I just don't think that I'm into books about cults. I've read a few now and each one has just felt alright to me. Towards the end there was too much action -pages and pages of it- so much action that I ended up skimming a bit at that part. I probably would have liked it more if there was more investigative work, but there was pretty much none. The writing was engaging though. ( )

Wow, this is only my second favorite book by Janz and I can already tell he’s going to be one of my favorites. He has such a clear, vivid, and easy writing style. Plenty of tension, scares, gruesome violence, and humor. If there were any deficits I blew right past them because I was having so much fun!!

The story immediately throws you immediately into the inciting incident and the craziness just continues to build from there. Basically our protagonist Joe stops a lady from beating her small child at a gas station. Said lady stalks him and eventually commits an act of self-immolation. Unfortunately for Joe she was tied up in a deadly fire cult, and now they have their sights on Joe and his family for their next “ceremony”.

The story is perfectly paced, with plenty of tense and creepy moments. The scene in the Black Chapel had me biting my nails. And it all leads up to an explosively violent and terrifying climax. Like seriously violent. Dismembering, maiming, bloody mayhem. Does it fit the tone of the rest of the book? I don’t really care, because it’s AWESOME.

Also the characters are fabulous. Joe is the father and husband I aspire to be, and his playful banter/budding friendship with the police chief is great. His wife Michelle is pretty awesome as well. And the rest of the cast sucks because pretty much everyone is a part of this freaky cult ( )

This crazy cult story was a lot of fun! This was my first Jonathan Janz book, but it will not be my last.

This was a fast paced tale about Joe and his family, (wife Michelle and daughter Lily). I became a big fan of Joe throughout this story. Mostly because all of his problems started due to one good deed: stopping a woman from abusing her toddler at a gas station. Once he stops her and the police arrive, his whole life goes to hell.

I enjoy stories about cults and satanic worship and all that good stuff. (Rosemary's Baby still gives me the creeps!) Mr. Janz put alI the elements together here in a perfect way. I LOVED how this story was told and there was one scene that freaked me the hell out, and it happened well before the denouement. I like that there were scary portions like this all throughout the story.

Speaking of the denouement though, I did feel that the story went a bit over the top towards the end, and as a result, lost some of its believability. Other than that, I have no complaints about this tale.

Overall, I enjoyed the hell out of his book! I will not be waiting very long to check out more of Jonathan's work.

Highly recommended for fans of stories about cults and satanic worship!

I was provided a free eARC of this story by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is it!
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This book was bonkers bananas crazy. So violent, so well written. ( )

This is a real nightmare ride. Tension and menace build slowly but surely throughout the book, making it harder and harder to put down. Increasingly horrific events interspersed with rising suspense make this a gem of a horror novel. Real world fears (worry for loved ones, etc) are mixed masterfully with occult/supernatural fears, bringing a healthy dose of relatability to the characters and events.
Another great book from this author. Something I appreciate is that the books of his books that I've read have all been great, but have all been different.
Many thanks to Flame Tree Press for the ARC. ( )