Without A Face

Without a Face by Lonnie Busch

Reviewed by Lorena Padureanu

Without a Face is a very well-written sci-fi thriller, blending thought-provoking concepts with realistic details to create a fully engaging read from start to finish. This book is more than meets the eye. Unwrapping the truth, layer by layer, the reader is pulled into a rollercoaster of shifting perceptions, emotions and suspense, avidly searching for explanations alongside the protagonists.  Purchase Here.

Set in 1967, the plot follows Kurt and Alice, a married couple in their 50s, whose monotonous life is violently disrupted when a strange man kidnaps them in the dead of night. But this is not the only unsettling aspect of this brazen intrusion. Although putting up a fight at first, they soon succumb to the shock of realizing that this man is clearly not human. After eventually escaping to the middle of nowhere, they venture into the wild, searching for help and a way back home. Little do they know, the life they desperately hope to return to has been irrevocably altered.

As they search for any sign of humanity or civilization, they face unfamiliar landscapes, growing desperation, fear, hunger, mounting unanswered questions, unusual and violent encounters, and the imminent threat of an alien-like presence closing in.

The book’s topical themes and the characters’ authentic reactions make the plot feel all the more vivid and tangible. Along the way, Kurt and Alice are put to the test, their principles and beliefs challenged against the limits of their human nature.

Their incredible journey is primarily seen through Kurt’s eyes. Concerned for injured Alice, he’s focused on getting them both to safety. Bearing the full responsibility of her wellbeing, he anxiously examines, ponders, and questions every decision and move he makes in the midst of the bizarre and hazardous circumstances they come upon.

At the basis of the heart-pounding situations, a soft love story unfolds. The middle-aged couple grows increasingly aware of their affection for one another. They communicate without words, complementing each other – Alice, a free spirit with a gentle, cheerful, and composed nature, and Kurt, a natural leader, with a rigid, practical, and fiery temperament. This ordeal serves to test and strengthen their bond and friendship against all challenges.

Beyond the building suspense and mystery, the novel is also a subtle healing journey. From the start, the couple is shown to be mourning the premature death of their son. Their grief resurfaces even more now when faced with these extreme and agonizing circumstances. Yet, the new reality they face will ultimately redefine their values and outlook on life.

The writing style is well-balanced, with moments of calm, reflection, and introspection perfectly interwoven with scenes of action and tension, allowing the plot to be fully experienced and absorbed. This is a fully immersive novel that is as emotionally compelling as it is captivating and thrilling.

 

 

The legend of the Iron Warrior Vol 3

Vendetta: Legend of The Iron Warrior Vol. 3 by T.V. Holiday

Reviewed by Lily Andrews

T.V. Holiday’s “Vendetta: Legend of the Iron Warrior Vol. 3” is a gripping story that, as you start, lets you sense an impending conflict, far larger than any imaginable hero-villain battle. The opening pages reveal a world where the ancient rivalry between heaven and hell continues to shape humanity’s destiny. Readers are invited to a city called Carnage Coast, a place that carries the weight of being the final battleground in a cosmic wager, a feat that had once seemed unfathomable several years earlier. It is referred to as “Home to the worst of the worst” and “The last stand for God’s light… a place whose darkened essence tests the will of the almighty’s chosen champions with soul-wrenching trials of faith.” In this installment, the spiritual pressure becomes even more personal, as the protagonist is forced back into the conflict after a two-year self-imposed exile.  Purchase Here.

Within this landscape emerges Travis Holiday, a man powered by faith, and one chosen to bear the mantle of the Iron Warrior. You get the sense early in the read that he is destined to embody divine resistance as the final defender standing between mankind and annihilation. He is presented as a man who already lives with the full awareness of what he has been called to be. The novel presents his calling as something tested in deeply human ways, first in the painful opening stretch where he races towards the mountains and towards a son he still cannot reach, and then in the moment he turns away from that longing and willingly takes up the mantle of the Iron Warrior once more. That alone gives his awareness of purpose a lived and costly dimension, which the novel deepens even further when his return is met with unease from his own allies, and when the question shifts from whether he can still fight to whether he is still worthy of carrying what he knows he has been called to do.

