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Night in the Lonesome October
Ed, a heartbroken college student, finds his life forever changed when he encounters a vast array of creatures that lurk in the darkness, from the seductive to the downright dangerous, when he goes for a walk in the middle of the night. Original.
413 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
239 people are currently reading
5170 people want to read
About the author
Richard Laymon
216 books2,270 followersRichard Laymon was born in Chicago and grew up in California. He earned a BA in English Literature from Willamette University, Oregon and an MA from Loyola University, Los Angeles. He worked as a schoolteacher, a librarian, and a report writer for a law firm, and was the author of more than thirty acclaimed novels.
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
He also published more than sixty short stories in magazines such as Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cavalier, and in anthologies including Modern Masters of Horror.
He died from a massive heart attack on February 14, 2001 (Valentine's Day).
Also published under the name Richard Kelly
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews
November 10, 2015
UPDATED REVIEW
one late October night, heartbroken college student Ed decides to soothe his troubled soul by taking a long nighttime stroll to Dandi Donuts. and so begins an addiction. with each subsequent evening walk he learns more about the eerie, threatening, hypnotic underside of the sleepy small town of Wilmington. what lurks in Wilmington? well, let's see... a vindictive cycling senior, predators in a van with alluring bait, a sad and scary shut-in clown, cannibalistic homeless people lurking under bridges, a sociopath with the looks of a male model who fixates on Ed and his new lady, and an enticing young miss who makes a practice of sneaking into homes to make herself at home.
Richard Laymon, Richard Laymon! you wrote a good one! what a happy relief to finally find the book to justify my increasingly inexcusable desire to return to his trashy, sleazy worlds again and again. Night in Lonesome October is appealing and didn't inspire the usual guilt or feelings of squirmy dirtiness. Ed is a likeable (and increasingly feckless) hero who tries to do the right thing, nurses petty feelings of anger towards the lass who dumped him, is realistically horny (as opposed to the over-the-top uber-horniness of most Laymon teen protagonists), and his increasingly addictive behavior in exploring the disturbing underworld of the town around him is portrayed with interesting, often frustrating realism. and the ongoing motifs of nudity and voyeurism in Laymon's novels are handled with a lot more intelligence here - and in a way that rather expertly places the protagonist and the reader in the same shoes. very Hitchcock! very Blue Velvet!
the novel delivers genuine chills in set-piece after set-piece, from the creepy exploration of various silent homes to the image of a silent lumbering figure climbing over a fence on the edge of a ballpark at midnight to an increasingly threatening conversation with a lunatic to an ill-judged decision to have a little moonlit sex under a bridge. this was a genuinely tense novel.
it is also, per standard Laymon, a microscopic narrative. although it takes place over the course of several days, we are often in Ed's head on a minute-by-minute basis. although this can get a bit tedious at times, happily, it mainly works. it is all so you are there now.
i was also pleased at how Laymon handles his gay character. as is probably clear from my reviews, i'm a queer and so i am often rather thensitive to how queer supporting characters are portrayed. at first the hero's frenemy Kirkus was straight-up stereotype and i was annoyed. he's swishy and he speaks in some kind of affected Noel Coward voice and he is constantly predatory towards our hero's apparently hot little bod. but then we get Kirkus' horrifying backstory and i was rather blown away by just how tough Laymon decided to be when depicting how bad it can get for young queers. kudos! no punches pulled, and even better, the punches thrown land in surprisingly ambiguous and troubling places. and after this revelation... Kirkus is still the same pretentious, pathetic, and rather creepy guy, one who acts in an even more predatory style. it doesn't matter - Kirkus became real, to me and to Ed, and his move from asshole to assholish friend felt well-earned. oh and spoiler: he also saves the day, so there's that.
okay this review is really too long for its enjoyable but minor subject matter, so i'll just close out by saying that if you are a Laymon fan and if any of the above makes you think that this atypical Laymon offering lacks the typical Laymon excesses of torture, rape, sadism, and excessive blood-is-everywhere type violence... well, i guess don't worry. the climax has all of that, sicko.
____________
YE OLDE PLACEHOLDER REVIEW
'tis the season...
13 TALES OF TERROR: BOOK 12
i had a dream last night... a dream that Richard Laymon actually wrote a good book. not just a fun and pulpy trash rollercoaster that made me feel ashamed and dirty afterwards, but a novel of value. eerie, unpredictable, and surprisingly thoughtful. a protagonist who actually felt real and a journey that was strange and disturbing and grotesque... but somehow not cheap. not typical Laymon. it was not just a dream - it was a nightmare! a beautiful nightmare. i woke up tangled in my sweat-soaked sheets, confused and off-balance, wanting to dive back into the dream and finish that strange trip. but instead i had a cigarette; it's best to draw out these kinds of pleasures.
now here are some special Halloween visuals for your viewing pleasure:
one late October night, heartbroken college student Ed decides to soothe his troubled soul by taking a long nighttime stroll to Dandi Donuts. and so begins an addiction. with each subsequent evening walk he learns more about the eerie, threatening, hypnotic underside of the sleepy small town of Wilmington. what lurks in Wilmington? well, let's see... a vindictive cycling senior, predators in a van with alluring bait, a sad and scary shut-in clown, cannibalistic homeless people lurking under bridges, a sociopath with the looks of a male model who fixates on Ed and his new lady, and an enticing young miss who makes a practice of sneaking into homes to make herself at home.
