The Nightmare Man: A Novel

· Crooked Lane Books
4.2
8 reviews
Ebook
336
Pages
Eligible
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About this ebook

T. Kingfisher meets Cassandra Khaw in this “fast-paced” haunted house story full of “old-school horror” and “brimming with edgy tension and evil” (Library Journal)!

When the terrifying plot of a horror novel comes to life, its author discovers there’s a fine line between humanity and monstrosity . . .

Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of Crooked Tree. 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.

Ratings and reviews

4.2
8 reviews
Brooke Vincent- Stafford
June 14, 2023
I don't know when I've given 5 stars to a book, outside of a number King's and last years Library at Mount Char. Which is saying A lot, seeing as I usually read close to 200 a year. But as far as horror goes (my fave genre), and not the sci-fi, overly supernatural, or gothic/ghost types, or even the usual alternates- gore fests and way-hyped serial killers, THIS was just straight up Good Stuff! Really! Well written, extensively thought-out, many layered, and yet totally fluid, Great Horror writing. In fact, the Author packed so much in, he could easily have split it into two books, and doubled the income/sales. Absolutely Excellent. And somehow, fresh, when so little is left to turn over anew in any form or genre! Truly well done, and a big Bravo to the author! I've already reserved his next release!
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Nicole Dunton
June 4, 2023
This book was all over the place. It was well worth the read though. There were so many twists and turns. It left me hanging on the edge from beginning to end. I will say that this is not a book for people who aren't into horror or thriller novels. I guess the cover kind of gives that away in its own way. I'd love to get my hands on a physical copy or the audiobook and read it again one day. This would be a great book to add to a Halloween TBR pile. (More on blog)
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Night Shift
July 26, 2024
Don't close your eyes.......
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About the author

J. H. Markert is a producer, screenwriter, husband, and father of two from Louisville, Kentucky, where he was also a tennis pro for 25 years, before hanging up the racquets for good in 2020. He graduated with a degree in History from the University of Louisville in 1997 and has been writing ever since.

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