The reader is drawn into a series of intense confrontations that involve a dangerous set of villains whose motives range from chaos to calculated manipulation. One of the early crises arises when the city defenders are forced to respond not only to open violence but also to layers of manipulation unfolding simultaneously, with the Simpleton bringing his unnerving brand of chaos, Hypnotion weaponizing the minds of ordinary people, and Diversion turning illusion itself into a tactical advantage. Yet what gives this novel its sharpest edge is the presence of a sadistic woman whom Travis once saved and who has since turned that act of mercy into a long-nurtured vendetta against him. Rather than confronting him, she manipulates events from the shadows, placing the lives of citizens connected to Travis under threat, and forcing him into a cruel game that tests not just his strength but also his resolve. The resulting scenes are not only cinematic, memorable, and adrenalizing, but also gripping as readers slowly realize that the enemy’s design is always unfolding several steps beyond what is immediately visible.

Beyond the spectacle of superhuman battles and dramatic rescues, the novel quietly explores themes that linger longer after the action scenes have passed. You find deep meditation on faith and responsibility beneath the explosions and confrontations, the burden of leadership, and the unsettling possibility that the line between light and darkness might actually not be as clearly defined as legends suggest. The story repeatedly suggests that the struggle between light and darkness is not confined to battlefields, but also unfolds in moments of doubt, strained loyalties, and the quiet question of whether one is still worthy of the role one has been chosen to carry. Its characters are definitely larger than life, but what’s most remarkable about them is how easily each leaves their mark on the reader’s memory, through conviction, tension, and the way they respond to Travis’s presence. The pacing deserves notice as well. It opens with urgency, and then carries that energy into large confrontations without losing its emotional undercurrent.

One of the greatest strengths of this book is Holiday’s choice of topic. It gives the work a distinct identity while making its conflicts feel heavier than ordinary good-versus-evil clashes. The setting, a place filled with atmosphere and symbolic force, contributes to that effect as well.  The storyline is the kind you feel approaching even as you read, and the type that continually leaves you wondering what might still be waiting in the shadows. If you are a reader who is drawn to stories where the past refuses to stay silent, where old choices and buried histories trouble the present, then T.V. Holiday’s “Vendetta: Legend of the Iron Warrior Vol. 3” should be in line for your next read.

 

 

 

 

The Brighter the Light, the Darker the Shadow

The Brighter the Light, The Darker the Shadow by Verlin Darrow

Reviewed by Rahul Gaur

Long before this book, Carl Jung famously said, “The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.” This means that we all have a light side and a shadow. When something becomes more intense or prominent, its opposite also becomes more pronounced. This book is about what happens when both are exposed.  Purchase Here.

The Brighter the Light, the Darker the Shadow by Verlin Darrow takes place in the Santa Cruz mountains, where spiritual leader Kade Tobin leads a small spiritual community called the Brethren of Congruence. They want peace and to live in harmony with life. But everything changes when Kade’s dog finds a dead woman near his home. Soon, this peaceful retreat becomes the site of multiple murders.

As the story progresses, different characters are introduced whose lives intertwine. Each character comes with their own set of complexities and acts from their backstories. Trauma shapes behavior. Ambition shapes judgment. Fear shapes accusations. The good thing is the book doesn’t label anyone good (bright) or bad (dark). It just showcases human beings’ reality. The community is full of regular people with problems. This is evident in characters like Jim, Martha, Susan, and Wayne. Then there is Detective Bill Cullen, who shows some interest in Kade’s philosophy. Other cops, like Jeff McCall and Michael Quinn, treat the community like a cult. The DA, Marion Burke, has personal reasons to go hard on Kade. Her daughter, Susan, lives in the community. Every character plays an important role in the story progression.

The Brighter the Light, the Darker the Shadow explores the clash of identity and power. Kade believes people suffer when they fight reality instead of accepting it. When the police arrest him for murder, his belief faces a real test. Some officers push hard during questioning. They try to scare Kade. The prosecution uses weak witnesses. This tussle is shown beautifully, and some descriptions are outstanding. One example is the moment Cullen receives the preliminary forensic report: it identifies the victim as a fit, fair-skinned Caucasian woman in her early twenties, shot at close range with a large caliber handgun sometime between 2 and 4 AM. Another is Cullen’s sharp, methodical way of cornering liars during his interview rounds.

