What do you think?
Nightjars
Memento
meets
Dracula
in this heart-thudding, unpredictable, and beautifully crafted novel of a man exposed for crimes he doesn’t remember committing, and the monsters that dwell at the heart of us all, from celebrated and critically acclaimed author Michael Wehunt. This program features light sound design.
On a rainy night, Luke Oshel gets stood up halfway through dinner. But before his date walks off to the bathroom and never returns, she leaves an old photograph under her napkin—Luke as a child, a dead body in the shadows of his bedroom, and a terrifying masked man. He has no recollection of this event.
Then more photos disrupt his life—Luke posing with murder victims, covered in blood—and he falls back into the deep paranoia and repressed memories he’s tried to leave behind. All the drugs and alcohol, therapy, and hypnosis sessions have never conquered his deepest fear—that he hasn’t escaped the hidden legacy of his late father, who killed his victims by blood loss. But now there is a new string of serial killings, and the evidence all points to Luke.
As his journey to uncover the truth unfolds in the North Georgia Appalachians, a threat arises that will risk everything he holds close, including his ex-wife and their young daughter. Now Luke must chase his father’s darkness through a centuries-old secret and learn what monsters truly are. And decide if he’s one of them.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press
On a rainy night, Luke Oshel gets stood up halfway through dinner. But before his date walks off to the bathroom and never returns, she leaves an old photograph under her napkin—Luke as a child, a dead body in the shadows of his bedroom, and a terrifying masked man. He has no recollection of this event.
Then more photos disrupt his life—Luke posing with murder victims, covered in blood—and he falls back into the deep paranoia and repressed memories he’s tried to leave behind. All the drugs and alcohol, therapy, and hypnosis sessions have never conquered his deepest fear—that he hasn’t escaped the hidden legacy of his late father, who killed his victims by blood loss. But now there is a new string of serial killings, and the evidence all points to Luke.
As his journey to uncover the truth unfolds in the North Georgia Appalachians, a threat arises that will risk everything he holds close, including his ex-wife and their young daughter. Now Luke must chase his father’s darkness through a centuries-old secret and learn what monsters truly are. And decide if he’s one of them.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press
12 pages, Audible Audio
First published September 29, 2026
About the author
Michael Wehunt
45 books534 followersMICHAEL WEHUNT has been a finalist for multiple Shirley Jackson Awards and was shortlisted for the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts' Crawford Award. In Spain, his stories have garnered nominations for the Premio Ignotus and Premio Amaltea, winning the latter. He haunts the woods outside Atlanta with his partner and their dog. Together, they hold the horrors at bay. Find him in the digital trees at www.michaelwehunt.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 323 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt
Narrated by Matt Godfrey, Zura Johnson
In a week, I've read/heard three books under the horror genre tag and this one really takes me to the edge of my horror limits. Still, I could not put it down. I was able to both read the book and listen to the book, which allowed me to see some names and locations that I would not have been able to spell/pronounce without seeing and hearing them. I'm so glad i could listen to the audiobook, too, because the narrations were very good.
Getting to hear the despair in the voice of Luke Oshel helped me to feel for him. This is an extremely troubled man who has the worst of nightmares and hallucinations. But are they hallucinations? They seem so real and therapy is allowing Luke to get deeper into what he's been seeing in his head. His therapist has even coached him to be able to do this "reaching inside" on his own and as the story goes forward, Luke is triggered to see things as they really might have happened.
All this trauma is part of the reason that Luke drank and drugged himself and despite how important his wife was to him and, then later, the addition of a daughter, Luke could not let go of his addictions and his anger, brought on by being raised by a cruel, abusive, and despicable father. Luke's memories/hallucinations are as gory and horrific as they can get but he really does believe/hope they were not real. Then Luke sees photographic evidence and Luke's failing life goes into a nosedive. Bad things, worse than before, start happening in real time. Seeing things from Luke's side and hearing the narrator's voice, helped me to be able to see Luke as a struggling man who is fighting demons, real or imagined, as hard as he possibly can.
Once we are embedded with Luke, we meet his ex-wife and adorable four year old daughter, the very best things in Luke's life. We start seeing things from the POV of Luke's ex and get to hear her narration and this is where the story got even better for me. This change gave me the ability to wonder what if this was happening in my life, how do you stop it? Of course, I'd probably do exactly zero of what Luke's ex-wife does but then I'd make a lousy character in a story like this one. Once the ex is introduced, we get alternating POVs and I appreciate getting to be in Luke's head again, to keep him real to me, to remind me of his humanity.
The ending is very interesting and I can only hope that it doesn't really end as the characters appear to be handling things because that's just sick in an already very sick story. Some stories can't have a "good" ending, no matter what, but at least the characters can stop making what I consider to be big mistakes. But, then I'd probably be the first to die if I was in this book so I'm probably the last one to have a legit opinion of a horror story ending.
Publication September 29, 2026
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, SMP Early Readers, and NetGalley for this ARC
Narrated by Matt Godfrey, Zura Johnson
In a week, I've read/heard three books under the horror genre tag and this one really takes me to the edge of my horror limits. Still, I could not put it down. I was able to both read the book and listen to the book, which allowed me to see some names and locations that I would not have been able to spell/pronounce without seeing and hearing them. I'm so glad i could listen to the audiobook, too, because the narrations were very good.
Getting to hear the despair in the voice of Luke Oshel helped me to feel for him. This is an extremely troubled man who has the worst of nightmares and hallucinations. But are they hallucinations? They seem so real and therapy is allowing Luke to get deeper into what he's been seeing in his head. His therapist has even coached him to be able to do this "reaching inside" on his own and as the story goes forward, Luke is triggered to see things as they really might have happened.
All this trauma is part of the reason that Luke drank and drugged himself and despite how important his wife was to him and, then later, the addition of a daughter, Luke could not let go of his addictions and his anger, brought on by being raised by a cruel, abusive, and despicable father. Luke's memories/hallucinations are as gory and horrific as they can get but he really does believe/hope they were not real. Then Luke sees photographic evidence and Luke's failing life goes into a nosedive. Bad things, worse than before, start happening in real time. Seeing things from Luke's side and hearing the narrator's voice, helped me to be able to see Luke as a struggling man who is fighting demons, real or imagined, as hard as he possibly can.
Once we are embedded with Luke, we meet his ex-wife and adorable four year old daughter, the very best things in Luke's life. We start seeing things from the POV of Luke's ex and get to hear her narration and this is where the story got even better for me. This change gave me the ability to wonder what if this was happening in my life, how do you stop it? Of course, I'd probably do exactly zero of what Luke's ex-wife does but then I'd make a lousy character in a story like this one. Once the ex is introduced, we get alternating POVs and I appreciate getting to be in Luke's head again, to keep him real to me, to remind me of his humanity.
The ending is very interesting and I can only hope that it doesn't really end as the characters appear to be handling things because that's just sick in an already very sick story. Some stories can't have a "good" ending, no matter what, but at least the characters can stop making what I consider to be big mistakes. But, then I'd probably be the first to die if I was in this book so I'm probably the last one to have a legit opinion of a horror story ending.
Publication September 29, 2026
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, SMP Early Readers, and NetGalley for this ARC
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 stars:
I am not a fan of vampire fiction. So when I tell you that I actually enjoyed NIGHTJARS by Michael Wehunt, that should tell you something!
Had I paid closer attention to the description "Memento meets Dracula," I probably would never have requested it. I'm glad I missed that little detail.
Luke Oshel is a divorced father haunted by the horrifying legacy of his father, a murderer who killed women by exsanguination. Even worse, there are photographs of Luke as a child with some of his father's victims, encounters Luke barely remembers.
Then a blind date abruptly abandons him at a restaurant, leaving behind an old photograph of young Luke standing beside a masked man hovering over the bloodless body of a dead woman.
That sends Luke spiraling.
He heads into the North Georgia woods searching for the remote cabin his father once took him to. At the same time, a new string of exsanguination murders has begun, and the police are looking at Luke as a possible suspect.
Is Luke somehow responsible? He doesn't think so. But can he trust his own memory?
That's where Wehunt got me. The story continually encourages you to suspect Luke and then gives you reasons to question those suspicions. His ex-wife and daughter become entangled in what is happening, raising both the stakes and the uncertainty.
🎧 I listened to the audio narrated by Matt Godfrey and Zura Johnson, and Macmillan Audio deserves a huge shout-out for the production. The narrators are excellent, but it's the creative production and use of voices that really add to the eerie, disorienting atmosphere.
🩸 Vampire fiction? Not usually my thing.
🧩 Unreliable memories, disturbing photographs, family secrets, and a story that keeps me guessing? Absolutely.
I appreciated how unpredictable NIGHTJARS was, and the audio production made the experience even better.
And that ending?
😳 Disturbingly good.
I am not a fan of vampire fiction. So when I tell you that I actually enjoyed NIGHTJARS by Michael Wehunt, that should tell you something!
Had I paid closer attention to the description "Memento meets Dracula," I probably would never have requested it. I'm glad I missed that little detail.
Luke Oshel is a divorced father haunted by the horrifying legacy of his father, a murderer who killed women by exsanguination. Even worse, there are photographs of Luke as a child with some of his father's victims, encounters Luke barely remembers.
Then a blind date abruptly abandons him at a restaurant, leaving behind an old photograph of young Luke standing beside a masked man hovering over the bloodless body of a dead woman.
That sends Luke spiraling.
He heads into the North Georgia woods searching for the remote cabin his father once took him to. At the same time, a new string of exsanguination murders has begun, and the police are looking at Luke as a possible suspect.
Is Luke somehow responsible? He doesn't think so. But can he trust his own memory?
