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The 31st Trick-or-Treater
Thirty-one nights. Thirty-one chapters. One final nightmare.
Last Halloween, thirty trick-or-treaters vanished into the night.
This October, they’re coming back—one by one, each day of the month. But every child carries the same chilling warning: something is returning on the 31st.
Bob has never stopped searching for his daughter. Now, as the shadows of Halloween grow longer, he must face the darkness that stole her—before it takes everything again.
The 31st Trick-or-Treater is a Halloween advent novel: thirty-one nights, thirty-one chapters, and one final nightmare waiting on Halloween.
Last Halloween, thirty trick-or-treaters vanished into the night.
This October, they’re coming back—one by one, each day of the month. But every child carries the same chilling warning: something is returning on the 31st.
Bob has never stopped searching for his daughter. Now, as the shadows of Halloween grow longer, he must face the darkness that stole her—before it takes everything again.
The 31st Trick-or-Treater is a Halloween advent novel: thirty-one nights, thirty-one chapters, and one final nightmare waiting on Halloween.
332 pages, Paperback
First published September 24, 2025
2786 people are currently reading
4744 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,380 reviews
November 2, 2025
2.5⭐️
This year I pushed myself outside my comfort zone by exploring different types of horror, and to my surprise, I enjoyed many of them. But tonight I am closing out our Halloween weekend by confronting the one irrational fear I’ve had since childhood— creepy clowns. After losing a bet with my kids, I will be venturing with them into the Terrifier House at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights along with all the other haunted houses.
On to the book. When I first saw The 31st Trick-or-Treater pop up in my feed, I thought it would be the perfect way to round out my spooky season. A Halloween advent-style book with 31 chapters sounded like such a fun idea, and the premise was definitely intriguing. I especially enjoyed the folklore behind Stingy Jack and the origins of the jack-o’-lantern. That was a cool touch.
Unfortunately, there was a lot that did not quite work for me. If you decide to pick this up, be prepared to suspend disbelief and throw logic completely out the window. My biggest struggle was with the character behavior which just unbelievable. When the only person making rational decisions is a child, something is off. Bob’s choices in particular made me irrationally angry. And realistically, if 30 kids disappeared in one night, I think it would be more than just the local cops involved and in this story they were completely clueless and incompetent. Even with my frustrations, I kept reading out of curiosity to see how it would end. Sadly, the ending was anticlimactic and left many plot holes unexplained, which was disappointing.
Clearly, though, this book has its fans, with many 4 star ratings out there. So take my review with a grain of salt. It might not have been the right one for me.
This was a buddy read with Brooke and boy did we have a lot to discuss with this one. Be sure to check out her review to see how she rated it.
Now I have to go mentally prepare myself for all the jump scares I’m about to face tonight. Wish me luck!! 🎃
This year I pushed myself outside my comfort zone by exploring different types of horror, and to my surprise, I enjoyed many of them. But tonight I am closing out our Halloween weekend by confronting the one irrational fear I’ve had since childhood— creepy clowns. After losing a bet with my kids, I will be venturing with them into the Terrifier House at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights along with all the other haunted houses.
On to the book. When I first saw The 31st Trick-or-Treater pop up in my feed, I thought it would be the perfect way to round out my spooky season. A Halloween advent-style book with 31 chapters sounded like such a fun idea, and the premise was definitely intriguing. I especially enjoyed the folklore behind Stingy Jack and the origins of the jack-o’-lantern. That was a cool touch.
Unfortunately, there was a lot that did not quite work for me. If you decide to pick this up, be prepared to suspend disbelief and throw logic completely out the window. My biggest struggle was with the character behavior which just unbelievable. When the only person making rational decisions is a child, something is off. Bob’s choices in particular made me irrationally angry. And realistically, if 30 kids disappeared in one night, I think it would be more than just the local cops involved and in this story they were completely clueless and incompetent. Even with my frustrations, I kept reading out of curiosity to see how it would end. Sadly, the ending was anticlimactic and left many plot holes unexplained, which was disappointing.
Clearly, though, this book has its fans, with many 4 star ratings out there. So take my review with a grain of salt. It might not have been the right one for me.
