Tautly-plotted and composed, not a word wasted, and exceptionally scary, both in the nonhuman aspect and in the human aspect. I expect there will be sleepless nights and very bad dreams subsequent to reading this!

Mind. Blown.

This was a terrifying and very short story. You’re thrown right into the action and I don’t feel like I missed anything. Love the anxiety and horror around this story and monster.

Another review said there were no wasted words and I completely agree. Excellent from beginning to end.

’Mannequin’ is a short story with so much potential. It’s short and jumps straight into action. There’s so much suspense and tense moments in this 20-page long story that I haven’t read or felt in other hundreds of pages long novels.

I get total ‘SCP’ vibes from this, with the mannequin reacting to the light, the secret military compound being guarded by soldiers and the classified endeavors in that warehouse. And I absolutely love it.

The whole plot revolves around a group of three friends, led apparently by Carmen, who seems to be at the head of this mischievous adventure in the night. She seems like the type of friend that always gets you into trouble and is always excited about it, pushing the others to join her cause.

The ending is predictable but perfect for the next settlement. Carmen is the only survivor, gets "saved" by the soldiers, and now has to be dealt with because she saw a massive government secret. But come on…That ending just begs for a sequel. There are so many cool ways this could go. Does she try to escape the facility to blow the whistle? Does a sympathetic soldier join her cause and help her break out?

In its simplicity, Mannequin is just a total blast to read. It shows so much promise, and it honestly deserves to be expanded into a full-length novel. I'm super excited to see what Alexis Street does next.

Now, yes, the writing definitely has room to grow. The prose can feel a little script-like at times (this character did this, then that character did that), and there’s a bit too much repetition of the characters' names, but this is nothing an edit can’t fix to make the flow feel a bit more natural.

Many, many thanks to Alexis Street, Monsters In The Dark, and NetGalley for the ARC. This is a voluntary review, reflecting solely my opinion.

Creepy, fabulous, short read that is just long enough to strike fear while leaving you thinking, uh-oh, what if this exists?!?? Thank-you, Monsters In The Dark via BookBuzz.net and Alexis Street, for this complimentary copy. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.