The Nudge

by Joseph Fink

A new horror novella from the creator of Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn't Dead .

On the open road, evil doesn't chase you. It waits . . .

Late one night, a wounded man checks into a remote roadside hotel. He's running from something he can't explain or escape. And over the course of a night, he'll tell the hotel's proprietor how his life fell apart.

It started with his wife. Subtle changes. Smiles that didn't belong to her. Then violence—sudden, intimate, almost casual. Therapy offered hope. Recovery seemed possible. Until it wasn't. He believes a hidden influence has attached itself to him, one that never forces, never commands. It whispers. It suggests. Nudges people toward their worst impulses.

Now the man wanders the country as a fugitive, hoping to break free from the evil that's wormed its way into him. But as our narrator's story unfolds, he begins to question whether he's fled far enough . . .

Tense, atmospheric, and chilling, The Nudge is a slow-burn tale of suspense that will linger like a whisper in the dark, long after the story is over.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Novella

144 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 1, 2026

About the author

Joseph Fink is the creator of the Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn't Dead podcasts, and the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Welcome to Night Vale, It Devours!, and The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home (all written with Jeffrey Cranor) and Alice Isn’t Dead. He is also the author of the children’s novel, The Halloween Moon. He and his wife, Meg Bashwiner have written the memoir, The First Ten Years. They live together in the Hudson River Valley.

Reviews

[GCR | Book Realm]

I received this through NetGalley

The Nudge was a solid, super quick read. It kept me intrigued because I wasn’t sure if he was losing his mind or if something was really there.

The atmosphere and uncertainty worked well, and for such a short novella, it was easy to stay invested.

The ending did feel abrupt, though. It happened so quickly that I was left sitting there like… wait, that’s it?

I did really liked the artwork scattered throughout some sections. Since I have aphantasia, those visuals added something to the experience that I otherwise would not have had while reading.

Overall, a solid short psychological horror read for people who like unsettling setups and very quick reads.

[Louis (audiobookfanatic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

BLURB:
An unnamed man arrives at a remote roadside hotel, where he tells proprietor Alan Lloyd the disturbing story of how his wife Sharon slowly changed into someone terrifying, forcing him to flee everything he once knew.

REVIEW:
The Nudge was my first book by Joseph Fink, and it definitely won’t be my last. This is a horror novella with much more psychological and existential horror than body horror or gore, but a few scenes did terrify me! I was immersed from start to finish, and one of my favourite things about it was its unique format. The entire story is told in just two chapters with an Intermission from the mysterious hotel proprietor in between. For most of the book, I felt like I was a fly on the wall, listening in on an unsettling conversation. This is also a slow-burn with creeping dread, an unseen evil, and unreliable reality—all woven into a mind-bending tale!

The story only has two characters present from start to finish. An unnamed man (the narrator of the story within a story) is escorted by an overly friendly hotel proprietor, Alan Lloyd, to his room. The story unfolds as they traverse through seemingly endless maze-like corridors, stairwells, and elevators to get there. As they walk, the unnamed man tells the story of how his wife Sharon began having strange episodes that made her become increasingly creepy and dangerous toward him. She received treatment but nothing was able to stop whatever had taken hold of her. His story has some sudden, vivid body horror scenes that caught me off guard. Eventually, he had no choice but to flee, which is what brings him to the hotel. He tells his story over Chapter One and Chapter Two, while Alan interrupts with bizarre tidbits about the hotel’s history. How the hotel began as a home and gradually became a labyrinth-like hotel is really intriguing, and as they walk, there are a lot of vivid details of the hotel interior that are claustrophobic and dizzying! By the end, the hotel felt like a character in its own right, and its eerie atmosphere stayed with me after I finished.😱

The ending is a bit of a surprise but also ambiguous, and it will leave you unsettled and probably asking yourself, “What did I just read?” in the best way!

I highly recommend the audiobook. It’s a duet narration, and both narrators do a fantastic job bringing the unnamed man and Alan Lloyd to life in a high-quality production. It’s perfect for a commute or a one-sitting read/listen. After this one, I’ll definitely be reading more from Joseph Fink!

