Reviews

The Ghost That Ate Us by Daniel Kraus

rlbitt's review

3.0

Our book club pick for January was The Ghost That Ate Us. Horror is not my usual genre (I basically only read it for book club 😅), and I read this one slowly, but did end up enjoying the ending and the book discussion. It was written like a true crime investigation and about half of the footnotes were actually true! I found this a bit frustrating at first because I wanted to google everything to figure out what was real and what was fabricated. Once I let that go, I was able to dive into the story a little more. 

Strange Things are happening at Burger City in Johnny, Iowa. Nothing ever happens there except for some kids getting into meth and some getting the hell out of there. Some people want to believe that the unexplainable happenings are wonderful and miraculous; they are a part of something bigger than themselves. But as the book goes on, the writer’s “investigation” reveals that no one came out of the ordeal for the better, and some even lost their lives. 

What I loved about the book was how it touched on bigger issues for small towns in the Midwest, and across the nation. This quote summed it up well: “ Iowa is full of ghosts: the specters of meth and opioid deaths; the plagues of missing parents or cruel partners; the slaughter first of American Indians, second of factory-farm livestock; the dead dreams of rural decay.” It shouldn’t have surprised me that a horror novel would have this kind of depth, but I underestimated the genre (like many people do with romance novels). Overall, it was an interesting book, and I love being challenged to read new things by my friends.

natmaslow's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.75

thatgirlryan's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

4.0

joshofmanythings's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Felt like the book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a true crime story or a supernatural horror and in the end it failed at both

moviebuffkt's review

3.0

What a weird wild crazy book. It was inventive, and unique but goodness did it need editing. Lots of typos, misprints and more that took me out a few times. One of the first fiction titles I’ve read set during COVID and kraus handled that well. It wasn’t a major part of the story but it worked in naturally. Again. It is a weird one.

foregoingmad's review against another edition

5.0

It took me far too long to realize that this was a work of fiction. So so good and interesting, very real feeling!

stephaniewren's review

1.0

DNF about 50 pages in. Boring.

aaronlindsey's review against another edition

1.0

Are there no editors left? Has editing gone the way of journalism?
Wow, the words.
This story sounded so promising! I was excited to read it.
It's presented in documentary format, which is usually good. But even documentary films have editors.
Someone dropped the ball on this book. It could have been 100 pages shorter and been a good read. Heck, if you just dropped the political hatred being forced on the read, it would be 50 pages shorter.

mobrojojo's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

rukistarsailor's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0