That's where Wehunt got me. The story continually encourages you to suspect Luke and then gives you reasons to question those suspicions. His ex-wife and daughter become entangled in what is happening, raising both the stakes and the uncertainty.
🎧 I listened to the audio narrated by Matt Godfrey and Zura Johnson, and Macmillan Audio deserves a huge shout-out for the production. The narrators are excellent, but it's the creative production and use of voices that really add to the eerie, disorienting atmosphere.
🩸 Vampire fiction? Not usually my thing.
🧩 Unreliable memories, disturbing photographs, family secrets, and a story that keeps me guessing? Absolutely.
I appreciated how unpredictable NIGHTJARS was, and the audio production made the experience even better.
And that ending?
😳 Disturbingly good.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Some books creep under your skin. This one practically moved in, unpacked its bags, and refused to leave.
When I saw the words "Memento meets Dracula," I immediately thought, "Well, that's either going to be absolutely brilliant or a complete disaster." Thankfully, it turned out to be the first option. And not just brilliant—deeply unsettling, wildly addictive, and the kind of story that keeps whispering in your ear long after you've closed the book.
The moment Luke receives that mysterious photograph during a disastrous blind date, I was hooked. Honestly, if someone left me a childhood photo featuring a corpse and a masked nightmare creature under a restaurant napkin, I'd probably relocate to another continent immediately. Luke, however, decides to investigate, which is great news for readers and terrible news for his mental health.
What follows is a tense, twisting descent into buried memories, family secrets, guilt, addiction, trauma, and a darkness that seems determined to consume everything in its path. Every new clue made me question everything I thought I knew. Every photograph felt like opening a door that should have remained permanently locked. Just when I convinced myself I had figured things out, the story casually grabbed my theories, threw them into the Appalachian wilderness, and left them there to die.
The atmosphere deserves special praise because it is absolutely phenomenal. The North Georgia mountain setting feels alive in the most disturbing way possible. The forests seem to watch. The shadows feel heavier. Even ordinary locations carry a sense of unease, as if something ancient is patiently waiting just beyond sight. I could practically smell the rain-soaked earth and feel the dread creeping through every page.
What impressed me most was how the novel balances its terrifying elements with genuine emotional depth. Beneath the mystery and horror lies a heartbreaking exploration of inheritance—not money or property, but pain, damage, fear, and the terrifying possibility of becoming the thing you most despise. Luke's struggle feels deeply human. His fear isn't simply about what might be hunting him. It's about what might already be inside him.
And can we talk about those photographs? Every single one felt like a miniature horror story on its own. They created some of the most chilling moments in the entire book. I found myself simultaneously desperate to discover their meaning and absolutely terrified to learn the truth.
The supernatural elements are handled beautifully. This isn't the type of story that follows a familiar roadmap. It takes recognizable horror ingredients and transforms them into something stranger, darker, and far more memorable. The mythology unfolds piece by piece, rewarding patience while constantly raising the stakes.
By the final act, my anxiety levels had officially reached "checking how many pages are left every three minutes" territory. The tension becomes almost unbearable, the revelations hit hard, and the emotional payoff landed even harder than I expected. There were moments that genuinely broke my heart.
Overall, this is one of the most captivating horror thrillers I've read in quite some time. It's eerie, intelligent, emotionally resonant, and packed with enough mystery to keep readers second-guessing themselves until the very end. Michael Wehunt has crafted a story that feels both deeply personal and nightmare-inducing, which is honestly one of my favorite combinations.
If you enjoy psychological horror, unsettling mysteries, unreliable memories, family secrets, and stories that leave you staring at the ceiling at two in the morning questioning everything, this book deserves a place at the very top of your reading list.
A very special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this captivating horror thriller's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.
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When I saw the words "Memento meets Dracula," I immediately thought, "Well, that's either going to be absolutely brilliant or a complete disaster." Thankfully, it turned out to be the first option. And not just brilliant—deeply unsettling, wildly addictive, and the kind of story that keeps whispering in your ear long after you've closed the book.
The moment Luke receives that mysterious photograph during a disastrous blind date, I was hooked. Honestly, if someone left me a childhood photo featuring a corpse and a masked nightmare creature under a restaurant napkin, I'd probably relocate to another continent immediately. Luke, however, decides to investigate, which is great news for readers and terrible news for his mental health.
What follows is a tense, twisting descent into buried memories, family secrets, guilt, addiction, trauma, and a darkness that seems determined to consume everything in its path. Every new clue made me question everything I thought I knew. Every photograph felt like opening a door that should have remained permanently locked. Just when I convinced myself I had figured things out, the story casually grabbed my theories, threw them into the Appalachian wilderness, and left them there to die.
The atmosphere deserves special praise because it is absolutely phenomenal. The North Georgia mountain setting feels alive in the most disturbing way possible. The forests seem to watch. The shadows feel heavier. Even ordinary locations carry a sense of unease, as if something ancient is patiently waiting just beyond sight. I could practically smell the rain-soaked earth and feel the dread creeping through every page.
What impressed me most was how the novel balances its terrifying elements with genuine emotional depth. Beneath the mystery and horror lies a heartbreaking exploration of inheritance—not money or property, but pain, damage, fear, and the terrifying possibility of becoming the thing you most despise. Luke's struggle feels deeply human. His fear isn't simply about what might be hunting him. It's about what might already be inside him.
And can we talk about those photographs? Every single one felt like a miniature horror story on its own. They created some of the most chilling moments in the entire book. I found myself simultaneously desperate to discover their meaning and absolutely terrified to learn the truth.
The supernatural elements are handled beautifully. This isn't the type of story that follows a familiar roadmap. It takes recognizable horror ingredients and transforms them into something stranger, darker, and far more memorable. The mythology unfolds piece by piece, rewarding patience while constantly raising the stakes.
By the final act, my anxiety levels had officially reached "checking how many pages are left every three minutes" territory. The tension becomes almost unbearable, the revelations hit hard, and the emotional payoff landed even harder than I expected. There were moments that genuinely broke my heart.
Overall, this is one of the most captivating horror thrillers I've read in quite some time. It's eerie, intelligent, emotionally resonant, and packed with enough mystery to keep readers second-guessing themselves until the very end. Michael Wehunt has crafted a story that feels both deeply personal and nightmare-inducing, which is honestly one of my favorite combinations.
If you enjoy psychological horror, unsettling mysteries, unreliable memories, family secrets, and stories that leave you staring at the ceiling at two in the morning questioning everything, this book deserves a place at the very top of your reading list.
A very special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this captivating horror thriller's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.
medium blog
September 29, 2026
Dark, horrifying, gripping, and hard to put down, Michael Wehunt has delivered a terrifying tale with Nightjars. This book is dubbed Memento meets Dracula; typically, I do not like when comparisons are made but with Nightjars, I found this comparison to be appropriate. I found this book to be incredibly unique, chilling, and pulse pounding. It is also wonderfully written, well thought out, and seeping with dread!
Luke Oshel is a divorced father who had a date leave a photographer of him as a child which leaves him feeling unsettled, chilled, and terrified. Soon his life is turned upside down and he is uncovering memories from his childhood including outings with his father who was a serial killer. Now new murders are occurring, and the evidence points to Luke as being the killer. As Luke seeks to clear his name and uncover the truth, he goes on a horrifying collision course with the truth!
This book was full of dread, tension, unease, blood, violence, hope, and love. This book had me on the edge of my seat turning the pages at warp speed while also keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the safety of Luke and those in his life. If you love books about vampires, you might want to read this with a stake in your hand and an appetite for terror! This was the second book which I have read by Michael Wehunt, and I can't wait to read what he writes next!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Luke Oshel is a divorced father who had a date leave a photographer of him as a child which leaves him feeling unsettled, chilled, and terrified. Soon his life is turned upside down and he is uncovering memories from his childhood including outings with his father who was a serial killer. Now new murders are occurring, and the evidence points to Luke as being the killer. As Luke seeks to clear his name and uncover the truth, he goes on a horrifying collision course with the truth!
This book was full of dread, tension, unease, blood, violence, hope, and love. This book had me on the edge of my seat turning the pages at warp speed while also keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the safety of Luke and those in his life. If you love books about vampires, you might want to read this with a stake in your hand and an appetite for terror! This was the second book which I have read by Michael Wehunt, and I can't wait to read what he writes next!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 20, 2026
Have you ever read a book and had it push every single button of yours? I mean, so much so that it makes you feel as if the book were written specifically with you in mind? That's how I feel about Nightjars!
Out for dinner, Luke finds himself abandoned on a first date when the woman excuses herself for the ladies room. When he realizes she's not coming back, he spots something tucked under her napkin. That something is an old photograph. In it, is a young Luke, as well as a masked man and what looks to be a dead body. Since Luke has no memory of this, he is intrigued, worried and afraid. As more photographs turn up, Luke turns to his ex-wife in the hopes that she will help him solve this mystery. Will Luke find out what was happening with these photographs? Did Luke have something to do with these dead bodies? You'll have to read this to find out!
With a dark atmosphere that builds almost to suffocation at times, Michael Wehunt delivers a novel with characters that feel so real I want to reach out and touch them. Even though I was rooting for Luke, (how could I not, with such a terrible childhood, repressed memories, fighting addiction, etc..?), I soon began to root for his pregnant ex-wife Kristen too. It's been a long time since I read a book with such a strong female character. When Luke comes to her for help figuring everything out, she believes him when no one else would. She puts herself and her growing baby at risk to do the right thing. I'm not sure that was the smartest thing for a pregnant woman to do, but she is not one to give up easily and I loved that about her.
