Depraved Halloween

by Bryan Smith

"Bryan Smith is one of my favorite authors. His books are dreamy, weird, gory, thrilling, funny, sad, scary . . . all of it. If you like horror, you should already be reading him."
--Judith Sonnet, author of Our Sarnath

It’s time to go back to the backwoods with Jessica Sloan. After lying low for years, a stirring of wanderlust compels the former professional assassin to hit the road. On the day before Halloween, she starts driving south with no particular destination in mind. Low on gas, she stops in Montclair, a small town deep in the heart of rural Alabama that conjures uncomfortable memories of Hopkins Bend, the depraved backwater burg where her life changed forever years ago.

At first Jessica chalks these feelings up to paranoia, but before long it becomes clear that all her worst fears are justified. The deranged denizens of Montclair are, if anything, even more sick and twisted than all her previous adversaries.

The dead will rise. Copious quantities of blood will be spilled. Minds and…things…will be altered. Because in Montclair, especially on Halloween, depravity is a way of life.

DEPRAVED HALLOWEEN functions as a direct “sequel in spirit” to the original book in the series. Though it isn’t a reboot that negates previous sequels, it is not necessary to have read those sequels to enjoy Jessica’s latest adventure.

Genres: Horror

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Bryan Smith is the Splatterpunk Award-winning author of more than forty horror and crime books, including 68 Kill, the cult classic Depraved and its sequels, as well as The Killing Kind, Slowly We Rot, The Freakshow, and many more. Bestselling horror author Brian Keene called Slowly We Rot, "The best zombie novel I've ever read."

68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture directed by Trent Haaga and starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting.

Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics. He has worked with renowned horror publishers in both the mass market and small press spheres, including Leisure Books, Samhain Publishing, Grindhouse Press, Death’s Head Press, and more. His works are available wherever books are sold, with select titles also available in German and Italian.

Reviews

[Charlene (Char)🍁☕️📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bryan does it again! Another amazing book showcasing his storytelling and writing a book hard to put down. This book was full of non stop action and an adventure at every turn. Being a longtime fan of the Depraved Series and Jessica I knew the book was going to suck me in. It did absolutely that and then some.

This book returns to its roots of backwoods small town horror. Jessica is traveling searching for another home. This book takes place about 10 years after the first one. Jessica has evolved from who she used to be. A quick pit stop at a gas station in a small town changes all of that.

I absolutely loved the multiple story plots with the different characters in the stories and the various point of views. Very reminiscent of Richard Laymon which I love. These stories definitely add a different layer of depraved to the book. On Halloween anything thing goes the veil is thin. If you are looking for a small town horror read with graphic and gory scenes mixed with Halloween this is a must read for you.

[Christina Pfeiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are certain books that are automatic wins for me. Here’s my check list:

Necrophilia - check
Demons/devils/etc - check
Rednecks - check
Homages to other horror authors from long before - check
Crack whore girl fights - check *

*That one is extremely rare but nonetheless…

There is a lot happening in this novel. I can’t really even begin to tell you the synopsis but I can use some buzz words: necrophilia, jumper cables, bad cops, hostages, necrophilia, boobs, Halloween, shotguns, ropes, beheadings, and did I mention necrophilia?

I have read quite a few of Smith’s novels and this is by far this best. So much so it’s a Top 5 for this year and maybe even a Top 3. I mean, how could it NOT be? He has three different plots going and subplots and somehow they all come together making perfect sense.

If this doesn’t get the nod for a Splatterpunk nomination, I will be screaming bloody murder.

A DOUBLE HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND 10/5.

[Paige Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Halloween is when the veil between our world and the world of the dead is at its thinnest. All kinds of weird shit is possible.”

This story really lived up to the hype and I had a blast reading this one. It’s filled with blood, gore, necrophilia and cannibalism. If I had to compare it to something I’d definitely say it gives Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibes. We have a bunch of redneck backwoods hillbillies that engage in some very depraved and foul acts. They don’t shy away from family members either… lots of incest in this one.