Richard Laymon, Richard Laymon! you wrote a good one! what a happy relief to finally find the book to justify my increasingly inexcusable desire to return to his trashy, sleazy worlds again and again. Night in Lonesome October is appealing and didn't inspire the usual guilt or feelings of squirmy dirtiness. Ed is a likeable (and increasingly feckless) hero who tries to do the right thing, nurses petty feelings of anger towards the lass who dumped him, is realistically horny (as opposed to the over-the-top uber-horniness of most Laymon teen protagonists), and his increasingly addictive behavior in exploring the disturbing underworld of the town around him is portrayed with interesting, often frustrating realism. and the ongoing motifs of nudity and voyeurism in Laymon's novels are handled with a lot more intelligence here - and in a way that rather expertly places the protagonist and the reader in the same shoes. very Hitchcock! very Blue Velvet!
the novel delivers genuine chills in set-piece after set-piece, from the creepy exploration of various silent homes to the image of a silent lumbering figure climbing over a fence on the edge of a ballpark at midnight to an increasingly threatening conversation with a lunatic to an ill-judged decision to have a little moonlit sex under a bridge. this was a genuinely tense novel.
it is also, per standard Laymon, a microscopic narrative. although it takes place over the course of several days, we are often in Ed's head on a minute-by-minute basis. although this can get a bit tedious at times, happily, it mainly works. it is all so you are there now.
i was also pleased at how Laymon handles his gay character. as is probably clear from my reviews, i'm a queer and so i am often rather thensitive to how queer supporting characters are portrayed. at first the hero's frenemy Kirkus was straight-up stereotype and i was annoyed. he's swishy and he speaks in some kind of affected Noel Coward voice and he is constantly predatory towards our hero's apparently hot little bod. but then we get Kirkus' horrifying backstory and i was rather blown away by just how tough Laymon decided to be when depicting how bad it can get for young queers. kudos! no punches pulled, and even better, the punches thrown land in surprisingly ambiguous and troubling places. and after this revelation... Kirkus is still the same pretentious, pathetic, and rather creepy guy, one who acts in an even more predatory style. it doesn't matter - Kirkus became real, to me and to Ed, and his move from asshole to assholish friend felt well-earned. oh and spoiler: he also saves the day, so there's that.
okay this review is really too long for its enjoyable but minor subject matter, so i'll just close out by saying that if you are a Laymon fan and if any of the above makes you think that this atypical Laymon offering lacks the typical Laymon excesses of torture, rape, sadism, and excessive blood-is-everywhere type violence... well, i guess don't worry. the climax has all of that, sicko.
____________
YE OLDE PLACEHOLDER REVIEW
'tis the season...
13 TALES OF TERROR: BOOK 12
i had a dream last night... a dream that Richard Laymon actually wrote a good book. not just a fun and pulpy trash rollercoaster that made me feel ashamed and dirty afterwards, but a novel of value. eerie, unpredictable, and surprisingly thoughtful. a protagonist who actually felt real and a journey that was strange and disturbing and grotesque... but somehow not cheap. not typical Laymon. it was not just a dream - it was a nightmare! a beautiful nightmare. i woke up tangled in my sweat-soaked sheets, confused and off-balance, wanting to dive back into the dream and finish that strange trip. but instead i had a cigarette; it's best to draw out these kinds of pleasures.
now here are some special Halloween visuals for your viewing pleasure:
July 1, 2021
"Except I think it feels more like an empty stomach than a broken heart. An aching hollowness that food can't cure. You know. You've felt it yourself, I bet. You hurt all the time, you're restless, you can't think straight, you sort of wish you were dead but what you really want is for everything to be the same as it was when you were still with her.. or him."
Oh Dicky Laymon,so close to a full five stars. I've read some trash from this author, but credit where it's due this is a very fun and quite well written read. Laymon is probably the most polarising author in the horror genre. Some absolutely love his brand of full on brutalality mixed with some juvenile humour and graphic sex. Others trash his lack of writing quality and the cheap shock value he employs. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle. But credit where it's due this is surprisingly good.
The premise is fairly unique. A heartbroken young guy who has just been royally dumped by the love of his life and takes to wandering the city at night. This leads to all kinds of hijinks as he discovers a dark underbelly within the city he studies in and he develops somewhat of an obsession with it. Particularly when he crosses paths with a mystery girl who completely takes his mind of that horrible ex of his. Arn't all exes horrible?
There's some really interesting and memorable characters in this one and I found Ed (the main character) very relatable. Don't get me wrong, we're not on Stephen King or Robert McCammon level. But for Laymon it's pretty darn good. In fact, it's by far the best character work I've seen from him, and it appears that he stepped it up a notch in this department.
The setting for Night in the Lonesome is the highlight of the novel. The author explores how a city can drastically alter when the sun goes down and paints a dangerous but fascinating landscape. There's a sense of wonder mixed with mounting dread as Ed explores the uninhabited streets where anything can and will happen. It opens your mind to the possibility that adventure could be lurking right outside your front door.
If you're after action and violence (why else would you be reading Laymon) it's frequent and bloody. This leads to a very fast paced and frantic plot. It's got more cannibals, sadistic perverts and nasty death scenes than you can shake a stick at. But there's a lot extra going on as our protagonist comes to terms with his sense of loss while exploring the city by night.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's given me a taste for some more Laymon. It's now 01:54 in the morning and I'm going to head out for some late night strolling and see what scrapes I can get into. Wish me luck!
Richard Laymon
Oh Dicky Laymon,so close to a full five stars. I've read some trash from this author, but credit where it's due this is a very fun and quite well written read. Laymon is probably the most polarising author in the horror genre. Some absolutely love his brand of full on brutalality mixed with some juvenile humour and graphic sex. Others trash his lack of writing quality and the cheap shock value he employs. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle. But credit where it's due this is surprisingly good.
