Synopsis
Seeking to understand the recent deaths and disappearances in their town, a disgraced homicide detective and a group of grieving high schoolers unwittingly join forces. But what this ragtag bunch of answer-seekers find will not only force them into a fight to save themselves and their town, but all of humanity as we know it… Welcome to Cedar Mills.
PRAISE FOR CEDAR MILLS…
“Plunges right into the action and never lets up!” Readers’ Favorite
“Cedar Mills is the kind of horror novel that stays with you…” Independent Book Review
“This is a great example of writing characters, getting to know them just enough where we are either for them or against them… Atmosphere and tension… Unexpectedly graphic…” Shots of Horror
“[Dylan James’] use of language effectively enhances the atmosphere of every chapter, eliciting emotional responses from readers that mirror the characters’ feelings in the moment… Readers become engrossed in the story, almost to the point of inserting themselves into it, stepping into the shoes of the characters they connect with most.” Book Nerdection
Review
Thanks to the author and Savage Realms Press for the eARC! This one sounded like it shared a sinister world with my own novel, so I was super intrigued. I really wanted to review by release day, and I was close, but I had some stuff come up.
Chapter one opens in the past, the kind of set up that may be labeled a prologue in SFF. It shows an event that would stain the town of Cedar Mills for years to come. It immediately feels like a tightly focused creature feature, which is one of my favorite horror subgenres. Then it shifts, giving the reader a mixture of POVs from high school kids to a disgraced detective. It’s a little strange at first, but the author ends up making it work.
This felt like the inverse of my own writing, where I mentioned supernatural but didn’t dive in, this one does it all. It’s a full on supernatural story that steps its toes into crime fiction. It’s a cool take on blending horror subgenres. That’s where this story really shined: the horrors. The creature, known as 43, whose description brought to mind Creature from the Black Lagoon, is a semi-aquatic badass—one that loves stabbing government agents in the head with its claws. And I even liked how the author gives us the full explanation of what it is by the end, spinning into an almost full blown scifi horror.
The trigger happy agents in this reminded me of the supernatural devision from When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy. Their no-loose-ends mentality actually causing more trouble by the end. The inclusion of innocent teenagers also added in a well done layer of emotion and heart to the novel. Regardless of any interwoven romance, four teen friends getting thrown into the deep end was an interesting take that felt kind of like its own thing. These weren’t slasher movie teens that feel and even look like adults, these were starry-eyed and screaming kids, grieving and just trying to make it out alive.
Great action, a scary beast, and a beating heart in the background, making this one a solid read!
Leave a Reply