A review by horrorandscience
Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

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

4.0

It’s always hard to review a sequel to a book without spoilers, but in this case, Don’t Fear the Reaper is less of a sequel and more of a second novel in the same universe. It works as a standalone, but I do highly recommend reading My Heart is a Chainsaw before reading Reaper. The plot doesn’t follow much into Reaper, but you do learn a lot about the characters in Chainsaw.

I gave Chainsaw a 4.5 star rating, and I’m going with a 4 star rating for Reaper. One of the biggest reasons for this is because I felt we didn’t get to see Jade as she truly was. She was (pardon the pun) quite jaded as she returned to town after her time in prison. However, Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite writers, and I loved everything about the story. I just wish we had more Jade. 

I’m excited to read the third book and conclude the series. I think it’s possible my issues with the second will solve themselves in the third, as it tends to happen with middle books in a trilogy. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Saga Press for the advanced review copy! Don’t Fear the Reaper releases on February 7th. 

TW for blood, gore, injury, death, murder, grief, trauma, racism, animal cruelty, animal death, and an adult/minor relationship
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