The premise is fairly unique. A heartbroken young guy who has just been royally dumped by the love of his life and takes to wandering the city at night. This leads to all kinds of hijinks as he discovers a dark underbelly within the city he studies in and he develops somewhat of an obsession with it. Particularly when he crosses paths with a mystery girl who completely takes his mind of that horrible ex of his. Arn't all exes horrible?
There's some really interesting and memorable characters in this one and I found Ed (the main character) very relatable. Don't get me wrong, we're not on Stephen King or Robert McCammon level. But for Laymon it's pretty darn good. In fact, it's by far the best character work I've seen from him, and it appears that he stepped it up a notch in this department.
The setting for Night in the Lonesome is the highlight of the novel. The author explores how a city can drastically alter when the sun goes down and paints a dangerous but fascinating landscape. There's a sense of wonder mixed with mounting dread as Ed explores the uninhabited streets where anything can and will happen. It opens your mind to the possibility that adventure could be lurking right outside your front door.
If you're after action and violence (why else would you be reading Laymon) it's frequent and bloody. This leads to a very fast paced and frantic plot. It's got more cannibals, sadistic perverts and nasty death scenes than you can shake a stick at. But there's a lot extra going on as our protagonist comes to terms with his sense of loss while exploring the city by night.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's given me a taste for some more Laymon. It's now 01:54 in the morning and I'm going to head out for some late night strolling and see what scrapes I can get into. Wish me luck!
Richard Laymon
February 2, 2021
Set in France in the nineteen eighties, "A Killer’s Game" by Luca Tahtieazym (translated from French by Alexandra Maldwyn-Davies) charts the antics of Achilles Clazay, a successful and charismatic salesman who is adored by his partner, Claire and respected by his clients and colleagues alike. He describes himself as an artist. His latest “canvas” is Françoise Laville, currently bound and gagged in the shower, about to depart this world. Clazay is a notorious serial killer who prides himself on his work, carving great works of art into his victims’ skin. He’s been at it for five years and has earned from the police and the media the appellation “The Artist”. When he hears of a copycat murder, he sets out to discover who it is who has stolen his modus operandi. His search takes him to Morocco, where he commits another murder, though not as “The Artist”, then back to France, and as always, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. As the story unfolds, he is about to receive the shock of his life when he discovers who the imposter is.
"A Killer’s Game" is written in the first person, present tense, so the reader gets a bird’s-eye view of the mind of a true psychopath. The scenes are dark, perhaps a little too dark for some as The Artist describes his work in detail. A number of reviewers have found the author’s style a little too difficult to bear and have given up in the early stages of the story. But others may find it unique, especially the way in which The Artist speaks directly to his “audience”, the readers of his narrative. It is rather like being there alongside him as he attends to his artistry. Luca Tahtieazym’s "A Killer’s Game" is a real psychological thriller, it is macabre, fascinating and uniquely told.
"A Killer’s Game" is written in the first person, present tense, so the reader gets a bird’s-eye view of the mind of a true psychopath. The scenes are dark, perhaps a little too dark for some as The Artist describes his work in detail. A number of reviewers have found the author’s style a little too difficult to bear and have given up in the early stages of the story. But others may find it unique, especially the way in which The Artist speaks directly to his “audience”, the readers of his narrative. It is rather like being there alongside him as he attends to his artistry. Luca Tahtieazym’s "A Killer’s Game" is a real psychological thriller, it is macabre, fascinating and uniquely told.
April 2, 2014
Okay Goodreads, you got me. Ha ha ha! Over 1500 ratings and an average score of 3.87 stars. How did you all organise yourselves to vote so highly? Colour me impressed! I'm even now making sure to switch off my webcam to make sure not a one of you has hacked my PC and is filming my reactions for some kind of Candid Camera special as I construct this review...
Wow. For a Laymon book, this was just plain terrible. A 470 page novel about a 20 year old pining about his girlfriend dumping him and proceeding, because of this, to make one stupid decision after another, and all the time becoming increasingly unlikeable. But this isn't the worst thing about the novel. That "honour" goes to the fact that there is absolutely no narrative drive to the entire thing - at least not until the last 80 or so pages. Until that point we simply follow protagonist Ed around as character after character throws themselves at him and he manages to come across as a cretin by vacillating between them, all the while lamenting in the first person about how hurt and "messed up" he is as he moons over his ex.
No, seriously. That's it.
Occasionally we get a glimpse of a horror novel trying to come out. In one scene, a crazy stalker (no, not Ed, another crazy stalker) comes out to play, only to disappear for Ed to spend two-thirds of the book being a douche. Then there's another promising scene about a bunch of .
Normally, I'm a huge fan of Laymon's and I'd heard great things about Night in the Lonesome October, but this missed every mark I have - other than being well-written - and then some.
1.5 Reckless Post-Midnight Wanders for Night in the Lonesome October.
Wow. For a Laymon book, this was just plain terrible. A 470 page novel about a 20 year old pining about his girlfriend dumping him and proceeding, because of this, to make one stupid decision after another, and all the time becoming increasingly unlikeable. But this isn't the worst thing about the novel. That "honour" goes to the fact that there is absolutely no narrative drive to the entire thing - at least not until the last 80 or so pages. Until that point we simply follow protagonist Ed around as character after character throws themselves at him and he manages to come across as a cretin by vacillating between them, all the while lamenting in the first person about how hurt and "messed up" he is as he moons over his ex.
No, seriously. That's it.
