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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I know what you did last summer meets Chernobyl.. what a wild ride that was! this book kept me guessing the whole time and even at the end I was left questioning reality & honestly just overall dumbfounded. I loved the humor that was interspersed to break up some of the horror, and of course the nostalgia! the imagery and scene setting was so immersive I felt like I could really see it...unfortunately or fortunately I'm not really sure? will definitely be grabbing more novels by this author I was thoroughly horrified.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I absolutely loved this book! It felt similar to Stranger Things in regard to the sci-fi components, but also had a lot of gore, which made for a nice mix. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in sci-fi or horror. Solid 5/5.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gave this a go on audible, and the narration by Tom Jordan was pretty solid.
I could tell within the first few chapters of this one that the writing felt a notch up. It read professional, with a clear voice, and wicked fast direction. The POVs and twirling timeframes keep you on the edge of your seat, and I was hooked to it in a way that I haven’t felt lately. While I’ve finished some other reads in between/since, I think this one started pulling me up out of the kind of slump I was forming. The Goosebumps-esque (but adult) cliffhanger chapter endings certainly helped.
A successful podcaster is looking into a mysterious past with sparse notes found in his uncle’s journal. Strangely, the story unravels itself, and other than him being a clever character and the vessel for some of the backstory, he wasn’t really a necessary character. But on the few occasions the story slows down, he gets the ball moving again, so it works out fine.
A story of mistrust, mistreatment, jealousy, and deceit, Head Like a Hole, is a powerhouse of revenge and regret. Not without its supernatural elements, the novel morphs more than once on what the reader can expect. Kind of like mixing the murder mystery side of a slasher with something tainted like the Ring or the Grudge. The novel has more than its far share of characters, but there are a few that have pretty flat desires/actions. The author does a pretty solid job of reigning it in to close it all up though. And I will definitely check out more by the author.
what really pulled me in first about the book is obviously how striking the cover image is. I definitely thought at first that I was going to get some Medusa, Greek mythology vibes just based on that, as well as early on when the fisherman finds just a head. this book is very twisty and has great horror elements without being over the top disgusting or sexual. I will say I would’ve liked a different ending and I think it did get a little bit confusing towards the end. I would have loved if the story had gone more in an ancient curse type of way as opposed to the radiation, Russian way it went in. I just couldn’t really find it believable that radiation would make Oksana be able to inhabit people or kill them in the way she did or just do any of the things she did. I really thought throughout the novel that it was going to be revealed that the friend group did something terrible to her, and that she had placed some kind of curse on them. I was correct in my theory that they had left her for dead in some way and she was getting revenge but I didn’t think she was this weird creature from the beginning. I thought it was just something they had done to her that made her this way, that the ocean, plus some spiritual type thing would mesh together and make her the way that she was. Overall, I was still very pleased with how the novel played out and will be looking for other horror recommendations in the same vein.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Horror with a touch of sci-fi & a slight hitcockian twist, drenched in 90's nostalgia.
I almost never gravitate toward this genre, but I was drawn in by the music references & interesting yet unsettling cover.
And I'm glad for it. Unique story with several surprises throughout.
I almost never gravitate toward this genre, but I was drawn in by the music references & interesting yet unsettling cover.
And I'm glad for it. Unique story with several surprises throughout.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found this writing style repetitive and irksome. I feel it was written as if it were a movie which doesn't come across as well in a novel.
The framing device is a horror Podcaster interviewing a woman who is tied to a murder from decades ago. The interviewers uncle was an investigator on the case and kept a journal. Then tje story floats from the uncle to the woman's POV to characters that aren't in the framing device. As in, we can somehow know their thoughts. It's an odd choice.
Withing the retelling of the mystery, the investigator uncle is interrogating someone and is suddenly mad he is missing a football game. This has never come up before (not does it come up after) but there were multiple paragraphs spent complaining about it.
Everything a character is scared, they literally pee themselves. I lost count after the third time but it was an odd thing to consistently repeat.
Overall, this reads like a draft of a novel and I think some beta readers / editors might have helped.
The framing device is a horror Podcaster interviewing a woman who is tied to a murder from decades ago. The interviewers uncle was an investigator on the case and kept a journal. Then tje story floats from the uncle to the woman's POV to characters that aren't in the framing device. As in, we can somehow know their thoughts. It's an odd choice.
Withing the retelling of the mystery, the investigator uncle is interrogating someone and is suddenly mad he is missing a football game. This has never come up before (not does it come up after) but there were multiple paragraphs spent complaining about it.
Everything a character is scared, they literally pee themselves. I lost count after the third time but it was an odd thing to consistently repeat.
Overall, this reads like a draft of a novel and I think some beta readers / editors might have helped.