Reviews

Mister Lullaby by J. H. Markert

smilesgiggle's review against another edition

4.0

Loved the creep factor, definitely had some gore. The train tunnel as "otherworldly" - so well done. I'm never going near one again. I also enjoyed pulling in The Nightmare Man, as well maybe a title to another work from this author. Very creative.
These characters. The historical homes and locations. Use of coma patients - don't we all wonder what goes on.
Highly recommend.

cyireadbooks's review against another edition

1.0

I liked the author's previous novel, The Nightmare Man, and saw a lot of promise in his horror writing skills. However, Mr. Lullaby didn't live up to my expectations. I expected a scarier narrative and faster pacing. Instead, I got a slow paced convoluted story. The story just wasn't scary or creepy enough to keep me engaged.

Execution-wise, the plot just didn't flow. It seemed as though different scenarios were slapped together, hoping that they would stick and magically transform the narrative into a seamless scary and frightening story. That, did not happen.

There were numerous characters in the novel. And having too many characters can sometimes be a detriment. In this case, it was. It got confusing as soon as the "extras" were introduced. The narrative then became a mixed bag and I lost focus on the whole plot.

Mr. Lullaby maybe just a one off so it won't deter me from reading other novels from this author. But for now, Mr. Lullaby was a somewhat disappointing one star -- a DNF at 45%

I received a DRC from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

chymerra's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Mister Lullaby’s pace is fast. The book takes place within a week of Gideon’s arrival home after being honorably discharged from the Army. I was iffy on the pace. The author threw a lot of information at me at the beginning of the book. I had to reread specific chapters. If the pacing had slowed down a little, started at a medium pace, and then amped up, I could have processed the information better.

Trigger/Content Warning: Mister Lullaby has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

• Mental Illness (graphic, on and off page)
• Violence (graphic, on page)
• Murder (graphic, on page)
• Gun Violence (graphic, on page)
• Rape (graphic, on page)
• Grief (graphic, on page)
• Fire (moderate, on and off page)
• Bullying (moderate to graphic, on and off page)
• Racism (minor to moderate, off page)
• Alcoholism (moderate, on and off page)
• Anxiety and anxiety attacks (moderate and off-page)
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (moderate to graphic, on page)
• Blood (graphic, on page)
• Gore (graphic, on page)
• Body Horror (graphic, on page)
• Coma (graphic, on page)
• Dead bodies and body parts (graphic, on page)
• Loss of autonomy (graphic, on page)
• Homophobia (moderate, on and off page)

Sexual Content: There is sexual content in Mister Lullaby. It is not graphic.

Language: There is graphic swearing in Mister Lullaby. There is also offensive language used in various parts of the book.

Setting: The Before part of Mister Lullaby is set between Harrod’s Reach, Nebraska, and Lalaland. The Then part of Mister Lullaby is set in Harrod’s Reach and wherever Teddy drove the bus.

Tropes: Chosen One, Emotional Scars, Reluctant Hero, Dark Lord, Good vs Evil, Childhood Friends, Monsters, Humans Can Be Evil

Age Range: I recommend Mister Lullaby to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

The night Gideon arrives home, his younger brother, who has been in a coma for three years, wakes up and starts shouting names. Why he shouts out names confuses his family until Maddy shows up in town. Her explanation is crazy: Sully is trapped in a nightmare land called Lalaland. There, he is struggling, along with other coma patients, to keep the monsters inhabiting that world from bleeding into this one. But something is wrong, and the king of these monsters, Mister Lullaby, is trying to break through. While trying to process the information he has been told, Gideon and his best friend, Beth, are stunned when prominent figures in the community start showing up brutally murdered. Can Maddy be believed and trusted? What is happening in town? Can Gideon and Beth protect their loved ones and the townspeople from the evil trying to come through? Or will they fail?

Main Characters

Deputy Sheriff Beth Gardner: I didn’t know how to feel about Beth. On one hand, she was a great police officer and rose to the job when the Sheriff was attacked. But, on the other hand, her personal life was a mess. She was friends with Gideon and Jax. But her friendship with both was not equal, and it showed. She sided more with Jax (who was awful in the flashbacks and the present day) than Gideon. Even during the storyline, she didn’t treat Gideon like an equal. The use of his nickname, Giddey Up Gideon, was used as a way of putting him in his place. But she was determined to protect Sully at any cost when push came to shove. What she did at the end of the book was very selfless.