The second half happens in court. The court system does not look fair. The judge is biased. Kade is stuck in jail, but he makes friends with a gang leader for protection. However, the pace drops during court scenes and jail reflections. But this seems intentional. It wants us to think about how belief systems work under pressure.

The author’s main argument is clear. The more someone shines, the more they attract doubt and attack. Light creates shadow. Life is not a straight line or just yes or no. There is a greyish area with lots of ups and downs. Kade is not perfect, and his spiritual authority makes him a target. He also lives in the U.S. without legal status and hides that truth. That is part of his shadow. The legal system sees facts and records. Kade sees meaning and lessons. These two views clash throughout the novel.

This is a solid story. It has suspense, court drama, and real thoughts about life and justice. The clever tricks and character ties make it fun to read. If you like mysteries with deeper meaning, pick this one up.

 

 

 

The Winter Verdict

The Winter Verdict: A Legal Thriller by Dan Buzzetta

Reviewed by Lily Andrews

“The Winter Verdict” by Dan Buzzetta is a book that follows Tom Berte, a lawyer who has traded the chaos of the high-stakes world of Washington D.C. for a quiet life as a small-town attorney in the ski resort town of Castle Ridge, or “the Castle” as locals call it, in upstate New York. Through his harrowing journey, the novel explores themes of redemption, the inescapable pull of the past, and the impossible choices a man must make when his family’s safety hangs in the balance. It is set against the brutal beauty of an upstate New York winter, and weaves together the stories of Tom, who is trying to rebuild his life far from the corruption he left behind, Faith McReynolds, the third generation owner of the ski resort who is fighting to protect her family’s legacy, a shadow consortium called Phoenix Holdings who has mysterious designs on a plot of land by the reservoir and an unknown threat that will force Tom to confront the question of how far he’s willing to go to save the people he loves.  Purchase Here.

The story begins with what should be a perfect morning, with Tom skiing the empty slopes before dawn, enjoying the peace he worked five years to build. He glimpses movements in the woods over his right shoulder, right before a shrill shriek stops him in his tracks. Thinking someone might be injured and in dire need of help, he scrambles down the icy embankment only to be ambushed and brutally attacked and left for dead in the snow.

The state police believe that whoever attacked him deliberately avoided killing him, likely intending it as a warning or simply to scare him. But soon after he is cleared by the doctors, the ski resort’s main chairlift gets sabotaged in a devastating cyberattack that kills numerous people. But before the dust even settles, a cryptic note warns him that something far worse is planned for the Fourth of July, and that his wife and daughter will be harmed if he goes to the authorities. This leaves him alone and feeling trapped between his oath as an officer of the court and his primal duty to protect his family.

Buzzetta, a litigation partner in a national law firm – the author of this book – brings an authenticity to the legal maneuvering and investigative work that few thriller writers can match. His novel carries a sense of relentless pacing and a willingness to put its protagonist through what feels like a hell designed to finish him off completely. He has not drawn Tom as an invincible hero but as a man who bleeds, who doubts himself, who makes mistakes, and whose love for his family is both his greatest vulnerability and his only weapon.

The author’s intimate knowledge of how power actually works in the courtrooms, corporate boardrooms, and in the shadowy spaces between is what I believe lends every twist and revelation in this book a chilling credibility. I could not fail to notice the well-drawn bond between Tom and the resort’s former marine head of security, through whom we are shown how trust can be forged in the crucible of shared danger. The depiction of the antagonist’s compound, with its cold ideology and meticulous planning, felt brilliant, and like the perfect reminder that the most frightening enemies are sometimes the very people who believe utterly in the justice of their cause.  “The Winter Verdict” by Dan Buzzetta is a gripping, pulse‑pounding thriller that left me wondering, ‘What then?’ when the law won’t protect the innocent. With its unforgettable protagonist, breakneck pace, and deeply satisfying conclusion, I believe that it cements Buzzetta’s place among the finest writers of legal suspense today. For anyone who believes that the line between hero and outlaw is actually thinner than anyone would dare to admit, this novel is an absolute must-read.

