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Carry Me to My Grave
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From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden comes a high concept horror novel about a man trying to protect his dead mother's body from the evil that is hunting them.
Maggie Wise will take your eyes.
When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.
But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child―when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.
From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way.
Maggie Wise will take your eyes.
When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.
But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child―when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.
From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way.
336 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication July 21, 2026
About the author
Christopher Golden
768 books3,091 followersCHRISTOPHER GOLDEN has been called “the king of the horror-thriller.” The New York Times bestselling, multi-award-winning storyteller has made his mark in many mediums, as a writer of novels, screenplays, animation, audio dramas, and comics, and as an editor of landmark horror anthologies. His work has been published in dozens of languages around the world. Winner of the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Audie Award, he has been nominated for others, including the British Fantasy Award. His best-known novels include Road of Bones, The House of Last Resort, All Hallows, and his latest, Carry Me to My Grave. He lives in Massachusetts, where he watches too many movies and eats too much chocolate.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
May 31, 2026
Definitely a suspense filled page turner for sure.
As part of her last wishes, Maggie asks her son Malcolm to take her body to be buried in Maine. While at her bedside, Malcolm notices there is a strange person hanging outside his mother‘s bedroom. When he goes to confront said person, he is told to just leave her body and move on. Unwilling to do so and to honor his mother’s last wishes, he tells the stranger to get lost. Maggie passes soon thereafter, and Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet begin their trip to Maine to fulfill Maggie’s wishes. However, things take a sinister turn when Malcolm comes face-to-face, once more, with the creepy entity he met prior. It will do whatever it takes to derail Malcolm’s journey to Maine.
The suspense started out as a slow, dread-inducing creepiness that once it got going, did not relent. There was not one dull moment to be had. Along with the suspense, without trying to go into any spoilers, those who were trying to prevent Maggie’s burial were written perfectly. Scary, for sure! As for the characters themselves, I can’t say that they were super well developed, but I don’t know that they necessarily needed to for this type of novel. This was just a good old-fashioned good versus evil plotline. There was just enough backstory to make me feel satisfied, and the ending was resolved without any questions. The suspense had me flipping those pages continuously. No complaints here!
This is my first novel by this author and definitely won’t be my last. If you’re into highly addictive horror novels that keep you on the edge of your seat, give this book a try.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
As part of her last wishes, Maggie asks her son Malcolm to take her body to be buried in Maine. While at her bedside, Malcolm notices there is a strange person hanging outside his mother‘s bedroom. When he goes to confront said person, he is told to just leave her body and move on. Unwilling to do so and to honor his mother’s last wishes, he tells the stranger to get lost. Maggie passes soon thereafter, and Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet begin their trip to Maine to fulfill Maggie’s wishes. However, things take a sinister turn when Malcolm comes face-to-face, once more, with the creepy entity he met prior. It will do whatever it takes to derail Malcolm’s journey to Maine.
The suspense started out as a slow, dread-inducing creepiness that once it got going, did not relent. There was not one dull moment to be had. Along with the suspense, without trying to go into any spoilers, those who were trying to prevent Maggie’s burial were written perfectly. Scary, for sure! As for the characters themselves, I can’t say that they were super well developed, but I don’t know that they necessarily needed to for this type of novel. This was just a good old-fashioned good versus evil plotline. There was just enough backstory to make me feel satisfied, and the ending was resolved without any questions. The suspense had me flipping those pages continuously. No complaints here!
This is my first novel by this author and definitely won’t be my last. If you’re into highly addictive horror novels that keep you on the edge of your seat, give this book a try.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 1, 2026
I really don’t know why this is my first time dipping into Christopher Golden’s work. I’ve been meaning to, I just didn’t know where to start. With the publisher sending a gifted copy, it was just meant to be.
Maggie Wise has finally passed. Her last wishes are to bury her body to her birthplace and her family only has two days to do it. The problem? Evil forces will do anything to stop her burial.
Carry Me To My Grave was a real thrill ride! There’s top notch action (not normally my thing but I loved it) throughout it nonstop. Part vampires, part witches, and a bloodbath loaded with destruction. This is extremely gruesome and it never felt like it was just for shock value.
This would make a killer film, Christopher!! Just saying. I enjoyed the train ride to hell and definitely recommend it. I’m looking forward to reading his backlist.
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for the gifted copy.
Pub date - 7/21/26
Maggie Wise has finally passed. Her last wishes are to bury her body to her birthplace and her family only has two days to do it. The problem? Evil forces will do anything to stop her burial.
Carry Me To My Grave was a real thrill ride! There’s top notch action (not normally my thing but I loved it) throughout it nonstop. Part vampires, part witches, and a bloodbath loaded with destruction. This is extremely gruesome and it never felt like it was just for shock value.
This would make a killer film, Christopher!! Just saying. I enjoyed the train ride to hell and definitely recommend it. I’m looking forward to reading his backlist.
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for the gifted copy.
Pub date - 7/21/26
Want to Read
January 23, 2026OMG this cover is SO GOOD!!
I've loved quite a few stories from this author! Excited for 2026 to read this one!! 😍😍
Pub Date: July 2026!!!
OMG ARC REC'D THANK YOU!!!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
I've loved quite a few stories from this author! Excited for 2026 to read this one!! 😍😍
Pub Date: July 2026!!!
OMG ARC REC'D THANK YOU!!!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Review in the June issue of Library Journal.
Three Words That Describe This Book: race against time, family secrets, ancient evil
More words: sinister, mommy issues, grief, historical (excellent 1956 setting), violent, multiple povs, keeps the pacing up without having to sacrifice enough detail and increases suspense, well developed characters, thriller feel, chase novel.
Draft Review: It’s 1956 and Malcolm, a Korean War vet, youngest child of narcissistic Maggie, is in a race against time, to get his mother’s recently deceased body from Elkhart, IN to an island in Maine, buried safely in the ground before the sun rises in two days. Why a race? Well it seems that the local lore about Maggie being a witch was not too far off base as there are very real monsters, awakened by her death, who will do whatever it takes to stop Malcolm and his family from reaching Maine in time. From trains to fire trucks to a VW Bus and more, readers are on this terrifying, desperate ride, holding on for dear life, following the point of view as it ping pongs back and forth between characters, good and evil, supernatural and human, allowing all of the characters to develop fully. The motivations of the ancient evil are intriguing, but when balanced with the family members and their own complicated histories, the story blossoms from your average chase novel into a moving portrait of undying love.
Verdict: Intense, violent, nuanced, heartbreaking, and fun to read, Golden gives readers everything they want and need in a thrilling horror story. For fans of Tananrive Due’s The Good House and Nat Cassidy’s When the Wolf Comes Home.
The set up is deceptively easy-- It is the Fall of 1956. As Maggie is dying, a strange man in a raven mask waits outside the house. She tells her youngest son Malcolm (a Korean War vet) that she will die at sunrise. He must call the funeral parlor then get her body to Maine and bury her in 2 days or else. The funeral director has directions and plans have been made for years. Malcolm and his brother's wife Violet start the journey but even getting to the train station-- people are trying to stop them. And it gets worse from there.
Maggie was not the easiest mom to grow up with and this is discussed and probed throughout. The other siblings do join him at some point but not int he ways you expect.
An ancient evil is awakening with Maggie's death. But why? And what happens if Malcolm can't get Maggie in the ground in time.
As much as this is an action forward, race against time horror story, it is dependent on its characters and their complexity. That is very hard to balance well, but Golden does an excellent job here. The action is great, the monsters and the ancient evil behind it, well done-- even as readers wait to know the origin, it is all believable in the world he has setup. But the characters are also well drawn. A lesser author would have slapped them together, but each builds throughout the story both when they have the pod and not. There are details scattered throughout that all come together as well.
It does bounce around a lot, which could be seen as jarring to a reader, but I would argue that it is necessary to convey the essence of the plot. As the characters are trying to go on this quest, Malcolm to fulfill Maggie's dying wish, getting chased by these very evil monsters and all the chaos that clearly Maggie knew this was coming. From horrific scene after scene, from Elkhart IN to an island in Maine. As people help and hinder them along the way....all of it is intense, exciting, violent, heartbreaking, complicated, nuanced, and a lot of horror fun.
When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy meets The Good House by Tananrive Due
Three Words That Describe This Book: race against time, family secrets, ancient evil
More words: sinister, mommy issues, grief, historical (excellent 1956 setting), violent, multiple povs, keeps the pacing up without having to sacrifice enough detail and increases suspense, well developed characters, thriller feel, chase novel.
Draft Review: It’s 1956 and Malcolm, a Korean War vet, youngest child of narcissistic Maggie, is in a race against time, to get his mother’s recently deceased body from Elkhart, IN to an island in Maine, buried safely in the ground before the sun rises in two days. Why a race? Well it seems that the local lore about Maggie being a witch was not too far off base as there are very real monsters, awakened by her death, who will do whatever it takes to stop Malcolm and his family from reaching Maine in time. From trains to fire trucks to a VW Bus and more, readers are on this terrifying, desperate ride, holding on for dear life, following the point of view as it ping pongs back and forth between characters, good and evil, supernatural and human, allowing all of the characters to develop fully. The motivations of the ancient evil are intriguing, but when balanced with the family members and their own complicated histories, the story blossoms from your average chase novel into a moving portrait of undying love.
Verdict: Intense, violent, nuanced, heartbreaking, and fun to read, Golden gives readers everything they want and need in a thrilling horror story. For fans of Tananrive Due’s The Good House and Nat Cassidy’s When the Wolf Comes Home.
The set up is deceptively easy-- It is the Fall of 1956. As Maggie is dying, a strange man in a raven mask waits outside the house. She tells her youngest son Malcolm (a Korean War vet) that she will die at sunrise. He must call the funeral parlor then get her body to Maine and bury her in 2 days or else. The funeral director has directions and plans have been made for years. Malcolm and his brother's wife Violet start the journey but even getting to the train station-- people are trying to stop them. And it gets worse from there.
