T. Kingfisher meets Cassandra Khaw in a chilling horror novel that illustrates the fine line between humanity and monstrosity.

Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of New Haven. Ben Bookman, bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, spent a weekend at the ancestral home to finish writing his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. Now, on the eve of the book’s release, the terrible story within begins to unfold in real life.

Detective Mills arrives at the scene of a gruesome murder: a family butchered and bundled inside cocoons stitched from corn husks, and hung from the rafters of a barn, eerily mirroring the opening of Bookman’s latest novel. When another family is killed in a similar manner, Mills, along with his daughter, rookie detective Samantha Blue, is determined to find the link to the book—and the killer—before the story reaches its chilling climax.

As the series of “Scarecrow crimes” continues to mirror the book, Ben quickly becomes the prime suspect. He can’t remember much from the night he finished writing the novel, but he knows he wrote it in The Atrium, his grandfather’s forbidden room full of numbered books. Thousands of books. Books without words.

As Ben digs deep into Blackwood’s history he learns he may have triggered a release of something trapped long ago—and it won’t stop with the horrors buried within the pages of his book.

I have had this book for several months but was saving it specifically for my month of creepy reads. After I read ‘Sleep Tight’ by this author a couple of months ago, I knew I would be in for a crazy ride – and that is exactly what I got.

This book once again focuses on a serial killer in a small town. This time around, we spend most of our time with best-selling horror/thriller author Ben Bookman, who has just released his latest book, ‘The Scarecrow.’ Reviews are great, and it’s sure to be another best-seller – but then the police find a family who has been brutally murdered, sewn into cocoons, and hung from the rafters in their barn. Yes – it’s eerie, but what is even more strange is that these murders also happened in Bookman’s latest novel exactly how they happened in real life. Creepier still, the murders happened before the book was even released, so naturally, the police focus on Ben as their primary suspect.

As the bodies continue to pile up, following the murders in Ben’s book, he can’t help but wonder if it all has something to do with his past. Or is he really the killer – carrying out the murders while sleepwalking after having too much to drink?

What really ups the tension and the mystery in the book is the fact that Ben is a complex and flawed character. He has a troubled past, a complicated marriage, and a drinking problem, and all of this put together makes him fairly unreliable.

The other two main characters in the book, Detective Mills and his daughter Samantha Blue, add depth to the story as they race against time to unravel the mystery behind the “Scarecrow crimes” and stop the killer before it’s too late. They, too, have a complicated history and an exciting dynamic. Mills is a seasoned detective with a bit of a complicated past, and Samantha is a firecracker, eager to follow her father’s footsteps once he finally retires.

Just as in ‘Sleep Tight,’ the dark, eerie atmosphere in the book is palpable. I seriously wanted to put out a bulletin to everyone in New Haven (the town where this takes place) that they needed to pack a bag and GTFO of there until the murders had been solved. It felt as though no one was safe. Adding to the darkness is the mystery surrounding Blackwood mansion – the place where Ben grew up. Trust me when I say you’ll want to avoid setting foot in this place.

As Ben delves deeper into the history of Blackwood, he uncovers dark truths that may be the key to stopping the evil that has been unleashed. Typically, I don’t like it when a mystery/thriller throws in unexpected supernatural elements, but for whatever reason, it didn’t bother me here. When they first popped up, I was like, “Oh no,” but then the more I read, the more I realized it was necessary to the plot, and it no longer bothered me.

I think my only gripe with this one was that it felt like it got unnecessarily complicated when a lot of characters were introduced later on in the book. I had a tough time keeping track of all of them, and it got confusing. It ended up making sense why the author took this route, and it upped the creepiness, but it was a bit confusing for a while.

If you are a fan of horror, mystery, and thrillers, then you should check this one out. It’s creepy and, at times, unsettling. The pacing is perfect, and it definitely lives up to its name. With its captivating plot, well-developed characters, and chilling atmosphere, this book is a must-read for anyone looking for a truly bone-chilling story this Halloween season.