I don’t even know where to begin with this one. What a strange, CRAZY ride! This book was absolutely absurd, ridiculously campy, pretty gory, and completely bonkers in the best possible way. It made me laugh. It made me cringe. It made me scratch my head in confusion. Half the time, I didn’t even know what to think about what I was listening to. But somehow, I was having a blast!
I listened to the audiobook, which features dual narration, and I thought both narrators did a fantastic job bringing this bizarre story to life. Especially the voice of Pumpkin, a murderous puppet who is equal parts creepy and hilarious. I’m honestly not the biggest fan of this author, so imagine my surprise when I finally found a book of his that I actually enjoyed!
As far as content goes, there’s quite a bit of strong language, including plenty of f-bombs, which was a big turnoff for me. Thankfully, there’s no spice. However, there is quite a bit of body horror and gore, so if you’re squeamish, you might want to sit this one out. Some of the scenes were downright disgusting! Nothing I couldn’t handle, but there were definitely moments that made me cringe. Then again, it’s a horror novel by this particular author, so I knew what I was getting myself into.
Now, here’s where things get really weird. I went into this book expecting a good old-fashioned haunted house story. What I did NOT expect was evil killer puppets and creepy dolls running amok! Seriously, WHAT was I listening to?! It reminded me so much of the horror movies Chucky and Dead Silence, with those wonderfully ridiculous, old-school horror vibes. It was completely over the top, but I couldn’t help having fun with it.
And Pumpkin! Oh my goodness, that puppet! The things he says, combined with that creepy little puppet voice, were both hilarious and deeply disturbing. I actually made my husband listen to a few scenes whenever Pumpkin showed up because I just had to share the absurdity with someone. He thought it was absolutely silly, which honestly made the whole experience even funnier.
Despite all the creepy dolls and murderous puppet shenanigans, I didn’t find this book particularly scary. However, it definitely delivered on tension, suspense, and unpredictability. I had absolutely no idea where the story was going or how everything would eventually play out. There were some genuinely surprising twists and turns that caught me completely off guard, and the mystery kept me guessing the entire time.
What surprised me even more was the emotional depth of the story. Beneath all the ridiculous horror, there’s a strained brother and sister relationship that plays a significant role in the plot. I really enjoyed exploring their complicated family dynamics and watching their relationship unfold. The character development was surprisingly well done, especially for a book featuring murderous puppets! Who knew?!
Some of the family struggles also hit close to home for me personally, which made the story resonate on a deeper level than I ever expected. I found myself genuinely connecting with the characters, rooting for them, and caring about what happened to them. That emotional connection added another layer to the story and made it much more meaningful than just a wild, gory horror adventure.
Overall, this was one of the WEIRDEST books I’ve read in a long time, and it went completely off the rails! But you know what? I had so much fun with it! If you enjoy campy horror, creepy dolls, killer puppets, and those nostalgic, old-school horror movie vibes, this might be right up your alley.
Was it ridiculous? ABSOLUTELY! Was it over the top? Without a doubt! Did I enjoy myself? Surprisingly, YES!
This book was so much better than I expected, and it ended up being a perfect read for the Halloween season. The writing was engaging, the atmosphere was wonderfully bizarre, and the story kept me hooked from beginning to end. I never thought I’d say this about one of this author’s books, but I genuinely enjoyed it.
Definitely recommend it if you’re in the mood for something creepy, campy, completely unhinged, and a whole lot of fun!