Maggie was not the easiest mom to grow up with and this is discussed and probed throughout. The other siblings do join him at some point but not int he ways you expect.
An ancient evil is awakening with Maggie's death. But why? And what happens if Malcolm can't get Maggie in the ground in time.
As much as this is an action forward, race against time horror story, it is dependent on its characters and their complexity. That is very hard to balance well, but Golden does an excellent job here. The action is great, the monsters and the ancient evil behind it, well done-- even as readers wait to know the origin, it is all believable in the world he has setup. But the characters are also well drawn. A lesser author would have slapped them together, but each builds throughout the story both when they have the pod and not. There are details scattered throughout that all come together as well.
It does bounce around a lot, which could be seen as jarring to a reader, but I would argue that it is necessary to convey the essence of the plot. As the characters are trying to go on this quest, Malcolm to fulfill Maggie's dying wish, getting chased by these very evil monsters and all the chaos that clearly Maggie knew this was coming. From horrific scene after scene, from Elkhart IN to an island in Maine. As people help and hinder them along the way....all of it is intense, exciting, violent, heartbreaking, complicated, nuanced, and a lot of horror fun.
When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy meets The Good House by Tananrive Due
Read
May 6, 2026*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC!*
Though I’ve not read near enough of Golden’s books (I think this is my 6th?), every book I have read has been a lot of fun. When the publisher sent me an email asking if I’d like a digital ARC, I jumped at the chance. I was very intrigued by the synopsis and considering ‘Road of Bones’ had a snow-skull cover and this one has a smoke-skull cover, I figured I’d be in for a fun ride.
What I liked: The story takes place during the mid-century, in the US. Malcolm is a Korean war vet, living back at home with his sister-in-law, Violet and his mother Maggie. Maggie has a reputation and there was a childhood rhyme about her – ‘Maggie Wise will take your eyes.’ Townsfolk believe she’s a witch. Malcolm always scoffed at those words and that thought, but right before she dies, she gives him specific instructions – bring her body back to Maine where she was born and bury her before sunrise within a few days or the world as we know it will cease to exist.
Golden takes us on a rampaging ride once Maggie dies. Strange figures appear and attempt to thwart Malcolm and Violet’s journey. They manage to get on a train with Maggie’s coffin, but still the bad guys arrive. And within all this, Golden introduces us to Root, a nightmarish creature hellbent on retrieving Maggie’s body before she can be buried.
I loved the action within this one. Each scene was vibrant and cinematic, and thankfully Golden doesn’t shy away from carnage and brutality. Nothing is watered down here and nobody is safe. As the book progresses, things get darker and darker and as the truth about Maggie is revealed and more of Malcolm’s family appear, things grow complicated. It’s within those complications that the emotional weight of the book exists and its those emotional weights that lift this book up a notch from similar books.
The ending works really well considering the journey the characters go on. Thankfully, it wasn’t a case of 300 pages to get to the climactic moment, only to have things wrap up in two paragraphs. Golden took his time finishing this one and this reader greatly appreciated it.
What I didn’t like: For me, I found one moment of slowdown that I wasn’t sure worked for me. It took place right after a train crash, where Malcolm and another character end up incarcerated for a brief time. As I was reading it, it kind of sucked some of the momentum out of the story for a short few chapters. That very well might’ve been Golden’s decision, to have a pause there considering the pedal-to-the-metal nature up to those scenes, but for me, it felt jarring.
Why you should buy this: This novel takes a really fun premise – bury a body to save the world – and then escalates the stakes within a few short chapters. Golden’s writing is world class and the pacing throughout was fantastic, practically forcing me to read ‘just one more chapter’ every night. If you’ve never read a Golden book, this would be a really great spot to jump in. If you’re a long time fan of his, you’ll be very happy with the book he’s delivered.
Though I’ve not read near enough of Golden’s books (I think this is my 6th?), every book I have read has been a lot of fun. When the publisher sent me an email asking if I’d like a digital ARC, I jumped at the chance. I was very intrigued by the synopsis and considering ‘Road of Bones’ had a snow-skull cover and this one has a smoke-skull cover, I figured I’d be in for a fun ride.
What I liked: The story takes place during the mid-century, in the US. Malcolm is a Korean war vet, living back at home with his sister-in-law, Violet and his mother Maggie. Maggie has a reputation and there was a childhood rhyme about her – ‘Maggie Wise will take your eyes.’ Townsfolk believe she’s a witch. Malcolm always scoffed at those words and that thought, but right before she dies, she gives him specific instructions – bring her body back to Maine where she was born and bury her before sunrise within a few days or the world as we know it will cease to exist.
Golden takes us on a rampaging ride once Maggie dies. Strange figures appear and attempt to thwart Malcolm and Violet’s journey. They manage to get on a train with Maggie’s coffin, but still the bad guys arrive. And within all this, Golden introduces us to Root, a nightmarish creature hellbent on retrieving Maggie’s body before she can be buried.
I loved the action within this one. Each scene was vibrant and cinematic, and thankfully Golden doesn’t shy away from carnage and brutality. Nothing is watered down here and nobody is safe. As the book progresses, things get darker and darker and as the truth about Maggie is revealed and more of Malcolm’s family appear, things grow complicated. It’s within those complications that the emotional weight of the book exists and its those emotional weights that lift this book up a notch from similar books.
The ending works really well considering the journey the characters go on. Thankfully, it wasn’t a case of 300 pages to get to the climactic moment, only to have things wrap up in two paragraphs. Golden took his time finishing this one and this reader greatly appreciated it.
What I didn’t like: For me, I found one moment of slowdown that I wasn’t sure worked for me. It took place right after a train crash, where Malcolm and another character end up incarcerated for a brief time. As I was reading it, it kind of sucked some of the momentum out of the story for a short few chapters. That very well might’ve been Golden’s decision, to have a pause there considering the pedal-to-the-metal nature up to those scenes, but for me, it felt jarring.
Why you should buy this: This novel takes a really fun premise – bury a body to save the world – and then escalates the stakes within a few short chapters. Golden’s writing is world class and the pacing throughout was fantastic, practically forcing me to read ‘just one more chapter’ every night. If you’ve never read a Golden book, this would be a really great spot to jump in. If you’re a long time fan of his, you’ll be very happy with the book he’s delivered.
July 15, 2026
*2.5
When I reflect on my experience with Carry Me to My Grave, the phrase “popcorn horror” comes to mind. It has a fantastic premise, wastes no time getting the story moving, and delivers a couple of creepy moments. Beyond that, though, nearly every other aspect of this novel was cliché and lackluster to me.
My favorite part of the book was the brief POV from the Swickard family on their farm. It was mysterious, unsettling, folkloric—exactly the kind of atmosphere I was hoping the entire novel would embrace—but it also ended just as quickly as it began. I also liked the early body horror scene involving Elias on the train. Those two sections contained the strongest horror and were the only moments that truly worked for me. The other horror elements in the novel were fine, but after a while they became pretty monotonous and didn’t do anything for me.
I do consider myself a plot-driven reader, but that doesn’t mean I disregard character development and prose; the ideal horror novel excels in all three. Carry Me to My Grave does succeed in establishing an intriguing plot, but the overall execution left a lot to be desired.
The characterization and writing is what ultimately killed this read for me. The characters were so trite and archetypal that it was really difficult to care about what happened to any of them. Malcolm’s romantic relationship with Violet (who, by the way, is his sister-in-law!) was equal parts dull and discomforting to read. Their relationship seemed to be a major part of their respective characterizations, but I didn’t care about it, so I didn’t care about them either.
The writing is functional and straightforward—perhaps a little too straightforward—which only reinforced that “popcorn horror” feeling I have. It made me wonder how the execution would’ve differed had another writer tackled this premise—one that taps into more poetic, gothic descriptions alongside the gruesome imagery to craft something more immersive and foreboding.
I was not the right reader for Carry Me to My Grave, but I can see fans of Grady Hendrix and David Sodergren having a better time with it. While it wasn’t the execution I was hoping for, I think there’s still an audience that will appreciate what it’s doing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
When I reflect on my experience with Carry Me to My Grave, the phrase “popcorn horror” comes to mind. It has a fantastic premise, wastes no time getting the story moving, and delivers a couple of creepy moments. Beyond that, though, nearly every other aspect of this novel was cliché and lackluster to me.
My favorite part of the book was the brief POV from the Swickard family on their farm. It was mysterious, unsettling, folkloric—exactly the kind of atmosphere I was hoping the entire novel would embrace—but it also ended just as quickly as it began. I also liked the early body horror scene involving Elias on the train. Those two sections contained the strongest horror and were the only moments that truly worked for me. The other horror elements in the novel were fine, but after a while they became pretty monotonous and didn’t do anything for me.
I do consider myself a plot-driven reader, but that doesn’t mean I disregard character development and prose; the ideal horror novel excels in all three. Carry Me to My Grave does succeed in establishing an intriguing plot, but the overall execution left a lot to be desired.
The characterization and writing is what ultimately killed this read for me. The characters were so trite and archetypal that it was really difficult to care about what happened to any of them. Malcolm’s romantic relationship with Violet (who, by the way, is his sister-in-law!) was equal parts dull and discomforting to read. Their relationship seemed to be a major part of their respective characterizations, but I didn’t care about it, so I didn’t care about them either.
The writing is functional and straightforward—perhaps a little too straightforward—which only reinforced that “popcorn horror” feeling I have. It made me wonder how the execution would’ve differed had another writer tackled this premise—one that taps into more poetic, gothic descriptions alongside the gruesome imagery to craft something more immersive and foreboding.
I was not the right reader for Carry Me to My Grave, but I can see fans of Grady Hendrix and David Sodergren having a better time with it. While it wasn’t the execution I was hoping for, I think there’s still an audience that will appreciate what it’s doing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 10, 2026
Christopher Golden is like my Stephen King. He’s a comfort read and I know I’ll always enjoy whatever he writes.
When I need a slow burn with well fleshed out characters, Golden is who I turn to. And this one did not disappoint. The relationships between the characters are beautiful and complex. The setting moves throughout the story and I thought that added a fast paced element that kept the read interesting. This read is frightening, heart breaking, and suspenseful.