Gideon Dupree: I liked him, but he was so damaged that I thought his character wouldn’t rise to the occasion. He was bullied relentlessly throughout school and beyond (Giddey Up Gideon referenced how he ran). He blamed himself for Sully’s accident even though he had nothing to do with it (it did happen while he was watching him, though). And his Army career left him with even more scars. But, by the middle of the book, I saw something shift in his character. It happened when Maddy came to town, and it evolved. By the end of the book, even though he was still damaged, Gideon had come into his own.

Theodore Lomax (aka Teddy): Teddy’s character sent chills up and down my spine. He was a serial killer who had a very troubled and trauma-filled childhood. He had a voice in his head, called Mister Lullaby, that was instructing him to kill coma patients. Teddy also killed other people for fun. But Teddy realized the voice wasn’t a figment of his imagination until he bought a bus (which he named the Lullaby Express) and started picking up random people. It was real. His end game was to go to Harrod’s Reach and set those random people loose while he searched for the name at the top of his list, Sully Dupree. He was evil personified, and I couldn’t think of a better antagonist for this book.

Maddy Boyle: I liked her character. But I did wonder what her connection to Harrod’s Reach would be and what would happen once she got there. I liked how she was like an envoy to Lalaland (having been there herself). She was able to convince Gideon and then Beth about the dangers that were coming out of the train tunnel.

Simple Simon: I went back and forth on including him as a significant character. I decided to have him as a central character because of his actions in the book’s second half. Simon knew a lot about what was going on with Lalaland bleeding through, and he was a massive factor in the events that went down at the end of the book.

Sully Dupree: The whole storyline is centered around Sully. He was still a powerful force even though he never woke up and talked. I can only get a little into what happens with him because of spoilers.

My review:

Mister Lullaby was one of my most looked-forward-to-read books. I had seen it featured on other blogs and was thrilled when Crooked Lane Books sent me the widget. So, when it was finally time for me to read it, I dove right in. I finished the book liking it but was disappointed by it simultaneously (thus the star rating).

Mister Lullaby has various POVs. Not only that, but the author also split the chapters into Before and Now. The author labeled each chapter with who it focused on and whether it was Now or Before. But I got lost while reading. I would backtrack to determine when the chapter occurred (the who part was obvious). It frustrated me but not enough to DNF.

The main storyline of Mister Lullaby is good, and I find it fascinating. I liked that the author tied his previous books into this one. It made for an interesting read. But, sometimes, I lost sight of the storyline (Sully, the train tunnel, Teddy, Gideon, Beth, and Maddy). There were so many secondary storylines thrown in (some I feel were to fill in empty plot holes) that my head was turned around. Did I need to know why Jax was such a dick? Or why did Beth marry him? Not really (even though it was sad). That stuff could have been left out or mentioned in passing. Another example was the chapter with Chimp and the weird fish. My head was spinning by the end of the storyline, and I couldn’t keep everything straight.

The storyline with Teddy and his collection of serial killers was interesting. Unlike the main one, this storyline was tight and kept to just the storyline. The only time it deviated was toward the end of the book, but even then, it was all right.

The horror angle of the book was well written. I want to warn everyone that it is bloody and violent. I did jump during some scenes, and in others, I had to read gagging.

The end of Mister Lullaby did disappoint me. It seemed very rushed. The final battle was almost anticlimactic (compared to what was happening around them). I also needed clarification on why Beth did what she did. There were storylines left in the air. I also have not received a resolution about what would happen to the town or the aftermath. They might have plans for another book in this universe (or even a sequel). I also have an answer as to why the book’s ending was the way it was. The author explains everything in the acknowledgment section after the end.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley, and J.H. Markert for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Mister Lullaby. All opinions stated in this review are mine. 

susan_king's review against another edition

3.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2-Format: audiobook, Genre: Horror

Deeper, darker and creepier than I expected. This is a book with two story lines that eventually converge. A small town has some strange occurrences that have been happening for several decades revolving around a tunnel in the town. A man finds a seashell that tells him to search out coma patients, aka “dead heads,” and put an end to their lives. There was a lot of build up that seemed mundane at parts, but, finally, the story comes together and Mister Lullaby’s sinister plan comes full circle. There were some medical inaccuracies that were distracting to me because of my nursing background, but it doesn’t take away from the story too much.

