I received a complimentary copy of DON’T FEAR THE REAPER by Stephen Grahame Jones as part of a TLC Book Tours scheduled tour. Thank you to the author and Gallery / Saga Press for the opportunity to read and review this book. I really enjoyed MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW so I was excited to pick this one up!
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Publication date: 2/21/2023
DON’T FEAR THE REAPER is the second installment in the The Indian Lake Trilogy. Jade returns to Proofrock on the same day that a convicted serial killer escapes. It has been four years since the events of the first novel and Jade is still in recovery mode. She’s determined to make a new start, but when people start dying soon after her return to town, she must try to survive yet another harrowing ordeal. In 1862, thirty-eight Dakota men were hanged. Killer Dark Mill South is set on revenge with the body count quickly climbing.
I was quickly sucked into this book and happy to catch up with Jade. I think the author did a great job of jumping the story forward in time by a bit so that the ramifications of everything that happened in book one were still felt, but a bit tempered by time. You can absolutely see the impact that everything had on our return characters and I think this was well portrayed. As one might expect, living through a horror movie/novel scenario leaves scars.
This book had enough ties to the first story to feel the connection but it also holds up well on its own. I thought that it paid good homage to the original’s storytelling and play on horror movie themes while also bringing some fresh perspectives so that it didn’t feel at all like a repeat.
This is definitely a series to pick up for the horror fans. DON’T FEAR THE REAPER is available now!
DG Reads 