and the life he thinks he’s been leading amidst mounting dread and terrible revelations.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this story.

The Vessel was a 3.5 star read for me.
The writing was good, but I had a hard time relating to the MMC.

Josh was abducted as a child by a pedophile. He escaped, but he has amnesia and cannot remember much from his time as a captive.

Character development was a little lacking - the story follows Josh and his efforts to remember what happened to him.

The book has some twists that I didn't expect, so props for that. I will say though, that the twists were not jaw dropping.

There is a paranormal aspect to this story that was in my opinion under developed. It had that opportunity to be scary, but fell a bit flat.

My favorite character in the book was Lucy, the dog - but for the life of me I can't remember there ever being an actual description of what she looks like. In my mind, I pictured her as a black lab, but for all I know she was a golden doodle.

Overall, the book was good. I would recommend it for someone looking for a fast read. There are obvious triggers - kidnapping, SA, etc. If these cause you stress, you will not like this read. I do not have any particular triggers and am not privy to what other triggers may be but I imagine there are more.

This book took a bit to read. Sometimes it was so horrifying that I had to put it down, but it was so intriguing that I could not stop reading it. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This book was amazing. It didn’t take me long to read at all. I never wanted to put it down, but when I did it’s all I thought about. I loved how fast paced it was. Especially near the end when everything was starting to come together. I also liked how it had a little love story in it as well. This was an arc read for me but I’ll be picking it up when it’s released

A Really good Horror Thriller. Plot Twists and the Ending were satisfying too. It would have been real fun to read Paul’s version of events as his character is a bit interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'm always very happy about an ARC and being able to give it a review! <3

The story starts off a bit slow, definitely takes a few chapters to really get into it. And as someone who's not a fan of slow burns, I did struggle a little at the beginning. But trust me, once you hit the second half, things finally pick up! I even got some “Black Phone” vibes here and there, which added a cool creepy touch I didn’t expect.

Our protagonist’s backstory was Heartbreaking. I was rooting for him every step of the way. You just want things to turn around for him, and that emotional pull was really well done.

There’s also a love story developing in the background.. it’s sweet, no doubt, and honestly, he does deserve someone by his side. But for me, it wasn’t really necessary. The plot would've worked just as well without it. At some point, it even started to take up a bit too much space, which was a bit of a letdown.

Sadly, the story kinda lost me again towards the end. The finale felt a bit all over the place, like it wasn’t sure where it wanted to go. That said, it's a solid thriller that tackles some intense (and important!) topics. But will it stick with me for long? Probably not.