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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an addicting listen! I absolutely loved it and binged it in a day! A supernatural + horror read that hooked me from the very beginning. The story is told through two alternating timelines and two MCs. It follows Annie Blunt and her son Charlie and it reveals her horrible year. After wanting to get away Annie leaves the city for a change of scenery and pace and this is when all hell breaks loose. How far is a mother willing to go to save her son? It also follows a local chief sheriff, Harry Cook, in a small town who is investigating two missing men and more random deaths and accidents keep happening. Will he be able to discover what is happening in his small town? Their stories are weaved effortlessly and very easy to follow. The narrator, Eva Kaminsky does a wonderful job portraying Annie, Harry and several of the characters in the story. I was hooked from the very beginning till the end. Well done! A creepy and eerie small town vibes where trains take center stage.
dark
mysterious
tense
After an author's beloved children's series is connected to a horrific event, and after losing her husband in a freak accident, the author hits a wall. But her agent wants her to keep writing, and arranges for her and her young son to vacation at a house in a small town. She dreams of her dead husband telling her not to go. The town has a sinister feel to it, with people having very mysterious occurrences each time a train set is played with and the whistle blows.
Eerie, mysterious, creepy, and slight supernatural elements make this novel especially sinister.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This book is a nod to Stephen King
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Evil has a one track mind…” was written on the cover and I don’t know that there’s a better way to describe it! Evil, trains, small town, and an illustrator widow and her son.
This book took me on a RIDE.
Maybe even a… train? ride?
Jokes aside, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would!
I’m normally not big into paranormal horrror thrillers because they try to fake you out as a thriller then have a random paranormal element to fill plot holes, but this one did no such thing.
You know it’s paranormal from the beginning and spend the whole but sliding pieces into place.
The twist at the end totally had me!
Not gunna lie, train whistles kinda creep me out now because they bring this book to mind 🚂
This book took me on a RIDE.
Maybe even a… train? ride?
Jokes aside, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would!
I’m normally not big into paranormal horrror thrillers because they try to fake you out as a thriller then have a random paranormal element to fill plot holes, but this one did no such thing.
You know it’s paranormal from the beginning and spend the whole but sliding pieces into place.
The twist at the end totally had me!
Not gunna lie, train whistles kinda creep me out now because they bring this book to mind 🚂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was, for me, a case of mismatched expectations and a premise that never quite stuck the landing. Knowing Barclay primarily for his taut thrillers, I went in assuming this would be another tightly wound suspense story—possibly even one set on a literal train, which would’ve had its own appeal. What I found instead was a supernatural tale involving a haunted (or perhaps possessed?) toy train and a malevolent toy maker straight out of a holiday fever dream.
To be fair, Barclay’s knack for pacing and tension is still present—when the story moves, it really moves. But I just couldn’t connect with the central conceit. Much like with NOS4A2, the premise leaned too hard into the fantastical for my taste, blunting any sense of real fear or dread. There’s a fine line between imaginative and implausible, and this one tipped into the latter.
I gave it a try, but ultimately, the evil-Santa/toy maker angle just doesn’t land for me. Not necessarily a bad book, just not the book I expected—or wanted—from Barclay.
To be fair, Barclay’s knack for pacing and tension is still present—when the story moves, it really moves. But I just couldn’t connect with the central conceit. Much like with NOS4A2, the premise leaned too hard into the fantastical for my taste, blunting any sense of real fear or dread. There’s a fine line between imaginative and implausible, and this one tipped into the latter.
I gave it a try, but ultimately, the evil-Santa/toy maker angle just doesn’t land for me. Not necessarily a bad book, just not the book I expected—or wanted—from Barclay.