[julia ｡･:*˚:✧｡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

I really liked the way this was written as a man telling a story. Genuinely fit the vibes of the setting being an architecturally strange hotel so well.
I really liked the way it started to creep up on you that maybe he hasn't run away far enough! Joseph Fink is just # that girl

[She’s Stranger Than Fiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your usual novella. It’s unique and a little weird with a foreseeable twist at the end. That twist and the ending could have been better and lost the book a star. A man’s idyllic life ends when his wife starts changing in frightening ways. He flees and ends up in a strange hotel having a conversation with an employee. This dialogue is the entirety of the book provides the reader with two unreliable narrators. It’s 100% psychological horror with the unsettling dichotomy of real vs. unreal, as well as some of the other usual suspects like paranoia, isolation, and loss. If you are a reader who loves over-the-top or extreme horror or loads of suspense, this is not for you. This book is filled with creeping dread and strangeness.
TWs: brief violence, sxxcide, and animal death.

My gratitude goes to Joseph Fink, Podium, and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this uncorrected proof.

[Bailey (Myveinsbleedink) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so eerie!!! Had me on the edge of my seat completely engrossed in the travellers story. I loved how this was narrated. Totally engaging. Great audio!

[Alu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had so many thoughts while reading this. I love stories that leave room for interpretation, and The Nudge does exactly that.

A man recounts his story to the hotel clerk. The man is sure that something is chasing him. Something very evil, which he calls The Nudge.

Safety is a funny thing. When you have it, you hardly even notice. And when the moment it's gone, it's all you can think about.

It started with his wife, a creepy grin, which quickly escalated to a knife attack. He thought she was crazy, but no, something sinister is in her head.

Nothing big. It wouldn't run your car off the road or blow up a gas line. No, it works in subtler, smaller movements. It reaches out to someone close to you, and it gives a little nudge.

Now, what if the Nudge is those strange thoughts that pop up? Instead of a supernatural being, what if it were the thoughts that we indulged? The protagonist thought the changes in his wife's behaviour were because of a ghost, but it was just her acting out her thoughts. The author hints at something similar -

It wasn't something she wanted to do, obviously, but once the thought existed it was impossible to ignore.

Haven't we all got such thoughts? One that pops out of nowhere and even sometimes takes you by surprise? A thought that is ever so slightly cruel/evil?
When I was a kid, I used to tell funny and cheerful stories to my younger brother before bed. Then one day, I had a thought: why not tell him scary stories? I knew it would scare him, and I started spinning stories about ghosts, spiders and whatnot. Even now, my brother sleeps as far away from the edge of the bed and the door as possible. (I actually regret doing that now...) 🙄🙈


As the story progressed, the earlier interpretation faded, and I started wondering- what if the man himself was crazy?
Then came the ending, which wasn't what I expected because I was anticipating something bigger. The ending left me with more questions. I do think the hotel can be interpreted as an asylum or even his own mind.

The story was told in an unsettling calm. I was completely mesmerised by the writing style and story. Although the ending might not have been what I wanted, I loved reading this book and will certainly try the Author's other works!

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to podiumentertainment and Joseph Fink for the opportunity to listen to The Nudge, brilliantly narrated by Cecil Baldwin and Kevin R Free

The story begins with an injured man arriving at a hotel where a very peculiar concierge escorts him to his room. Along the way, he recounts the horrifying events that brought him there. From his loving wife, Sharon, becoming the vessel for a terrifying entity to finding himself completely alone, unable to trust anyone around him.

As his story unfolds, so do the mysteries surrounding the hotel itself. Its unusual architecture and unsettling history become just as intriguing as the man's own experiences creating an atmosphere that keeps you questioning what is real and what secrets are hidden within its walls.

Without giving too much away, The Nudged is a psychological thriller filled with mystery, unexpected twists, and genuinely unsettling moments. There were several scenes that left me wondering, "How is he possibly going to survive this?"

I also have to applaud Cecil Baldwin and Kevin R. Free. Their performances elevated the story and completely immersed me in its eerie atmosphere. Listening to this audiobook felt like stepping into an episode of The Twilight Zone, with the unsettling horror of The Grudge and the claustrophobic, haunted-hotel atmosphere of The Shining.

One more thing I loved? It's a quick listen! I kept telling myself, "Just one more chapter," and before I knew it, I had finished the entire audiobook because I simply couldn't stop listening.

🎧 The Nudged releases on September 1, 2026.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with supernatural elements, unsettling mysteries, and an atmosphere that lingers long after the final chapter, you'll definitely want to add this one to your listening list.

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review! 


Representations: https://trello.com/c/DxOnOcXG


Short and Snappy but a very well constructed dialogue!

The entire novella is written as a dialogue, the only words are spoken ones. It managed to stay pretty realistic and flowed surprisingly well. Things did feel slightly off, but that's intentional due to the setting and what's going on.