Occasionally we get a glimpse of a horror novel trying to come out. In one scene, a crazy stalker (no, not Ed, another crazy stalker) comes out to play, only to disappear for Ed to spend two-thirds of the book being a douche. Then there's another promising scene about a bunch of .
Normally, I'm a huge fan of Laymon's and I'd heard great things about Night in the Lonesome October, but this missed every mark I have - other than being well-written - and then some.
1.5 Reckless Post-Midnight Wanders for Night in the Lonesome October.
October 15, 2025
Honestly Richard Laymon is my favorite author hands down so I tend to love all of the books that he writes. This one is no exception I absolutely love this book! I truly love how the book takes place in October! I feel like amazing things always happens in that month. This book is about a college student named Ed Logan who gets dumped by his girlfriend and so he has taken to long walks at night around is college town. He gets more than what he bargained for. One thing I absolutely love about Richard Laymon books is that he can take a small town or an idea and turns it into a novel. That is a talent. I enjoyed this book and am currently reading it again💜
February 4, 2016
Wow!! Definitely my favorite Laymon book so far I think!! This book was filled with so much I suspense & was also sooo funny!! One minute you wanna scream at the book & your flipping pages so quick with suspense you almost get a paper cut then your laughing from what's going on or what's being said. The books story was very well done & I really liked the characters. I felt like I was rite there with them in every scenario. This wasn't the normal slasher type book Laymon does it is a little different, but a lot more unique. I highly recommend to all horror fans!! If you want to read a book that's a big thrill suspense horror novel this is definitely the book!!
November 2, 2021
I have always found Laymon pretty hit or miss, and Warren's image of a neckbeard cranking out text on a word processor panting a little while writing seems pretty apt. Yet, sometimes, he really has a way of creeping the reader out. NITLO is one of his best books in my opinion, and perhaps the only one of his that keep me on pins and needles throughout the text. Yes, there are some sleazy sex scenes and of course myriad descriptions of boobs and bums, but this story of people with dubious motivations making dubious decisions (a familiar trope of Laymon's) really works.
Our main protagonist is a college student (Ed) just starting the fall term when he receives the classic 'dear john' letter in the mail from his now ex Holly. Devastated, he works up a good drunk, but a few days later, he decides to do some walking around town to deal; I should mention that his walking is rather late in the evening. There are others wondering around the town at night however, some relatively harmless (the old 'bike hag') and people on the night shift and so forth, but there definitely are a fair share of crazies as well. Ed in a way gets addicted to his night rambles and runs into some very interesting people to say the least...
This is 'late' Laymon, copyrighted in 2001, and perhaps his most literary novel; lots of references to the 'classics' of literature (Ed and some of the others are English majors) and of course Ayn Rand, who seems to pop up in his novels on a regular basis. Ed's night rambles puts you on the edge of your seat the entire time and the tension just builds and builds. As a reader, you want to find out what comes next, but in a way, are almost scared to see what comes down the pike next. Laymon builds a pretty rich set of characters here and not his typical horny teens either. You know 'bad things' are going to happen, and they do of course, but you also know more are on the way. Recommended for any horror fans and of course, for any of Laymon's fans. 4.5 creepy stars!
Our main protagonist is a college student (Ed) just starting the fall term when he receives the classic 'dear john' letter in the mail from his now ex Holly. Devastated, he works up a good drunk, but a few days later, he decides to do some walking around town to deal; I should mention that his walking is rather late in the evening. There are others wondering around the town at night however, some relatively harmless (the old 'bike hag') and people on the night shift and so forth, but there definitely are a fair share of crazies as well. Ed in a way gets addicted to his night rambles and runs into some very interesting people to say the least...
This is 'late' Laymon, copyrighted in 2001, and perhaps his most literary novel; lots of references to the 'classics' of literature (Ed and some of the others are English majors) and of course Ayn Rand, who seems to pop up in his novels on a regular basis. Ed's night rambles puts you on the edge of your seat the entire time and the tension just builds and builds. As a reader, you want to find out what comes next, but in a way, are almost scared to see what comes down the pike next. Laymon builds a pretty rich set of characters here and not his typical horny teens either. You know 'bad things' are going to happen, and they do of course, but you also know more are on the way. Recommended for any horror fans and of course, for any of Laymon's fans. 4.5 creepy stars!
October 20, 2016
If you like walking alone at night you never know what is going to happen to you... And October's nights are the creepiest ones.
I used working on shifts and sometimes the 3 am night bus simply "vanished" so I had long creepy walks in the cold (often rainy) October nights here in Rome, but luckly nothing happened to me like the ones told in this book.
The whole time I was asking to myself where the hell this Laymon's story was going on, but at the end it just seemed to me that he was just puttin'on words some of his night nightmares and wet dreams.
The result is a great dreamy page-turner tale with really unique characters and a story far away from being predictable at all.
Like Lynch meets Tarantino... With lots of sex and creepy weird events.
One of best Laymon's novels I've read, a perfect Halloween mood tale.
October 16, 2023
My all time favourite book. There is just something autumnal about this story and the journey of Ed Logan and his betrayal of his girlfriend Holly which leads him on a literal path to happiness. There is some dark paths in his way but will risk anything for the women he loves. I first read this when I was like 16 and its just stuck with me ever since.