Everyone knows what Moon-Shine is but in this book there’s a family recipe that’s simply known as Brain-Shine. You can probably guess what that consists of…

The kills in this book were BRUTAL as hell. The story telling was phenomenal and the dialogue and mannerisms of these characters were developed extremely well.

Highly recommend checking this one out!

[Sarah Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will we see more of Miss Sloan?

I do fucking hope so! This book was not my fave from the series, but it was still bad ass. I love Bryan’s story telling, his books are addictive!

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Instant Classic!

Smith puts the X in extreme with DEPRAVED HALLOWEEN, and I highly recommend it to all lovers of extreme horror fiction. It's a perfect Halloween read!

[Craig Jex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the previous four adventures featuring Jessica Sloan so eagerly pre-ordered this sequel. Story wise, it’s a solid three. Not the most cohesive of plots, more like four different stories that are all bat shit crazy. The extra star is for just how weird Bryan Smith decided to go with this story and just ran with it. I love any backwoods family horror stories and this wasn’t what I was expecting. The only disappointment was the plot didn’t heavily feature Jessica Sloan and in a way she felt shoehorned in to the story. Could have had more of a Halloween vibe especially when that’s the selling point of the title. Some of the plot reminded me of 80s Richard Laymon which isn’t always a bad thing. Bryan Smith is definitely a better writer but both authors have a knack for wild ideas. Entertaining read.

[Uptown Horror Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always liked how the first book showed glimpses of the supernatural beneath the surface of the story's world. THIS book on the other hand went way overboard with the spooky stuff. I get that it's supposed to be a Halloween-themed book, but a guy turns into a damn pumpkin head monster without any real explanation or reason - other than to serve as one of the books many deus ex machinas.

I think another issue that dampened by enjoyment of the book was the fact that I was expecting a splatterpunk epic that would stand tall amongst the other books in the series, but by the end of it I realized that it was moreso meant to be a quick story set in the same world - just with a cute Halloween twist to it.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but it's not what I was expecting.

[Horrorlover86 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve finished Depraved 1 already and I really wanted to start with the sequel, but I was really impatient and wanted to check out this sequel in spirit immediately. Reading about Jessica’s latest backwoods brawl was so much fun and it was great with adding in some extra characters, a new town and an extra visitor whom I will not say. It’s just fun and has a great otherworldly Halloween vide to go with it. 🎃❤️🔪

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great to visit the world of Jessica Sloan again and what better way to do it than a Depraved Halloween novel. This book was nuts. Smith is brilliant at giving us absolutely mental 80's over the top style horror and he went all out in this one. Great characters straight out of an Edward Lee backwoods novel. A perfect read for Halloween or any other time of the year when you are looking for something a little insane.

[Thomas Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Sloan returns in gruesome backwoods redneck drama mixed with 2 high profile families. She is kidnapped from the beginning and learned to be submissive. Later on as she fights in the bitch fights(an underground fight club for kidnapped women) a supernatural phenomenon destroys the Juke and Puke and sends the bar into utter chaos. This might be the best of the Jessica Sloan series.

[Andrew Geoffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride!!

These books, man oh man!!! The visceral nature of some of these scenes will most definitely cause nights of restlessness hehehe. I don’t physically respond often to literature but when I do it’s whole body shuddering and this gave me some amazing moments of that once again :D

[Peachy Chipmunk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book from Bryan Smith is almost automatically a win for me. He is such a talented writer, somehow making you squirm but eagerly sucking down the pages simultaneously. I love small town horror, especially growing up in such a tiny town myself, it hits right in the gut. Most definitely recommend, especially for spooky season! 🎃

[Linda Strickland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lived the series, love horror and splatterpunk books!

[Andrew Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so unbelievably goofy but I enjoyed it as much as the first one.