This was a buddy read with Brooke and boy did we have a lot to discuss with this one. Be sure to check out her review to see how she rated it.
Now I have to go mentally prepare myself for all the jump scares I’m about to face tonight. Wish me luck!! 🎃
October 22, 2025
So I really tried to do only one chapter a day for Halloween month, but my curiosity got the better of me and before I knew it, the book was done. I thought the build-up was pretty strong, and the premise was quite unique. On Halloween last year, 30 children mysteriously vanish while trick or treating. Then this year, on the 1st of October, a child reappears out of nowhere. The next day, another.
Mary is one of those children who disappeared, and I really admired her brother Sam's braveness. Her father was second best, trying everything to find his little girl. Secrets are uncovered, and the mysterious 31st trick or treater villain is being hunted.
This is mild horror, as I didn’t feel the creepy sensations in my toes, but it was a good read. (Note: The author himself mentioned on his Facebook follow-along group that it’s not a work of art and probably needs a little work, but I thought he did pretty well.)
Mary is one of those children who disappeared, and I really admired her brother Sam's braveness. Her father was second best, trying everything to find his little girl. Secrets are uncovered, and the mysterious 31st trick or treater villain is being hunted.
This is mild horror, as I didn’t feel the creepy sensations in my toes, but it was a good read. (Note: The author himself mentioned on his Facebook follow-along group that it’s not a work of art and probably needs a little work, but I thought he did pretty well.)
October 30, 2025
A Halloween advent book where you read a chapter every day throughout October. I've not tried something like this before, but it sounded fun, so I decided to give it a go.
The prologue begins with Mary, one of the children of Maple Creek, out trick-or-treating on Halloween with her family – Dad Bob and her siblings Sam & Emily – when she suddenly disappears into thin air; all that's left behind is Mary's pointy witch hat.
We then move forward to the 1st of October one year later, where we learn that a total of 30 children went missing the previous Halloween and Bob is still on the hunt to find his daughter Mary. By the end of the 1st chapter, one of the kids returns out of the blue.
As the story slowly unfolds, more children start to turn up. The plot mostly revolves around Bob, his family and their neighbours as they try to find out who has taken all the children.
I mean, you could read this all at once (obviously), but I read it through October, and I did fairly well sticking with the daily theme until the last few chapters, where I got impatient and just wanted to get to the end.
I can't say that it was great, but it wasn't all bad either. The writing was a little sloppy, the plot could have been tighter, and some of the characters weren't particularly likeable. The ending was also a bit… lacklustre. Every chapter concludes in a kind of mini cliffhanger which sets us up for the next day. It’s a build-up to Halloween and what the kidnapper will do next.
I did find there wasn't much in the way of horror; it was more of a mystery/whodunnit story. Like I mentioned previously, it was one I started more for its seasonal advent theme, as I thought it would be fun to try.
Rating this one 2.5/5 but will round up.
The prologue begins with Mary, one of the children of Maple Creek, out trick-or-treating on Halloween with her family – Dad Bob and her siblings Sam & Emily – when she suddenly disappears into thin air; all that's left behind is Mary's pointy witch hat.
We then move forward to the 1st of October one year later, where we learn that a total of 30 children went missing the previous Halloween and Bob is still on the hunt to find his daughter Mary. By the end of the 1st chapter, one of the kids returns out of the blue.
As the story slowly unfolds, more children start to turn up. The plot mostly revolves around Bob, his family and their neighbours as they try to find out who has taken all the children.
I mean, you could read this all at once (obviously), but I read it through October, and I did fairly well sticking with the daily theme until the last few chapters, where I got impatient and just wanted to get to the end.
I can't say that it was great, but it wasn't all bad either. The writing was a little sloppy, the plot could have been tighter, and some of the characters weren't particularly likeable. The ending was also a bit… lacklustre. Every chapter concludes in a kind of mini cliffhanger which sets us up for the next day. It’s a build-up to Halloween and what the kidnapper will do next.
I did find there wasn't much in the way of horror; it was more of a mystery/whodunnit story. Like I mentioned previously, it was one I started more for its seasonal advent theme, as I thought it would be fun to try.
Rating this one 2.5/5 but will round up.
