One of the first books in for the Halloween season! Some horror on the lighter side of the genre!
Thanks to Flatiron Books for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review
GRAVEYARD SHIFT – M.L. Rio (Released September 24th, 2024)
Book Description:
Author of sales sensation If We Were Villains returns with a story about a ragtag group of night shift workers who meet in the local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave.
Every night, in the college’s ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.
One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn’t there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?
Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realize he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks—and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought.
Atmospheric and eerie, with the ensemble cast her fans love and a delightfully familiar academic backdrop, Graveyard Shift is a modern Gothic tale in If We Were Villains author M. L. Rio’s inimitable style.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars
Like a lot of others, I loved If We Were Villains, and this was one I was dying to read. A novella perfect for October and the start of the Halloween season.
What is the gravedigger doing in the Graveyard so late at night? A reasonable and creepy question and one that our group of night shift workers are trying to answer. This takes place over a 24-hour period as they tail the gravedigger for some answers. I think the best part was how eerie and foreboding the atmosphere in the cemetery was. Gave you the creeps and added to the mystery!
I wish this novella was longer so we could get more details and more about our night shift workers, but this was a fun bite-sized Halloween treat. I’d say this falls more into the atmospheric horror and mystery genres! A perfect start to a month of horror reading.
Jessicamap Reviews 