Michael Wehunt's writing is as wonderful and evocative as ever. Already being a Wehunt fan, (Greener Pastures is one of my favorite collections of all time, and I read a LOT of collections), I was not surprised by the literary feel. His descriptions are not long-winded but immediately put you THERE, in the scene. I love a short, sharp and to the point encapsulation...such as this one when Luke meets...a monster:
As I said at the beginning, I feel like this book was written just for me. The literary prose, sharp descriptive details and the subject matter-I loved it all. Characters you can root for that are far from perfect. The empathy you feel in your bones for almost every character here, is powerful. With all this talk about the characters you may be thinking this book is short on the scares and the horror. You would be wrong! All of the stuff horror fans love is in here, and as the story builds, and the dark atmosphere increases, the horrors and the gore abounds. Abounds, I say!
I know I'm not supposed to quote from the book yet, but I will verify it when my pre-order comes in. Yes, I pre-ordered it, even though I received a digital ARC. I knew before I even read it that I wanted a copy of my own. Trust me when I say that you want to own this book as well.
Mr. Wehunt takes one of the oldest horror tropes and knocks it around with a baseball bat until it's almost unrecognizable. This is more than just a new spin on an old trope, this feels wholly original. I know that it's not, but that's how it feels and that's just as good. We read to feel and this book does just that and more!
My highest recommendation!
*ARC from publisher, available wherever you buy books on September, 29.
Out for dinner, Luke finds himself abandoned on a first date when the woman excuses herself for the ladies room. When he realizes she's not coming back, he spots something tucked under her napkin. That something is an old photograph. In it, is a young Luke, as well as a masked man and what looks to be a dead body. Since Luke has no memory of this, he is intrigued, worried and afraid. As more photographs turn up, Luke turns to his ex-wife in the hopes that she will help him solve this mystery. Will Luke find out what was happening with these photographs? Did Luke have something to do with these dead bodies? You'll have to read this to find out!
With a dark atmosphere that builds almost to suffocation at times, Michael Wehunt delivers a novel with characters that feel so real I want to reach out and touch them. Even though I was rooting for Luke, (how could I not, with such a terrible childhood, repressed memories, fighting addiction, etc..?), I soon began to root for his pregnant ex-wife Kristen too. It's been a long time since I read a book with such a strong female character. When Luke comes to her for help figuring everything out, she believes him when no one else would. She puts herself and her growing baby at risk to do the right thing. I'm not sure that was the smartest thing for a pregnant woman to do, but she is not one to give up easily and I loved that about her.
Michael Wehunt's writing is as wonderful and evocative as ever. Already being a Wehunt fan, (Greener Pastures is one of my favorite collections of all time, and I read a LOT of collections), I was not surprised by the literary feel. His descriptions are not long-winded but immediately put you THERE, in the scene. I love a short, sharp and to the point encapsulation...such as this one when Luke meets...a monster:
The face is a white beyond white. The forehead beginning to cave in. Sunken cheeks, stretched skin, shining and puffy like an allergic reaction. Remnants of hair lie across its scalp in damp strands. A diseased thing.
As I said at the beginning, I feel like this book was written just for me. The literary prose, sharp descriptive details and the subject matter-I loved it all. Characters you can root for that are far from perfect. The empathy you feel in your bones for almost every character here, is powerful. With all this talk about the characters you may be thinking this book is short on the scares and the horror. You would be wrong! All of the stuff horror fans love is in here, and as the story builds, and the dark atmosphere increases, the horrors and the gore abounds. Abounds, I say!
I know I'm not supposed to quote from the book yet, but I will verify it when my pre-order comes in. Yes, I pre-ordered it, even though I received a digital ARC. I knew before I even read it that I wanted a copy of my own. Trust me when I say that you want to own this book as well.
Mr. Wehunt takes one of the oldest horror tropes and knocks it around with a baseball bat until it's almost unrecognizable. This is more than just a new spin on an old trope, this feels wholly original. I know that it's not, but that's how it feels and that's just as good. We read to feel and this book does just that and more!
My highest recommendation!
*ARC from publisher, available wherever you buy books on September, 29.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Review in the August 2026 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2026/08...
Three Words That Describe This Book: family secrets, extreme tension, horror-crime hybrid
psychological, multiple points of view (Luke and Kristin), book within a book, grief, forgotten memories, Southern Gothic, photography, atmospheric at first, visceral as we go on, trauma.
So the marketing includes mention of Dracula, which well, I don't love because I think it is a spoiler. However, since they did do that, yes there are vampires here. And there are missing and or dead women drained of all their blood.
Back to the story-- Luke is a divorced guy who owns a bookstore. He has a very good relationship with his ex-wife Kristin-- that set up matters a lot. They share a kid who they both love with all their hearts. And they both still are for each other deeply, but Luke's addictions and his inability to resolved past trauma in regards to his father made him a bad husband.
Luke goes on a date and the woman leaves him a picture of himself as a child, a dead body in his bedroom and a masked man-- he is distraught. What is this? I know I have missing memories, etc... But then the photos keep coming and they are more recent. He is posing with murder victims, covered in blood. He wakes up in his bookstore, covered in blood with no memories of what happened. Notes about his dead father are being left for him. It is as if someone is leaving him clues.
There are also real people missing and or found dead and drained of their blood. All not far from his North Georgia home near the Appalachian mountains.
Luke does not trust himself.
The POV switches to Kristin after a time as she gets involved trying to help Luke, keep their daughter safe, and figure out the truth behind everything.
It becomes a horror-crime hybrid as the terrifying truth is revealed and then Kristin must fight to save her daughter and what is left of her ex husband.
There is also the use of a book within a book, self published because no one would believe it, about a clan of serial killers in the woods titled "On the Appalachian Nightjar." It is the personal story of a man who son was killed and his life's work to find the answer.
Speaking of "nightjar," the word is used in a variety of ways here. The title of the book within a book, which is a great way to give the reader (and Luke) some background. A nightjar is a bird from that area. It is an odd bird-- large eyes, nocturnal, described as creepy and silent. They hide in plan sight. But it is also described in th prologue as a container for darkness where the lid can be screwed on and it is put on a shelf. So it is also a metaphor for Luke's forgotten, violent memories.
I do appreciate that it is plural in the title NIGHTJARS. Because there are a lot of them. And it does a good job as a metaphor for the "clan" (nest) of serial kills but the word appears in the
The use of photography as a way to fill in the gaps of missing memories was a nice literary device, however, if you are going to make photography a huge part of the story and the mystery, I really think the photos should be included. If it was like 1 or 2 fine, but Luke being give the photos of places he had clearly been, things he had done, covered in blood int he photo and waking up covered in blood-- all with no memories of the incidents-- there were many of these. I stopped counting. The story needs those on the page.
Great great alike options-- Coffin Moon by Rosson, Fiend by Katsu, Devils Kill Devils by Compton.
Also the graphic novel series American Vampire by Snyder.
Three Words That Describe This Book: family secrets, extreme tension, horror-crime hybrid
psychological, multiple points of view (Luke and Kristin), book within a book, grief, forgotten memories, Southern Gothic, photography, atmospheric at first, visceral as we go on, trauma.
So the marketing includes mention of Dracula, which well, I don't love because I think it is a spoiler. However, since they did do that, yes there are vampires here. And there are missing and or dead women drained of all their blood.
Back to the story-- Luke is a divorced guy who owns a bookstore. He has a very good relationship with his ex-wife Kristin-- that set up matters a lot. They share a kid who they both love with all their hearts. And they both still are for each other deeply, but Luke's addictions and his inability to resolved past trauma in regards to his father made him a bad husband.
Luke goes on a date and the woman leaves him a picture of himself as a child, a dead body in his bedroom and a masked man-- he is distraught. What is this? I know I have missing memories, etc... But then the photos keep coming and they are more recent. He is posing with murder victims, covered in blood. He wakes up in his bookstore, covered in blood with no memories of what happened. Notes about his dead father are being left for him. It is as if someone is leaving him clues.
There are also real people missing and or found dead and drained of their blood. All not far from his North Georgia home near the Appalachian mountains.
Luke does not trust himself.
The POV switches to Kristin after a time as she gets involved trying to help Luke, keep their daughter safe, and figure out the truth behind everything.
It becomes a horror-crime hybrid as the terrifying truth is revealed and then Kristin must fight to save her daughter and what is left of her ex husband.
There is also the use of a book within a book, self published because no one would believe it, about a clan of serial killers in the woods titled "On the Appalachian Nightjar." It is the personal story of a man who son was killed and his life's work to find the answer.
Speaking of "nightjar," the word is used in a variety of ways here. The title of the book within a book, which is a great way to give the reader (and Luke) some background. A nightjar is a bird from that area. It is an odd bird-- large eyes, nocturnal, described as creepy and silent. They hide in plan sight. But it is also described in th prologue as a container for darkness where the lid can be screwed on and it is put on a shelf. So it is also a metaphor for Luke's forgotten, violent memories.
I do appreciate that it is plural in the title NIGHTJARS. Because there are a lot of them. And it does a good job as a metaphor for the "clan" (nest) of serial kills but the word appears in the
The use of photography as a way to fill in the gaps of missing memories was a nice literary device, however, if you are going to make photography a huge part of the story and the mystery, I really think the photos should be included. If it was like 1 or 2 fine, but Luke being give the photos of places he had clearly been, things he had done, covered in blood int he photo and waking up covered in blood-- all with no memories of the incidents-- there were many of these. I stopped counting. The story needs those on the page.
Great great alike options-- Coffin Moon by Rosson, Fiend by Katsu, Devils Kill Devils by Compton.
Also the graphic novel series American Vampire by Snyder.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A thrilling tale of dark family secrets and the consequences of destiny come to fruition.
Wehunt throws us directly into the action from page one, with a breathtaking opening filled with tension and fear. I was captivated immediately. I had very little knowledge of what the story entailed, so I had no idea what could be coming next as I read. I was truly excited to keep turning the pages.