November 5, 2025
╰┈➤ 𝟸.𝟻 ★ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ
❝𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐, 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓’𝒔 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆.❞
📚⁞ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤-𝐨𝐫-𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠
⤷ buddy read with Nancy ♡ check out her review
📱⁞ 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭: 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎
🏷️⁞ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝙷𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛, 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛, 𝙼𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚢
📆⁞ 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝟷𝟶/𝟸𝟺/𝟸𝟻 - 𝟷𝟷/𝟷/𝟸𝟻
📃⁞ 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
「 “Thirty-one nights. Thirty-one chapters. One final nightmare. Last Halloween, thirty trick-or-treaters vanished into the night. This October, they're coming back-one by one, each day of the month. But every child carries the same chilling warning: something is returning on the 31st.”」
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*
ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ★★ ½
ɢᴏᴏᴅʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 𝟹.𝟺𝟾 ☆ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ
ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ: 🎃
ꜱᴘᴏᴏᴋɪᴇꜱ: ɴᴏɴᴇ. ᴢᴇʀᴏ. ɴᴀᴅᴀ.
ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ: ᴀ ᴛᴜʀɴɪᴘ
ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɪ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ?: 👎🏼
ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: 🎶 ᴇʏᴇꜱ ᴏɴ ꜰɪʀᴇ — ʙʟᴜᴇ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅᴀᴛɪᴏɴ
1:45 ———♡——— 5:02
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
╭───
┆
╰⪼ ❛I’m taking it slow feeding my flame, shuffling the cards of your game and just in time in the right place suddenly I will play my ace.❜
⊱ ────── {⋆ ‧₊˚♪𝄞 ⋆} ────── ⊰
ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
🎃 ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍɪʟᴅ ʜᴏʀʀᴏʀ
🍬 ɴᴇɪɢʜʙᴏʀʜᴏᴏᴅ ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ
🎃 ᴘᴀʀᴀɴᴏʀᴍᴀʟ ᴇʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ
🍬 ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛ ᴄᴀʟᴇɴᴅᴀʀ ꜱᴛʏʟᴇ
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*
💬 ⁞ 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
⟢ I am pissed off at this book lol. The premise of it is what drew me in & kept my attention. With the suburbia Halloween vibes & the 31 day advent style chapters, I thought I was in for a treat, not a trick.
✓ What I Liked:
↬ The premise/idea
↬ Jack-o’-Lantern Lore
↬ All the Halloween vibes
✘ What I Didn’t Like:
↬ Everything else. But let’s break it down, shall we?
↬ The writing felt simple & YA, even though it’s not even in the YA genre.
↬ The characters all sucked & kept making stupid decisions. Not in the quirky way either; they were just plain stupid.
↬ How the only character with any sense was a 9 year old.
↬ Suspending my belief… a lot.
↬ Plot holes galore. 🕳️
↬ Unanswered questions.
↬ Underwhelming, anticlimactic, unsatisfying ending.
↬ That my last book of spooky season was this… 🙃
⟢ Maybe one day Nancy & I will find a 5 star horror read. Until then, onto the next one!
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•* •*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
❝ “𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒚. 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕, 𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕.” ❞
October 31, 2025
Read a chapter a day with this one. Should be fun! Will rate on the 31st.
Was a good story but I don't think I will do another advent style book. Just not a fan of daily cliff hangers. Yes I could have read ahead but that's not how it was meant to be read. Overall it's a well written,interesting story.
Was a good story but I don't think I will do another advent style book. Just not a fan of daily cliff hangers. Yes I could have read ahead but that's not how it was meant to be read. Overall it's a well written,interesting story.
October 11, 2025
I didn’t want to wait all month to read it so I didn’t follow the advent style way. I liked the book ok at the beginning. I feel like the story was a good one for an advent style book where some aren’t and while I didn’t read it like that- I do like knowing exactly how many “days/chapters “ are left and how long what needs to be done has left to be done.
