Reading Vicariously

“We thought we’d play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead”

As far as first lines go, that’s right up there with MT Anderson’s FEED. Also, you’ll notice this review is thin on plot details. The less you know going in, the better.

SUMMARY: Abigail Laine is comfortable being the sheriff of Rockbridge, Ohio. She only conducts a few traffic stops a week, has minimal paperwork, and cruises the town’s mostly vacant streets. This leaves her plenty of time to read and keep her living space and work area orderly. But when Caleb Welsh gets murdered on his way home late one Friday night, she’s forced to blow the dust off her badge and find the killer. With the help of Rockbridge’s finest civilians, Laine must draw a line in the salt lick and assure that The Buck Stops Here.

So from page one I knew I was going to love this novella.

Know why? It’s the same reason I love authors like John Updike, Douglas Adams, and Ray Bradbury, and why I love characters like Holden from Catcher in the Rye and Greg from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl…that super STRONG narrative voice in the writing. SGJ writes with such style and narrative flair that I was immediately hooked. I loved being in the stream-of-consciousnesses-rabbit-hole-tangent mind of Sawyer. The angsty teen mindset, the wild self-justification, the humor (I laughed out loud numerous times), and the sarcastic yet “altruistic” outlook on life – all of it is great.

By page 55 my love for the book was further cemented. Though I had been suspicious before, it was then that I truly realized how surprising and shocking this book was going to be. Seriously did not expect it to go in the (mis)directions it did. When you read a lot it’s not often you find genuine jubilation over a twist, but man did this excite me. Tore through the book in a couple hours (at 135 pages it’s a quick read) and seriously wish it hadn’t ended.

It’s dark, it’s twisted, it’s hilarious, and it should be added to your TBR stack immediately. This is the first book I’ve read by the author, but I will be immediately seeking out more of his work (writing THAT good isn’t just a one off). Also, this was part of a box that @night_worms put out recently so thank you to them! Just one of many reasons I love having a subscription 🐛 🖤

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

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📝Review of ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕟𝕤 +++ “𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥” +++ As far as first lines go, that’s right up there with MT Anderson’s FEED. Also, you’ll notice this review is thin on plot details. The less you know going in, the better. So from page one I knew I was going to love this novella. Know why? It’s the same reason I love authors like John Updike, Douglas Adams, and Ray Bradbury, and why I love characters like Holden from Catcher in the Rye and Greg from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl…that super STRONG narrative voice in the writing. SGJ writes with such style and narrative flair that I was immediately hooked. I loved being in the stream-of-consciousnesses-rabbit-hole-tangent mind of Sawyer. The angsty teen mindset, the wild self-justification, the humor (I laughed out loud numerous times), and the sarcastic yet “altruistic” outlook on life – all of it is great. By page 55 my love for the book was further cemented. Though I had been suspicious before, it was then that I truly realized how surprising and shocking this book was going to be. Seriously did not expect it to go in the (mis)directions it did. When you read a lot it’s not often you find genuine jubilation over a twist, but man did this excite me. Tore through the book in a couple hours (at 135 pages it’s a quick read) and seriously wish it hadn’t ended. It’s dark, it’s twisted, it’s hilarious, and it should be added to your TBR stack immediately. This is the first book I’ve read by the author, but I will be immediately seeking out more of his work (writing THAT good isn’t just a one off). Also, this was part of a box that @night_worms put out recently so thank you to them! Just one of many reasons I love having a subscription 🐛 🖤 Also also, I tried doing a pic with my hand and the cover but my big monkey hands messed it up (swipe for the fail) +++ Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 🎭 🎭 🎭 #readingvicariously #horrorfiction #promotehorror #horrorliterature #nightofthemannequins #stephengrahamjones #twistedtales

A post shared by Ben (@reading.vicariously) on Sep 22, 2020 at 8:07pm PDT