 

 

Poison Pill book cover with patient image.

Poison Pill by Anthony Lee

Reviewed by Lily Andrews

“Poison Pill” by Anthony Lee is a gripping medical thriller that plunges readers into the murky intersection of modern healthcare, corporate influence, and the greedy human desire for a quick fix. Told through Dr. Mark Lin, who speaks in the first person, it constructs an intelligent narrative that is not only suspenseful fiction but also a sharp critique of systemic failures within contemporary medicine and wellness culture.  Purchase Here.

Dr. Lin, a hospital-based internist at Ivory Memorial, encounters two medical cases that initially appear unrelated but later converge into a single investigative arc. The first involves a twenty-four-year-old male, Hector, who has been diagnosed with severe renal failure, where the arteries going into both kidneys are abnormally narrowed, almost blocked off. The second case involves a thirty-one-year-old male, Robbie, who has progressive respiratory failure. Both cases take Dr. Lin by surprise, not just because of the patients’ relatively young age, but also because neither condition has an immediately clear cause. As he investigates further, he discovers that both patients have a troubling pattern. They have been using weight-loss substances and energy boosters- a herbal supplement in Hector’s case and a pharmaceutical medication in Robbie’s case. What initially appears coincidental gradually evolves into suspicion, then into a clinical concern. Beginning with Hector’s case, his online search initially reveals nothing linking the supplement to renal failure. On the contrary, websites present the supplement as safe and beneficial. This absence of evidence just deepens his concern, pushing him to expand his search to the second case. He, however, is unaware that at this point he is no longer investigating an illness, but that he is approaching a system that will not merely resist exposure, but will respond with force, secrecy, and a craving for blood.

Dr. Lin’s as the narrator and protagonist, serves as the perfect anchor for this medical thriller. What’s most remarkable about him is how his determination is fueled not by hunger for ‘glory’ but by a relentless need to know and to help. His language is professional even when he is emotionally exhausted, and doesn’t overwhelm the reader or his distressed patients. One feels that he is not just eager to treat diseases but also the people, through ways that sometimes blur professional boundaries and place his career at risk. The supporting characters have been well crafted, each contributing in distinct ways to his mission. They include Dr. Carlos Chavez who helps Dr. Lin unfold a system that often treats symptoms, not mysteries, Ethan Harrington and Jennifer Brinks who personify the aggressive marketing machine, Alfonso Romano who offers a surprise, critical plot twist and Harold Lin, Dr. Lin’s father who becomes the protagonist’s emotional catalyst, and whose actions and moral stance propel his son into a visceral, deeply personal crusade.

“Poison Pill” by Anthony Lee is without a doubt a rare medical thriller that transcends genre through its portrayal of an industry where good intentions, financial survival, and greed often become dangerously intertwined. Its title functions as a metaphor, symbolizing toxic substances, poisoned systems, and the often invisible yet dangerously consequential forms of manufactured harm. Undoubtedly, it is a timely read, offered to the world at a time when wellness influencers are dominantly taking over digital spaces, and when the line between ‘well’ and ‘woo’ is getting more blurred by the hour through slick marketing. I believe that its clarion call is loud enough to have readers look twice at what they consume, what they trust, and what they believe.

 

 

 

 

Horror book cover with ominous figures.

Holiday Spirit Book 3: Monsters Arising by John DeGuire

Reviewed by Ephantus Gold

“Holiday Spirit Book 3: Monsters Arise!’ by John DeGuire is a book that will give you friends in beings you never imagined or expected. These are characters you will be surprised how quickly you get drawn and attached to, and how strongly you will want them safe as they unravel a world that feels increasingly fragile with each new page in the hands of individuals who pose the question of who the real monsters really are.  Purchase Here.