There are few characters, the 2 in dialogue are the main character and the owner of the hotel/only employee/bell boy. The rest are through the story told, only 2 others being prominent - The wife, and the neighbour in the motel. Honestly really liked how the characters were written. In such short time you got to know them all quite well. Saying much about any of them will certainly spoil too much however.


The story was quite interesting, and while it was very slow at first, since it's a novella that didn't last too long. By the time it felt like it was starting to drag it was already like halfway through and started to pick up haha. It does get pretty bleak and tense, and towards the end it does get kinda depressing (content warning spoiler at the bottom, this is a book that needs it), but it handles it pretty alright? I think because it's a novella and because it cannot linger on scenes too long it's mostly alright in what it does near the end.

The ending itself though, while it was good it did mostly leave me feeling a bit confused? I'm not entirely sure what the ending was, but that could just be me being dumb. I understand what happened, but not really what happens next if that makes sense, or why things had to go the way they did.


Content warning for on-page suicide and animal (pet, essentially) death.

[Eunice Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

"On the open road, evil doesn’t chase you. It waits . . ."

While it says this a slow-burn, I honestly flew through it. I wouldn't classify it as slow at all the pacing felt really fast because I was just completely locked in. The chemistry (if you can call it that for a horror thriller!) between the two main characters is so intense that you almost feel like a third wheel just sitting there listening to their conversation.

The imagery is haunting. There were scenes described so vividly that I actually wished I could draw just to get them out of my head. Good thing the book includes some illustrations,kudos to the artist! They are the perfect touch like adding a highlighter to your makeup just to make the best parts pop.

One part that really stuck with me was when Alan, dives into the history of the hotel. It gave off major Winchester Mystery House vibes, which just added to that creepy, claustrophobic atmosphere. The story is also incredibly unpredictable. I definitely got my own little "nudge" to finish the entire thing in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. Every time I turned the page, my heart was racing trying to figure out what was coming next.

I'm already crossing my fingers for a sequel or even a prequel. I need to know more about the history of the guest and his wife, there’s just so much potential there to expand on this world.

Overall, this was such an enjoyable, chilling read. Huge congrats to Joseph Fink,you’ve definitely left a mark with this one.

If you’re a fan of atmospheric horror that stays with you, definitely pick this up when it drops on September 1st!

[ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Podium Entertainment for this ARC!

Rating: 3.5 Stars rounded up.

“The Nudge” is a novella by “Welcome to Night Vale” co-creator Joseph Fink, telling the story of a man on the run from a force he can’t explain, which nudges people to follow their worst impulses. Finally he reaches a remote hotel, hoping to find safety there. But will he?

Overall, I would say this book is a good time. The story is told in a kind of run-on dialogue, as the main character tells the hotel’s proprietor his story while they walk to his room together. I really like this kind of somewhat unique narrative style, and I felt it was well executed here.

There are some real tense and horrifying moments, but I wouldn’t describe it as extraordinarily scary or gory, so it’s definitely also a read accessible to people less used to horror.

My only real issue is that I wish this book was longer. Now, this isn’t about the pacing, because that was phenomenal. I just really, really wish there was more after that ending. I like open endings, generally, but in this case I just wasn’t quite satisfied. That really shouldn’t stop you from reading this though – it’s still a very entertaining read.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was already excited for a new Joseph Fink book, but even more so when I found out that it was a horror one. I was so lucky to have gotten approved through NetGalley to read it early. The formatting of this was really unique. It kind of had a bit of a gothic horror novel aspect where the framework of the whole story is someone telling another person about something horrible that had happened, but with a different twist to it. I think the conversation between the two characters as a format will work really well for the audio version. It also worked really well to have a lot of description and creepy atmosphere while also keeping the book very fast-moving to have a lot of story within the novella length. Jessica Hayworth's illustrations throughout the book really added to the atmosphere of the whole thing.

This had some classic horror tropes that were executed well, but it also had some really unique new creepy nightmare images that were very vividly described. This kind of had Smile vibes but also a bit of Psycho vibes and Hotel California vibes all while being its own unique thing. This also felt like it had a much stronger and more solid conclusion than a lot of novellas do (and than a lot of horror things do in general lately). I would definitely recommend it.

[Horror Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of people might talk about the supernatural element of this novella, and it has that, but I think at its heart, this book is a horrifying love story.

