Title: Strowg: A Bledbrooke Tale

Author: John F. Leonard

Release date: November 28th, 2025

*Huge thanks to John for sending me a digital ARC of this one!*

I’m always a huge fan of author’s creating their own worlds/mythos and expanding upon them with subsequent releases. One author who really has taken that and ran with it is Joseph Sale, a wonderfully talented UK author. It was around the time I first read Sale that he suggested I check out John F. Leonard, and as luck would have it, shortly thereafter, one of Leonard’s releases was offered for review while I was reviewing for Kendall Reviews and I snapped it up, excited to see what John was all about.

Spanning close to a dozen releases – novels and novellas alike – John has created the fictional town of Bledbrooke, this sort of portal city where Lovecraftian insanity creeps in the shadows. It’s been a ton of fun seeing the various complications John’s thrown at us readers. From odd bus rides, to mutant subterranean blobs, to strange shadow folk, John’s done a wonderful job of keeping us on our toes.

With ‘Strowg,’ we get a new entry. A Strigoi-ian tale of service, submission and dare we say it… love?

What I liked: The story follows Charles Hennessy, a well dressed chap who has found himself in a situation of his own doing. Many years ago, seeking immortality, he struck a deal with Strowg, who at that time was more human than monster. As the years have gone by, Strowg has hideously transformed, now more monster than man. One that requires sustenance. Which is where Hennessy comes in. He must procure said sustenance.

Over the years, that’s caused them to have to move frequently, never really settling into a place for long, the bodies stacking up and suspicion arising. That is, until they arrive at Bledbrooke, a town where Hennessy soon realizes things are different and they can remain more under the radar.

Leonard does a great job of painting the picture of their lives together. Strowg demands food in return to keeping Hennessy young, strong and safe. Hennessy provides food in return to keeping Strowg safe, alive and calm. It’s a tentative arrangement at best, one that has Hennessy analyzing it closer when he experiences something unexpected.

Love.

And so, the final quarter of the novella arrives with that theme hanging over the story. They must flee again, Hennessy barely survives an encounter on the streets and draws unwanted attention to them. As well, it appears Strowg itself has made some unexpected sojourn’s, in an effort to feed some more. All the while, Hennessy longs for a life of happiness with the woman that makes him feel so very very alive.

Much like David Sodergren’s ‘The Haar,’ this is an unexpected love story. A touching, brutal piece of fiction that has equal parts light to dark, life to death and hope to hopelessness. The ending is a poignant finish, one that really pushes forward the idea that love can be timeless.

What I didn’t like: Honestly, not enough Bledbrooke! The town is merely a backdrop in this one, the strangeness we see in the other connected books barely on display. I understand the why and it works great to give Hennessy and Strowg that temporary home, but I wished some of the craziness that we’ve seen elsewhere dipped its toes into this one a bit more.

Why you should buy this: I’ve often shared how I’m not a huge vampire fan, but when done this well, I can fall into the story just as easily as if it was taking place in the woods. Leonard has outdone himself here. A story that is so smooth, so sweet, yet so brutal and horrific that it ticks a lot of boxes that showcase why horror can be so much more than just a thing that goes bump in the night.

It’s wonderful to see a new release from John, and it’s even more wonderful to fall back into his amazing way with telling a story. I’ve always been a huge fan of John’s, but this one is an elevation of his storytelling, him creating another phenomenal story while also bringing us back to Bledbrooke.

A town I’ll always enjoy visiting fictionally, but would never want to step foot in!