As the story unfolded, I did get lost a few times when the plot jumped around a bit. I would have to reset my brain on what was currently happening on the page, but Wehunt made sure I always found my footing and got back on track.
Now, let's discuss the ending. Holy crap, that was intense, visceral, gory, and magnificent. My heart rate definitely kicked up a notch!
My only other issue was the journal pages were unreadable in the format I had, so I'm interested to see how they added to the story. I will be sure to grab a copy to see for myself.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book. I had a blast reading this one.
Wehunt throws us directly into the action from page one, with a breathtaking opening filled with tension and fear. I was captivated immediately. I had very little knowledge of what the story entailed, so I had no idea what could be coming next as I read. I was truly excited to keep turning the pages.
As the story unfolded, I did get lost a few times when the plot jumped around a bit. I would have to reset my brain on what was currently happening on the page, but Wehunt made sure I always found my footing and got back on track.
Now, let's discuss the ending. Holy crap, that was intense, visceral, gory, and magnificent. My heart rate definitely kicked up a notch!
My only other issue was the journal pages were unreadable in the format I had, so I'm interested to see how they added to the story. I will be sure to grab a copy to see for myself.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book. I had a blast reading this one.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Does the nightjar remember the night?
4.6/5
Nightjars is completely unreal. Michael Wehunt has taken the architecture of a classic monster and rebuilt it into something distinctly fresh and mired in rot, deeply unsettling and strangely familiar — a story that feels like a partially repressed memory of something long passed despite the modern setting. There are scenes here that are genuinely terrifying. Not merely atmospheric or unsettling, but the kind of frightening that made the hair on my arms stand up while I was reading.
The plot is a labyrinth that never becomes tangled, and the dual-protagonist structure is exceptionally well dispersed, allowing each perspective to deepen and expand the plot rather than simply reiterate its unfolding. The story grows steadily darker and more complicated without losing its sense of direction from the first page, thickening like blood in your mouth as the dread accumulates. Wehunt's command of language is frankly staggering. There are so many sentences that seemed to embed themselves in my skin like echoes from a gothic poetry slam, so many moments when I reached the end of a line so audaciously elegiac I had to stop and collect myself. The settings are deeply evocative, not merely described but emotionally experienced, and the resulting atmosphere is simultaneously beautiful, oppressive, and profoundly alive.
Beneath the horror is an equally affecting examination of trauma, mental illness, addiction, and relationships of a particularly tragic kind that I'm not going to spoil in a pre-publication review. The symbolism and allegory are extraordinary, particularly in the treatment of generational curses and the unfairness of children inheriting the consequences of wounds they never inflicted. There are so many monsters here, both literal and otherwise, that eventually the distance between fear and grief narrowed to the barest gap - like the perimeter space around an attic door. I was especially moved by the treatment of substance use. Addiction is represented with an unusual degree of authenticity and compassion, never reduced to a convenient source of horror, a justification for poor decisions, or a shortcut to make a character seem dangerous or damaged. It exists as one part of a complicated human being rather than becoming the entirety of that person. That distinction matters enormously to me personally [as a recovering addict myself with over 13 years sober] and I appreciated the respect with which Wehunt handles this dark and delicate topic.
Nightjars is wickedly emotional, hauntingly evocative, and remarkably layered. It is gothic woodsy horror with gritty psychological undertones, a reimagining of the vampire story that feels both ancient and startlingly contemporary. I was frightened, horrified, repeatedly heartbroken, and constantly floored by the prose... and the nightjar is pleased with its work.
Thank you sincerely to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure and a privilege to read, and I look forward to the next.
4.6/5
Nightjars is completely unreal. Michael Wehunt has taken the architecture of a classic monster and rebuilt it into something distinctly fresh and mired in rot, deeply unsettling and strangely familiar — a story that feels like a partially repressed memory of something long passed despite the modern setting. There are scenes here that are genuinely terrifying. Not merely atmospheric or unsettling, but the kind of frightening that made the hair on my arms stand up while I was reading.
The plot is a labyrinth that never becomes tangled, and the dual-protagonist structure is exceptionally well dispersed, allowing each perspective to deepen and expand the plot rather than simply reiterate its unfolding. The story grows steadily darker and more complicated without losing its sense of direction from the first page, thickening like blood in your mouth as the dread accumulates. Wehunt's command of language is frankly staggering. There are so many sentences that seemed to embed themselves in my skin like echoes from a gothic poetry slam, so many moments when I reached the end of a line so audaciously elegiac I had to stop and collect myself. The settings are deeply evocative, not merely described but emotionally experienced, and the resulting atmosphere is simultaneously beautiful, oppressive, and profoundly alive.
Beneath the horror is an equally affecting examination of trauma, mental illness, addiction, and relationships of a particularly tragic kind that I'm not going to spoil in a pre-publication review. The symbolism and allegory are extraordinary, particularly in the treatment of generational curses and the unfairness of children inheriting the consequences of wounds they never inflicted. There are so many monsters here, both literal and otherwise, that eventually the distance between fear and grief narrowed to the barest gap - like the perimeter space around an attic door. I was especially moved by the treatment of substance use. Addiction is represented with an unusual degree of authenticity and compassion, never reduced to a convenient source of horror, a justification for poor decisions, or a shortcut to make a character seem dangerous or damaged. It exists as one part of a complicated human being rather than becoming the entirety of that person. That distinction matters enormously to me personally [as a recovering addict myself with over 13 years sober] and I appreciated the respect with which Wehunt handles this dark and delicate topic.
Nightjars is wickedly emotional, hauntingly evocative, and remarkably layered. It is gothic woodsy horror with gritty psychological undertones, a reimagining of the vampire story that feels both ancient and startlingly contemporary. I was frightened, horrified, repeatedly heartbroken, and constantly floored by the prose... and the nightjar is pleased with its work.
Thank you sincerely to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure and a privilege to read, and I look forward to the next.
August 21, 2026
Momento meets Dracula in this heart-thudding novel of a man exposed for crimes he doesn’t remember committing, and the monsters that dwell at the heart of us all.
Luke finds a picture of a dead body in his room. Someone else is in the picture. Who is it? He is afraid he will turn into the killer his father was.
Soon, Luke’s whole world turns upside down as things are being revealed. He is not who he thought he was.
This starts out as a slow burn and a bit confusing to be honest. However, I love not having a clue and trying to figure things out. My heart hurt for his struggle with addiction and the consequences it had on his family.
If you enjoy vampire horror novels, add this one to your TBR. It’s one gruesome helluva ride. Out 9/29
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you for the buddy read with my sweet friend @bellville_lfl . We had lots to talk about.
Huge thanks to Michael and SMP for the gifted copy.
Luke finds a picture of a dead body in his room. Someone else is in the picture. Who is it? He is afraid he will turn into the killer his father was.
Soon, Luke’s whole world turns upside down as things are being revealed. He is not who he thought he was.
This starts out as a slow burn and a bit confusing to be honest. However, I love not having a clue and trying to figure things out. My heart hurt for his struggle with addiction and the consequences it had on his family.
If you enjoy vampire horror novels, add this one to your TBR. It’s one gruesome helluva ride. Out 9/29
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you for the buddy read with my sweet friend @bellville_lfl . We had lots to talk about.
Huge thanks to Michael and SMP for the gifted copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really enjoyed Michael Wehunt's other novel, "The October Film Haunt," aside from a couple of issues with the ending. So I was excited to read this one. It is VERY different in pretty much every way, which is fine, but I didn't like it nearly as much. The opening chapter was incredibly well done and so intriguing. In fact, the first half or so of the book was mysterious, strange and inventive. I know people get annoyed whenever anyone says a thing has echoes of David Lynch, but there was some very eerie and creepy imagery in this and moments that, tonally, briefly made me think of "Fire Walk With Me." Mostly because of how the murders of women were handled, out in the secluded darkness, revealed in snapshots and screams.
The problem for me came when the questions began to be answered and the POV switched up. Something about the narrative became repetitive and dragged out, and eventually this book felt about three times longer than it actually was. I sometimes found it difficult to follow. (Broken moments of memory strung together, descriptions of grainy security camera footage that was tough to picture, etc. all strung together by stream of consciousness prose.) But at least in the first half my attention was held fast by the unsettling and nightmare quality of everything and a genuinely frightening moment here and there.
I do think that Wehunt did some interesting and creative things with his vampire “design,” which is imperative at this point when you write something new using that monster. You have to make it your own somehow, and he did. But also, there was a moment near the end involving Kristen that I think was supposed to be chilling and scary but the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. I didn't care for the pages and pages of monologuing for exposition, either, a personal pet peeve. There’s a surprising amount of vomit in this book, too. At least, way more than I was expecting.
Wehunt clearly put a lot of work into this book, and it has its merits. It is Appalachian horror with vampires and plenty of other strange stuff. But the pacing just did not work for me, and I got to a point where I was just ready to finish it and move on. I still highly recommend "The October Film Haunt" to anyone who loves slashers, particularly the "Scream" franchise.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this early copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Biggest TW: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Harm to animals
The problem for me came when the questions began to be answered and the POV switched up. Something about the narrative became repetitive and dragged out, and eventually this book felt about three times longer than it actually was. I sometimes found it difficult to follow. (Broken moments of memory strung together, descriptions of grainy security camera footage that was tough to picture, etc. all strung together by stream of consciousness prose.) But at least in the first half my attention was held fast by the unsettling and nightmare quality of everything and a genuinely frightening moment here and there.
I do think that Wehunt did some interesting and creative things with his vampire “design,” which is imperative at this point when you write something new using that monster. You have to make it your own somehow, and he did. But also, there was a moment near the end involving Kristen that I think was supposed to be chilling and scary but the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. I didn't care for the pages and pages of monologuing for exposition, either, a personal pet peeve. There’s a surprising amount of vomit in this book, too. At least, way more than I was expecting.
