A younger couple – Mavis and Jerrod – have what appears to be a beautiful marriage regardless of the stress that has been simmering for years between Mavis and her mother and father. The novel’s motion kickstarts early when Mavis will get into a really dangerous automobile accident. The primary oddity she realizes is that she knew the opposite individuals within the automobile accident, they have been members of the church during which she grew up as a congregant. Many wounds are opened up due to this accident and Mavis’s life begins to unravel.
Mavis broke from her mother and father’ congregation years in the past, however she nonetheless hasn’t recovered. Their unimaginable expectations and soul-shredding critiques have dug deep into her thoughts, and she or he’s taunted by the information that even when she’s completed nothing unsuitable, she’ll by no means be proper.
Now Mavis is afraid she’s about to lose the one factor she has: her husband, Jerrod. The person she’s all the time identified was too good to be true. Nobody thinks she deserves him—not even after surviving the serial cheater they wished her to stay by—and shortly they’ll all discover out they have been proper.
Mavis is already unraveling when a brush with loss of life exhibits her what actual concern seems to be like. Quickly, she’s below fixed assault from all instructions. Because the assaults flip more and more vicious and weird, Mavis realizes that Hell isn’t reserved for the afterlife.
And sinner or not, nobody is coming to avoid wasting her.
Morrow weaves in some backstory for Mavis about her prior unhealthy relationship with a person named Cyrus in addition to the extraordinarily poisonous relationship along with her judgmental mother and father, her mom Marie particularly. I discovered myself rooting for Mavis early within the novel, I used to be pleased that it appeared like our protagonist discovered a great husband in Jerrod, a person who appeared to like and respect her like she deserved. Initially, there have been sufficient particulars about Mavis’s life earlier than the occasions within the novel to begin constructing sympathy for the character. Off to a great begin and I used to be pulled into the novel.
That automobile accident is the beginning of unusual occurrences. The automobile accident looks like it may very well be defined away, however as extra occasions happen, Mavis appeared to be focused with these occasions as they escalate of their weird and violent nature. Mavis was stalked, or alternatively one might say haunted, by members of her previous church. May it’s that the church needs her and Jerrod to return to its loving embrace? Perhaps? Is the church punishing her for leaving or for some previous transgression? Presumably?
As these occasions intensified, Mavis appeared to get extra willfully ignorant (or simply plain dumb) along with her actions. The way in which she hid issues from her husband, the best way after a very violent incident she low-key deserted him felt relatively extreme. She grew from a personality with whom I might initially discover myself empathizing into a personality I grew to dislike with every passing web page. A personality with an fascinating place to begin who rapidly grew right into a caricature. What frustrates me much more is that I don’t wish to dislike a personality who’s clearly a sufferer, a personality who suffered for a few years. I would like to have the ability to empathize and root for a personality like Mavis, as I reader I don’t wish to be put right into a victim-blaming state of affairs. Perhaps that greater than virtually the rest concerning the novel pissed off/aggravated me.
One other problem for me was the shortage of actual substance that flavored the entire novel. Something resembling menacing element was largely absent from this church – it was merely a controlling church with an odd wedding ceremony ceremony. I assume Mavis’s mom’s unwavering devotion to the church may very well be seen as a ingredient within the church’s sinister maintain, however apart from simply being a loyal member of the church, further depth was not given or motive for Marie’s devotion was not clear within the narrative. Backside line, in and of itself the church didn’t really feel like one thing sinister regardless of a few of its congregants appearing surprisingly. Whereas I get some tales are deliberately minimal with their particulars, **some** particulars are required (like motivation, maybe) so the reader can empathize with characters and perceive their state of affairs – particularly if it’s a pervading presence that’s introduced as an evil group threatening the protagonist.
Regardless of a reasonably robust begin, first rate sufficient prose, and an fascinating premise that includes a cult like faith and spousal stress – parts that may work effectively in a horror novel, I discovered myself being more and more aggravated with every flip of the web page. The narrative on the entire may be very disjointed – issues simply occur with the protagonist type of plodding alongside as a result of the plot required it. All of the characters have been annoying with little motive explaining why and I felt as in the event that they have been appearing deliberately silly and oblivious simply to maintain the plot shifting, I didn’t really feel as if their actions had any logic outdoors of that. The novel was quick sufficient for me to not set it apart and persist in studying as a result of I used to be holding out hope for *one thing* to make sense or any type of empathy to return to those characters. To my frustration, this stuff didn’t occur.
Sadly, this isn’t a novel I can suggest on any degree and a uncommon miss for me from an imprint that has largely delivered very good horror over the previous couple of years because it was launched.
© 2026 Rob H. Bedford
Hardcover | Tor Nightfire
February 2026 | 288 Pages
Overview copy courtesy of the writer, Tor Nightfire
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