The Nightmare Man

Bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, Ben Bookman, spent a weekend at his family’s home to finish his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. But then the story comes to life.

Detective Mills is called to the scene of a horrendous murder scene. A scene which mirrors a scene from Ben Bookman’s book. Then another family is murdered and Detective Mills and his daughter, Detective Samantha Blue, work hard to find the link between the author and the murders.

Ben becomes their prime suspect. The only thing he remembers from the night of the first murders was that he was in the atrium of his grandfather’s house.

This book grabbed me from the very beginning. I had both the e-book and audiobook versions of this book but found myself listening to the audiobook more. I was captivated and made time to keep listening to the audiobook. I was certain this was going to be a 4 or 5 star read for me. But then toward the end, my interest began to wane. I also thought while listening that this might work better as a movie. There are a lot of characters and a lot going on in this book. Somehow, I think ‘seeing’ the characters on screen would make the cast of characters more engaging and interesting.

As I mentioned, I loved the beginning and middle but lost my way at the end. I found this to be enjoyable but missing just that little bit of something at the end to keep me loving the plot.

I thought the narrator of this book did a fantastic job and I appreciated the author’s originality and creativity. There was a sense of tension and unease through most of the book.

Thank you to Crooked Lane books and Dreamscape Media and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.