An imaginative horror novel that provides more laughs than gasps.
A man must confront his deepest fears inside the haunted mansion left to him by his missing uncle in Miller’s horror novel.
Max Brown has a strange routine every day after work: collecting weapons and ammo for the monthly life-or-death battles that take place in his basement (“The helmet, boxes of ammo, and other supplies make a growing, sloppy pile”). Max is a former high school basketball star whose life has long since peaked; after the disappearance of his mysterious Uncle Edward, Max inherited not only an eerie old mansion and a mountain of cash but also a chilling family curse. Beneath the house lies a supernatural arena in which Max must battle demons to free people trapped there. Working alongside two men named Walter and Tommy to rescue these poor souls, Max worries that their efforts are futile, especially since his allies are only the latest in a long line of people who have arrived at the house to fight, only to give up after months of struggle. Max is also still mired in grief over his mother’s death and dealing with the unexpected turmoil of falling in love while fighting for his life. Can Max come out on top, or is he doomed to the same unknown fate as his uncle? Despite the dark premise, the novel’s tone is campy and self-aware, balancing the horror of the characters’ situations with moments of absurdity and humor. Even the high-stakes climax strikes notes of levity (it takes place during a basketball game). The narrative is full of developments that blend affecting emotional truths with feats of writerly imagination and deeply enjoyable plot twists—Miller manages to make the prospect of facing one’s own worst nightmare simultaneously horrifying and hilarious. (This is a great read for fans of horror who enjoy seeing common tropes and references being playfully subverted.) Sometimes the emotional stakes are undercut by the humor, but, overall, this is an effective blend of comedy, heart, and scares that defies expectations in a way that will intrigue readers without losing the plot.
An imaginative horror novel that provides more laughs than gasps.Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2025
ISBN: 9798992397109
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Big Time Books
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An enjoyable visit with an old character, but not one of Ware’s strongest.
Travel writer Lo Blacklock is back. Ten years after the events of The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016), she's attending the opening of a lavish Swiss hotel when, once again, a mystery intervenes.
A decade after she almost died on a luxury cruise and ended up exposing a murder plot, travel journalist Laura “Lo” Blacklock is trying to get back into the business post-Covid-19 and post–maternity leave. When she's invited to an exclusive hotel launch by the Leidmann Group on the shores of Switzerland’s gorgeous Lake Geneva, her supportive husband, Judah, insists that she should go, and her old boss, Rowan, says that if Lo can score an interview with the reclusive Marcus Leidmann, she’ll publish it in the Financial Times. Leaving Judah and the kids at home in New York, Lo is surprised by a last-minute upgrade to first class, which kicks off her trip in style. The hotel is appropriately awe-inspiring in both scenic location and effortless luxury, and Lo starts to put the memories of last trip’s trauma behind her, thinking that maybe she can just enjoy the experience this time. But then, at dinner, she's surprised to see at least three guests who were also on that original cruise, and when she finds a mysterious note in her room saying "Please come to suite 11 as soon as possible," she gets another shock. To quote William Faulkner, she realizes that “the past is never dead,” and soon Lo is careening across Europe on her way to England, only to find herself embroiled in another murder. The back half of the novel offers her the opportunity to continue her amateur sleuthing, and while she avoids much of the physical danger that plagued her on the cruise a decade ago, she is in very real legal trouble. This is the prolific Ware’s first sequel, and it's fun to spend time with Lo again, as she's both savvy and kindhearted. Unfortunately, the mystery is not as atmospheric and gripping as usual for Ware, though even a lesser Ruth Ware thriller is still worth reading.
An enjoyable visit with an old character, but not one of Ware’s strongest.Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9781668025628
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Scout Press/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
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