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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
this was fuckin crazy and it’s a complete lock for a film adaptation
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was my first book by Stephen Graham Jones and it won’t be my last! I loved how much his writing reminded me of Stephen King’s writing.
Both of the stories were excellent reads with my favorite being Killer On the Road. There were so many moments that managed to shock me and the anxiety I felt while reading was everything I look for in a horror story. The Babysitter Lives was an intriguing read with a creative concept that I’ve never read before. The imagery is fabulous and played like a movie in my mind.
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Killer on the Road follows a group of friends on one of the worst road trips ever. After being picked up by her friends while trying to run away from home, Harper happens upon an urban legend come to life. It took me a while to get into this story, it felt like too much and too little was happening all at once. Too much of the kids running, getting caught up to, running again, getting caught up to again - just the same steps being repeated over and over where I felt like the story could have been cut down into more of a novella. The ending though, the gore and excitement of the big climax, felt rushed after all that repetitiveness of the first 80% of the novel. I wanted more banter between Harper and the Bucketmouth, more of that final girl vs the serial killer moments.
The Babysitter Lives was similar to Killer On The Road in that it could have been way shorter. As much as I love Stephen Graham Jones, I ended up calling it quits halfway through the second story in this duo. I know Stephen Graham Jones has a huge audience that will absolutely love this combo and folks who are new to his work will most likely find this to be a fun Summerween read but I think I'll look out for his other works instead.
The Babysitter Lives was similar to Killer On The Road in that it could have been way shorter. As much as I love Stephen Graham Jones, I ended up calling it quits halfway through the second story in this duo. I know Stephen Graham Jones has a huge audience that will absolutely love this combo and folks who are new to his work will most likely find this to be a fun Summerween read but I think I'll look out for his other works instead.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t even know what to put here. Sure, they’re well-known urban legends, but SGJ once again makes them practically unrecognizable. Awesome.
dark
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Saga Press for the review copies! I am a tremendous fan of Stephen Graham Jones, his voice and style add to the horror genre, often elevating the experience with strong writing and captivating, and needed attention to Indigenous lives. I enjoyed both of these short stories... as with any horror read, go in ready for intensity, gore/scares, and feeling deeply unsettled at times as well as perhaps confused/uncertain about some elements of the story (horror is meant to throw you off after all!).
📘 Killer on the Road
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼ (4.25 stars)
This novella was brutal, chaotic, and completely unrelenting—in the best way possible. It's not your typical serial killer story, and I loved it all the more for that reason. The character work shines early on, especially with the vibrant, tight-knit group of friends. The pacing is breathless; it never lets up, and I couldn't tear myself away. More action-packed than traditionally scary, this reads like a horror-road thriller, calling to mind The Hitcher, but with SGJ’s signature Southern Gothic twist.
📙 The Babysitter Lives
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (4.5 stars)
This one felt like a nostalgic fever dream—equal parts classic Halloween horror and creepy Twilight Zone episode. SGJ taps into that old-school babysitter-in-peril vibe, but throws in reality-bending horror that truly had my heart racing. There’s a haunted house, confusing timelines, and a sense of dread that builds in a wonderfully disorienting way. The ending lost me a little with its fragmentation, but overall, it was an eerie, effective ride. If you like horror that leans into the strange and surreal, this one will get under your skin.
📘 Killer on the Road
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼ (4.25 stars)
This novella was brutal, chaotic, and completely unrelenting—in the best way possible. It's not your typical serial killer story, and I loved it all the more for that reason. The character work shines early on, especially with the vibrant, tight-knit group of friends. The pacing is breathless; it never lets up, and I couldn't tear myself away. More action-packed than traditionally scary, this reads like a horror-road thriller, calling to mind The Hitcher, but with SGJ’s signature Southern Gothic twist.
📙 The Babysitter Lives
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (4.5 stars)
This one felt like a nostalgic fever dream—equal parts classic Halloween horror and creepy Twilight Zone episode. SGJ taps into that old-school babysitter-in-peril vibe, but throws in reality-bending horror that truly had my heart racing. There’s a haunted house, confusing timelines, and a sense of dread that builds in a wonderfully disorienting way. The ending lost me a little with its fragmentation, but overall, it was an eerie, effective ride. If you like horror that leans into the strange and surreal, this one will get under your skin.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Shout out to SGJ for keeping me on my toes, my man said “Expect the unexpected.” and meant it. Of course we’re not just getting a babysitter on Halloween story, of course we’re not just getting a hitchhiker story. Always with SGJ books I hesitate to elaborate on the plot because I want everyone to read it and experience everything for themselves, but I also know people struggle with his writing style and might need some incentive. Let’s see…
Read The Babysitter Lives if you’re first and foremost into babysitter stories where something goes wrong on Halloween (eve). Should you need further temptation, there’s also a haunted house but just know it’s not as straight forward as all that.
Read Killer on the Road if you want to read the strongest “cold open” I have ever read in my entire life. Also if you love a hitchhiker story (something I have never read before!) but you already know that something isn’t as it seems with, well someone in that story.