A man checks into a hotel and as he and the clerk are headed to his room the man tells his rather terrifying story. That's BASICALLY what this book entails as it's only around seventy pages. But it turns into something much more horrific as it's being told.

To say anything about what the Nudge is or what led this man to flee from the only woman he's ever loved after years of blissful marriage would not do it justice. I don't want to spoil anything about this incredibly creepy book.

Suffice it to say that this story the man tells goes from odd, to creepy, to violent and bloody. But there's more! Right at the end there's a twist that will change your perception about what you've just read and will have you thinking about it long after you've finished reading.

Just prepare yourself because once you start you won't want to stop reading until the very end. I highly recommend it. I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

[alexalexalex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved this! I’ve been getting more into short stories and novellas, but I genuinely wish this one was longer. As many have said, the ending felt a bit abrupt, but I think that’s only because I wanted more of the story.

A nameless narrator tells a hotel manager a terrifying story as they make the long, confusing, twisting, trip to his room. It’s a story about possession, fear and violence and it keeps you guessing as you race to the end.

The structure of the story gripped me from the beginning, with the entire narrative written as dialogue between the man and the hotel manager. It didn’t feel forced or awkward, and I would actually love more books written in this way.

Some of the writing felt a tad repetitive, with descriptions of people and places often repeating. I wasn’t sure if this was an intentional artistic choice, but whenever I noticed it I was taken out of the narrative for a moment. But since the story was so interesting I fell right back in.

Highly recommend for anyone wanting a quick unsettling read!

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for review!

right away, the unique back-and-forth format of this short story grabbed my attention. the fact that the entire thing is told purely between two characters highlights the feeling of isolation that follows the narrative, a presence so heavy that perhaps it is even a silent third character.

i wasnt entirely sure what direction this was going at any point in the story, not until the very last page. and while i would love a little more context or explanation, its because the ending comes so abruptly and leaves the reader with as much uncertainty as the main character that it fulfills its role as a psychological thriller.

i wish id read this in a high school english class because now i just want to sit for 45 minutes and talk about the different meanings one could interpret from this.

in sum, ill say: so eerie! so twilight zoney! an entertaining and thought-provoking read that can be knocked out in an hour or two but will linger for a few days afterward.

[Brynx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, wow. I ate this book up! I sat down last night and could not put it down until I finished it. It has so many horror elements that I love including liminal space, unreliable narrator, a creeping sense of dread, exploration of grief and loss. Definitely a psychological horror. It is easily one of my favorite books I've read this year.

An unnamed man arrives late at night to an old hotel back off the road. After days of driving and lack of human interaction, he recants a story about his wife and the unsettling behavior she begins to display. Married for twenty years, we are made privy to the start of the relationship and the current affects an entity is having on his wife.

Fink is fantastic at making the ordinary feel uncanny and I was griped from the first page to the last. This novella is only 144 pgs. so be prepared to devour it in one sitting. I'll be grabbing a copy for myself and a friend once it's published!

Thank you, Netgalley and Podium Entertainment, for this ARC E-Book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: September 1st, 2026

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Safety is a funny thing. When you have it, you hardly even notice. And the moment it's gone, it's all you can think about.

A man running from a mysterious force he calls the Nudge stops at a hotel for the night and captivates the hotel manager's attention with his story. That's it, go read it yourself.

I'm a huge fan of Welcome to Night Vale, so I'm used to enjoying Joseph Fink's writing. This was no exception, and I was so happy to get this ARC approved. The Nudge is a fun little horror novella, not overly terrifying but just creepy enough, expertly paced. I recommend reading it in one sitting late at night, it really is that quick and engaging. It's told entirely through dialogue, almost like a script, interspersed with haunting illustrations. I felt like I was in the room with these two people, listening to a dark tale while walking through labyrinthine, creaking hallways. I bet it's gonna kill as an audiobook as well.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book for review consideration.

[Cristal · Rating 4 out of 5]

4🌟

I just gotta say….what did I just read!? The whole story was short, easy to read, and very intrigued. The story started out as a man trying to find somewhere he could stay and sleep. He had been running for a while. He finally found this hotel and a man working helps him to his room.

As he is being walked to his room, our main character tells the employee about his wife, things she did to him, and how he was trying to get away from her. As he finishes his story he continues how he still keeps running but not from his wife but from this “Nudge”.

As the employee is being a good listener. He tells him to watch out his step, the floors, walls, and steps are made weird. What for me the most was how long this walk to his hotel room! lol

This story does definitely make you think and messes with your head. It was a very good novella to read.