Favourite quote: Except I think it feels more like an empty stomach than a broken heart. An aching hollowness that food can't cure. You know. You've felt it yourself, I bet. You hurt all the time, you're restless, you can't think straight, you sort of wish you were dead but what you really want is for everything to be the same as it was when you were still with her.. or him
Favourite quote: Except I think it feels more like an empty stomach than a broken heart. An aching hollowness that food can't cure. You know. You've felt it yourself, I bet. You hurt all the time, you're restless, you can't think straight, you sort of wish you were dead but what you really want is for everything to be the same as it was when you were still with her.. or him
April 19, 2020
3.5 Stars!!
I felt weirdly conflicted while reading this book. This book is a break-up book that opens with the protagonists girlfriend dumped in after he’s returned to college with hopes that they would be moving in together and progressing their relationship. Not only has she dumped him, but she also dumped out of attending the same college as him, leaving the protagonist to be consoled by her former friend who also had a similar experience with a fiancé. The protagonist takes to walking the campus and city streets at night to cure his lonely heart and discover a young mysterious woman who happens to break into houses along with all sorts of night creatures.
I’ve read enough of Laymons’ work to know that sometimes his protagonists are not the nicest of people so I was aware going into this that maybe the protagonist wasn’t a reply view point for right and wrong. That being said I was constantly left shouting at this book. The protagonist develops a relationship with his former girlfriends friend, Eileen, whose an incredibly endearing character yet he chooses at every waking moment to say he’s not interested despite sleeping with her many times. He is instead fixated on this mysterious woman for reasons the reader is made aware of. He just happens to see this woman one night walking alone and becomes obsessed. They don’t even interact until a good two thirds into the story. This would be perfectly fine if the protagonist turned out to be some sort of stalker and while the novel flirts with the idea he is, in the end he turns out to be a ‘good guy’, which makes no sense considering his previous behaviour.
That being said the interactions between the characters are fantastic. Two stand out, those of Eileen and Kirkus, both are attractive to the main character and both make various attempts to be with him. Eileen is a stand out favourite, which is probably while I didn’t like how the main characters treated her. There’s also sub plots that feature cannibal homeless people and a psychopath that has a obsession with Eileen, which feels like this is were the story should be focused rather than the hundreds of pages focusing on the protagonist attempts to locate his mystery woman.
I felt weirdly conflicted while reading this book. This book is a break-up book that opens with the protagonists girlfriend dumped in after he’s returned to college with hopes that they would be moving in together and progressing their relationship. Not only has she dumped him, but she also dumped out of attending the same college as him, leaving the protagonist to be consoled by her former friend who also had a similar experience with a fiancé. The protagonist takes to walking the campus and city streets at night to cure his lonely heart and discover a young mysterious woman who happens to break into houses along with all sorts of night creatures.
I’ve read enough of Laymons’ work to know that sometimes his protagonists are not the nicest of people so I was aware going into this that maybe the protagonist wasn’t a reply view point for right and wrong. That being said I was constantly left shouting at this book. The protagonist develops a relationship with his former girlfriends friend, Eileen, whose an incredibly endearing character yet he chooses at every waking moment to say he’s not interested despite sleeping with her many times. He is instead fixated on this mysterious woman for reasons the reader is made aware of. He just happens to see this woman one night walking alone and becomes obsessed. They don’t even interact until a good two thirds into the story. This would be perfectly fine if the protagonist turned out to be some sort of stalker and while the novel flirts with the idea he is, in the end he turns out to be a ‘good guy’, which makes no sense considering his previous behaviour.
That being said the interactions between the characters are fantastic. Two stand out, those of Eileen and Kirkus, both are attractive to the main character and both make various attempts to be with him. Eileen is a stand out favourite, which is probably while I didn’t like how the main characters treated her. There’s also sub plots that feature cannibal homeless people and a psychopath that has a obsession with Eileen, which feels like this is were the story should be focused rather than the hundreds of pages focusing on the protagonist attempts to locate his mystery woman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2024
"Until I swept the beam a small distance to the left. Near the far end of its reach, it dimly illuminated a low, squatting circle of men. Hairy, filthy, bloody.
All of them are looking at us.
Chewing.
Blood spilling from their mouths."
💭Encounters with the bike hag and the bridge trolls are the creepiest and unsettling for me. A lot most probably would find this book ridiculous, a bit dragging and boring in some parts - but I for one, can't stop reading and just want to know more about what's going to happen next. And if you are expecting a slasher novel from the get go- you'd be fairly disappointed. It wasn't what I expected but it had its cringe and creepy moments. Encounters during those night walks from just plain weird and strange to downright nasty and dangerous. Some characters are unbelievably too trusting, gullible or just plain stupid that it's pathetic and amusing at times. I also had to get past Kirkus being an extremely annoying character in the beginning but he played an important role in the end! You'd think from those encounters, the awful things that they have witnessed and experienced, the so many narrow escapes - that they've somehow learned their lesson - but heck no! What risk-takers and gluttons for punishments both Casey and Ed are. 🤣
4✨
All of them are looking at us.
Chewing.
Blood spilling from their mouths."
💭Encounters with the bike hag and the bridge trolls are the creepiest and unsettling for me. A lot most probably would find this book ridiculous, a bit dragging and boring in some parts - but I for one, can't stop reading and just want to know more about what's going to happen next. And if you are expecting a slasher novel from the get go- you'd be fairly disappointed. It wasn't what I expected but it had its cringe and creepy moments. Encounters during those night walks from just plain weird and strange to downright nasty and dangerous. Some characters are unbelievably too trusting, gullible or just plain stupid that it's pathetic and amusing at times. I also had to get past Kirkus being an extremely annoying character in the beginning but he played an important role in the end! You'd think from those encounters, the awful things that they have witnessed and experienced, the so many narrow escapes - that they've somehow learned their lesson - but heck no! What risk-takers and gluttons for punishments both Casey and Ed are. 🤣
4✨
January 25, 2022
I previously stated that The Traveling Vampire Show is the best Laymon has to offer.. I stand by that in regards to plot. That being said, Night In The Lonesome October is his best writing.