I got about to about 50% and it fell off. It started just slapping over what I kind of think were important parts and never giving a full or any answer . Who actually was the 31st trick or treater (the dead guy jn the wall or the other 2 guys from the folk tales can’t remember names I waited a couple days to write this) ? Why was he mad at his mom and the neighbor with the train/village specifically enough to stalk them all month? And why was his mom’s house and that scene in her shed and cats grave glowing pink important? What actually happened and caused all this it’s never really answered and why is him pulling them all into the pink world the punishment for that?What’s up with the pink world, what’s down the hill there,why did some of those kids die on the way back? And Then the ending ?!?!? Like here we are with this dumb “jack o lantern in a circle” plan which falls apart and then we just kinda stand by and are like “oh wellllll no one is listening” and then it just cuts to black with no explanation other than “sign up for my mailing list and get extra content “. And maybe all my answers lie in that link but if they are they should have been in the book.
Other than some curse words this could be a middle grade book.
I got about to about 50% and it fell off. It started just slapping over what I kind of think were important parts and never giving a full or any answer . Who actually was the 31st trick or treater (the dead guy jn the wall or the other 2 guys from the folk tales can’t remember names I waited a couple days to write this) ? Why was he mad at his mom and the neighbor with the train/village specifically enough to stalk them all month? And why was his mom’s house and that scene in her shed and cats grave glowing pink important? What actually happened and caused all this it’s never really answered and why is him pulling them all into the pink world the punishment for that?What’s up with the pink world, what’s down the hill there,why did some of those kids die on the way back? And Then the ending ?!?!? Like here we are with this dumb “jack o lantern in a circle” plan which falls apart and then we just kinda stand by and are like “oh wellllll no one is listening” and then it just cuts to black with no explanation other than “sign up for my mailing list and get extra content “. And maybe all my answers lie in that link but if they are they should have been in the book.
Other than some curse words this could be a middle grade book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. From the relationship between Bob and his wife to the way Farthing wrote the children characters, the characterization was on point. The tension never let up and the pacing was excruciating in the best possible way, I read nervously from almost beginning to end, the thriller aspect was really nicely done. Perfect Halloween themed horror if you’re tired of slashers.
October 17, 2025
love the concept. hate the 1st grade reading level.. le sigh
October 7, 2025
Kept me reading but the ending was not thrilling. If the ending was better I would’ve given a high rating for sure.
October 24, 2025
2.5 stars
So many unanswered questions and plot holes.
So many unanswered questions and plot holes.
October 31, 2025
✨ Rating: 2.5 ⭐️
🫧 Vibes: mystery trick-or-treater
🎶 Song: this is halloween
📚 Would I recommend? nope
💬 tldr thoughts: an interesting concept that missed the mark.
In the package:
📦 advent calendar style
📦 ghosts
📦 suspense
📦 small town
Plot: Last Halloween, thirty trick-or-treaters disappeared. This October, they're all coming back one-by-one, dead or alive.
Thoughts: Sadly this was a miss for me. I love the concept of advent calendar books and this one was pretty promising for 30% of the book and then it just fell off. It was repetitive and there were so many plots whole by the end. I still don't get why the he took all the kids and why he was so angry at the people in town?? I feel more confused than anything.
✩⁺₊✩☽⋆ follow me on tiktok and instagram⋆☾✩⁺₊✩
🫧 Vibes: mystery trick-or-treater
🎶 Song: this is halloween
📚 Would I recommend? nope
💬 tldr thoughts: an interesting concept that missed the mark.
In the package:
📦 advent calendar style
📦 ghosts
📦 suspense
📦 small town
Plot: Last Halloween, thirty trick-or-treaters disappeared. This October, they're all coming back one-by-one, dead or alive.
Thoughts: Sadly this was a miss for me. I love the concept of advent calendar books and this one was pretty promising for 30% of the book and then it just fell off. It was repetitive and there were so many plots whole by the end. I still don't get why the he took all the kids and why he was so angry at the people in town?? I feel more confused than anything.
✩⁺₊✩☽⋆ follow me on tiktok and instagram⋆☾✩⁺₊✩
October 13, 2025
I ended this book with too many questions that should have been answered.
Questions:
- why was the kidnapper mad at his mom and Sariah? Like what was the point in harassing them and making them a plot point when Sariah never really gave a real backstory about the kidnapper and then we don’t even know why he was mad at her. The mom I can kind of understand based off common knowledge teens can have rough relationships with their parents but more details were needed for why this specific teenager was angry.
- I want to know more about Walter! Like what happened to him while in the in between.