Thank you to NetGalley & the author for the eARC.
When I need a slow burn with well fleshed out characters, Golden is who I turn to. And this one did not disappoint. The relationships between the characters are beautiful and complex. The setting moves throughout the story and I thought that added a fast paced element that kept the read interesting. This read is frightening, heart breaking, and suspenseful.
Thank you to NetGalley & the author for the eARC.
June 13, 2026
Well, I didn’t love it, and I didn’t hate it, but it was kinda… meh.
Review to come upon release. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
Review to come upon release. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
March 21, 2026
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Carry Me To My Grave by Christopher Golden is a horror novel about Malcolm, a Korean War veteran with a complex family. Following the death of his mother, Maggie, it becomes abundantly clear that the childhood rumors that she was a witch have more than weight behind them as an eldritch evil arises and attempts to stop her burial hundreds of miles away in Maine. In the course of 48 hours they must transport her body to its final resting place, despite powerful forces trying to stop them.
This book is the kind of action-oriented, high detail novel that really lends itself well to the imagination. It really hit me how well this book would lend itself to an action/horror screenplay. Rather than other horror novels that rely on atmospheric or very psychological elements to generate the scary feeling, this one has elements that are thrilling and exciting without being too “creepy.” Sure there are eldrich vampire beings, but there are also car chases, burly Irish enforcer twins, and train crashes. It very much straddles the genre line, which I appreciate.
I also really did love that the characters had a level of complexity. There was a very layered approach to Maggie who is enigmatic, powerful, kind to some, emotionally distant to others, and fully unique as a character. Her motivations are murky purposefully, and the way she treats her children and daughter in law inform their behavior throughout the story. I also appreciated the character of Jennie very much, I thought she was a great example of a literary character with serious mommy issues.
The pacing could be a little strange, especially with the flip-flopping of the perspectives. It takes a minute to get going, but it really does hit streaks of very intense action. However, sometimes in the transition times between the different stops along the journey it feels slow to move on, or like the villain is doing the same thing, with the same motivation, over and over.
In general I feel like this was a very exciting inclusion to the vampire cannon. I could easily recommend this book to someone who loves thrillers and action stories but wants something a little darker. 4/5, a very gripping story.
Carry Me To My Grave by Christopher Golden is a horror novel about Malcolm, a Korean War veteran with a complex family. Following the death of his mother, Maggie, it becomes abundantly clear that the childhood rumors that she was a witch have more than weight behind them as an eldritch evil arises and attempts to stop her burial hundreds of miles away in Maine. In the course of 48 hours they must transport her body to its final resting place, despite powerful forces trying to stop them.
This book is the kind of action-oriented, high detail novel that really lends itself well to the imagination. It really hit me how well this book would lend itself to an action/horror screenplay. Rather than other horror novels that rely on atmospheric or very psychological elements to generate the scary feeling, this one has elements that are thrilling and exciting without being too “creepy.” Sure there are eldrich vampire beings, but there are also car chases, burly Irish enforcer twins, and train crashes. It very much straddles the genre line, which I appreciate.
I also really did love that the characters had a level of complexity. There was a very layered approach to Maggie who is enigmatic, powerful, kind to some, emotionally distant to others, and fully unique as a character. Her motivations are murky purposefully, and the way she treats her children and daughter in law inform their behavior throughout the story. I also appreciated the character of Jennie very much, I thought she was a great example of a literary character with serious mommy issues.
The pacing could be a little strange, especially with the flip-flopping of the perspectives. It takes a minute to get going, but it really does hit streaks of very intense action. However, sometimes in the transition times between the different stops along the journey it feels slow to move on, or like the villain is doing the same thing, with the same motivation, over and over.
In general I feel like this was a very exciting inclusion to the vampire cannon. I could easily recommend this book to someone who loves thrillers and action stories but wants something a little darker. 4/5, a very gripping story.
Did Not Finish
June 16, 2026I am incredibly grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to the ARC for review!
I saw this one on Philip Fracassi's Instagram after he read and enjoyed it - so I ran straight to NetGalley to request it for myself! I had never read anything by Christopher Golden, but he's been recommended to me many times over the years.
The mystery and intrigue at the beginning caught me up in its snare immediately. Was Maggie Wise a witch? Who was the Raven waiting outside under the tree? What was this weird parent/son relationship dynamic between Malcolm and Maggie? And of course, the romance lover in me was very interested in Violet and Malcom's relationship.
I ended up DNF-ing this one about halfway through. There was a really weird jump in the chapter's around Benjy and his family (which could absolutely be ironed out before publishing) - the intrigue was just drawn out too long. I got bored and disinterested. Malcolm's siblings' arrivals felt forced, the actual premise started off interesting but the execution fell short.
I'm still going to try some other novels by this author - definitely not a one and done for me!
I saw this one on Philip Fracassi's Instagram after he read and enjoyed it - so I ran straight to NetGalley to request it for myself! I had never read anything by Christopher Golden, but he's been recommended to me many times over the years.
The mystery and intrigue at the beginning caught me up in its snare immediately. Was Maggie Wise a witch? Who was the Raven waiting outside under the tree? What was this weird parent/son relationship dynamic between Malcolm and Maggie? And of course, the romance lover in me was very interested in Violet and Malcom's relationship.
I ended up DNF-ing this one about halfway through. There was a really weird jump in the chapter's around Benjy and his family (which could absolutely be ironed out before publishing) - the intrigue was just drawn out too long. I got bored and disinterested. Malcolm's siblings' arrivals felt forced, the actual premise started off interesting but the execution fell short.
I'm still going to try some other novels by this author - definitely not a one and done for me!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC. I find many horror books silly and definitely not scary. This book had me on the edge of my seat. I screamed for them to run. I shut my kindle so many times as I couldn't bear what was gonna happen next. This was a humdinger of a witchcraft and vampire combo. Malcolm and Violet are set to bury Malcolm's mom in Shediak, Maine before sunrise two days after her death. Evil comes out of the woodwork to stop them from completing their task. This is a story of good and evil, but also a story of family and listening to your inner self and what it truly tells you. I look forward to reading more terror and gore from this author.
February 16, 2026
Beautifully written, action and terror on each others heels in this race for humanity. A terrifying look into the long reach of family bonds and the cost of keeping our word, Malcolm and sister-in-law Violet go on the run after mom Maggie passes, leaving the most bizarre instructions for her burial. With help from some terrifying hired guns, they begin a journey unlike anything in their lifetime, and holding on is all the help they'll have. Golden returns to the age of Road of Bones with the gore and terror within these pages, and I for one am glad to see his return. 10/10, no notes.
January 28, 2026
Once you make it past the first 10-15% this book grabs ahold of you and doesn’t let go. The characters are written in such a way that you don’t know who to hate and who to root for. While this wasn’t my favorite Christopher Golden novel, it was enjoyable overall and a good horror read!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ARC
I'd like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to give Christopher Golden's "Carry Me to My Grave" an early read in return for an honest review.
Christopher Golden, time and time again, has proven himself to be a solid author. I've read a handful of his novels and can confidently say, out of his last four releases, he has yet to have a bad novel. This thankfully carries on into "Carry Me to My Grave", which is a high-stakes, horrifying read that I had an absolute blast getting to read.
The cast of characters that we get to spend the novel with are charming, each flawed, but feel like they're people you would meet in any town. They're people that you want to root for, which makes the stakes of the novel feel much higher than if they weren't as likable. Golden does a great job at balancing perspectives throughout, allowing us to get to experience the events through multiple POVs, but it doesn't feel chaotic, which it easily could have fallen into.
The pace for the novel is breakneck - once you make it out of the initial few chapters, it picks up and never loses steam. It's an exciting read, with plenty of horrific imagery and unique, cool villains. I was not anticipating to be so engrossed in the story, since I thought this was going to be an entirely different novel from the initial description. I was so glad to be proven wrong, since it made this a much more fun read.
Golden has become an auto-buy author for me, since I've genuinely had such a good time with every novel I've read so far, and this is really one of the better ones that I've read from him. I was hoping this would be a sequel to "The Night Birds", but I'm glad that we got another original story that was as fun and entertainin as this was.
Be sure to give "Carry Me to My Grave" a read when it is published on July 21, 2026!
I'd like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to give Christopher Golden's "Carry Me to My Grave" an early read in return for an honest review.
Christopher Golden, time and time again, has proven himself to be a solid author. I've read a handful of his novels and can confidently say, out of his last four releases, he has yet to have a bad novel. This thankfully carries on into "Carry Me to My Grave", which is a high-stakes, horrifying read that I had an absolute blast getting to read.
The cast of characters that we get to spend the novel with are charming, each flawed, but feel like they're people you would meet in any town. They're people that you want to root for, which makes the stakes of the novel feel much higher than if they weren't as likable. Golden does a great job at balancing perspectives throughout, allowing us to get to experience the events through multiple POVs, but it doesn't feel chaotic, which it easily could have fallen into.
The pace for the novel is breakneck - once you make it out of the initial few chapters, it picks up and never loses steam. It's an exciting read, with plenty of horrific imagery and unique, cool villains. I was not anticipating to be so engrossed in the story, since I thought this was going to be an entirely different novel from the initial description. I was so glad to be proven wrong, since it made this a much more fun read.
Golden has become an auto-buy author for me, since I've genuinely had such a good time with every novel I've read so far, and this is really one of the better ones that I've read from him. I was hoping this would be a sequel to "The Night Birds", but I'm glad that we got another original story that was as fun and entertainin as this was.
Be sure to give "Carry Me to My Grave" a read when it is published on July 21, 2026!
June 13, 2026
ARC review
Monsters, witchcraft, murder, chaos and slaughter—-what more could you want? This was a story set after the Korean War, small town Elkhart Indiana, with a witch named Maggie Wise. Her children tend to her as she dis, her last wish to be buried in her home state across the country. What she doesn’t tell them is that she’s tied to ancient beasts and creatures that feed off human blood and suffering, spanning millennia waiting for this moment to regain their power in the world.