The tale takes us right to the edge of the world – the Arctic, where the main character, Count Dracula, who is described as a peripatetic figure, appears as a hidden traveler moving through the storm. He is riding a resurrected woolly mammoth, accompanied by a saber-toothed tiger. They are planning a rescue that feels as emotional as it is dangerous for his friend, Captain Saul Frankenstein. Saul was kidnapped for his unique monstrous biology under the orders of Dr. Moreau and Professor Moriarty. One is a scientist and the other a criminal mastermind, both of whom intend to exploit him for their experiments. Dracula himself had also earlier been captured and surgically given a human heart transplant by the duo. They had subjected him to the procedure, hoping to study his hybrid vampiric physiology and use their findings to unlock secrets to prolonged life for specific human elites. As for Saul, it turns out that he was found near death by a female Yeti who took him home, nursed him back to life, and later became his wife according to the Yeti customs. He is now the Yeti’s king and has adapted to their brutal ways. He also oversees their gladiatorial ice battles.

Elsewhere, Dracula’s wife, Aoife, learns, much to her shock, that her husband is alive. We first meet her mourning for her kidnapped twins, newborns who Dracula himself didn’t know were born. The news gives her much-needed hope and renewed determination to fight on against Moreau’s network, alongside Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and the invisible Dr. Ralph Ellison, forming an unlikely alliance between humans and monsters, united by a shared longing for survival and redemption. As you follow their planning, several questions arise, chief among them whether Dracula’s heart will survive the cold weather in the Arctic let alone the journey ahead to find his family, whether his departure from the Yetis land will be seamless, whether Saul, who is living his best life as a king will accept to join him and lastly, what exactly Moreau and Moriarty are really building, a plan so dire that they are willing to weaponize monsters to achieve it.

This tale wields great characters who smoothly propel the plot, such as Dracula, whose health and unknown fatherhood create urgency and tension, Aoife, the Werewolf Contessa who embodies maternal ferocity and the moral heart of the human-monster alliance, Saul who embodies adaptation and redemption, The Invisible Man who bridges science and monstrosity, Holmes who offers the logical, deductive lens through which the conspiracy gets uncovered, Annie, Emma, and Pete who represent innocence caught in the crossfire, reminding us of the cost to the next generation, among others. It uses turns and twists but leans heavily on heightened drama and emotional tropes, with most chapters ending in emotional uncertainty, not in what will happen next but in how it will feel. The author is brilliant enough to use dual narration that provides the long read with emotional contrast and deep sensory immersion, where the environment feels like a living character and classic characters such as Dracula and Holmes become modern archetypes.

“Holiday Spirit Book 3: Monsters Arise!’ by John DeGuire is bound to leave you richly entertained even if you are not a fan of classic monster lore, precisely so because it just doesn’t tell a story but rather makes you see a beautiful but broken world, where the greatest fear comes not from a literal monster but from the coldness and greed of the human heart. With lessons such as ‘a family is chosen, not given’ and ‘survival requiring adaptability, not just strength,’ this is a book that will leave you looking at love, the past, grief, and power differently, as fuel, not for destruction but for transformation.

 

 

 

Horror book cover with giant skull.

Monster Hunting in Newtonville by Viktor Csák

Reviewed by Daniel Ryan Johnson

The postapocalyptic world created by Viktor Csák is vast. Even if you are unaware that Monster Hunting in Newtonville is a follow-up to his novel Welcome to the Silent Zone, it is quickly clear that there is a much bigger story out there than the snapshot we see in this book. At the same time, readers new to the universe can dive right in without feeling lost.  Purchase Here.

Csák does a great job of building suspense throughout the novel, and the end of each chapter makes you eager to start the next. While there is not too much time devoted to character building, the cast of the story is still compelling, and the reader is drawn into their story. Despite not being a direct sequel, Monster Hunting in Newtonville does feature a brief appearance by the main characters of the original novel as they pass through town, hinting that their story will continue to be told in further works.

Throughout the story, the main character, John Debenham, is focused on his plan to earn a ride off the continent so he can find his wife and daughter, who escaped at the beginning of the pandemic. However, it is almost immediately clear that this plan will not go smoothly, and throughout the book, one thing after another goes wrong. One of the most intriguing aspects of the story is how John adapts to these setbacks and continues to find ways to work toward his ultimate goal.