Wehunt clearly put a lot of work into this book, and it has its merits. It is Appalachian horror with vampires and plenty of other strange stuff. But the pacing just did not work for me, and I got to a point where I was just ready to finish it and move on. I still highly recommend "The October Film Haunt" to anyone who loves slashers, particularly the "Scream" franchise.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this early copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Biggest TW: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Harm to animals
September 14, 2026
I received this book as an audio ARC from NetGalley. Thank you to all involved.
I rated this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The audio book is narrated by Matt Godfrey and Zura Johnson. I feel like they did a great job especially Matt being the voice of the “NightJar”. This was a really well done audio book. There were multiple times that Nightjar voice (when you listen you’ll know EXACTLY what I mean) comes out of no where and I HOLLERED because it scared me 😂! And there were some real tense moments when I was yelling “GET OUTTTTT”. It was INTENSE.if you like audio books I would 1000% recommend this on audio.
Thoughts:
🦇Vampires. That’s all I need to say. I love a vampire story.
🦇 this book was so dark and twisty. You don’t know what’s going on exactly who these people are. If Luke is going crazy or if someone’s trying to make him feel that way. Is it him doing this? This book kind of reminds me of headlights by CJ Leeds.
🦇I really like his relationships in the book with his ex wife and daughter. I enjoyed his ex wife’s part of the story a lot. Both of their characters were flawed but you could understand why.
🦇 all in all I would totally recommend and I won’t be surprised at all if this is made into a great movie. Will be checking out more from this author ASAP
I rated this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The audio book is narrated by Matt Godfrey and Zura Johnson. I feel like they did a great job especially Matt being the voice of the “NightJar”. This was a really well done audio book. There were multiple times that Nightjar voice (when you listen you’ll know EXACTLY what I mean) comes out of no where and I HOLLERED because it scared me 😂! And there were some real tense moments when I was yelling “GET OUTTTTT”. It was INTENSE.if you like audio books I would 1000% recommend this on audio.
Thoughts:
🦇Vampires. That’s all I need to say. I love a vampire story.
🦇 this book was so dark and twisty. You don’t know what’s going on exactly who these people are. If Luke is going crazy or if someone’s trying to make him feel that way. Is it him doing this? This book kind of reminds me of headlights by CJ Leeds.
🦇I really like his relationships in the book with his ex wife and daughter. I enjoyed his ex wife’s part of the story a lot. Both of their characters were flawed but you could understand why.
🦇 all in all I would totally recommend and I won’t be surprised at all if this is made into a great movie. Will be checking out more from this author ASAP
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book started off with a fantastic premise. Divorced dad and recovering alcoholic Luke Oshel lives in the foothills of the Appalachians and is just trying to carry on with a life that has fallen apart. Then he starts receiving mysterious vintage photographs that appear to feature him as a child, and all sorts of blocked memories start resurfacing. What was with his dad, anyway? Why was he always taking midnight trips to the family cabin? Wait, was Ed Oshel a What's going on? Well, the answer is
What was the point of this? I honestly couldn't wait for it to end. It was also incredibly repetitive. I get it, Luke struggles with drinking, he loves his daughter so much, Kristen has asthma and is pregnant. That was also exhausting and stressful to read about - In short, just very little to like here. I initially rated the book 2 stars but after writing out this review I might have to go down to 1. It wasn't fun-bad like The Death of Jane Lawrence or The Lost Apothecary - it just wouldn't end and made me tired.
What was the point of this? I honestly couldn't wait for it to end. It was also incredibly repetitive. I get it, Luke struggles with drinking, he loves his daughter so much, Kristen has asthma and is pregnant. That was also exhausting and stressful to read about - In short, just very little to like here. I initially rated the book 2 stars but after writing out this review I might have to go down to 1. It wasn't fun-bad like The Death of Jane Lawrence or The Lost Apothecary - it just wouldn't end and made me tired.
May 20, 2026
I absolutely loved this book. Michael Wehunt did a fantastic job creating a story that was both deeply creepy and unsettling while also being filled with so much love and tenderness. Reading this book felt like an emotional roller coaster. It is the first horror novel in a long time that genuinely made me feel spooked in my own house at night. At the same time, it also made my heart swell with so much respect and affection for the main characters.
Nightjars follows Luke Oshel, a small bookstore owner trying to navigate life after divorce while maintaining sobriety and co-parenting his four-year-old daughter. One night, while on a first date, he discovers a disturbing photograph from his childhood. This starts him on the dark path of resurfacing memories he had buried for decades. From there, his life descends into an absolute nightmare as he uncovers the truth about his father and himself.
This book pulls you in from the very first chapter. I flew through it because I constantly needed to know what would happen next. The writing was beautiful and created the perfect atmospheric imagery set in the Appalachian Mountains. The ending had me crying, which was probably a first for me when reading a horror novel. I highly recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Wehunt, and the publisher for the advance copy of this book.
Nightjars follows Luke Oshel, a small bookstore owner trying to navigate life after divorce while maintaining sobriety and co-parenting his four-year-old daughter. One night, while on a first date, he discovers a disturbing photograph from his childhood. This starts him on the dark path of resurfacing memories he had buried for decades. From there, his life descends into an absolute nightmare as he uncovers the truth about his father and himself.
This book pulls you in from the very first chapter. I flew through it because I constantly needed to know what would happen next. The writing was beautiful and created the perfect atmospheric imagery set in the Appalachian Mountains. The ending had me crying, which was probably a first for me when reading a horror novel. I highly recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Wehunt, and the publisher for the advance copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Nightjars, by Michael Wehunt, from St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.
⭐ 3 ⭐
Part 1 of this book was an S L O G slog.
So much so that I put the book down and read an entire other book before attempting Part 2.
Things didn’t go much better with that session; I passed out (stone-cold sober and in the light of day) before finishing it. I was confused as to what the point of all of “this” was, and the writing style seemed sort of hard to parse…..or, something. I dunno, maybe Michael Wehunt wanted his readers to be as confused as his main protagonist? If that was his goal, he achieved it. (And if he wanted people to do some side reading on nightjars and their supposed goat-sucking abilities, he achieved that, too. At least with this reader.)
Told My Beloved Husband over coffee today that I was going to finish today or die trying, mainly because I could not figure out where things were headed/how in the holy hell this story was going to conclude.
Well.
Long about the second half of Part 3, I was starting to see the light. (Or the dark, really, in this case.) Then Part 4? WOW!
No secret this is a vampire story. Just know that it’s a very depressing vampire story, and that for some reason the author felt compelled to mention every fourth page or so that another character had asthma. OK, WE GET IT—SHE HAS ASTHMA!!!! ENOUGH!!!
Also, a pet peeve of mine is when characters name their vehicles. This book was already confusing enough with all of the dead people and semi-ancillary characters, did we really have to throw Petra into the mix?
I think not.
On a final note, who sets a book in Ellijay, Georgia? OK, OK, maybe that’s just me, not being a fan of Georgia in general. I do think the horror factor would have been ramped up exponentially if it had been set somewhere in Tennessee or one of the Carolinas. Ooooo, or West Virginia. Yeah, it would’ve been a LOT better if it had been set there.
Anyway, because Part 4 was so good the book gets a solid 3 stars from me. And I could totally see it being made into a streaming series.
DESCRIPTION
Memento meets Dracula in this heart-thudding, unpredictable, and beautifully crafted novel of a man exposed for crimes he doesn’t remember committing, and the monsters that dwell at the heart of us all, from celebrated and critically acclaimed author Michael Wehunt.
On a rainy night, Luke Oshel gets stood up halfway through dinner. But before his date walks off to the bathroom and never returns, she leaves an old photograph under her napkin—Luke as a child, a dead body in the shadows of his bedroom, and a terrifying masked man. He has no recollection of this event.
Then more photos disrupt his life—Luke posing with murder victims, covered in blood—and he falls back into the deep paranoia and repressed memories he’s tried to leave behind. All the drugs and alcohol, therapy, and hypnosis sessions have never conquered his deepest fear—that he hasn’t escaped the hidden legacy of his late father, who killed his victims by blood loss. But now there is a new string of serial killings, and the evidence all points to Luke.
As his journey to uncover the truth unfolds in the North Georgia Appalachians, a threat arises that will risk everything he holds close, including his ex-wife and their young daughter. Now Luke must chase his father’s darkness through a centuries-old secret and learn what monsters truly are. And decide if he’s one of them.
Received a complimentary copy of Nightjars, by Michael Wehunt, from St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.
⭐ 3 ⭐
Part 1 of this book was an S L O G slog.
So much so that I put the book down and read an entire other book before attempting Part 2.
Things didn’t go much better with that session; I passed out (stone-cold sober and in the light of day) before finishing it. I was confused as to what the point of all of “this” was, and the writing style seemed sort of hard to parse…..or, something. I dunno, maybe Michael Wehunt wanted his readers to be as confused as his main protagonist? If that was his goal, he achieved it. (And if he wanted people to do some side reading on nightjars and their supposed goat-sucking abilities, he achieved that, too. At least with this reader.)
Told My Beloved Husband over coffee today that I was going to finish today or die trying, mainly because I could not figure out where things were headed/how in the holy hell this story was going to conclude.
Well.
Long about the second half of Part 3, I was starting to see the light. (Or the dark, really, in this case.) Then Part 4? WOW!
No secret this is a vampire story. Just know that it’s a very depressing vampire story, and that for some reason the author felt compelled to mention every fourth page or so that another character had asthma. OK, WE GET IT—SHE HAS ASTHMA!!!! ENOUGH!!!
