August's Eyes

 

August's Eyes by Glen Rolfe was truly an eerie read.  It is about John who is plagued by horrific nightmares as well as his traumatic incident as a kid of seeing his friend being kidnapped and then later his murder body found. There were a lot of flashbacks to these events throughout the novel and the reader finds out the reason for this at the end of the novel.  John’s wife Sarah was really interested in getting to the bottom of his nightmares, which start to hint at the possibility of something more supernatural.  But fertility struggles start to provide conflict to their relationship, which seems to be the central conflict in the story that propels a horrific series of events to unfold.  While it was painful to read about, I found the characters quite likable and the plot very compelling to continue to read the story.

I also loved the subplot of another character, Alvin’s, work in the graveyard. I have a real weakness for stories that take place in cemeteries and the setting was described really well. But the good descriptions are also the reason for my 4 star instead of 5-star review.  Insects in horror, especially done well, really bug me quite a bit. However, the usage of creepy crawly characters does fit into the way that the story develops and is not overly gratuitous.

This was a compelling read that I found very difficult to put down. My husband may have seen me cringe and shriek at times, but isn’t that what a good horror novel does? As a lover of dark fiction, I really enjoyed the ride that August's Eyes took me on.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced readers copy.