The main character Ed recently was dumped by his girlfriend Holly. He spends his nights walking the streets, and coming in contact with others who enjoy the night time hours. Laymon really nails the suspense, and creepy nature of being outside in the dark. Ed meets a few young ladies ( of course it's a Laymon novel ) I'm going to leave the rest of the plot to you to read. This one is a thriller so there are some twists and turns.
Horror ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot ⭐⭐⭐
Characters ⭐⭐
Fun ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pacing ⭐⭐⭐⭐
What I liked
- the setting of October is always a hit with me. The crisp air 🍂
- Casey was an interesting character
- the sense of dread, and setting
- Laymon took his time with his writing this time
What I didn't like
- Ed 🤣 for real though, I found him to be a little tasking and annoying as a main character.
- obviously there is sexualization of women and boob talk
- I think it could have been shorter. I think you could have cut 100 pages out of this novel.
OVERALL ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I struggled deciding on whether or not this book deserved four stars or three. I ended up giving this book four stars because in this novel laymon does something different. I feel like this is a departure from his usual depravity. Don't get me wrong this book has some sick scenes in it, but overall the tone is different in this one compared to his other stories. I am not sure if I would recommend this one over The Traveling Vampire Show as a starting point or not. I think you could choose either and know if you will like further works by him.
The main character Ed recently was dumped by his girlfriend Holly. He spends his nights walking the streets, and coming in contact with others who enjoy the night time hours. Laymon really nails the suspense, and creepy nature of being outside in the dark. Ed meets a few young ladies ( of course it's a Laymon novel ) I'm going to leave the rest of the plot to you to read. This one is a thriller so there are some twists and turns.
Horror ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot ⭐⭐⭐
Characters ⭐⭐
Fun ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pacing ⭐⭐⭐⭐
What I liked
- the setting of October is always a hit with me. The crisp air 🍂
- Casey was an interesting character
- the sense of dread, and setting
- Laymon took his time with his writing this time
What I didn't like
- Ed 🤣 for real though, I found him to be a little tasking and annoying as a main character.
- obviously there is sexualization of women and boob talk
- I think it could have been shorter. I think you could have cut 100 pages out of this novel.
OVERALL ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I struggled deciding on whether or not this book deserved four stars or three. I ended up giving this book four stars because in this novel laymon does something different. I feel like this is a departure from his usual depravity. Don't get me wrong this book has some sick scenes in it, but overall the tone is different in this one compared to his other stories. I am not sure if I would recommend this one over The Traveling Vampire Show as a starting point or not. I think you could choose either and know if you will like further works by him.
October 24, 2016
I'm actually kind of shocked and appalled that this got such good reviews because I found this entire book awful? It's one of those books that's so awful I thought everyone would unanimously agree that it's awful?????
Before I read this book I wasn't super onboard the "We need more books by women! Blahblah cliche male writer and manic pixie girls sexism blah blah" but now I'm like holy crap this is the definition of all the things those women were complaining about. The whole book he's upset his ex left him - probably because he's a digusting human being whose unbearable and then for some reason a super hot babe takes an interest in him! But she's not up to par with his ex, obviously. Plus he likes to go out late at night and literally stalk this fit girl who doesn't look like she's of legal age ??????????????????????????
Anyway he settles for hot babe but still stalks fit girl. This is the plot for like I don't know the entire book (AKA there's no plot. At all.) Also a gay guy totally wants him which he makes super clear. Ugh. So hard being him. Now the girl he stalks wants him too! Ugh! Two hot girls and a gay guy, woe is him. Don't worry, we'll add the girl he was watching through her windows naked while he was peeping in her bushes. Because that's normal. Everyone likes this guy who lurks and stalks. Why did his ex leave him?
So great, great book, five stars obviously WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE THERE WASN'T EEVEN A PLOT OH MY GOD GOOD READS
Before I read this book I wasn't super onboard the "We need more books by women! Blahblah cliche male writer and manic pixie girls sexism blah blah" but now I'm like holy crap this is the definition of all the things those women were complaining about. The whole book he's upset his ex left him - probably because he's a digusting human being whose unbearable and then for some reason a super hot babe takes an interest in him! But she's not up to par with his ex, obviously. Plus he likes to go out late at night and literally stalk this fit girl who doesn't look like she's of legal age ??????????????????????????
Anyway he settles for hot babe but still stalks fit girl. This is the plot for like I don't know the entire book (AKA there's no plot. At all.) Also a gay guy totally wants him which he makes super clear. Ugh. So hard being him. Now the girl he stalks wants him too! Ugh! Two hot girls and a gay guy, woe is him. Don't worry, we'll add the girl he was watching through her windows naked while he was peeping in her bushes. Because that's normal. Everyone likes this guy who lurks and stalks. Why did his ex leave him?
So great, great book, five stars obviously WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE THERE WASN'T EEVEN A PLOT OH MY GOD GOOD READS
October 19, 2023
I have read several books by Laymon and have to admit he is one of my guilty pleasures. His books are usually filled with lots of sex and gore with some humor thrown in and are basically written as a male teenage fantasy. Night in the Lonesome October included a lot of Laymon's trademarks including lots of sex but was not quite as gruesome as most of his other novels. It's about a college student, Ed, who goes out on a long walk late at night after his girlfriend Holly dumps him via a "Dear Ed" letter. Ed needed the fresh air but during his walk he starts to encounter all sorts of "night loonies" including an old hag on a bike and a young girl who prowls the night looking for who knows what. In the mean time, Holly's ex-roommate, Eileen, comes on to Ed and wants to take Holly's place. Ed continues with his nocturnal walks mainly so he can try to meet the young girl he had seen on his first walk. And he continues to meet more loonies like a weird group of people in a van, a group of cannibalistic "trolls" who reside under a bridge, and a good looking guy named Randy who wants Ed to take him to his new girlfriend Eileen who he had seen with Ed at a late night doe-nut shop so he can "put it in her".