Also, a pet peeve of mine is when characters name their vehicles. This book was already confusing enough with all of the dead people and semi-ancillary characters, did we really have to throw Petra into the mix?
I think not.
On a final note, who sets a book in Ellijay, Georgia? OK, OK, maybe that’s just me, not being a fan of Georgia in general. I do think the horror factor would have been ramped up exponentially if it had been set somewhere in Tennessee or one of the Carolinas. Ooooo, or West Virginia. Yeah, it would’ve been a LOT better if it had been set there.
Anyway, because Part 4 was so good the book gets a solid 3 stars from me. And I could totally see it being made into a streaming series.
DESCRIPTION
Memento meets Dracula in this heart-thudding, unpredictable, and beautifully crafted novel of a man exposed for crimes he doesn’t remember committing, and the monsters that dwell at the heart of us all, from celebrated and critically acclaimed author Michael Wehunt.
On a rainy night, Luke Oshel gets stood up halfway through dinner. But before his date walks off to the bathroom and never returns, she leaves an old photograph under her napkin—Luke as a child, a dead body in the shadows of his bedroom, and a terrifying masked man. He has no recollection of this event.
Then more photos disrupt his life—Luke posing with murder victims, covered in blood—and he falls back into the deep paranoia and repressed memories he’s tried to leave behind. All the drugs and alcohol, therapy, and hypnosis sessions have never conquered his deepest fear—that he hasn’t escaped the hidden legacy of his late father, who killed his victims by blood loss. But now there is a new string of serial killings, and the evidence all points to Luke.
As his journey to uncover the truth unfolds in the North Georgia Appalachians, a threat arises that will risk everything he holds close, including his ex-wife and their young daughter. Now Luke must chase his father’s darkness through a centuries-old secret and learn what monsters truly are. And decide if he’s one of them.
August 12, 2026
4.5 stars rounded down to 4! This vampiric dark family legacy story was deeply unsettling and deeply entertaining in equal measure with its slow, creeping pace of the story and extremely descriptive creatures and scenes. I went in relatively blind after receiving a physical ARC from the publisher after being so intrigued by the cover alone and I am so glad I did, as I'm unsure if I would have ever been prepared for what lay between its pages based on a short synopsis.
NIGHTJARS took a classic subgenre of vampiric horror and placed it in a whole new dark and depraved light. I was so intensely creeped out throughout most of this story and felt disorienting in a way that felt as if I was right next to our main characters. Any horror story that has more to say is one worth reading if you ask me, and Wehunts ability to maintain its deeply emotional undertones of the story while diving into a horrifying vampiric nightmare was nothing short of fantastic and had me crying throughout its final pages. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy slow and creeping horror that seamlessly weaves in your face horror with the horrors that lie beneath the surface, and I look forward to picking up my finished copy preorder next week on pubday. Big thank you to Netgalley for my eARC and St Martins Press for my early physical copy!
NIGHTJARS took a classic subgenre of vampiric horror and placed it in a whole new dark and depraved light. I was so intensely creeped out throughout most of this story and felt disorienting in a way that felt as if I was right next to our main characters. Any horror story that has more to say is one worth reading if you ask me, and Wehunts ability to maintain its deeply emotional undertones of the story while diving into a horrifying vampiric nightmare was nothing short of fantastic and had me crying throughout its final pages. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy slow and creeping horror that seamlessly weaves in your face horror with the horrors that lie beneath the surface, and I look forward to picking up my finished copy preorder next week on pubday. Big thank you to Netgalley for my eARC and St Martins Press for my early physical copy!
August 29, 2026
Some family secrets refuse to stay buried and crawl out of their grave, ravenous. Michael Wehunt's Nightjars twists fear into something primal. What if the monster everyone is looking for is you? When Luke Oshel's date mysteriously disappears after leaving behind a seemingly impossible photo, his already fragile grip on reality splinters. Then, more photographs appear of Luke doing things he has no memory of. Yet, the scenes those pictures depict remain real. Wehunt turns Luke's descent into a waking nightmare fueled by a lingering addiction, trauma, and the kind of paranoia that makes his lost hours feel like a potential for fresh horror. Luke knows darkness runs through his family. His father was a criminal (keeping this as spoiler free as possible). But knowing where evil came from doesn't answer the far more terrifying question of whether it ever truly left. Nightjars eventually expands beyond the murder/mystery framework into something far darker and deeply rooted in horror. The Appalachian landscape becomes an appropriately haunted backdrop, a place where secrets seem capable of surviving for generations among the trees. Wehunt uses the regions isolation to create an atmosphere of creeping dread, where the woods seem to conceal more than anyone wants to find. Beneath the bloodshed and paranoia is a story about a legacy. About the things parents pass down to us and whether we choose those things or we don't. Bloody and steeped in psychological dread, Nightjars asks whether monsters are made or waiting just beneath the surface for the right moment to emerge. Thank you St. Martin's Press for sending me a review copy and to Michael for facilitating. Keep an eye out for this one September 29th, 2026 wherever you buy your books!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I honestly can't remember the last time a book took me this long to read it. Nightjars isn't even that long, and so of it was plain business, but there was something laborious about this novel. When I try to unpack that feeling, two highly subjective things come to mind:
1. the writing style is ... overwhelmingly literary? I'm not sure that describes it adequately. Wehunt is a very good writer, talented and with a clear and present gift for wordsmithing. But it gets away with him. When metaphors are occasional, they make you pay attention. (Some of Wehunt's are excellent.) When it's in every sentence it can be exhausting and likely to have more misses. And it does slow the book down.
2. I didn't care for its characters. Not the troubled Luke, and especially not the momma bear Kristen who can't seem to pause and consider who she's having children with. Luke was more interesting to follow, but when the author started switching up perspectives it became a bit of a drag.
Though to be fair, meeting the market's demands these days, it's very difficult to just have a male protagonist.
Full credit where credit's due, Wehunt did take a classic trope and spun it into something more or less original and did it while writing literary fiction with enough horrific aspects to please genre fans. So from that perspective, the novel succeeds. I'm sure it'll easily find more adoring audience than me, too. I did appreciate the overall quality. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
1. the writing style is ... overwhelmingly literary? I'm not sure that describes it adequately. Wehunt is a very good writer, talented and with a clear and present gift for wordsmithing. But it gets away with him. When metaphors are occasional, they make you pay attention. (Some of Wehunt's are excellent.) When it's in every sentence it can be exhausting and likely to have more misses. And it does slow the book down.
2. I didn't care for its characters. Not the troubled Luke, and especially not the momma bear Kristen who can't seem to pause and consider who she's having children with. Luke was more interesting to follow, but when the author started switching up perspectives it became a bit of a drag.
Though to be fair, meeting the market's demands these days, it's very difficult to just have a male protagonist.
Full credit where credit's due, Wehunt did take a classic trope and spun it into something more or less original and did it while writing literary fiction with enough horrific aspects to please genre fans. So from that perspective, the novel succeeds. I'm sure it'll easily find more adoring audience than me, too. I did appreciate the overall quality. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
March 22, 2026
Thank you SMP/Macmillan for the e-ARC of this book! I was so gripped by the description of this book, and I started reading it immediately. It was definitely different than anything I’ve ever read, which is something I always appreciate. I really had no idea where the story was going until the actual reveal of the situation. There were definitely a lot of moments that creeped me out, and I had to wait to pick up the book again until the sun came up (I’m a baby, I know)! I’ve lived in Georgia for almost all of my life, so I quite enjoyed the familiar feeling of the setting. I’m still relatively new to the horror genre, but I think horror veterans and newbies alike will enjoy this story. It releases in late September, and I think it’ll be a fabulous one to read during spooky season!
July 6, 2026
this is a medium paced, stylistically beautiful vampire thriller that i think a lot of readers (particularly those who enjoy plot-based spooky books) will enjoy. it is inventive and keeps you hooked because it is also part serial killer novel, part facing past trauma, and part speculative fiction.
however, i felt like the character’s actions didn’t always make sense and i could not for the life of me care about our main character, which made it hard for me to care about the book. i wish i got to SEE more of what he is like rather than just be told. for a book so well written, this seems like an oversight on the part of character building, and the characters were stagnant.
however, i think anyone who is looking for a new take on a vampire novel should give this a try!
however, i felt like the character’s actions didn’t always make sense and i could not for the life of me care about our main character, which made it hard for me to care about the book. i wish i got to SEE more of what he is like rather than just be told. for a book so well written, this seems like an oversight on the part of character building, and the characters were stagnant.
however, i think anyone who is looking for a new take on a vampire novel should give this a try!
Read
May 13, 2026Vampires meet Appalachian horror, consider me hooked. At times, this leans into mystery/thriller territory which isn’t really my preferred genre but I was along for the ride and I was excited to see how the story unfolded. The horror is skin-crawlingly eerie and blood-soaked. I always love seeing unique interpretations of vampires and these creatures are grotesque in the best way. The way their lore was interwoven with Appalachian folklore made me giddy. I had a lot of fun reading this one.
September 18, 2026
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt was a really enjoyable read and an interesting take on the vampire story. Vampires have been written about so many times and in so many different ways that it can be difficult to make them feel fresh, but Wehunt manages to put his own spin on the mythology while still tapping into the things that make vampire stories so compelling in the first place.
One of the strongest aspects of the novel for me was the use of multiple viewpoints. Stories with several perspectives can sometimes become confusing, especially when characters begin to sound too much alike, but I never had that problem here. Each character felt distinct, with their own personality, motivations, fears, and way of looking at what was happening around them. I always knew whose story I was following, and I enjoyed seeing how the different perspectives gradually contributed to the larger narrative.
