★★★★★ 5
A fun and creepy read.
Format: Kindle
I have never been a huge fan of horror novels, having only read maybe 3 in life. That was until this book was continuously recommended to me via Amazon. I caved and bought the book. For the first time in a long time I was impressed with the recommendation. This book, despite the fun title, starts off as a sad tale of loss and strained relationships with family. Then slowly you get some great humor and the actual horror angle of story.
In the start of the book I could see some of the elements that we would circle back to and strong feeling of where we would be in the end. While some of that turned out to be true, I didn't see the character of Mark becoming the heart of book. Louise is great lead and frames the story in the best way. I felt on the same page as her almost all of the way.
As for the horror, I would say that it hit my personal sweet spot. Never a point where I was rolling my eyes at the villain's or Louise and Mark's choices. Or never a point where it was gross or gory for the sake or it. Everything felt "earned", no out of left field decision midway to change the whole book or deus ex machina ending. As mentioned earlier this book has a great heart at it's center, and the humor hits in all the right times.
If you are on the fence of whether or not to give this this a read, just read it. Grady Hendrix has made a phenomenal story. This was my first of his books and I'm excited to read his others. A great tale of grief, family, horror, and puppets.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2024
