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A review by booksthatburn
Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS is an absorbing thriller, expertly balanced and engrossing until the last moments.
Sawyer is a careful but unreliable narrator. He faithfully tells what happened, but his idea of what is literally happening versus what he's merely convinced is happening leaves a lot of very unsettling possibilities open. By the end I settled on an answer, but part of me still thinks the second option is viable. It shook me on a fundamental level and I’m still thinking about it days later. The story is told mostly linearly, and those small deviations from linearity start to add up as Sawyer gradually decides to tell backstory when it becomes necessary (but usually well after it’s first relevant).
It’s fantastic, I loved every minute! I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Sawyer is a careful but unreliable narrator. He faithfully tells what happened, but his idea of what is literally happening versus what he's merely convinced is happening leaves a lot of very unsettling possibilities open. By the end I settled on an answer, but part of me still thinks the second option is viable. It shook me on a fundamental level and I’m still thinking about it days later. The story is told mostly linearly, and those small deviations from linearity start to add up as Sawyer gradually decides to tell backstory when it becomes necessary (but usually well after it’s first relevant).
It’s fantastic, I loved every minute! I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Violence, Gore, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Racial slurs, Medical content, Ableism, Sexual content, and Car accident
TW for Harry Potter reference (brief).