Such a strange and graphic story, fast paced and odd. Even with so much paranormal happening you never felt out of your element, almost like you could see this happening in a future time, when the one person who holds it all together leaves us all alone to figure it out.
Such an uphill battle these characters went through you hold your breath to see if they will or won’t be able to complete their tasks. Who will live and who will die a gruesome death?
Such an interesting and new concept for monsters, well written both in graphic detail and heart wrenching sorrow. Very well done.
Monsters, witchcraft, murder, chaos and slaughter—-what more could you want? This was a story set after the Korean War, small town Elkhart Indiana, with a witch named Maggie Wise. Her children tend to her as she dis, her last wish to be buried in her home state across the country. What she doesn’t tell them is that she’s tied to ancient beasts and creatures that feed off human blood and suffering, spanning millennia waiting for this moment to regain their power in the world.
Such a strange and graphic story, fast paced and odd. Even with so much paranormal happening you never felt out of your element, almost like you could see this happening in a future time, when the one person who holds it all together leaves us all alone to figure it out.
Such an uphill battle these characters went through you hold your breath to see if they will or won’t be able to complete their tasks. Who will live and who will die a gruesome death?
Such an interesting and new concept for monsters, well written both in graphic detail and heart wrenching sorrow. Very well done.
June 27, 2026
Reading Journal Details
Book: Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan
Format: eBook (336 pages)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.5/5)
Quick Take
A creepy supernatural road trip horror built around an original premise, memorable moral grayness, and plenty of gruesome imagery. While uneven pacing kept it from reaching its full potential for me, Christopher Golden delivers a story with genuine teeth.
Full Review
Sometimes a book hooks you not because of what is happening, but because of why it's happening. Carry Me to My Grave grabbed my attention almost immediately with a premise that felt refreshingly different: honoring one woman's final request isn't about fulfilling a dying wish, it's about preventing something far worse from being unleashed.
That central concept carried the novel exceptionally well. It created an urgency that felt bigger than simply surviving another supernatural encounter, and I found myself genuinely invested in Malcom's journey from beginning to end. Layered on top of that is a family dynamic that's wonderfully messy. Relationships aren't cleanly defined by heroes or villains, and that emotional complexity gave the story considerably more weight than I anticipated.
Maggie Wise was easily my favorite character. She's prickly, morally complicated, and never fits neatly into either side of the good-versus-evil spectrum. Every revelation seemed to raise another question about who she truly was, and I appreciated deeply that Christopher Golden trusted readers to sit in those gray areas instead of forcing simple answers.
As someone who enjoys supernatural horror that isn't afraid to get its hands dirty, I seriously appreciated the level of gore throughout. The horror here has bite. It's graphic, unsettling, and occasionally brutal without feeling gratuitous, making it a great fit for readers who prefer their supernatural fiction with a healthy dose of body horror.
Where the novel stumbled for me was in its pacing. The journey itself occasionally felt uneven, particularly during several of the travel transitions and perspective shifts.
Rather than progressing with a steady build, the story sometimes shifted abruptly between moments of tension and slower pacing, which made me feel like I was continually readjusting my footing. Additionally, some of the train sequences lingered longer than necessary, softening the sense of urgency created by such an engaging premise.
What ultimately kept me turning the pages was the strength of the story's foundation. Between Maggie's wonderfully thorny characterization, the complicated family dynamics, and a premise unlike most supernatural horror I've read, there was always another revelation or confrontation waiting around the bend that made me eager to continue.
Despite a few bumps along the way, Carry Me to My Grave delivered a memorable blend of folklore, family drama, and gruesome supernatural horror. It may not have been a perfect ride, but it was certainly one I was glad I embarked on.
Would Recommend If...
If you're a fan of supernatural horror that isn't afraid to embrace gore, morally gray characters, and unsettling folklore, this is well worth adding to your TBR. Just know that while the pacing occasionally wobbles, the originality of the premise and strength of its horror make the journey an enjoyable one.
Features & Vibes
⏳ Race against time
👨👩👧 Family drama
🦷 Horror with teeth
🚂 Journey horror
🎢 Uneven pacing
📖 Easy to binge
Advance Copy Provided By
My thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. One thing I especially appreciated was that beneath all of the supernatural horror, the story never lost sight of the very human act of honoring someone's final wish.
Book: Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan
Format: eBook (336 pages)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.5/5)
Quick Take
A creepy supernatural road trip horror built around an original premise, memorable moral grayness, and plenty of gruesome imagery. While uneven pacing kept it from reaching its full potential for me, Christopher Golden delivers a story with genuine teeth.
Full Review
Sometimes a book hooks you not because of what is happening, but because of why it's happening. Carry Me to My Grave grabbed my attention almost immediately with a premise that felt refreshingly different: honoring one woman's final request isn't about fulfilling a dying wish, it's about preventing something far worse from being unleashed.
That central concept carried the novel exceptionally well. It created an urgency that felt bigger than simply surviving another supernatural encounter, and I found myself genuinely invested in Malcom's journey from beginning to end. Layered on top of that is a family dynamic that's wonderfully messy. Relationships aren't cleanly defined by heroes or villains, and that emotional complexity gave the story considerably more weight than I anticipated.
Maggie Wise was easily my favorite character. She's prickly, morally complicated, and never fits neatly into either side of the good-versus-evil spectrum. Every revelation seemed to raise another question about who she truly was, and I appreciated deeply that Christopher Golden trusted readers to sit in those gray areas instead of forcing simple answers.
As someone who enjoys supernatural horror that isn't afraid to get its hands dirty, I seriously appreciated the level of gore throughout. The horror here has bite. It's graphic, unsettling, and occasionally brutal without feeling gratuitous, making it a great fit for readers who prefer their supernatural fiction with a healthy dose of body horror.
Where the novel stumbled for me was in its pacing. The journey itself occasionally felt uneven, particularly during several of the travel transitions and perspective shifts.
Rather than progressing with a steady build, the story sometimes shifted abruptly between moments of tension and slower pacing, which made me feel like I was continually readjusting my footing. Additionally, some of the train sequences lingered longer than necessary, softening the sense of urgency created by such an engaging premise.
What ultimately kept me turning the pages was the strength of the story's foundation. Between Maggie's wonderfully thorny characterization, the complicated family dynamics, and a premise unlike most supernatural horror I've read, there was always another revelation or confrontation waiting around the bend that made me eager to continue.
Despite a few bumps along the way, Carry Me to My Grave delivered a memorable blend of folklore, family drama, and gruesome supernatural horror. It may not have been a perfect ride, but it was certainly one I was glad I embarked on.
Would Recommend If...
If you're a fan of supernatural horror that isn't afraid to embrace gore, morally gray characters, and unsettling folklore, this is well worth adding to your TBR. Just know that while the pacing occasionally wobbles, the originality of the premise and strength of its horror make the journey an enjoyable one.
Features & Vibes
⏳ Race against time
👨👩👧 Family drama
🦷 Horror with teeth
🚂 Journey horror
🎢 Uneven pacing
📖 Easy to binge
Advance Copy Provided By
My thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. One thing I especially appreciated was that beneath all of the supernatural horror, the story never lost sight of the very human act of honoring someone's final wish.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you so, so much Christopher Golden for my advanced copy of this book!!
From the very first page, this story will captivate you and keep you anxious to continue reading! I spent so much time thinking about this book even when I was not reading it. The characters are so fantastically written, you feel as though you're right there experiencing the tension and fear with them. You will be completely emotionally invested in their stories ans their lives. You understand why they are who they are and why they make the choices they do. The twists and turns, the monsters, the high anxiety moments... everything about this book is perfect from start to finish. I don't want to give any of the plot away but I can say with completely confidence that you should read this book.
From the very first page, this story will captivate you and keep you anxious to continue reading! I spent so much time thinking about this book even when I was not reading it. The characters are so fantastically written, you feel as though you're right there experiencing the tension and fear with them. You will be completely emotionally invested in their stories ans their lives. You understand why they are who they are and why they make the choices they do. The twists and turns, the monsters, the high anxiety moments... everything about this book is perfect from start to finish. I don't want to give any of the plot away but I can say with completely confidence that you should read this book.
July 12, 2026
This one had all the creepy vibes!! 🙌
What a great fast-paced race against time (and evil) read this was! Both witchy and vampirey (is that a word?) vibes? Sign me up! If you’re looking for a great page turner, pick this one up! 👏
Thank you partner St. Martin’s Press for the gifted advance reader copy and eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️
What a great fast-paced race against time (and evil) read this was! Both witchy and vampirey (is that a word?) vibes? Sign me up! If you’re looking for a great page turner, pick this one up! 👏
Thank you partner St. Martin’s Press for the gifted advance reader copy and eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️
July 18, 2026
When Maggie Wise, the local witch who is said to "take your eyes" passes away after tasking her son Malcolm with carrying her remains to a specific spot to be buried, things immediately start to get dark and weird. This action packed, twisty, and blood soaked story was full tilt from start to finish and included several unexpected turns that I really enjoyed. There is a lot going on in this book, and I really enjoyed it. The setting is viscerally described and richly felt throughout. I especially liked the scenes on the train. It felt spooky and adventurous in a really fun way. There was also one twist I did not see coming that made me shout because I LOVED it, but I wont spoil it.
I have read a couple of Christopher Golden's books and I love his writing style. All Hallows is still my favorite, but this one is right behind it and the other ones on my list have been bumped on up.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this one early. I enjoyed it and will be pre-ordering my physical copy asap.
I have read a couple of Christopher Golden's books and I love his writing style. All Hallows is still my favorite, but this one is right behind it and the other ones on my list have been bumped on up.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this one early. I enjoyed it and will be pre-ordering my physical copy asap.
June 29, 2026
This was a sneaky, amazing book! It starts out with a slow simmer - not a slow burn - but a simmer. Something mysterious is going on with Maggie, and after she dies and her son and daughter-in-law begin their journey to accompany her body to be buried at her requested location, that simmering pot begins to boil, and next thing you know it's overflowing into a full fledged mess of carnage, vampires, and evil.