More importantly, I became genuinely invested in these characters. I cared about their individual stories and wanted to know what was going to happen to them. As their paths developed and the stakes became clearer, that emotional investment made the horror much more effective. It's one thing to create frightening situations, but they become considerably more frightening when you actually care about the people experiencing them.
I also appreciated that Wehunt doesn't rely entirely on familiar vampire conventions. There are recognizable elements here, but the mythology and atmosphere give the story its own identity. Rather than feeling like another variation on a story I've read countless times before, Nightjars had enough new ideas to keep me curious about where Wehunt was taking things.
The multiple perspectives also allowed the story to gradually reveal itself. Each character provides another piece of the larger picture, and I enjoyed watching those pieces come together. That structure kept me engaged not only because I wanted answers, but because I wanted to see how each character's journey would ultimately play out.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Michael Wehunt for granting me access to a digital ARC of this title.
One of the strongest aspects of the novel for me was the use of multiple viewpoints. Stories with several perspectives can sometimes become confusing, especially when characters begin to sound too much alike, but I never had that problem here. Each character felt distinct, with their own personality, motivations, fears, and way of looking at what was happening around them. I always knew whose story I was following, and I enjoyed seeing how the different perspectives gradually contributed to the larger narrative.
More importantly, I became genuinely invested in these characters. I cared about their individual stories and wanted to know what was going to happen to them. As their paths developed and the stakes became clearer, that emotional investment made the horror much more effective. It's one thing to create frightening situations, but they become considerably more frightening when you actually care about the people experiencing them.
I also appreciated that Wehunt doesn't rely entirely on familiar vampire conventions. There are recognizable elements here, but the mythology and atmosphere give the story its own identity. Rather than feeling like another variation on a story I've read countless times before, Nightjars had enough new ideas to keep me curious about where Wehunt was taking things.
The multiple perspectives also allowed the story to gradually reveal itself. Each character provides another piece of the larger picture, and I enjoyed watching those pieces come together. That structure kept me engaged not only because I wanted answers, but because I wanted to see how each character's journey would ultimately play out.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Michael Wehunt for granting me access to a digital ARC of this title.
October 3, 2026
This is my first book by this author. I’m usually not big on vampire tropes, but for some reason, this book completely hooked me. Kristen was easily my favorite character—I loved her persistence and how she refused to give up on figuring out what was truly going on with Luke. I’m definitely smelling a sequel here. Honestly, I’m actively manifesting one because I’m so curious to see what happens next to their daughter!
September 18, 2026
Luke has disturbing memories from his childhood. Memories of his father hunched over a woman, drinking her blood. Now someone is taunting him with photographs confirming that what he saw was real. Could he now be doing the same?
I sacrificed sleep and my rational mind to finish this book. Once I started, I struggled to put it down. Once I put it down, I was haunted until I picked it back up. That alone makes it a top notch read, but Wehunt’s mastery of generating the uncanny, the unholy, and the horrifying clinched it. This is a slightly gory piece of psychological Appalachian horror, and I am 100% here for it!
My thanks to Michael Wehunt, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this advance reader’s copy. Opinions are 100% my own.
I sacrificed sleep and my rational mind to finish this book. Once I started, I struggled to put it down. Once I put it down, I was haunted until I picked it back up. That alone makes it a top notch read, but Wehunt’s mastery of generating the uncanny, the unholy, and the horrifying clinched it. This is a slightly gory piece of psychological Appalachian horror, and I am 100% here for it!
My thanks to Michael Wehunt, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this advance reader’s copy. Opinions are 100% my own.
October 1, 2026
A woman walks into a secondhand bookshop in Decatur, browses, and leaves a Polaroid face up on the counter. The photograph is from 1993. The boy in it is the shop's owner, aged eleven, standing in the dark beside a pickup truck he has no memory of. On the white strip beneath the image, in handwriting he does not know, is a riddle about whether a certain bird remembers a certain night. Nightjars by Michael Wehunt opens on that object and spends four hundred pages making it unbearable.
How Nightjars by Michael Wehunt Is Assembled
The architecture is the first thing to talk about, because the novel is organised more deliberately than most horror this long.
There are four named parts. The first two belong to Luke Oshel, thirty-nine, bookseller and recovering alcoholic, in first person past tense. The third hands the book to his ex-wife Kristen Meyer, a poet with one collection and bad lungs, in third person and present tense. The fourth alternates between them chapter by chapter.
That switch is the single best structural decision in Nightjars by Michael Wehunt. Luke's narration is interior and compromised by his own blackouts, so the reader spends two hundred pages unable to verify anything. Kristen arrives with a working memory and a willingness to knock on doors. The book changes more than its narrator. It changes the reliability of the whole enterprise, at the exact page where a reader would otherwise get restless.
Parts One and Two also come with a frame. Luke is typing them as a record for his daughter, in case this ends the way he thinks it will, and Kristen eventually finds the file. The frame earns its keep while it lasts.
The Photographs
The engine of the first half is a sequence of pictures, each delivered like a bill. They arrive by hand, by post, tucked into stock. Some are decades old, some were taken last week. Each carries a riddle about nightjars in the same handwriting, and each shows Luke somewhere he cannot have been. Meanwhile he is waking with gaps in his week, and women in the metro area are turning up dead with no blood left in them.
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt understands the useful thing about photographic horror, which is that a photograph is evidence. The reader is not asked whether a ghost is real, but what a jury would make of a man with a camera-shaped alibi and nothing else. Two DeKalb County detectives turn up with the same question, and one of them has no patience for the answer.
Underneath sits a childhood Luke has paid a therapist for years to help him reach: a father who drove trucks, drank, hit his son while they watched old films, and took the boy into the Georgia mountains to a cabin he had named.
What Michael Wehunt Does with the Vampire
The mythology is where a novel like this usually goes soft. Here it is the strongest material in Nightjars by Michael Wehunt.
Wehunt rebuilds from the ground up. There is a mountain with something running through it, a thing that drank from it a very long time ago, and a supply problem, because what it drank is running out. Everything else follows from that shortage: why more of these creatures exist, why they are all sick, why one family in north Georgia matters, why the killing started again after twenty-five years.
One rule does most of the work. These things can wear the face of anyone whose blood is still fresh in them. That generates the photographs, the frame-up, the body horror and the worst image in the novel, at no cost in exposition. The invitation rule turns out to be true, stated plainly by the creature itself, and the sunlight rule holds. Silver is a slow poison rather than a weapon. A crucifix is a nuisance. An ultraviolet torch is a toy.
The folklore arrives in a second voice. Pages keep falling out of a self-published 1970s volume on Appalachian disappearances, running heads and page numbers intact, written by a schoolteacher looking for his missing son. It is the best kind of found document, because the man writing it is a crank who happens to be right, and it failed him anyway. The nightjar itself is a real bird, nocturnal and cryptically feathered.
Where Nightjars by Michael Wehunt Gives Ground
Four things, and the first is the real one.
The hypnosis. Almost all of the backstory is delivered through recovered-memory sessions with a therapist. It is a tidy pipeline, used again and again, that hands over information exactly when the plot needs it. The technique is also clinically contested in ways the novel never raises, and a book this careful about its other rules should have said something about that one.
The villain explains itself. The climax stops so the creature can narrate its own several-hundred-year history at length, with a four-year-old a few feet away. The information is good. The placement is the worst available.
The middle repeats. Blackout, blood, photograph, decision not to call anyone. That loop runs four times, and the last two turns buy less than the first two.
The frame is dropped. The manuscript conceit is set up with real care and then quietly abandoned once the book starts narrating in real time. It is the one promise Nightjars by Michael Wehunt makes and does not keep.
Read It If, Skip It If
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt is a horror novel with a domestic drama load-bearing inside it.
Read it if:
You want vampires taken seriously as a supply-and-demand problem rather than as a romance.
You liked the structural nerve of The October Film Haunt and want the second novel to try something harder.
You can take a book whose real subject is what one man did to his son, dressed as a monster hunt.
Skip it if:
Threats to a pregnant woman and a small child are not something you read for pleasure.
You want a fast horror novel. The middle third is deliberate and feels it.
You need an ending that restores everybody. This one negotiates.
Content Notes
Child abuse at the centre of the book: a father beating his son, and coercing him at eleven and again at twelve into drinking from a woman he has killed. Serial murder of women. A recovered memory carrying a necrophilic implication. An elderly man assaulting a pregnant woman by the throat. Sustained danger to an unborn child, including fingernails on a pregnant abdomen. A child abducted. Decapitation, a torn-away jaw and an eye injury, all on the page. Addiction, relapse, a marriage lost to it. Asthma attacks from the inside. Sudden bereavement. Gun violence. Wasps in quantity. Live burial and total darkness.
The Verdict
The title is the tell. A nightjar is a bird, and it is also a word a violent man taught a small boy to say about the two of them, a catechism with a question and an answer, repeated in a dark room with the television on. Everything frightening here comes out of that arrangement rather than out of the cave. The monster wants a supply. The father wanted a son who would agree with him.
What holds it up is Kristen, who should by rights be the wife in the trunk of this plot and is instead its most competent person. Her asthma is characterisation rather than jeopardy, a poet's discipline about breathing. She bluffs a confession out of an old man using a children's video cassette. Every man in the book tells her to go home, including the one she is marrying, and she declines. Nightjars by Michael Wehunt is smart about its monster and very good on its architecture, but Kristen Meyer is the reason the last hundred pages land, and the reason the final chapter hurts more than anything in the dark.
How Nightjars by Michael Wehunt Is Assembled
The architecture is the first thing to talk about, because the novel is organised more deliberately than most horror this long.
There are four named parts. The first two belong to Luke Oshel, thirty-nine, bookseller and recovering alcoholic, in first person past tense. The third hands the book to his ex-wife Kristen Meyer, a poet with one collection and bad lungs, in third person and present tense. The fourth alternates between them chapter by chapter.