Overall, this one was one of Laymon's better novels which kept me turning the pages up to the end. I thought it was full of suspense and was so oddball that it made me lol a few times. Fun stuff!
Overall, this one was one of Laymon's better novels which kept me turning the pages up to the end. I thought it was full of suspense and was so oddball that it made me lol a few times. Fun stuff!
October 30, 2016
Poor ole heartbroken Ed. Out night wandering in the small college town of Wilmington. May want to rethink the whole midnight strolling thang. You don’t want to be out after dark in this town with all the night loonies and trolls. You just may get “the works”. And you do not want that. Trust me.
Some authors have a certain ease about their writing and their stories seem to float along with little effort. Laymon is like that. Dark, creepy, atmospheric. I wasn’t sure where this one was going, but it wasn’t about the destination, it was about the journey. 4 Stars and Highly Recommended.
Some authors have a certain ease about their writing and their stories seem to float along with little effort. Laymon is like that. Dark, creepy, atmospheric. I wasn’t sure where this one was going, but it wasn’t about the destination, it was about the journey. 4 Stars and Highly Recommended.
August 1, 2015
Strange, atmospheric outing for Laymon. This one was, by no means, a barn burner, but it was absorbing and featured a cast of interesting characters whose motives were never quite concrete.
Definitely a unique story, and one I would recommend to anyone looking to break into Laymon's work. I would not categorize this one as horror.
Definitely a unique story, and one I would recommend to anyone looking to break into Laymon's work. I would not categorize this one as horror.
October 26, 2024
Classic Laymon. This is a weird one as well with lots going on, and you never know where it's leading or what's happening next. It's basically our main character who gets broken up with and spends his nights prowling the streets to find a mystery girl he spotted. He meets lots of characters along the way with true laymon fashion has horniness, violence, creeps, and even some cannabilistic trolls.
Rudy would have to be my favorite character, a gay guy who thinks of himself as some British intellectual. He had some classic dialogue and a heartbreaking story. Great book. I definitely would reread it one day.
Rudy would have to be my favorite character, a gay guy who thinks of himself as some British intellectual. He had some classic dialogue and a heartbreaking story. Great book. I definitely would reread it one day.
October 12, 2025
A 3.5 star read for me. My first Laymon and I’m not sure what I was expecting. This story was whacky and creative. I have a feeling that this author is an acquired taste and I’m definitely up for giving him another try. Any GR friends have suggestions on which of his books I should read next?
October 9, 2018
3.5 stars rounded up!
Richard Laymon does a lot of right here, and he does some wrong. I quite enjoyed the dream-like aspects of the story — the sheer mystery of Ed’s nighttime walks — but I did get bogged down a bit by his and Eileen’s relationship. That whole thing moved a bit too quickly; it’s the cause of my taking eight days to finish this relatively quick book.
Still, this is considered one of Laymon’s finest, and it is quite different from his titles that I’ve read thus far. It feels a bit more nuanced, more atmospheric. This is certainly an ideal read for the autumn season . . . as the title implies.
I didn’t quite love this book like I thought I would (what can I say, I think I prefer Laymon’s slasher-gasher stories), but I had a nice time.
Richard Laymon does a lot of right here, and he does some wrong. I quite enjoyed the dream-like aspects of the story — the sheer mystery of Ed’s nighttime walks — but I did get bogged down a bit by his and Eileen’s relationship. That whole thing moved a bit too quickly; it’s the cause of my taking eight days to finish this relatively quick book.
Still, this is considered one of Laymon’s finest, and it is quite different from his titles that I’ve read thus far. It feels a bit more nuanced, more atmospheric. This is certainly an ideal read for the autumn season . . . as the title implies.
I didn’t quite love this book like I thought I would (what can I say, I think I prefer Laymon’s slasher-gasher stories), but I had a nice time.
October 28, 2024
4.5/5, rounded down.
Still among my favourite Laymon novels after this reread, though I'm not sure I'd still count it as my very top pick. It does contain all the weird Laymonesque hallmarks you've come to expect, but this one also has some other interesting vibes going on with it. It's a lot more evocative than the majority of his work. While he's shown somewhat of an obsession with the things that go on at night before (just look at half of his titles), this novel perhaps better captures the frightful, yet tantalizing possibilities just waiting out there in the dark.
Still among my favourite Laymon novels after this reread, though I'm not sure I'd still count it as my very top pick. It does contain all the weird Laymonesque hallmarks you've come to expect, but this one also has some other interesting vibes going on with it. It's a lot more evocative than the majority of his work. While he's shown somewhat of an obsession with the things that go on at night before (just look at half of his titles), this novel perhaps better captures the frightful, yet tantalizing possibilities just waiting out there in the dark.
June 3, 2021
This is not a classical Laymon novel like Savage, Island, After Midnight, In the Dark or what have you.But, that being said, Laymon really tried later in his career to step off horror tropes and in my opinion this book and The Traveling Vampire Show are his best work (of his later period).Sure, it has sex scenes but the descriptions are good, the people are real, there is also love and the feeling of being lost without it.