I thought the pace of this book was brilliant; the build up was intense, unveiling what was going on chapter by chapter, and once we had the full picture it was a high-octane horror that I could feel the emotions and intensity on every page. The story was so unique, and to the last moment I didn't know how it was going to end, who was going to live, and who was going to die. I can't recommend this book more to horror + vampire lovers.
This is my first Christopher Golden book, but it won't be my last.
I thought the pace of this book was brilliant; the build up was intense, unveiling what was going on chapter by chapter, and once we had the full picture it was a high-octane horror that I could feel the emotions and intensity on every page. The story was so unique, and to the last moment I didn't know how it was going to end, who was going to live, and who was going to die. I can't recommend this book more to horror + vampire lovers.
This is my first Christopher Golden book, but it won't be my last.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Note: This review was originally published at FanFiAddict.
Malcom Wise has two days to get his recently-deceased mother home to Shediak, Maine from Indiana for burial before all hell breaks loose, almost literally as it turns out. Maggie kept her past shrouded in secrecy, and when a stranger appears outside of her home in her final days, Malcolm it must be a debt collector. His bother and sister, meanwhile, are estranged from their mother and haven’t been seen or heard from in years, leaving her care solely in the hands of Malcolm and his brother’s wife. As he boards the train to carry Maggie to her grave, he’s faced with the inexplicable and begins to understand the threat of her demanding deathbed wishes and why he, as a veteran of the recently-ended Korean War, has been given the job of returning her body to Maine.
Christopher Golden’s Carry Me to My Grave hit me in some unexpected ways, and I found a lot in Malcolm and Maggie’s relationship personally relatable. After my father died a couple years ago, and in looking for ways to process the ordeal I’d been put through during that time, my mind naturally turned toward writing a vampire story. I’d spent the better part of two years dealing with a man in the throes of dementia and colon cancer and who, in his last few months, let his unrelenting narcissism and meanness take center stage, fully unleashed. When he wasn’t abandoning my mother and I for long stretches back when I was a teen, he’d been verbally abusive, quick to comment derisively on my weight, fashion, hair-styles, career choices, politics, atheism, etc., etc. etc., followed-up with that double-whammy of “Oh, don’t take it so seriously,” when I took offense at the persistent insults. He had a complaint for everything and everyone, and, always the self-proclaimed smartest guy in the room, was quick to demean. He was a very stable genius in his own mind, even when the cancer had rotted him out so thoroughly he couldn’t stand on his own two legs. He may have been in complete denial about his health crisis and his impending death, but he didn’t let that stop him from being his absolute worst self possible. As he drew nearer to death’s door, his ire toward me grew all the greater (when he wasn’t mixing me up with his decades-long dead brother, at least, or spouting off racist tirades), as well as my wife and small children, who he vowed he would make pay for all his suffering. We were a cadre of conspirators in his diseased mind, working, alternately, for the Russians, the Chinese, the Arabs, and Barack Obama in some diabolical, labyrinthine plot built to support his perpetual victimhood.
A few days before he passed, we learned he’d had a son by a previous marriage that I’d never heard of. I’d known there was a daughter out there, and had even met her once nearly forty-years ago. That she had a brother was news to me, although everybody else in the family seemed to know about him. My cousins had been taught at a young age not to discuss these things. I only got to know him and his sister (I hesitate to call them step-siblings, which I think implies a familiarity that simply doesn’t exist) as I worked through probate to handle estate issues. Most of their concerns revolved around why it was taking me so long to sell his house that was in need of repairs, cleaning up his hoarder’s mess, and bringing it up to code, and sending them their cut of the money. There were no offers to help or lend any financial support to see us through his failing health, medical bills, dumpster rentals, and home repairs. Instead, I got Facebook Messenger DMs about the house’s property value that his Google University graduate of a son regularly sent with suggestions of how it should be split between us, despite those estimates not being all that realistic. Is it surprising that I was unfriended by him the minute the check cleared and haven’t heard a peep since? Is it surprising that neither of my father’s other offspring could even be bothered to thank me for the work I had done and money spent on their behalf when probate closed, or that my wife was harassed by the daughter for not shipping fast enough some of dad’s belongings she’d claimed and that she’d gone behind our backs to try and get a larger cut of the money through my lawyer? No. They’re my dad’s children to be sure, and I suppose there were plenty of good reasons why they’d been secreted away in the darkest crypts of familial history.
I suppose it’s not all that surprising, either, that there exists a 1:1 correlation between family and vampirism in my mind. They work hard at getting into your head, squatting there rent-free, seeking to control you and trying to drain you of everything they can greedily suck out. After his death, I got to learn about dad’s other kids, and the joyous surprise of his decades of IRS debt and other delinquencies. A fitting inheritance, I suppose, for a man he spent his dying days berating as an unwanted mistake, a son of a bitch with faggot kids that were dead to him. When Malcolm thinks of his dearly departed mother and the ordeal that’s been thrust upon him by her passing, he says, “Even dead, she can still always make things worse.” I don’t know the last time I related so damn hard to one single sentence in a horror book. I don’t know how many times I said that myself in the year that followed his passing. That was my dad in a nutshell.
I don’t know Golden’s history or what his relationship was like with his parents or siblings (if any), but I do know he gets it. The narcissism, the secrets, the estrangements, the favoritism, the abuse that still occurs even when it isn’t physical or verbal. There’s an authenticity to the relationship between Maggie, long-rumored by townsfolk to be a witch (correctly, it turns out), and her offspring, and the struggle of having to deal with a self-involved parent who spares little affection or kind words for you, and only does things for you in order to further their own goals and to hell with you otherwise.
The vampires at the heart of Carry Me to My Grave are intriguing sorts. Golden’s no stranger to vampire fiction, having penned plenty of comics, novels, and short stories around this horror staple, but there’s a certain wrongness about them here that goes above and beyond the traditional trappings. There’s nothing elegant or sexy about them here. They’re predatory and vicious, utterly unrelenting, echoing works like 30 Days of Night with maybe a little dash of Evil Dead. The head-honcho is Root, named so because he’s been underground for so long that a tree’s roots have grown through him and his skin is roughened with bark and mold. It makes a more interesting visual than a svelte tuxedo and cape in my mind’s eye. For me, they’re also a bit of cancer and dementia now, too, possessing as they do that transformative power to turn familiar faces into awful- (or maybe just worse-) minded strangers.
Carry Me to My Grave has a lot going for it, from its smartly built 1950s locomotive setting to its furious pacing and propulsive action. Maggie’s burial demands and the gang of vampires chasing Malcolm and her corpse across half the country give the plot a ticking time bomb urgency. It’s slickly fast and bloodily violent but, as a more contemporary counterpart to Malcolm, who lives his life one quarter mile at a time might say, it’s really all about family. I just wasn’t expecting to read so much of my own family into it. Now I kind of want to give Malcolm a hug, and Chris, too, if there’s any autobiography to be had in here. We made it through the fire and survived, brother.
Malcom Wise has two days to get his recently-deceased mother home to Shediak, Maine from Indiana for burial before all hell breaks loose, almost literally as it turns out. Maggie kept her past shrouded in secrecy, and when a stranger appears outside of her home in her final days, Malcolm it must be a debt collector. His bother and sister, meanwhile, are estranged from their mother and haven’t been seen or heard from in years, leaving her care solely in the hands of Malcolm and his brother’s wife. As he boards the train to carry Maggie to her grave, he’s faced with the inexplicable and begins to understand the threat of her demanding deathbed wishes and why he, as a veteran of the recently-ended Korean War, has been given the job of returning her body to Maine.
Christopher Golden’s Carry Me to My Grave hit me in some unexpected ways, and I found a lot in Malcolm and Maggie’s relationship personally relatable. After my father died a couple years ago, and in looking for ways to process the ordeal I’d been put through during that time, my mind naturally turned toward writing a vampire story. I’d spent the better part of two years dealing with a man in the throes of dementia and colon cancer and who, in his last few months, let his unrelenting narcissism and meanness take center stage, fully unleashed. When he wasn’t abandoning my mother and I for long stretches back when I was a teen, he’d been verbally abusive, quick to comment derisively on my weight, fashion, hair-styles, career choices, politics, atheism, etc., etc. etc., followed-up with that double-whammy of “Oh, don’t take it so seriously,” when I took offense at the persistent insults. He had a complaint for everything and everyone, and, always the self-proclaimed smartest guy in the room, was quick to demean. He was a very stable genius in his own mind, even when the cancer had rotted him out so thoroughly he couldn’t stand on his own two legs. He may have been in complete denial about his health crisis and his impending death, but he didn’t let that stop him from being his absolute worst self possible. As he drew nearer to death’s door, his ire toward me grew all the greater (when he wasn’t mixing me up with his decades-long dead brother, at least, or spouting off racist tirades), as well as my wife and small children, who he vowed he would make pay for all his suffering. We were a cadre of conspirators in his diseased mind, working, alternately, for the Russians, the Chinese, the Arabs, and Barack Obama in some diabolical, labyrinthine plot built to support his perpetual victimhood.
A few days before he passed, we learned he’d had a son by a previous marriage that I’d never heard of. I’d known there was a daughter out there, and had even met her once nearly forty-years ago. That she had a brother was news to me, although everybody else in the family seemed to know about him. My cousins had been taught at a young age not to discuss these things. I only got to know him and his sister (I hesitate to call them step-siblings, which I think implies a familiarity that simply doesn’t exist) as I worked through probate to handle estate issues. Most of their concerns revolved around why it was taking me so long to sell his house that was in need of repairs, cleaning up his hoarder’s mess, and bringing it up to code, and sending them their cut of the money. There were no offers to help or lend any financial support to see us through his failing health, medical bills, dumpster rentals, and home repairs. Instead, I got Facebook Messenger DMs about the house’s property value that his Google University graduate of a son regularly sent with suggestions of how it should be split between us, despite those estimates not being all that realistic. Is it surprising that I was unfriended by him the minute the check cleared and haven’t heard a peep since? Is it surprising that neither of my father’s other offspring could even be bothered to thank me for the work I had done and money spent on their behalf when probate closed, or that my wife was harassed by the daughter for not shipping fast enough some of dad’s belongings she’d claimed and that she’d gone behind our backs to try and get a larger cut of the money through my lawyer? No. They’re my dad’s children to be sure, and I suppose there were plenty of good reasons why they’d been secreted away in the darkest crypts of familial history.
