The Nightmare Man

September 26, 2022
This over-the-top horror thriller from Markert (The Strange Case of Isaac Crawley, written as James Markert) follows the residents of a small town with a surprisingly high number of serial killers in its history, as they attempt to solve a slew of recent killings. Bestselling author Ben Bookman doesn’t remember writing The Scarecrow in a three-day fugue at Blackwood Mansion, his family’s mysterious estate, but the specifics of the plot are starting to come back to him—mainly because the novel’s gruesome death sequences are beginning to occur in real life. As the authorities—including fresh-faced Detective Blue and grizzled veteran Detective Mills—close in on the answers, Ben contends with two possibilities: that he himself is the killer, or that it’s something old and evil that’s been waiting within Blackwood Mansion for a chance to be unleashed. The resulting tale is a fairly standard thriller: its plot points are ripped from a dozen other well-worn stories, and its characters react to the story’s hyper-stylized murders in ways anybody faintly familiar with the genre would expect. Markert’s clipped style works well for this unsubtle celebration of the genre, however, making the plot’s hammier excesses easy to get through as it reaches its bloody conclusion. Fans of old school horror will want to check this out.

November 1, 2022
The Patersons haven't been seen on their family farm in some time, and detective Winchester Mills is investigating with his daughter, Blue, a rookie detective. When they make the first of several disturbing discoveries, things go downhill. Meanwhile, Ben, a writer nicknamed the Nightmare Man, is uneasy about promoting his latest book, especially with a shocking event at the launch and the revelation that scenes that seem to have come straight out of his books have been happening in real life. Readers who enjoy the writer-as-protagonist trope in horror will enjoy this aspect, made famous by Stephen King (who gives Ben's newest book a blurb, incidentally). Ben's strained relationship with his wife and family becomes worse when more grisly incidents occur. The interesting premise is slightly bogged down by dual points of view and flashback scenes, but Markert maintains a tense pace throughout. Fans of dark murder mysteries with an edge will enjoy this one, as will those who like Cassandra Khaw and Stephen King's short stories (like "1408").

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November 18, 2022

The small town of Crooked Tree is home to Dr. Robert Bookman, a well-known specialist in the field of nightmares, and his grandson, horror novelist Ben Bookman. It's also where veteran detective Winchester Mills and rookie Samantha Blue investigate a murderer who sews his victims into corn husk cocoons, a crime that mirrors details in Ben's new book. Now the detectives must find the link between Ben, his grandfather, and the evil plaguing Crooked Tree before another written death becomes real. The town of Crooked Tree is less Stephen King's bucolic Castle Rock and more a darker version of Batman's Gotham City, meaning the villains' acts could easily strain one's suspension of disbelief. The characters themselves read like archetypes, from the grizzled detective to the quirky, haunted writer. This might be a plus for those fans who love Dean Koontz thrillers, however, as the book's pacing doesn't give the reader time to poke at plot holes but lets them simply enjoy the dark ride. VERDICT Markert's (Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel, published under the name James Markert) first horror novel is both a literary thrill ride and a supernaturally satisfying guilty pleasure.

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