Monster Hunting in Newtonville is more than a horror-thriller. It is also a commentary on our modern world. The story depicts a brutal world that, aside from the horrors of a zombie-like apocalypse, is not unlike our own. Even while North America has fallen to this infection, the world moves on. The tragedy and destruction that have become a part of the everyday lives of the survivors captivate the world for a time, but then other disasters and conflicts elsewhere begin to draw the rest of the world’s attention away. This reflects many of the current wars and conflicts around the world, where support for those suffering through these tragedies begins to falter as new problems arise elsewhere that draw global attention away.

 

Silhouetted figures outside eerie academy building.

Aura’ah Academy : Whispers of the Iron Door by Aditya Elango

Reviewed by Reyan Mishra

Two ingredients that readers look for in a mystery thriller are constant suspense and a fitting ending. The book we are reviewing today, Aura’ah Academy, offers readers exactly that, along with a lot of adventurous elements.  Purchase Here.

Written by Indian author and former international badminton player, Aditya Elango, the book tells the story of a mysterious institution nestled under an ancient banyan tree. Behind an Iron Door is an important secret that must be guarded by the academy head, Drona.

As the world is faced with a silent danger, the academy’s existence is under threat. Everyone gives in except the academy students, Reyom and his friends, who are determined to bring order and save the school. The tools helping them are those they learned and developed in the academy – courage, resilience, patience, and some unusual skills.

Reyom is the one who stays calm during a storm and leads from the front, while his friends have a little loud way of getting around things.

Aura’ah Academy celebrates themes of courage, community, friendship, and inner strength. Speaking of the book, Aditya said, “At its heart, Aura’ah Academy is about facing the storms inside us before we face the ones outside. I hope young readers learn that courage isn’t the absence of fear — it’s the choice to move forward anyway, often with the quiet strength of friends beside them.”

It is a captivating, mind-bending thriller that doesn’t let the readers look away for a moment in the midst of danger that’s palpable. The author masterfully sets an eerie atmosphere in which the lead characters glow as a sign of hope. One more thing that stands out is the wonderful structure of the story that grows intense with every page.

Everything put together, the book is for everyone who is a mystery/thriller buff. We recommend giving this one a shot if you don’t have something on your reading list.

 

 

Book cover with aerial neighborhood view.

Very Slowly All at Once by Laurel Schott

Reviewed by Ephantus Gold

“Very Slowly All at Once: A Tense Debut Thriller Full of Twists About the Danger of the American Dream that Gillian McAllister Calls “Devilishly Twisted” by Lauren Schott is a gripping and wickedly entertaining debut thriller that begins with a quiet moment that suddenly feels anything but ordinary. When Mack, an assistant professor of English, notices the envelope in his wife’s hand one morning, a quiet but shattering chill creeps down his spine, and his thoughts circle back to his department’s supervisor’s earlier warning about his inappropriate interactions with his students during and after the COVID lockdown. However, far from it, it turns out to be the third check in six weeks sent to him by mail, bearing his full name and postmarked from Newark, New Jersey, from a company called Sunshine Enterprises. The first one was a $5000 check, which he thought was from his criminal father, who maybe was trying to reach out to him after a long, lingering silence and a twenty-five-year period defined by a biting sense of “enmity” between them. He decided to deposit it, but remained bewildered by the sender’s consistent practice of sending other checks, each with $1000 more than the last.  Purchase Here.
This story captures a devastating series of discoveries. Their cumulative weight is startling and reveals unsettling truths about Mack’s father. The story also exposes the precarious state of his mother’s care. Hailey’s shocking decision to entertain a man she sees as better than her husband adds more tension. Worst of all, this choice results in her being called out by a client in an unexpected turn. Hailey is then humiliated, used, and ghosted in quick succession. This experience seems to be part of a well-crafted blackmail and a heinous move that feels linked to a dreadful request her family may not outrun.
“Very Slowly All at Once” by Lauren Schott pulls all the right notes of a domestic thriller, with every new chapter looking determined to tighten the screws around what makes ordinary life suddenly vulnerable. It is a tale that carries a strong sense of horrific dread, as if it waits in a corner, poised to pounce on the reader and expose the fragile foundations upon which its characters have built their lives. It is also a novel that carries this slow intensity through its lines, revealing how financial strain, fractured relationships, and buried resentment can quietly corrode judgment and, as a result, build life-altering consequences out of small compromises. Schott has offered mystery lovers an outstanding work with precise pacing, emotionally grounded characters, and a story line that, from the outset, tugs at familiarity and vulnerability before steadily sliding into something far more unsettling: biting more than you can chew and life turning into a river of unexpected outcomes.
Book cover: "Swallowing the Muskellunge" by Lawrence O'Brien.