- how was Martin killed? He just decided to go behind a bathroom mirror and hang himself upside and died, doesn’t seem right so where was the actual confirmation of how he died.
- Was Martin actually mad at the town for not looking for him?
There’s many other questions I have about the plot but were never answered. I liked the idea of the story but I wished it had been wrapped up better.
Questions:
- why was the kidnapper mad at his mom and Sariah? Like what was the point in harassing them and making them a plot point when Sariah never really gave a real backstory about the kidnapper and then we don’t even know why he was mad at her. The mom I can kind of understand based off common knowledge teens can have rough relationships with their parents but more details were needed for why this specific teenager was angry.
- I want to know more about Walter! Like what happened to him while in the in between.
- how was Martin killed? He just decided to go behind a bathroom mirror and hang himself upside and died, doesn’t seem right so where was the actual confirmation of how he died.
- Was Martin actually mad at the town for not looking for him?
There’s many other questions I have about the plot but were never answered. I liked the idea of the story but I wished it had been wrapped up better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2025
What !! How do you just end it Iike that ?!! All the build up for what ?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2025
I couldn’t do another week of this I needed it to be over
October 10, 2025
I really enjoyed the entire book up until the last chapter. I would’ve given it 4 stars but there were so many loose ends not tied up. I just knew that everything would come together in the end. It did not.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Why 20 years later?
Where the hell was Stingy for 20 years? Just sitting on the hill biding his time?
Was it because his body was uncovered?
Why was he mad at Sariah?
If the adults had to run down the stairs to get to the hillside, then how did all the kids get there?
His hoodie is caked with mud from being in the wall but he had in a circuit city shirt too?
These are only some of the holes. There are plenty more.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Why 20 years later?
Where the hell was Stingy for 20 years? Just sitting on the hill biding his time?
Was it because his body was uncovered?
Why was he mad at Sariah?
If the adults had to run down the stairs to get to the hillside, then how did all the kids get there?
His hoodie is caked with mud from being in the wall but he had in a circuit city shirt too?
These are only some of the holes. There are plenty more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2025
Strange reader!
This is not my genre- but OMG such a great story! Had Nightmare on Elm Street vibes so if loved the franchise dig in. Now it does have some plot holes, want to know more and another outcome- but main family is addressed. Trippy!
This is not my genre- but OMG such a great story! Had Nightmare on Elm Street vibes so if loved the franchise dig in. Now it does have some plot holes, want to know more and another outcome- but main family is addressed. Trippy!
October 26, 2025
So I’m giving this book a solid one star. I wanted to love it but struggled to finish it. It was a huge letdown & honestly, felt like a rough draft. The writing was just bad. My biggest issue was how the kids were written. The author clearly has never spent time with actual children. The things these kids were supposedly doing, the stuff they were saying, & the way they were thinking at their age was just not believable. Like, at all. I just kept thinking about how a 4 or 5 year old would not do or say that. It was a cool concept just badly executed.
October 30, 2025
This book had so much potential just to be a big let down all that build up for what?
October 22, 2025
Halloween advent chapter calendar book! Seasonal thriller! Super gripping. I wished the whole time I could read ahead. It got too suspenseful, so I had to read ahead. It was good! Alittle predictable but fun!
November 1, 2025
Enjoyed this advent read during the Halloween season. As these 30 children that disappeared are returned one at a time, I enjoyed seeing this story unfold with these mysterious elements.
November 1, 2025
If you love major plot holes, a mystery where none of the clues matter, a 100% unexplained paranormal activity, and/or a grossly unsatisfying ending, this is the book for you.