I suppose it’s not all that surprising, either, that there exists a 1:1 correlation between family and vampirism in my mind. They work hard at getting into your head, squatting there rent-free, seeking to control you and trying to drain you of everything they can greedily suck out. After his death, I got to learn about dad’s other kids, and the joyous surprise of his decades of IRS debt and other delinquencies. A fitting inheritance, I suppose, for a man he spent his dying days berating as an unwanted mistake, a son of a bitch with faggot kids that were dead to him. When Malcolm thinks of his dearly departed mother and the ordeal that’s been thrust upon him by her passing, he says, “Even dead, she can still always make things worse.” I don’t know the last time I related so damn hard to one single sentence in a horror book. I don’t know how many times I said that myself in the year that followed his passing. That was my dad in a nutshell.
I don’t know Golden’s history or what his relationship was like with his parents or siblings (if any), but I do know he gets it. The narcissism, the secrets, the estrangements, the favoritism, the abuse that still occurs even when it isn’t physical or verbal. There’s an authenticity to the relationship between Maggie, long-rumored by townsfolk to be a witch (correctly, it turns out), and her offspring, and the struggle of having to deal with a self-involved parent who spares little affection or kind words for you, and only does things for you in order to further their own goals and to hell with you otherwise.
The vampires at the heart of Carry Me to My Grave are intriguing sorts. Golden’s no stranger to vampire fiction, having penned plenty of comics, novels, and short stories around this horror staple, but there’s a certain wrongness about them here that goes above and beyond the traditional trappings. There’s nothing elegant or sexy about them here. They’re predatory and vicious, utterly unrelenting, echoing works like 30 Days of Night with maybe a little dash of Evil Dead. The head-honcho is Root, named so because he’s been underground for so long that a tree’s roots have grown through him and his skin is roughened with bark and mold. It makes a more interesting visual than a svelte tuxedo and cape in my mind’s eye. For me, they’re also a bit of cancer and dementia now, too, possessing as they do that transformative power to turn familiar faces into awful- (or maybe just worse-) minded strangers.
Carry Me to My Grave has a lot going for it, from its smartly built 1950s locomotive setting to its furious pacing and propulsive action. Maggie’s burial demands and the gang of vampires chasing Malcolm and her corpse across half the country give the plot a ticking time bomb urgency. It’s slickly fast and bloodily violent but, as a more contemporary counterpart to Malcolm, who lives his life one quarter mile at a time might say, it’s really all about family. I just wasn’t expecting to read so much of my own family into it. Now I kind of want to give Malcolm a hug, and Chris, too, if there’s any autobiography to be had in here. We made it through the fire and survived, brother.
giveaways
March 22, 2026Subtle and introspective, this novel focuses more on mood than momentum. Its strongest element is the atmosphere—heavy, muted, and shaped by the lingering weight of the past.
While the themes of guilt and buried secrets add some depth, the story moves too slowly to stay engaging. The tension never fully develops, and much of it feels flat and, at times, boring.
Overall, it’s a subdued, atmospheric read that lacks the impact needed to truly hold attention.
Thank you St Martin Press for the ARC.
While the themes of guilt and buried secrets add some depth, the story moves too slowly to stay engaging. The tension never fully develops, and much of it feels flat and, at times, boring.
Overall, it’s a subdued, atmospheric read that lacks the impact needed to truly hold attention.
Thank you St Martin Press for the ARC.
February 7, 2026
Carry Me To My Grave by Christopher Golden
Received as an arc. Maggie is dying but her son Malcom is by her side. She has strict instructions that when she dies she has to be buried within 2 days in her hometown in Maine a 1000 miles away.
There is a dark odd man with a raven mask that is trying to take Maggie’s body.
With the help of the loc as l undertaker and 2 thugs Maggie hired Malcom must endure a train ride to bring her home.
A creature buried and stirring under a tree awakens after eons to take a boy to help it on a mission.
All hell breaks loose on the ride of unknown brings trying everything to stop Maggie’s burial
Received as an arc. Maggie is dying but her son Malcom is by her side. She has strict instructions that when she dies she has to be buried within 2 days in her hometown in Maine a 1000 miles away.
There is a dark odd man with a raven mask that is trying to take Maggie’s body.
With the help of the loc as l undertaker and 2 thugs Maggie hired Malcom must endure a train ride to bring her home.
A creature buried and stirring under a tree awakens after eons to take a boy to help it on a mission.
All hell breaks loose on the ride of unknown brings trying everything to stop Maggie’s burial
February 3, 2026
The first part of the book drags a bit. I was close to giving up a few times but once you make it past the start the book hooks you and then I could t stop reading.
The characters are well written and diverse enough to keep you guessing as you read. I enjoyed the ending and wouldn’t mind more stories in this world.
Thanks NetGallery and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
The characters are well written and diverse enough to keep you guessing as you read. I enjoyed the ending and wouldn’t mind more stories in this world.
Thanks NetGallery and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
May 11, 2026
Picking up a
Christopher Golden
book has become a no-brainer, almost second nature these days. I know what to expect in the form of the style of writing and that I will not be disappointed. So,
Carry Me to My Grave
was a must-read anyway, but what Golden gives us in his latest novel is a slow-burn, unsettling, and heartfelt horror story filled with dread and I was here for every moment.
Maggie Wise will take your eyes.
When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.
But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child―when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.
From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way.
Carry Me to My Grave has such a creepy and unsettling opening few chapters when dealing with the passing of Malcom's mother Maggie. Golden crafts the story in such as way that I vividly can see what is going on around these characters, especially this dark figure that lurks in the willow trees. It was almost as if I didn't want to read this tale with the lights off, that's how uneasy it made me feel, in such a good way.
This opening scene or two is something that stayed with me throughout the book, but also as the final page was turned. However, it's the journey on the train to Maine (my home state) that things got even more uneasy and just as creepy. On this journey we follow many different characters in different situations that all felt extremely fleshed out and were full of a level of complexity I have come to expect from Golden. The confined space of a train in the 1950s that made these characters shine even more.
The story is also full of action and pushing itself forward as the train struts along. There is this evil force behind all of this and as we try and figure out what is behind it all, we are give monsters, and other evil to deal with along the way. This mix of characters and monsters give us a unsettling, violent, and at times complicated story that has you eagerly turning the page, either by shear desire to know what happens, or to run from the previous pages.
Carry Me to My Grave is a slow-burning, eerie, and emotional ride where Christopher Golden expertly balances unsettling atmosphere with brutal horror, and complex characters. A Haunting and deeply unsettling horror journey that stays with you long after the train reaches its destination.
Carry Me to My Grave hits bookstores everywhere on July 21, 2026 from St. Martin's Press.
NOTE: We received an advance copy of Carry Me to My Grave from the publisher. Opinions are our own.
Maggie Wise will take your eyes.
When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.
But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child―when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.
From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way.
Carry Me to My Grave has such a creepy and unsettling opening few chapters when dealing with the passing of Malcom's mother Maggie. Golden crafts the story in such as way that I vividly can see what is going on around these characters, especially this dark figure that lurks in the willow trees. It was almost as if I didn't want to read this tale with the lights off, that's how uneasy it made me feel, in such a good way.
This opening scene or two is something that stayed with me throughout the book, but also as the final page was turned. However, it's the journey on the train to Maine (my home state) that things got even more uneasy and just as creepy. On this journey we follow many different characters in different situations that all felt extremely fleshed out and were full of a level of complexity I have come to expect from Golden. The confined space of a train in the 1950s that made these characters shine even more.
The story is also full of action and pushing itself forward as the train struts along. There is this evil force behind all of this and as we try and figure out what is behind it all, we are give monsters, and other evil to deal with along the way. This mix of characters and monsters give us a unsettling, violent, and at times complicated story that has you eagerly turning the page, either by shear desire to know what happens, or to run from the previous pages.
Carry Me to My Grave is a slow-burning, eerie, and emotional ride where Christopher Golden expertly balances unsettling atmosphere with brutal horror, and complex characters. A Haunting and deeply unsettling horror journey that stays with you long after the train reaches its destination.
Carry Me to My Grave hits bookstores everywhere on July 21, 2026 from St. Martin's Press.
NOTE: We received an advance copy of Carry Me to My Grave from the publisher. Opinions are our own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Christopher Golden's books always pull me in with their amazing blurbs, but I often find them a little lacking in execution. Carry Me to My Grave is no exception, but I went into it expecting that to be the case so I guess I wasn't really disappointed?
The Good: This novel isn't nearly as depressing as some of Golden's other books. I mean, sure, things are not all sunshine and rainbows — it's a horror novel. And the characters are kind of broken and there's lots of childhood trauma for some of them to work though, but overall it ended … not as traumatically as it could have? If you've read any of his other books, you know that this is a rarity. (Here's looking at you, The House of Last Resort.)
This is also a pretty fast-paced read, and it's certainly a nail-biter in parts. The entire story is a race against the clock and it's hard to put down once things really kick into gear. No complaints there. It's not fine literature but it's entertaining enough.
Honestly, I've decided that Golden's books kind of remind me of Dean Koontz? They're what I consider “pop horror,” which might be an actual term that means something completely different than what I've made up in my head, but for me it's a horror novel that's decently scary and not an unpleasant read, but that isn't particularly deep or literary or anything super memorable. You read it and enjoy it well enough and then you forget about it. (Note: This does not apply to Dean Koontz's Intensity. That book traumatized me as a teenager and is the sole reason that I insist on having a security system in my house.) This is not necessarily a bad thing — I worshipped Koontz back in the day.