Thank you to Podium Entertainment & Joseph Fink for the complimentary ACL of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

[KaysHorrorTBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, Podium Entertainment, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

I gotta say, this grew on me as the story went on and in the end this was a great little novella and a perfect length for the story.

The creep factor ramps up at a good pace, and the storytelling format is effective, feeling the creepiness ramp up through our MCs recounting of the events to the owner of a remote hotel he's stopped at for the night.

The casual way that the violence is committed is eerie and effective at showing that *something* has taken over and is intent on getting to our MC.

Some of the descriptions of what he experienced genuinely gave me a shiver, and I absolutely loved the illustrations throughout to aid in building the picture of what happened.

I also think the dialogue format will really translate well to an audiobook version, though you lose the illustrations in that instance I guess!

In all, a definite recommendation from me. I'm glad I've got a few of Fink's other books on my tbr!

[soull_ll ᓚᘏᗢ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bite-sized horror experience with creepy characters, written skaz-style.

The Nudge is narrated by a man on the run from an evil supernatural force, as he recounts the possession of his wife to a bellhop. His week-long harrowing experience involves nightmare-inducing imagery of those the "nudge" possesses.

The story is predicatable, and the ending is abrupt. That is to say, while the conclusion did feel inevitable, it felt rushed compared to the rest of the story. At the last page, my genuine reaction was: so, that's it?.

Still, the middle is the perfect downward spiral set-up to a grim-end. Literally. They keep walking in that hotel forever. The back-and-forth exchange with the bellhop has an uncanny undercurrent to it, and keeps you reading to know what else can possibly go wrong next. The illustrations were also immersive (The one with the sewing needle sticking out? Morbid and perfect).

It is a quick fix for horror-lovers, that's certain.

[frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Podium Entertainment and Netgalley for a copy of this arc

The nudge is a slick little possession story with an interesting format.

I think a lot of your enjoyment will hinge on whether or not you enjoy more experimental formats.

Im not the biggest fan of them but I can see who it would work for. Luckily I see it really working for the fans of some of finks previous work on the welcome to night vale podcast.

There is something so funny to me about a man whose wife is possessed and makes it about himself that made chuckle. There is a lot of leaping to conclusions that feel very yes and.

The beginning of this novella is the strongest in my opinion but fans of liminal space horror will probably enjoy the second half a little more than I do

I’d recommend to fans of Uketsus strange books.

[Sarah Mclennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley & the publisher for the eARC 🖤

okay this was DEEPLY unsettling and I absolutely ate it up 😭

70-ish pages?? excuse me??? how did this manage to make me this uncomfortable in basically one sitting 💀

This has that weird liminal, something-is-not-right, skin-crawly energy that gets under your skin FAST. The kind of story where you keep thinking “surely it can’t get weirder from here” and then it absolutely does.

I went in expecting a quick creepy little read and instead got psychological horror + emotional damage + me side-eyeing literally everything 😃

Also I LOVE when a novella doesn’t waste time. No filler, straight into the weirdness.

The Nudge itself??? nope. absolutely not. don’t want it. keep it away from me.

Such a ridiculously bingeable little horror read. Weird, creepy, unsettling, and somehow way more emotionally messy than I expected.

[erica utti-hodge ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this eARC! 4.25 stars :)

this is a fun and genuinely haunting novella. a possession story of sorts, this book forces you to think about what it would be like to have the person you love the most occasionally no longer be themselves. it is entertaining and funny at times, and despite it being entirely dialogue, you get a really great feel for the characters and it is easy to imagine them as real people.

my only real critique is that, since this is fully a dialogue between people, i feel like it should have been written more like an oral story or like a conversation. sometimes, the characters would not respond to something the other person had said in order to keep the plot/story moving forward, which took me out of it a little.

overall i think this is a scary, quick read that anyone who is interested in horror would like!

[Nichele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss for my ARC of The Nudge!

From the very first page, I was obsessed with this book! I love that this novella is written entirely in dialogue. It’s eerie and you wonder how the main character ends up at this hotel, talking to the hotel proprietor.

The visuals from both the way the story was being told to the literal visuals drawn for the book, I was THOROUGHLY creeped out. The fact that things started out as small creepy gestures to grand acts of violence left unsettled and frankly, I was speed reading to figure out how it ended.

I’m giving this 5 stars!⭐️ Joseph Fink already has a fan in me through his podcasts (Welcome to Nightvale…even I didn’t make the connection at first-that’s my bad 😅) but now he has me as a horror fiction fan!