You can't go wrong with a Laymon book but this is truly a great read, one of his best.
You can't go wrong with a Laymon book but this is truly a great read, one of his best.
November 30, 2021
Our main character Ed just went through a breakup with his girlfriend and can't sleep. So he decides to take a long walk to Dandee Doughnuts to get his mind off his broken heart. On his way he sees a girl doing strange things that catch his interest. Night after night Ed becomes the walking man to discover what goes on while most people are asleep. I just couldn't get into this book. There was nothing exciting going on until almost the end. By then I just didn't care.
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June 9, 2025
I was enjoying this quite a lot until about the 50% mark, I knew with Richard Laymon we'd get some pretty explicit sex scenes but this just went too far too many times.
At first this book did a great job of building up suspense and creating unease, the old hag on the bike and the house with all the clown pictures for example. I would have preferred if this focused on 'the werido's' that came out at night, which it seemed to be building to, but it took a much more sexual route.
I think what annoyed me the most about this was the main characters reaction to really awful situations, something disgusting and perverted would happen and he would enjoy it (what the hell man!), and this is a character were supposed to root for - I don't think so. That's another thing, the female characters in this book weren't realistic either, I was waiting for a reveal like it was all a dream inside a psychotic persons mind because what the hell was that ending.
If I am honest this is me breaking up with Richard Laymon, can appreciate his writing and how he makes the reader uncomfortable, it's just not working for me. Unless anyone has a less sexual Richard Laymon they recommend, I enjoyed Funland and Among the Missing.
At first this book did a great job of building up suspense and creating unease, the old hag on the bike and the house with all the clown pictures for example. I would have preferred if this focused on 'the werido's' that came out at night, which it seemed to be building to, but it took a much more sexual route.
I think what annoyed me the most about this was the main characters reaction to really awful situations, something disgusting and perverted would happen and he would enjoy it (what the hell man!), and this is a character were supposed to root for - I don't think so. That's another thing, the female characters in this book weren't realistic either, I was waiting for a reveal like it was all a dream inside a psychotic persons mind because what the hell was that ending.
If I am honest this is me breaking up with Richard Laymon, can appreciate his writing and how he makes the reader uncomfortable, it's just not working for me. Unless anyone has a less sexual Richard Laymon they recommend, I enjoyed Funland and Among the Missing.
September 23, 2011
OMG! What a load of tripe! This is the first Richard Laymon book I have read and by the reviews of his books I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume it's just a dud. If I didn't know any better I would have thought this was written by a 15 year old boy with one hand down his pants the whole time. I found it to be poorly written, there were parts that contradicted itself - Ed leaves his wallet at home but then proceeded to get $5 out of the same wallet a few pages later - (I must admit I didn't personally pick this up but someone who had previously loaned the book from the library had pointed this out and pencilled it in the margin), and what the characters did were just plain stupid. Now you're probably thinking "then why not give it 1 star" - that's because despite the fact this book annoyed the crap out of me from the first to last page, unfortunately it held my interest enough to make me want to finish it!
July 18, 2009
When I read the description on Amazon, I was excited to read the book. unfortunately, the description was the best part and did not have much in common with the actual book. I was disappointed to say the least. The characters lacked development. Ed got laid a lot and thought about getting laid a lot, and really had no redeeming qualities. The troll attack under the bridge, the mysterious night-wandering girl, and the pick-up truck-driving, donut-eating rapist were just random--they jsut didn't add for me. Not really an effective horror novel in my opinion.
October 4, 2022
I just couldn’t gel too well with this one. I will persevere and read more Laymon as I’ve enjoyed previous stuff but this one was just a bit odd.
December 28, 2021
Absolutely loved this book. There's something both fascinating and terrifying about roaming the streets at night encountering all these strange characters. This is the first time I've actually found a Laymon story to be quite creepy!
I did want to throttle Ed though, couldn't understand why he would want to leave Eileen (described as pretty much a perfect girlfriend) home alone to put himself in danger pursuing this night time girl he knew pretty much nothing about.
It did meander at times but I loved the interesting cast of characters and the dreamlike atmosphere so it deserves the 5 stars.
I did want to throttle Ed though, couldn't understand why he would want to leave Eileen (described as pretty much a perfect girlfriend) home alone to put himself in danger pursuing this night time girl he knew pretty much nothing about.
It did meander at times but I loved the interesting cast of characters and the dreamlike atmosphere so it deserves the 5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2022
4.5 stars rounded down for Goodreads.
It's difficult to rate this book or even say what it's about. It is a very odd story, but I have to admit that it kept me wondering what was going to happen. I finished this book in only two sittings! Laymon books are always kind of gross at times (because there are a ton of over-sexualized characters and/or lots of sexual talk, and lots of politically incorrect things, etc.), but his books always seem to be really easy and entertaining to read (at least for me). I had fun with this one, but my favorite book that I've read from him is still Endless Night.
It's difficult to rate this book or even say what it's about. It is a very odd story, but I have to admit that it kept me wondering what was going to happen. I finished this book in only two sittings! Laymon books are always kind of gross at times (because there are a ton of over-sexualized characters and/or lots of sexual talk, and lots of politically incorrect things, etc.), but his books always seem to be really easy and entertaining to read (at least for me). I had fun with this one, but my favorite book that I've read from him is still Endless Night.
July 20, 2012
laymon's books are basically like cheap 80s slasher movies, only for some reason you actually care about the characters. they're quick and mean and dreamlike and more than a little sick. i'd be delighted to be able to write books like these.
November 28, 2019
What a crazy ass book! So good!
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