The Nightmare Man

The first book completed of 2023!

This book really had me captivated. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. A definite page turner that you will not want to put down.

The book goes back and forth between characters and perspectives and the present and the past. Ben Bookman is a horror writer, known as The Nightmare Man. He recently finished his latest book, The Scarecrow, He wrote it, in a drug induced fever weekend at his ancestral home, Blackwood Estate. 

The stories he writes begin to come true in real life. Detective Winchester Mills and his daughter Detective Samantha Blue have been called to a gruesome crime scene at a local farm in Crooked Tree. A family hasn't been seen in a while and they are found slaughtered in their barn. Each family member wrapped in a cocoon stitched from corn husks, then hung from the rafters of the barn. This scene is directly taken from the opening of Bookman's latest book. Not long after this discovery, another family is found in the same way. Mills and Blue quickly read through the book to try to figure out what might happen next. 

Ben Bookman, of course, is the main suspect in these horrific murders. The thing is, Ben can't remember writing the book. All he remembers is that he wrote it in what is called The Atrium of the Blackwood Estate. A room filled floor to ceiling with books. Thousands of books with no titles, just numbers and books with no words in them. 

Ben's brother went missing 13 years before all of this. As he digs into not only his past, but the past of the Blackwood Estate and the nearby Oswald Asylum, started by his Grandfather Dr. Robert Bookman, he will discover that dreams and sometimes nightmares, really do come true. 

I really liked this book. A fantastically horrific story with twists and turns and an ending I never saw coming. The characters are well written, and the settings are downright scary! The author's imagination is incredible, with unique names for each serial killer in this small town and the descriptions of each scene made it feel like you were there. I definitely look forward to more from this author. I received this book free from NetGalley for an honest review.