The Meh: This novel honestly reminded me a lot of his previous book, The Night Birds. Change the setting from a ship to a train and the monsters from witches to vampires, and there you go. I mean, the plot lines are obviously different and so it's not the same story, but in both books all of the action revolves around the main characters fighting off a group of supernatural villains over and over while dealing with major personal issues.
Also, can we talk about these vampires for a moment? They're certainly not traditional vampires and that's fine, but I didn't even realize that they were vampires until I was well into the novel. (Actually, I realized it when I looked at the Goodreads page for this book and saw that it was tagged “vampires.”) They are eventually called vampires by the main characters and so then it's much easier to pull all of the details together and go “oh, yeah, that makes sense!” But I initially imagined these creatures looking kind of like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy and that doesn't exactly scream vampire to me. Maybe this is just a “me being daft” thing (I'll admit that it's a possibility), but I sort of feel that if you're writing about well-known supernatural creatures, those creatures should be recognizable to your readers as those creatures? I dunno, I could be wrong here, please don't yell at me.
Anyway, Carry Me to My Grave is a fast-paced, entertaining read that I'll likely have completely forgotten in a few weeks. It doesn't reinvent the (blood-splattered) wheel as far as horror goes, but it's pretty much exactly what I expected it to be.
3.5 stars, rounded up. (Could we please, please, please have half stars, Goodreads? Four stars feels wrong but three isn't right either.)
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is July 21, 2026.
The Good: This novel isn't nearly as depressing as some of Golden's other books. I mean, sure, things are not all sunshine and rainbows — it's a horror novel. And the characters are kind of broken and there's lots of childhood trauma for some of them to work though, but overall it ended … not as traumatically as it could have? If you've read any of his other books, you know that this is a rarity. (Here's looking at you, The House of Last Resort.)
This is also a pretty fast-paced read, and it's certainly a nail-biter in parts. The entire story is a race against the clock and it's hard to put down once things really kick into gear. No complaints there. It's not fine literature but it's entertaining enough.
Honestly, I've decided that Golden's books kind of remind me of Dean Koontz? They're what I consider “pop horror,” which might be an actual term that means something completely different than what I've made up in my head, but for me it's a horror novel that's decently scary and not an unpleasant read, but that isn't particularly deep or literary or anything super memorable. You read it and enjoy it well enough and then you forget about it. (Note: This does not apply to Dean Koontz's Intensity. That book traumatized me as a teenager and is the sole reason that I insist on having a security system in my house.) This is not necessarily a bad thing — I worshipped Koontz back in the day.
The Meh: This novel honestly reminded me a lot of his previous book, The Night Birds. Change the setting from a ship to a train and the monsters from witches to vampires, and there you go. I mean, the plot lines are obviously different and so it's not the same story, but in both books all of the action revolves around the main characters fighting off a group of supernatural villains over and over while dealing with major personal issues.
Also, can we talk about these vampires for a moment? They're certainly not traditional vampires and that's fine, but I didn't even realize that they were vampires until I was well into the novel. (Actually, I realized it when I looked at the Goodreads page for this book and saw that it was tagged “vampires.”) They are eventually called vampires by the main characters and so then it's much easier to pull all of the details together and go “oh, yeah, that makes sense!” But I initially imagined these creatures looking kind of like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy and that doesn't exactly scream vampire to me. Maybe this is just a “me being daft” thing (I'll admit that it's a possibility), but I sort of feel that if you're writing about well-known supernatural creatures, those creatures should be recognizable to your readers as those creatures? I dunno, I could be wrong here, please don't yell at me.
Anyway, Carry Me to My Grave is a fast-paced, entertaining read that I'll likely have completely forgotten in a few weeks. It doesn't reinvent the (blood-splattered) wheel as far as horror goes, but it's pretty much exactly what I expected it to be.
3.5 stars, rounded up. (Could we please, please, please have half stars, Goodreads? Four stars feels wrong but three isn't right either.)
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is July 21, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Horror
Carry Me to My Grave opens with a premise that doesn’t waste time pulling you in. Maggie Wise’s death sets the stage for a family reunion no one wanted. Her son Malcolm and daughter-in-law Violet will need to move her body across state lines, a task that sounds straightforward but quickly feels heavier, almost cursed. Soon, the grim road trip becomes something darker in which the truth about Maggie refuses to stay hidden.
Right from the beginning, I knew their journey would be unsettling. Each traveler drags along their own baggage—resentments, guilt, half‑spoken grievances—and the road seems to feed on it. It feels like a narrowing corridor where something old and hostile is watching. The hints of truth that surface along the way don’t clarify much.
The tension keeps building until all the people involved in this unknown adventure are only thinking about survival while completing the task they were asked by Maggie. The family isn’t only running from whatever stalks them; they’re also colliding with the fractures in their own relationships. The horror works on two levels: the external threat and the internal unraveling. That mix of supernatural menace and emotional reckoning makes the climax hit harder, where past choices and present danger crash together.
Atmosphere is easily the book’s strongest card. From page one, there’s a weight to the scenes—a damp, suffocating mood that affects you as a reader as if you were with the characters. The settings are cold, isolated, and stripped of comfort. The dread doesn’t rely on jump scares; it creeps in, lingers, and makes you uneasy long after you’ve closed the chapter. It reminded me of the way certain films let the silence and emptiness do most of the work.
The mystery is handled with restraint. Information is withheld just enough to keep you guessing, and once the narrative picks up speed, it rarely slows down. The pacing may feel relentless to some readers, but that urgency matches the story’s sense of pursuit. It’s the kind of book you tell yourself you’ll read “just one more chapter,” and suddenly it’s 2 a.m.
The vampire mythology deserves mention. These aren’t the brooding, romantic figures pop culture has conditioned us to expect. They’re primal, disturbing, and stripped of glamour. The lore gives them a weight that feels ancient, which in turn raises the stakes beyond a typical monster chase. It’s unsettling in a way that makes you rethink what “vampire” even means.
What caught me off guard was how much the novel leans into family dysfunction. The realism of strained bonds, be it siblings who can’t forgive or parents who carry unspoken regrets and resentments, all add lots of depth and tension to the horror. And the historical backdrop adds texture, grounding the story in a time and place that feels lived-in rather than decorative.
The characters themselves carry the weight well. Their choices feel flawed but human, and their voices don’t blur together. Having read Road of Bones (4 stars) and The House of Last Resort (3 stars), this one stands out as the author’s strongest effort so far. It balances atmosphere, character, and horror in a way that feels earned. For me, it lands at a solid 4 stars. It is memorable, unsettling, and worth recommending.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.
https://constantinebooks.blogspot.com...
Genre: Horror
Carry Me to My Grave opens with a premise that doesn’t waste time pulling you in. Maggie Wise’s death sets the stage for a family reunion no one wanted. Her son Malcolm and daughter-in-law Violet will need to move her body across state lines, a task that sounds straightforward but quickly feels heavier, almost cursed. Soon, the grim road trip becomes something darker in which the truth about Maggie refuses to stay hidden.
Right from the beginning, I knew their journey would be unsettling. Each traveler drags along their own baggage—resentments, guilt, half‑spoken grievances—and the road seems to feed on it. It feels like a narrowing corridor where something old and hostile is watching. The hints of truth that surface along the way don’t clarify much.
The tension keeps building until all the people involved in this unknown adventure are only thinking about survival while completing the task they were asked by Maggie. The family isn’t only running from whatever stalks them; they’re also colliding with the fractures in their own relationships. The horror works on two levels: the external threat and the internal unraveling. That mix of supernatural menace and emotional reckoning makes the climax hit harder, where past choices and present danger crash together.
Atmosphere is easily the book’s strongest card. From page one, there’s a weight to the scenes—a damp, suffocating mood that affects you as a reader as if you were with the characters. The settings are cold, isolated, and stripped of comfort. The dread doesn’t rely on jump scares; it creeps in, lingers, and makes you uneasy long after you’ve closed the chapter. It reminded me of the way certain films let the silence and emptiness do most of the work.
The mystery is handled with restraint. Information is withheld just enough to keep you guessing, and once the narrative picks up speed, it rarely slows down. The pacing may feel relentless to some readers, but that urgency matches the story’s sense of pursuit. It’s the kind of book you tell yourself you’ll read “just one more chapter,” and suddenly it’s 2 a.m.
The vampire mythology deserves mention. These aren’t the brooding, romantic figures pop culture has conditioned us to expect. They’re primal, disturbing, and stripped of glamour. The lore gives them a weight that feels ancient, which in turn raises the stakes beyond a typical monster chase. It’s unsettling in a way that makes you rethink what “vampire” even means.
What caught me off guard was how much the novel leans into family dysfunction. The realism of strained bonds, be it siblings who can’t forgive or parents who carry unspoken regrets and resentments, all add lots of depth and tension to the horror. And the historical backdrop adds texture, grounding the story in a time and place that feels lived-in rather than decorative.
The characters themselves carry the weight well. Their choices feel flawed but human, and their voices don’t blur together. Having read Road of Bones (4 stars) and The House of Last Resort (3 stars), this one stands out as the author’s strongest effort so far. It balances atmosphere, character, and horror in a way that feels earned. For me, it lands at a solid 4 stars. It is memorable, unsettling, and worth recommending.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.
https://constantinebooks.blogspot.com...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: July 21, 2026
As a child, Malcolm had heard the whispers and the rumours around the town he grew up- that his mother, Maggie Wise, was a witch. Of course, he didn’t believe it, but his relationship with his mother was estranged for other reasons, such as her cold demeanor and the way she refused to show praise or love to her children; Malcolm, Jenny and Elias. Now, Malcolm’s mother has passed away and he is the only sibling who has returned to his hometown to sit by his mother’s deathbed. Then she makes a strange request- that Malcolm return Maggie to the island town of Shediak, Maine and bury her body there. Malcolm initially thinks it’s just the last utterances of a dying woman, until strange things start to happen and weird creatures start to emerge from the literal ground in what seems like a desperate attempt to get to Maggie before Malcolm can bury her. Now, on the run and afraid, Malcolm is left to wonder if the rumours about his mother all those years were actually true, before it’s too late.