October 16, 2025
So many grammatical errors
October 30, 2025
The concept behind this book was brilliant—reading a chapter a day just like an advent calendar to slowly reveal the twist, turns and mystery of this haunting halloween tale—but the execution was anything but. First off, the book lacked mystery, spookiness and even purpose. Despite this being a word heavy book I felt like so many things were said with no substance or intention. The book finished with so many unanswered questions; what really happened Martin? Was he murdered or simply just forgotten? Why was he seeking revenge against these adults specifically? Was he even murdered? OR was it because he went missing, was forgotten and never looked for? Why did he have to steal 30 children, play “pranks” and trick the adults with text messages if he was that powerful why didn’t he take his revenge sooner? If he was murdered over 20 years ago what do these neighbors have to do with his revenge (the adults would’ve been children at the time)? The plot was continuously dragged out for over 30 chapters only for the ending to feel abrupt and lackluster. I wanted to know what happened to Martin with complete certainty (wish they would’ve talked to him directly) and I wish his revenge tactics were focused on only those who wronged him. But I will give an extra star for creativity of the style of story, for the way that Sam, Bob and Joann’s characters were written (they all were so raw, vulnerable and brave) and for overall attempt at a fun and entertaining story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2025
The ending? Did I miss something? I don’t think so. What even?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2025
4⭐️
I think what I like most about the authors writing is that it is engaging with just the right amount of creepy for adults while still being appropriate to hand to my 11-year-old nephew to enjoy. Goosbumps for the adult that is still nosaligic for it.
What makes this book different from other easy reading horror is the community it built. The author wrote it as a Halloween advent with a chapter to read each day. While waiting in trepidation for the next day, readers came together in the most remarkable ways. We may say we want to discuss books, but rarely do we, as social media consumers, read the same books at the same time to actually discuss them. Farthing gave us that. He formed a book club across multiple platforms. Got got the readers to engage and brought us together. It was the camaraderie he created here that I enjoyed the most.
I won't do a review. So many have read and enjoyed that reviewing it seemes pointless. Just know that I valued watching the bookish community grow and unite over a common read. I valued each of your daily inputs and guesses. This was an amazing event to be part of when it felt like the world is on fire.
I think what I like most about the authors writing is that it is engaging with just the right amount of creepy for adults while still being appropriate to hand to my 11-year-old nephew to enjoy. Goosbumps for the adult that is still nosaligic for it.
What makes this book different from other easy reading horror is the community it built. The author wrote it as a Halloween advent with a chapter to read each day. While waiting in trepidation for the next day, readers came together in the most remarkable ways. We may say we want to discuss books, but rarely do we, as social media consumers, read the same books at the same time to actually discuss them. Farthing gave us that. He formed a book club across multiple platforms. Got got the readers to engage and brought us together. It was the camaraderie he created here that I enjoyed the most.
I won't do a review. So many have read and enjoyed that reviewing it seemes pointless. Just know that I valued watching the bookish community grow and unite over a common read. I valued each of your daily inputs and guesses. This was an amazing event to be part of when it felt like the world is on fire.
October 31, 2025
The premise of reading one chapter a day leading up to Halloween was SO fun. Five stars for the idea.
The actual story? Hot garbage. I’m sorry. We are still basically as in the dark at the end of the book as we were 20 days ago. The last chapter was the most rushed conclusion I’ve ever read. Just so underwhelming, man. It could have been SO fun and I just feel very unsatisfied ☹️
The actual story? Hot garbage. I’m sorry. We are still basically as in the dark at the end of the book as we were 20 days ago. The last chapter was the most rushed conclusion I’ve ever read. Just so underwhelming, man. It could have been SO fun and I just feel very unsatisfied ☹️
October 31, 2025
Ok. Am I highly annoyed with the lack info and abrupt ending? Yes. But did I still have fun reading the daily chapters and speculating theories with our book club, of which none of us were right? Also yes! I needed more back story and a tidy ending but also understand that an advent book is limited to the number of chapters it has to get all that in.
November 2, 2025
I really enjoyed the advent style of this book—definitely want to read more like this. However, I felt lost throughout the book and fairly unsatisfied by the ending.
October 14, 2025
As I did like the start it seamed to drag a little in the middle . and the ending just ok for me. yes only three pumpkins for me
October 30, 2025
dang all that for what
4.25/5
I will admit that I enjoyed reading a chapter a day (except for today cause I knew I'd be too busy on halloween to read it). I was on the edge of my seat, and it's the first thing that I wanted to do everyday. But what the heck was that ending. No justice or anything. I still have so many unanswered questions.
4.25/5
I will admit that I enjoyed reading a chapter a day (except for today cause I knew I'd be too busy on halloween to read it). I was on the edge of my seat, and it's the first thing that I wanted to do everyday. But what the heck was that ending. No justice or anything. I still have so many unanswered questions.
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