If you love Isolation, paranoia, atmospheric and eerie, this is for you.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

When he opens up about his wife to a hotel night manager, it starts out as a pretty standard setup. But his descriptions of finding her in random corners of the house, staring into empty space with that wide, wicked smile while her eyes beg for help, are genuinely creepy.

His story keeps looping in and out as he makes his way through the hotel to his room. One moment he is describing something horrifying about his wife, and the next he is wandering through the hallways talking about the building’s history. The night manager takes every sudden shift in stride, listening like an old friend, which makes the whole conversation feel even stranger. With the story of his wife and the story of the hotel unfolding together, I was never quite sure where he was going with either one, literally as he wandered deeper through its hallways.

Arc provided by Podium Entertainment via NetGalley

[star · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5⭐

the nudge is a horror novella following a conversation between a man on the run from an unknown horror he calls 'the nudge' and a concierge at an odd hotel.

i'm a huge fan of joseph fink (wtnv and alice isn't dead are so far the only hardbounds i've ever bought brand-new), so i got really excited when i saw this on netgalley. it's almost entirely predictable, but i enjoyed it every step of the way. the pacing and the tension is so masterful, it really gets its hooks into you. and the illustrations added were horrifying. the concept of 'the nudge' is a monster we've seen many iterations of, but the way it's portrayed here has a tangible terror to it; like it could very well happen to you.

i think fans of r/nosleep might be interested in reading this. thank you to podium entertainment and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Darcy Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gothic tale was creepy in the best way. On the surface, the plot is simple: two men just talk to each other while walking through a hotel. It reminds me of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, where the whole plot is just a woman alone in a room.

I feel like The Nudge works on two separate levels. First, it is a quick, suspenseful story that kept me on the edge of my seat. But on a deeper level, it feels like a book I would have studied in a literature class. The author created a slow burn with the claustrophobic, stark atmosphere of the hotel, contrasted with the visceral, unhinged events that take place within the narrator's stories.

I recommend this horror novella to readers of Shirley Jackson, Joyce Carol Oates, or Stephen King. It is a bite-sized, psychological thriller with building dread that will stay with the reader long after they finish the story.

[AMY DURAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always huge thank you to NetGalley and Podium Entertainment for the chance to read and review The Nudge by Joseph Fink.

"...it influences us. Nothing big. It wouldn't run your car off the road or blow up a gas line. No, it works in subtler, smaller movements. It reaches out to someone close to you, and it gives a little nudge."

I loved Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn't Dead so I was super excited to read this horror novella. Told in a clever conversational writing style you feel as if you are a part of the story walking side by side with the two main characters. The story starts with a sweet "meet cute" love story that quickly delves into a horrifying tale that will get under your skin.

Less than 150 pages this is a super quick read but it's highly enjoyable, 5 stars from me!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the artwork sprinkled throughout - it added so much atmosphere and made the eerie moments even creepier. The opening descriptions of the Nudge and his wife immediately pulled me in and gave the story such an unsettling tone.
I really enjoyed the back-and-forth with the hotel manager, and the explanation behind the hotel itself gave me strong Winchester Mystery House vibes. The whole story felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone.
My only complaint was the ending - it felt a little abrupt compared to the slow build of tension throughout the rest of the story. Still, the atmosphere, artwork, and creepy concept made this a really fun read.
Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity!

I knew I was going to love this as I always love Joseph Fink’s work, but wow. This blew me out of the water. I even wrote down a quote that really spoke to me and everything. But truly, this was a fantastic novella and the story itself was beyond incredible. Told in a similar style as almost, funnily enough, a Magnus Archives episode, with a character telling another the story of what he’s been dealing with while the other character makes anecdotes here and there. The story itself was very engaging, feeling similar to a Reddit horror story you read at 3am and then never stop thinking about again. I truly just loved this and can’t recommend it enough.

[Chelsea Carr Kinnear · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot of this novella dives in off the deep end and keeps twisting and turning.

Right from that start I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the premise. I was pulled in by the deep sense of unease created by the liminal nature of the hotel and enjoyed the unfurling of the main character’s dark story.

I was reading this novella before bed but had to set it down to finish in the morning because I was getting genuinely frightened.

I felt like this story had similar vibes at times to The Shining and The Haunting of Hill House. If you’re been intrigued by the story of the Winchester Mystery House you’ll enjoy this tale.

Thank you Net Galley and Podium Entertainment for the advanced copy!