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hmbass85's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn’t put this book down, even though I was throughly creeped out from about the second chapter through to the end! I don’t want to say much because I don’t want to spoil anything but if you like horror and psychological thrillers this will not disappoint.
zephymeral's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to an audiobook of this work, and I have to say, it was definitely hard to put down. The pacing never drags, the descriptive language was compelling, and the overall story was admittedly quite terrifying.
However, I knew going in (after reading a few reviews on Goodreads) that this was not just a psychological thriller, but also contained significant supernatural elements à la Stephen King. This isn’t obvious just from reading the book summary, so if you didn’t know this in advance, you may be blindsided at best and utterly disappointed at worst.
While the book is not ground-breaking in its plot elements, it is a solid debut for DeWitt, and a book I could easily recommend anyone looking for a quick, mind-twisting scare.
However, I knew going in (after reading a few reviews on Goodreads) that this was not just a psychological thriller, but also contained significant supernatural elements à la Stephen King. This isn’t obvious just from reading the book summary, so if you didn’t know this in advance, you may be blindsided at best and utterly disappointed at worst.
While the book is not ground-breaking in its plot elements, it is a solid debut for DeWitt, and a book I could easily recommend anyone looking for a quick, mind-twisting scare.
armorcats's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this brilliant little horror story. Lots of fun to read!
leftovermeatball's review against another edition
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? No
2.5
space__squid's review against another edition
2.5
A gleeful exploitation novel that takes the tired horror tropes of mental illness and suspicious suicides and mixes them with some social media and dude angst and there you have it; a high-strung (unintentionally, I think) melodramatic story that goes down quickly and easily and is good fun if you don't think too deeply about it - especially not too deeply about the plight of the female characters (who mostly tend to have green eyes for some reason) or the portrayal of psychology and mental health institutions (I'm not North American so perhaps this really is the state of things in the US??). I THINK there's a hint of a potentially subversive ending, but to me the writing is not strong enough to fully pull it off.
All in all: pulpy good fun that could have been a little shorter.
All in all: pulpy good fun that could have been a little shorter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
karsab's review against another edition
3.0
3.75⭐️ Wow I have no words for this book. The amount of times I had to physically put it down because I was so shocked and disturbed is insane. At first glance, joe just seems like a kid with night terrors who is incurable and can transform himself into hallucinations that haunt others. When Parker becomes his Dr though, he visits joes home and sees that the real joe has been killed and hidden in the wall the monster came from, and that monster is now in the asylum!
bradurdaynitelive's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0