The next gripping, atmospheric horror novel from NYT bestselling author Christopher Golden, set in a deteriorated, half-sunken freighter ship off the coast of Galveston, TX.

Charlie Book and Ruby Cahill have history. After their love ended in heartbreak, they never expected to see each other again, but when terror enters Ruby’s life, Charlie Book is the only safe harbor she can believe in.

In his work for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Book has been living aboard and studying the Christabel, a 19th century freighter that lies half-sunken in Gulf waters, just off the shore of Galveston. Over many years, a massive forest of mangrove trees has grown up through the deck of the ship, creating a startlingly beautiful enigma Book calls the Floating Forest, full of birds, crabs, and snakes. Though a powerful storm churns through the Gulf, Book intends to sleep on board as usual.

But when he arrives at the dock, preparing to motor out to the Christabel, he’s stunned to find Ruby there waiting for him. And Ruby’s not alone. With her are a mysterious, terrified woman named Johanna and an infant child. They need Book to hide them safely aboard the Christabel while they’re on the run, only it isn’t the police who are after them. It’s the coven of witches Johanna has fled, stealing away the helpless infant for whom they had hideous plans…or so Johanna claims.

It’s lunacy. Book wants nothing to do with it. But after the way he and Ruby ended things, and the unspoken pain between them, he can’t refuse. Yet even as he brings them out to the ruined ship and its floating forest, back in Galveston there are shadowed figures out in the storm, sniffing the air like bloodhounds. And despite the worsening wind and rain, the night birds are flying, scouring the coastline as if searching for their prey.

I received an advance galley of this book courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

This was my third book by Christopher Golden, and while I wouldn’t call it my favorite of his, I still found myself intrigued by the premise and swept up in the atmospheric tension – at least for a good portion of the book.

The premise is intriguing, but I must admit that after reading the synopsis, I was a little unsure about where Golden would go with the storyline. Books that deal with witches can be hit or miss for me, especially when they lean too hard into the tired “evil woman out to destroy men” trope. It’s outdated, it’s boring, and let’s be real – it was never accurate to begin with. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see the author veer away from that direction. Instead, he pulled from Slavic folklore, which gave the supernatural elements a fresh and eerie twist without falling into the same old trap of demonizing powerful women for the sake of horror. This fresh angle definitely perked up my interest and added a creepy, authentic vibe.

The setting itself was probably my favorite part. Having spent nearly 17 years in Houston, Texas, I’m no stranger to tropical storms and hurricanes. The premise of people trapped on an abandoned, half-sunken ship during an almost hurricane while being stalked by supernatural beings is the stuff nightmares are made of. Golden captured that eerie, stormy atmosphere so vividly that I swear I could almost feel the wind howling and the waves crashing against the hull.

That said, there was one thing that bugged me about this, and that was that characters repeatedly went out onto the deck during an intense storm to “check on things” and/or “talk privately”. Anyone who’s been through a hurricane would never think that’s a good idea. Each time someone did this, I kept thinking, “What the hell are they doing?” The storms are loud (especially with the waters of the gulf churning around you); this isn’t exactly a safe or quiet place to hang out and have a chat.

As far as characters go, I honestly found the side characters to be more interesting than the lead. Charlie Book, our main guy, was okay but felt a bit too generic and too familiar for my liking. His romantic backstory with Ruby Cahill had potential, but it, too, seemed way too familiar – heartbreak, unresolved issues, and lingering tension. This entire plot point felt a little too copy/paste from a romance novel and, in my opinion, lacked any urgency. It wasn’t awful, just a bit predictable.

Ruby, on the other hand, was more interesting, mainly because of the desperate situation she finds herself in. She’s on the run with Johanna, a super mysterious character, and an infant who’s supposedly being hunted by a coven. Johanna was intriguing because you couldn’t quite figure out if she was genuinely scared or had something else up her sleeve. That uncertainty definitely kept the pages turning. Johanna is one of the more interesting characters in the book.

My main gripe with this one was that the book started to feel repetitive. The beginning was gripping and packed with suspense, but after a while, the constant cycle of hiding, confronting threats, and running around the ship started to lose its impact. By the end, I found myself wishing the book would wrap things up already.

Still, even with these criticisms, this isn’t a terrible book. Golden is great at creating atmosphere and tension, and his writing is perfectly moody for a supernatural thriller. Plus, choosing Slavic folklore instead of the usual Western horror tropes was a smart and refreshing move. While this one might not top my list of Christopher Golden’s books, it definitely kept me entertained. If you’re in the mood for something stormy, spooky, and folklore-rich – and can overlook some eyebrow-raising decisions by the characters – it’s worth giving this one a shot.