The Nightmare Girl

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. show more 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! show less

This novel started off differently than I thought it would. To be honest, I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking. Maybe something more mystical or supernatural. Something like a dream lover who turns bad and becomes a nightmare girl. Instead the first third, or maybe half, of the novel, the "nightmare girl" comes across with more of a "Fatal Attraction" vibe. Stalking and terrorizing is scary enough though. I had my own experiences with an ex-girlfriend who went more than a little off-her-rocker once we broke up. Anyway, I'm digressing; let's get back to the novel.

Joe Crawford has a wife, a daughter, and his own business. Life is good for him. One day though he witnesses a young mother abusing her toddler son. Joe does the right thing show more by stepping in to stop her and then calling the cops. The ripple effects of his actions grow as the mother blames Joe for her son being taken away from her. Joe soon discovers that the mother was part of a cult that killed people and was planning to kill more.

As I mentioned, the supernatural elements really didn't come into play until the second half of the book. The first half still provided enough creepy moments, especially when the young mother and her own mother started showing how crazy they were. Janz really got their logic and dialogue and crazy down accurately. They would be sweet and cajoling one moment and then scream and blaming Joe the next. Again, experience has shown me exactly how that goes and Janz nailed it. There were a couple moments in the story that didn't seem quite right: for example, when Joe expressed interest in possibly fostering the abused boy. I live in a big city and I can't imagine that happening. But then again, maybe it is normal especially in smaller cities with fewer people. Overall though nothing in the novel was strange enough to pull me out and turn me off. It was entertaining and I look forward to reading more Janz novels. show less

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.

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.

4.5

Jonathan Janz has another winner with his book, "The Nightmare Girl". I've known about Janz' skill for quite a while and can say that he seems to be improving with each succeeding book. His maturity as a writer continues to develop. His characters are strong and believable. Plots are tightly woven with numerous twists throughout.

In this novel, Janz has created a world that mixes reality with the supernatural. Reminiscent of some of the best Dean Koontz novels, "The Nightmare Girl" will keep you reading long into the night.

This book was bonkers bananas crazy. So violent, so well written.