Christopher Golden is a horror author who recently came on my radar and who I’ve followed religiously ever since. “The House of Last Resort” and “All Hallows” were deliciously spooky and his new novel, “Carry Me to My Grave” is just as terrifying. Dead bodies that come to life, curses, witchcraft and vampire-like creatures who consume the blood and entrails of the dead are just some of the haunting elements in “Grave” and somehow, Golden makes all of them blend together seamlessly in a page-turning, spine-chilling read.
Malcolm is the protagonist for most of the novel, although there are a few chapters that are narrated by different characters for various reasons. Malcolm is the prodigal son returned, the sole sibling responsible for disposing of his mother’s remains in the precise way she detailed, with only his brother’s wife (who also happens to be the love of his life) by his side.
I loved the spooky vampire-like creatures that Golden creates in “Grave”, menacing bloodsuckers that are older than vampires, but with many similarities. Golden has a way of creating and describing sinister, macabre creatures that make readers feel like they are reaching through the pages, which brings his horror writing to the next level.
Golden is one of those authors that now that I’ve read him, I will always be looking forward to his next book. As a long-time horror novel fan, I can honestly say that Golden delivers everything I want in a scary read, and so much more.
Expected publication date: July 21, 2026
As a child, Malcolm had heard the whispers and the rumours around the town he grew up- that his mother, Maggie Wise, was a witch. Of course, he didn’t believe it, but his relationship with his mother was estranged for other reasons, such as her cold demeanor and the way she refused to show praise or love to her children; Malcolm, Jenny and Elias. Now, Malcolm’s mother has passed away and he is the only sibling who has returned to his hometown to sit by his mother’s deathbed. Then she makes a strange request- that Malcolm return Maggie to the island town of Shediak, Maine and bury her body there. Malcolm initially thinks it’s just the last utterances of a dying woman, until strange things start to happen and weird creatures start to emerge from the literal ground in what seems like a desperate attempt to get to Maggie before Malcolm can bury her. Now, on the run and afraid, Malcolm is left to wonder if the rumours about his mother all those years were actually true, before it’s too late.
Christopher Golden is a horror author who recently came on my radar and who I’ve followed religiously ever since. “The House of Last Resort” and “All Hallows” were deliciously spooky and his new novel, “Carry Me to My Grave” is just as terrifying. Dead bodies that come to life, curses, witchcraft and vampire-like creatures who consume the blood and entrails of the dead are just some of the haunting elements in “Grave” and somehow, Golden makes all of them blend together seamlessly in a page-turning, spine-chilling read.
Malcolm is the protagonist for most of the novel, although there are a few chapters that are narrated by different characters for various reasons. Malcolm is the prodigal son returned, the sole sibling responsible for disposing of his mother’s remains in the precise way she detailed, with only his brother’s wife (who also happens to be the love of his life) by his side.
I loved the spooky vampire-like creatures that Golden creates in “Grave”, menacing bloodsuckers that are older than vampires, but with many similarities. Golden has a way of creating and describing sinister, macabre creatures that make readers feel like they are reaching through the pages, which brings his horror writing to the next level.
Golden is one of those authors that now that I’ve read him, I will always be looking forward to his next book. As a long-time horror novel fan, I can honestly say that Golden delivers everything I want in a scary read, and so much more.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an ARC of Carry Me To My Grave by Christopher Golden from NetGalley, and as a huge horror fan, I was so excited to be approved for this one because the synopsis alone hooked me instantly. This was also my first book by this author, and it definitely won’t be my last. From the start of the story, the atmosphere is thick with dread. The story centers on Malcolm, who is keeping vigil as his mother Maggie who rumored for years to be something sinister is dying. Those childhood chants about her being a witch linger in the background, and this author does such a great job of making you question what’s superstition and what’s truth almost immediately. The character dynamics really stood out to me in this book. Malcolm feels like the emotional anchor of the story who is loyal, burdened, and trying to do the right thing even when everything is screaming at him not to. His relationship with Violet, his sister-in-law, was one of my favorite parts in this story. They’re thrown into this terrifying situation together, and the way they rely on each other feels natural and believable, not forced. Their conversations and reactions ground the story, especially as things get increasingly chaotic and supernatural. And then there’s Maggie herself who even on her deathbed, she’s such a looming presence. The promise she extracts from Malcolm to return her body to Maine sets everything into motion, and it quickly becomes clear that this is no simple journey. Once the plot kicks into high gear (especially on the train), it’s relentless. There’s a real sense of escalation, with violence erupting in ways that feel both shocking and inevitable. The horror elements here are so well done. The idea that something is waiting and watching from afar, awakening across distances adds this deeply unsettling, almost cosmic layer to the story. I loved how the threat is isolated, but it feels vast, ancient, and personal all at once. This author builds tension effectively, blending more visceral, immediate scares with a creeping sense of doom that never really lets up. If I had to nitpick, there were moments where the pacing felt slightly uneven where some sections moved incredibly too fast while others lingered a bit longer than needed, but honestly, the tension and atmosphere carried me through. The ending landed well for me. It’s intense, dark, and fitting for the journey these characters go on. Without me spoiling anything, the story delivers on the horror while still feeling emotionally earned. There’s a sense of consequence that sticks, rather than just wrapping things up neatly, which I appreciated.
Overall, this was such a satisfying horror read being creepy, fast-paced, and character-driven in a way that made me genuinely care about what was happening. #netgalley #carrymetomygrave
Overall, this was such a satisfying horror read being creepy, fast-paced, and character-driven in a way that made me genuinely care about what was happening. #netgalley #carrymetomygrave
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.8/5
Carry Me to My Grave is an action-packed King-esque thriller that leaves me with questions about the world it takes place in (that I hope are answered in another book).
It follows Malcolm Wise, whose mother Maggie has just passed away. In her lifetime, Maggie was rumored by neighborhood kids to be a witch, with "Maggie Wise Will Take Your Eyes" being the prevalent expression. Maggie's last request is to be buried in her hometown, which sounds simple enough, until evil forces try to prevent Malcolm from bringing her home. While some enemies appear in familiar faces, others take the form of long-forgotten creatures designed to wreak havoc on humanity.
Carry Me to My Grave is a solid thriller with horror elements and I definitely enjoyed it. The relationship between Maggie and her kids stood out to me personally, and I think a lot of people can relate to the feelings of inadequacy Maggie left her children with.
Malcolm is a good main character. As a Korean War veteran, he's strong and determined to do what he believes is right. You don't get a ton of insight into his character besides that and I would say this novel is more action-driven than character-driven, but Malcolm is still a likable, loyal guy.
Violet was a character I think the book really benefitted from having. While she's Elias' wife, her connection with Malcolm is realistic and troubling, yet their relationship reads as rather pure. I wish she had had more opportunity to show that feisty showgirl side of herself, but I still think she's very valuable to the story and genuinely helpful to the problems at hand.
I wish there had been more explanation, both physically and historically, of the villain, Root. While it leaves you with questions, they aren't dealbreakers, so I could still enjoy the book without them being answered. However, I do think another book in this world would be great because Golden really built a whole witchcraft-vampire-supernatural vibe here.
I also have questions for Maggie. Especially about the timeline of things and when a certain event happened in her life that ends up causing Malcolm and Violet a ton of problems. Other characters in the book are well-written and each play a vital role in the storytelling.
Side note - I think this book has MAJOR prequel potential. A book all about Maggie when she was younger would be fascinating and I think she would be a great main character because she is so flawed. Which brings me to the relationship she has with her kids - it's pretty messed up. They often cite Maggie as loving them, but not more than she loved herself. I think this aspect of the book will really entice readers who have complicated relationships with their parents because it rings realistic and dynamic.
Overall, this book has a lot of action and pretty much doesn't stop once it starts.
Carry Me to My Grave is an action-packed King-esque thriller that leaves me with questions about the world it takes place in (that I hope are answered in another book).
It follows Malcolm Wise, whose mother Maggie has just passed away. In her lifetime, Maggie was rumored by neighborhood kids to be a witch, with "Maggie Wise Will Take Your Eyes" being the prevalent expression. Maggie's last request is to be buried in her hometown, which sounds simple enough, until evil forces try to prevent Malcolm from bringing her home. While some enemies appear in familiar faces, others take the form of long-forgotten creatures designed to wreak havoc on humanity.
Carry Me to My Grave is a solid thriller with horror elements and I definitely enjoyed it. The relationship between Maggie and her kids stood out to me personally, and I think a lot of people can relate to the feelings of inadequacy Maggie left her children with.
Malcolm is a good main character. As a Korean War veteran, he's strong and determined to do what he believes is right. You don't get a ton of insight into his character besides that and I would say this novel is more action-driven than character-driven, but Malcolm is still a likable, loyal guy.
Violet was a character I think the book really benefitted from having. While she's Elias' wife, her connection with Malcolm is realistic and troubling, yet their relationship reads as rather pure. I wish she had had more opportunity to show that feisty showgirl side of herself, but I still think she's very valuable to the story and genuinely helpful to the problems at hand.
I wish there had been more explanation, both physically and historically, of the villain, Root. While it leaves you with questions, they aren't dealbreakers, so I could still enjoy the book without them being answered. However, I do think another book in this world would be great because Golden really built a whole witchcraft-vampire-supernatural vibe here.
I also have questions for Maggie. Especially about the timeline of things and when a certain event happened in her life that ends up causing Malcolm and Violet a ton of problems. Other characters in the book are well-written and each play a vital role in the storytelling.
Side note - I think this book has MAJOR prequel potential. A book all about Maggie when she was younger would be fascinating and I think she would be a great main character because she is so flawed. Which brings me to the relationship she has with her kids - it's pretty messed up. They often cite Maggie as loving them, but not more than she loved herself. I think this aspect of the book will really entice readers who have complicated relationships with their parents because it rings realistic and dynamic.
Overall, this book has a lot of action and pretty much doesn't stop once it starts.
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