There were times that I had trouble following the story just because it would get very wordy and the timelines were confusing in the beginning. I think I would’ve enjoyed having the book to refer back to or just reading the book rather than listening to the audiobook. I also like to listen to audiobooks when I’m doing something else-driving, cleaning, etc. I think that this story may be better enjoyed with no distractions. The narrators were great! It was easy to differentiate the many characters. The pacing were easy to listen to and allowed for increased speed for those that prefer 1.25x-1.5x reading speeds.

I did enjoy this story. I will be getting my hands on a copy of the novel to read through to see if I enjoy it even more through reading!

Thank you @NetGalley and #Dreamscape  for the opportunity to listen to this free copy for an honest review!-S

hidrnick's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 "Lullabies were full of monsters. Full of dark, disguised by beautiful singsong rhythms. Or was it the sinister disguised by something beautiful?"

This is the second book I've read by this author. Although this is a stand alone it did feel very much like a sequel to the Nightmare Man and it references it frequently.

This is a cool story that is similar in a lot of ways to the author's first. Something is causing the wall between real life and dreams to break down, allowing Mr Lullaby to get closer and closer to our world and wreak havoc on Harrod's Reach.

I enjoyed this and The Nightmare Man and recommend both.

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

marcirenee1974's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Wow, this was a creepy and weird read! I am a little terrified to go to sleep now! But once I started I couldn't put the book down. And the ending, cliffhanger much!!!! This was my 1st read by J.H. Market but will not be my last!

#MisterLullaby
#NetGalley 

rahanahava's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

4.5 ⭐️ 

This is not my normal genre, but I went in blind and hoped for the best. Boy, did it deliver. Creepy, scary at times, held my interest the whole time. 

The mashup of folklore from all over the world with a little paranormal (not sure that’s the right word) was just so perfect. 

Coma patients and a tag tag team of townies teaming together to keep the “real world” safe from Mr. Nightmare and all of his creatures that make up our nightmares was just so good!

larkken's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

cassiecat's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

🎧4.25⭐️

I had the audiobook read by David Bendena and Lauren Ezzo who do a great job with the narration. 

The small town of Harrod’s Reach has seen more than its fair share of the macabre. When Sully is injured in an old disused tunnel there are calls from the townsfolk to brick it up. Gideon his brother leaves the town, returning three years later. On  Gideon’s return Deputy Sherif Beth Gardner finds two bodies at the tunnels opening. 

This has a very creepy feel. We follow a few of the characters from the town, and a few who are drawn to the town. It very much has a Stephen King vibe but maintaining a good pace throughout ( unlike SK). 

I like my horror to have a premise that I can buy into, which this one does really well for the most part. For much of the book the emphasis is on creepy rather than full on horror, it develops into horror in the later stages. 

I really liked Beth and Gideon, so was rooting for them throughout, their characters are well fleshed to make them likeable. 

I felt that it ended a bit abruptly, so the ends aren’t all totally tied up, there’s enough to give closure. I wonder if there is a sequel in the pipeline. 

I enjoyed it, and think if you are a toe dip horror reader this one could be for you. 

therearenobadbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

 

This is my favorite type of mystery that mixes urban fantasy with nightmares, unexplainable evil or paranormal, large cast, demons, mythological creatures and demons from other cultures, gore, insight into the murder perspective (thoughts), and more than one evil murder. I've listened to the audiobook version. With two narrators, a female and a male. I loved both voices. My favorite characters were Beth and Teddy. It's a creepy, dark, small-town mystery with some cliches, but also feels fresh. It's about 12 hours but I didn't notice, it just moved fast. The different POVs and many characters and perspectives start to weave together into a single eerie story.