Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones

 

I read The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones back in 2022. This was the first book I read by Stephen Graham Jones and I wasn't that impressed despite all the rave reviews I'd heard about his writing.

I decided to give Stephen Graham Jones's writing another try after hearing glowing reviews for Night of the Mannequins.

I listened to the unabridged audio version of Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones, which is splendidly narrated by Gary Tiedemann. This is a super quick listen at 2 hours, 59 miunutes.

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones is a horror/coming of age novella. Additionally, if you enjoy books with unreliable main characters, then this is the read for you as Sawyer is definitely an unreliable narrator and main character. Also worth noting, I don't think this novella is actually classified as a young adult read, but it felt like one to me.

This Night of the Mannequins is a fun read for sure. It is short and quick. I enjoyed it as it is a different take than I thought it would be on the topic. The real horror isn't what you think it'll be.

Below is the publisher's summary for Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones:

WE THOUGHT WE'D PLAY A FUN PRANK ON HER, AND NOW MOST OF US ARE DEAD.

One last laugh for the summer as it winds down. One last prank just to scare a friend. Bringing a mannequin into a theater is just some harmless fun, right? Until it wakes up. Until it starts killing.

Luckily, Sawyer has a plan. He'll be a hero. He'll save everyone to the best of his ability. He'll kill as many people as he needs to so he can save the day. That's the thing about heroes - sometimes you have to become a monster first.

I am giving Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!!

She Had Glass Eyes by C.S. Schiavone

I received a FREE copy of the ebook edition of She Had Glass Eyes  by C.S. Schiavone from Booksirens in exchange for an honest review.

She Had Glass Eyes by C.S. Schiavone was a recently released novella as of October 20, 2025 and is 73 pages in length. This novella fits into the gothic, historical, fantasy, and horror genres. 

I liked the premise of this novella and the story's summary, which is why I chose to read and review it. I also enjoyed the unreliable leading female character, Deliverance (Dilly) Edvance, in She Had Glass Eyes as well. 

She Had Glass Eyes is set in England in the mid-1800s. It has a bit of a Frankenstein feel to it. Essentially, you have an inventor named Dr. Joseph Faber, who has created a mechanical marvel named, Euphonia, that simulates human speech. While on public display, most of the general public recoils from Euphonia, but not Dilly. Dilly's fascinated by Euphonia... Actually, Dilly's obsessed with Euphonia and dreams about her nightly. Dilly likes the idea of creating an army of mechanical beings. Dilly looks forward to working with Dr. Faber in the future with regards to Euphonia and that is wrought with strife. I won't go into a deep dive into Dilly and Dr. Faber's working relationship towards the end of She Had Glass Eyes, other than to say it does not bode well for all.

As far as the writing goes and the overall plot development in She Had Glass Eyes, I was less than impressed. I felt like She Had Glass Eyes could have been so much better!! I'm kind of surprised with all the glowing online reviews for She Had Glass Eyes.

Below is the publisher's summary for She Had Glass Eyes by C.S. Schiavone from Amazon's website:

When Dr. Joseph Faber unveils his eerie invention in 1846 London—a mechanical marvel that simulates human speech—the public recoils. But one witness listens too closely.

Deliverance Edvane, a solitary undertaker with a mind sharpened by disdain, sees in the invention not horror, but possibility. What begins as fascination soon spirals into obsession, as she plots to take the machine for herself. Darkness stirs in the spaces between invention and insanity in this chilling tale of machines, madness, and the dangerous echo of a voice not quite human.

I am giving She Had Glass Eyes  by C.S. Schiavone a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones, which is narrated by Kirsty Rider. 

The Earthquake Bird is a novel that had been sitting on my reading wishlist for quite a long time and I finally made the time to read it this month. The Earthquake Bird also happens to be the author's debut novel. 

The Earthquake Bird is billed as a psychological thriller. I enjoy reading psychological thrillers, which is one of the features that attracted me to this novel. Another factor that drew me to this novel is that the story takes place in Japan and also features an unreliable narrator named, Lucy Fly, as the leading character. If done correctly, unreliable narrators are a fantastic feature in a novel.

So, what did I think of The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones? The pacing of this novel is kind of slow. 

Yes, I like unreliable narrators, but I've seen better unreliable narrators in other novels I've read over the years. 

There was too much switching back and forth between the first person perspective and third person perspective in the The Earthquake Bird, which I found disconcerting. I guess you can say this only added to the main character's unreliability. However, I still don't like the lack of clarity when an author switches perspective on a reader as it is does cause some minor confusion.

The ending for The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones was dull. For me, it's clear who the killer is to me. But it felt like the author was trying too hard to be creepy in a psychological way that didn't hit the mark. 

The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones is a good, debut novel, but I think it could have been so much better. 

Below is the publisher's summary for The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones from Chirp's website:

Now a major Netflix film starring Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough, a haunting psychological thriller set in Tokyo probing deep into the mind of a murder suspect

The grisly headline leaves nothing to the imagination: “Woman’s torso recovered from Tokyo Bay. Believed to be missing British bartender Lily Bridges.” The only suspect is Lucy Fly. Her friend is dead, her lover has disappeared, and as far as anyone is concerned, she’s as good as guilty.

Trapped in the interrogation room, Lucy begins to unravel two stories. One, for the police, is a spare outline, offering more questions than answers. The other–the real one, if you believe her–is a gripping dive into an obsessive mind, revealing the checkered past that brought her to Japan, her complicated friendship with Lily, and a tempestuous affair with a missing Japanese photographer named Teiji. As she excavates the dangerous secrets–both past and present–that haunt her waking mind, Lucy relates an unsettling life story that spans bustling Tokyo, the British countryside, and remote Japanese islands, each step taking us closer to the chilling truth about Lily’s death. An all-consuming crime story like no other, Susanna Jones’s mesmerizing debut novel is a neo-noir thriller as shocking as it is exquisitely composed.

While listening this novel, I learned that Netflix made a movie, 'Earthquake Bird', based on the novel in 2019. I might watch the movie version.

I am giving The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next, post happy reading!!

The Seas by Samantha Hunt

 

I listened the unabridged audio version of The Seas by Samantha Hunt, which is well narrated by the author. Samantha Hunt is a new to me author. I enjoyed reading The Seas very much and look forward to reading other books by Samantha Hunt.

The Seas was my 10th read of 2025 and what an excellent read it! It's also a very quick read too. Essentially, The Seas by Samantha Hunt is a coming of age story with an unnamed and unreliable narrator as the protagonist. Throw in some magical realism and you have an almost perfect read with The Seas. I think The Seas may be my favorite fiction read so far for 2025.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Seas by Samantha Hunt, I found on Chirp's website:

Moored in a coastal fishing town so far north that the highways only run south, the unnamed narrator of The Seas is a misfit. She’s often the subject of cruel local gossip. Her father, a sailor, walked into the ocean eleven years earlier and never returned, leaving his wife and daughter to keep a forlorn vigil. Surrounded by water and beckoned by the sea, she clings to what her father once told her: that she is a mermaid. True to myth, she finds herself in hard love with a land-bound man, an Iraq War veteran thirteen years her senior. The mesmerizing, fevered coming-of-age tale that follows will land her in jail. Her otherworldly escape will become the stuff of legend. With the inventive brilliance and psychological insight that have earned her international acclaim, Samantha Hunt pulls listeners into an undertow of impossible love and intoxication, blurring the lines between reality and fairy tale, hope and delusion, sanity and madness.

I'm giving The Seas by Samantha Hunt a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!