Swallowing the Muskellunge by Lawrence P. OBrien

Reviewed by Rahul Gaur

Most of us take our freedom for granted, but we forget that at some point in time, the price for the freedom was so hefty that entire generations worked their whole lives and still couldn’t pay it off. Forget about freedom; your chances of surviving were extremely low. Survival depended on staying awake—awake to the cold, to memory, to illness, and to the truth people would rather ignore. And, this way, the novel opens a new world with its first chapter, where danger doesn’t announce itself with claws or fangs. It arrives quietly, offering fake promises, faith, authority, and safety.  Purchase Here.

The book is divided into 4 parts, which resemble the cycles found in nature. For example, four seasons, four directions, or four stages of life. Each part shows the progression of the protagonists (Oxfords). London Oxford is not introduced as a hero but as a man trying to keep his family safe in a world that keeps changing the rules. He is free, but that freedom depends on white landowners, the Wright family. Jane Oxford, wife of London, does not trust these arrangements. She senses that promises can be broken. Whereas London always feels that it is legally free, yet economically and socially dependent. Thus, the first part is about history, family, memory, and promise.

The second part is where the book takes an interesting turn. It shows how grief, racism, fear, and lies shape the lives of London, Jane, Abner, and others around them. There is a chasing scene where the antagonist follows Jane Oxford before killing her, and it is written exceptionally well. It will definitely give you goosebumps. After the death of Jane, desperation takes over London, not hope. London drinks to numb his pain. Abner is forced to grow up fast. He must care for his sisters even though he is still a child. He knows the girls were his responsibility. The book does not soften this burden. It shows how trauma passes from parent to child. In the third part, the story becomes darker and more urgent. When bodies start piling up suspiciously, everyone is freaked out. Whom to trust and whom not. Here, the author has done full justice with the portrayal of the antagonist. He is charming, authoritative, and clever, and he uses politeness to mask the brutality. Though he is not loud and scary, to get his things done, he can be anything. One powerful insight in this part is the role of women. The women join together to protect their children. They stand up when the men hesitate. Their unity becomes a quiet form of power. Fourth part beautifully concludes the novel’s central concern and reaches its darkest and most meaningful point: that even when evil is defeated, suffering does not end. Freedom is not a single event but a constant struggle. The book also refuses simple moral clarity. Survival sometimes requires brutality, and justice is imperfect.

O’Brien has beautifully shown that living as a Black family in the 18th century was not at all easy. Their daily struggles and fear of getting into any trouble without their fault are horrific. What makes the book work is how it balances character and plot. The research done to weave real history with chilling Indigenous folklore is commendable. The author’s writing is simple, and the prose often uses short, direct sentences that mirror exhaustion, fear, and urgency. However, the lack of illustrations leaves some weakness in the narration. Regarding the pacing, it is dynamic but plays an important role in the book. For example, the middle of the book slowed down quite a bit as the settlers dealt with the logistics of camp life. However, these moments added to the “stuck” feeling of the blizzard. Similarly, in the final chapters, it spikes when there is a desperate chase through the deep snow to save young Annie. By the end of the book, the reader will definitely ask, what is the real price of freedom? And can we ever truly reach a place of peace, or is it an endless pursuit?

Since this is the first novel in the Mischief Makers series, I am sensing that all the books in the series will connect to a central story related to Wìsakedjàk. So, pretty excited for the upcoming books.