I know everyone has their own opinions on, well, everything but at this point Stephen Graham Jones is my Stephen King and I will never shut up about this man. That being said, read this story set! If you don’t I’m going to eat your pinky finger and then you in one of the funny spaces of your home, we all have them you know.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Read The Babysitter Lives if you’re first and foremost into babysitter stories where something goes wrong on Halloween (eve). Should you need further temptation, there’s also a haunted house but just know it’s not as straight forward as all that.
Read Killer on the Road if you want to read the strongest “cold open” I have ever read in my entire life. Also if you love a hitchhiker story (something I have never read before!) but you already know that something isn’t as it seems with, well someone in that story.
I know everyone has their own opinions on, well, everything but at this point Stephen Graham Jones is my Stephen King and I will never shut up about this man. That being said, read this story set! If you don’t I’m going to eat your pinky finger and then you in one of the funny spaces of your home, we all have them you know.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rating a double feature is weird, so idk. I'm giving Killer on the Road 3.25 stars, and then The Babysitter Lives is unfortunately getting 1.5 stars from me.
Killer on the Road is a pretty standard slasher, and I loved the opening through to the halfway mark. It's surprisingly supernatural and weird, and I liked the cast of characters a lot.
My main issue is just how absolutely brutal it is to just about every character, and I get that it's a slasher but I think there's ways to do it without repeated suffering towards the main character with no bigger picture or commentary which I know SGJ is capable of.
It is fast-paced and easy to read though, which was nice.
---
The Babysitter Lives really didn't have a chance with me though. I'm not a fan of time loops in books, I'm not a fan of haunted house books generally, and I'm not a fan of books that play out step by step by step every single thing happening in a short amount of time (this book takes place in basically 4 hours). Of course, I didn't know any of this would be the case before I picked it up, and I would have dnf'd by at least the half way point if I wasn't on a mission to ready everything by SGJ.
I literally never really understood what was happening, and I just couldn't really focus on anything. And it was so weird and strange, but not in a way that particularly worked for me. And the violence also didn't particularly land for some reason. I think perhaps the root of the problem was that this was originally made explicitly to be an audiobook and until now was only available as that. This book very clearly reads as something made to be listened to, but unfortunately that's not how I consumed it. I'm not quite sure why it got bound up in this physical edition though.
The general idea is interesting enough though, and I liked the indigenous themes present.
---
I think my biggest issue with both of these books is just that they feel so plot-driven, and there's no real depth of the stories in my opinion. Killer on the Road is mid at best, and then The Babysitter Lives is joining Sterling City as being some of the only SGJ work I actively dislike.
Killer on the Road is a pretty standard slasher, and I loved the opening through to the halfway mark. It's surprisingly supernatural and weird, and I liked the cast of characters a lot.
My main issue is just how absolutely brutal it is to just about every character, and I get that it's a slasher but I think there's ways to do it without repeated suffering towards the main character with no bigger picture or commentary which I know SGJ is capable of.
It is fast-paced and easy to read though, which was nice.
---
The Babysitter Lives really didn't have a chance with me though. I'm not a fan of time loops in books, I'm not a fan of haunted house books generally, and I'm not a fan of books that play out step by step by step every single thing happening in a short amount of time (this book takes place in basically 4 hours). Of course, I didn't know any of this would be the case before I picked it up, and I would have dnf'd by at least the half way point if I wasn't on a mission to ready everything by SGJ.
I literally never really understood what was happening, and I just couldn't really focus on anything. And it was so weird and strange, but not in a way that particularly worked for me. And the violence also didn't particularly land for some reason. I think perhaps the root of the problem was that this was originally made explicitly to be an audiobook and until now was only available as that. This book very clearly reads as something made to be listened to, but unfortunately that's not how I consumed it. I'm not quite sure why it got bound up in this physical edition though.
The general idea is interesting enough though, and I liked the indigenous themes present.
---
I think my biggest issue with both of these books is just that they feel so plot-driven, and there's no real depth of the stories in my opinion. Killer on the Road is mid at best, and then The Babysitter Lives is joining Sterling City as being some of the only SGJ work I actively dislike.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
In Killer on the Road/The Babysitter Lives, Stephen Graham Jones takes on a journey back to the terror of the old urban legends from our childhood- the supernatural/undead killer unrelentingly chasing teens all over the highway and the story of the babysitter. Tried and true tales, Jones takes them, freshens them up and makes them his own, infusing the stories with indigenous culture. Tense and nostalgic with believable, likable characters, this was a fun, and at times very gruesome, way to (re)introduce these tales. The long haul trucker culture research for Killer on the Road was superb, as Jones thoroughly captured and conveyed this niche of society with top notch realism, overlaid with supernatural horror. At times, the pacing for Killer on the Road was a little inconsistent, and it felt like the story could have ended a few times, BUT when you arrive at the end, it was absolutely worth it and satisfying. For the Babysitter Lives- loved the uniqueness of processing something by approaching it like it was SAT prep. Babysitter fell a bit behind Killer on the Road for me, but that is more of a reflection of my preferred style and themes than anything Jones did. If someone is looking to experience urban legends with an indigenous spin and through fresh eyes (that’s a story-related pun), this is a fun read for it.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Saga Press for providing me with the ARC for Killer on the Road/The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones. This is my true and honest review of the book.