That switch is the single best structural decision in Nightjars by Michael Wehunt. Luke's narration is interior and compromised by his own blackouts, so the reader spends two hundred pages unable to verify anything. Kristen arrives with a working memory and a willingness to knock on doors. The book changes more than its narrator. It changes the reliability of the whole enterprise, at the exact page where a reader would otherwise get restless.
Parts One and Two also come with a frame. Luke is typing them as a record for his daughter, in case this ends the way he thinks it will, and Kristen eventually finds the file. The frame earns its keep while it lasts.
The Photographs
The engine of the first half is a sequence of pictures, each delivered like a bill. They arrive by hand, by post, tucked into stock. Some are decades old, some were taken last week. Each carries a riddle about nightjars in the same handwriting, and each shows Luke somewhere he cannot have been. Meanwhile he is waking with gaps in his week, and women in the metro area are turning up dead with no blood left in them.
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt understands the useful thing about photographic horror, which is that a photograph is evidence. The reader is not asked whether a ghost is real, but what a jury would make of a man with a camera-shaped alibi and nothing else. Two DeKalb County detectives turn up with the same question, and one of them has no patience for the answer.
Underneath sits a childhood Luke has paid a therapist for years to help him reach: a father who drove trucks, drank, hit his son while they watched old films, and took the boy into the Georgia mountains to a cabin he had named.
What Michael Wehunt Does with the Vampire
The mythology is where a novel like this usually goes soft. Here it is the strongest material in Nightjars by Michael Wehunt.
Wehunt rebuilds from the ground up. There is a mountain with something running through it, a thing that drank from it a very long time ago, and a supply problem, because what it drank is running out. Everything else follows from that shortage: why more of these creatures exist, why they are all sick, why one family in north Georgia matters, why the killing started again after twenty-five years.
One rule does most of the work. These things can wear the face of anyone whose blood is still fresh in them. That generates the photographs, the frame-up, the body horror and the worst image in the novel, at no cost in exposition. The invitation rule turns out to be true, stated plainly by the creature itself, and the sunlight rule holds. Silver is a slow poison rather than a weapon. A crucifix is a nuisance. An ultraviolet torch is a toy.
The folklore arrives in a second voice. Pages keep falling out of a self-published 1970s volume on Appalachian disappearances, running heads and page numbers intact, written by a schoolteacher looking for his missing son. It is the best kind of found document, because the man writing it is a crank who happens to be right, and it failed him anyway. The nightjar itself is a real bird, nocturnal and cryptically feathered.
Where Nightjars by Michael Wehunt Gives Ground
Four things, and the first is the real one.
The hypnosis. Almost all of the backstory is delivered through recovered-memory sessions with a therapist. It is a tidy pipeline, used again and again, that hands over information exactly when the plot needs it. The technique is also clinically contested in ways the novel never raises, and a book this careful about its other rules should have said something about that one.
The villain explains itself. The climax stops so the creature can narrate its own several-hundred-year history at length, with a four-year-old a few feet away. The information is good. The placement is the worst available.
The middle repeats. Blackout, blood, photograph, decision not to call anyone. That loop runs four times, and the last two turns buy less than the first two.
The frame is dropped. The manuscript conceit is set up with real care and then quietly abandoned once the book starts narrating in real time. It is the one promise Nightjars by Michael Wehunt makes and does not keep.
Read It If, Skip It If
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt is a horror novel with a domestic drama load-bearing inside it.
Read it if:
You want vampires taken seriously as a supply-and-demand problem rather than as a romance.
You liked the structural nerve of The October Film Haunt and want the second novel to try something harder.
You can take a book whose real subject is what one man did to his son, dressed as a monster hunt.
Skip it if:
Threats to a pregnant woman and a small child are not something you read for pleasure.
You want a fast horror novel. The middle third is deliberate and feels it.
You need an ending that restores everybody. This one negotiates.
Content Notes
Child abuse at the centre of the book: a father beating his son, and coercing him at eleven and again at twelve into drinking from a woman he has killed. Serial murder of women. A recovered memory carrying a necrophilic implication. An elderly man assaulting a pregnant woman by the throat. Sustained danger to an unborn child, including fingernails on a pregnant abdomen. A child abducted. Decapitation, a torn-away jaw and an eye injury, all on the page. Addiction, relapse, a marriage lost to it. Asthma attacks from the inside. Sudden bereavement. Gun violence. Wasps in quantity. Live burial and total darkness.
The Verdict
The title is the tell. A nightjar is a bird, and it is also a word a violent man taught a small boy to say about the two of them, a catechism with a question and an answer, repeated in a dark room with the television on. Everything frightening here comes out of that arrangement rather than out of the cave. The monster wants a supply. The father wanted a son who would agree with him.
What holds it up is Kristen, who should by rights be the wife in the trunk of this plot and is instead its most competent person. Her asthma is characterisation rather than jeopardy, a poet's discipline about breathing. She bluffs a confession out of an old man using a children's video cassette. Every man in the book tells her to go home, including the one she is marrying, and she declines. Nightjars by Michael Wehunt is smart about its monster and very good on its architecture, but Kristen Meyer is the reason the last hundred pages land, and the reason the final chapter hurts more than anything in the dark.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I was absolutely gripped by the beginning of 'Nightjar' so much so that it became my obsession for the entire day.
'Luke' is almost 40, divorced and has a daughter he loves. His divorce was messy due to alcoholism and drug use, but he is better now and wants to get back out there. He goes on a date where the woman disappears mid way through and only leaves him a Polaroid photo of him as a child, a dead woman, his father, and this creepy white faced/masked figure looming in the photo. Now Luke starts to relapse and remember his past as more Polaroid show up implicating him in ways he can not believe.
The first two or three parts were my favourite. Seeing Luke slowly descend into madness and learning about his past with his father.
The author writes the creepy parts very beautifully, it is easy to imagine what Luke is seeing and just how disturbing the situations are.
Towards the end when we start getting alternating perspectives between Kristen and Luke I did get a bit bored and start loosing interest. A lot of Kristen's POV felt redundant and seemed to just be there to make the book longer, I dont think she needed to be doing all that much while pregnant and married to a different man, but nice that she cares deeply for the father of her first child.
Either way I still very much enjoyed the atmosphere that was created, the mystery behind the nightjars and that not much was actually explained about them.
It was a good fun read.
For me it is a 3.5 stars, rounded up, I just wish the last half was better.
'Luke' is almost 40, divorced and has a daughter he loves. His divorce was messy due to alcoholism and drug use, but he is better now and wants to get back out there. He goes on a date where the woman disappears mid way through and only leaves him a Polaroid photo of him as a child, a dead woman, his father, and this creepy white faced/masked figure looming in the photo. Now Luke starts to relapse and remember his past as more Polaroid show up implicating him in ways he can not believe.
The first two or three parts were my favourite. Seeing Luke slowly descend into madness and learning about his past with his father.
The author writes the creepy parts very beautifully, it is easy to imagine what Luke is seeing and just how disturbing the situations are.
Towards the end when we start getting alternating perspectives between Kristen and Luke I did get a bit bored and start loosing interest. A lot of Kristen's POV felt redundant and seemed to just be there to make the book longer, I dont think she needed to be doing all that much while pregnant and married to a different man, but nice that she cares deeply for the father of her first child.
Either way I still very much enjoyed the atmosphere that was created, the mystery behind the nightjars and that not much was actually explained about them.
It was a good fun read.
For me it is a 3.5 stars, rounded up, I just wish the last half was better.
July 16, 2026
I really think this book should be adapted for film! I wish I could make those decisions, because this would be a good one. Funny that Christopher Nolan is such talk of the town right now because this book has a Memento element to it. There is a mystery and an unraveling of our main character, Luke's, past through pictures and clues. He can't remember and he is trying to figure it out. There is tension of not knowing what is really going on at large here and who is the actual danger. There is creepy Appalachian folklore with creatures and folks devoted to them in the woods... I mean, come on! This would seriously make for peak cinema! I really love Michael Wehunt's mind so much, and every word he writes is filled with uncertainty and tension. And it leads up to a climactic ending that, again, would be a true creepy spectacle to behold on the big screen. I really enjoyed this one.Was hooked the whole time wanting to figure things out. And the creepy vibes are immaculate.
Thank you to the author himself for the physical ARC! Book releases 9/29/26.
Thank you to the author himself for the physical ARC! Book releases 9/29/26.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
NIGHTJARS by Michael Wehunt
Published: September 2026 by St. Martin’s Press
Audio Version by Macmillan Audio
Narrated by Matt Godrey & Zura Johnson
Bram Stoker Award Winning author, Michael Wehunt weaves a complex literary horror novel, with elements of a serial killer mystery , combined with a psychological study involving both inheritance and the vampire myth. Our protagonist, Luke Oshel is extremely fragile. He is a recovering addict, estranged from his ex-wife and very concerned if he can can be a good father to his four year-old daughter. He was raised by a cruel, abusive father, who was a serial killer. His horrific murders involved draining the victim’s blood. He had no recollection of these events. Attempting normalcy, he goes on a date with a mysterious women. There initial interchange is bizarre, and she gets up to go to the bathroom and never returns. Under her napkin she has left a photo. Luke sees what appears to be him as a child in the presence of a corpse and a masked man. In the course of the novel, more of these unsettling photographs appear, apparently depicting Luke participating in these horrific murders. Even with therapy Luke cannot fully understand what is a truthful memory or hallucinations. These recollections are both gory and horrific. But are they real? Later in the story we meet his ex-wife and adorable daughter. Chapters are provided that present her viewpoints. At the same time a new string of serial killings occur, reminiscent of his father’s crimes.
Wehunt masterfully weaves an unsettling narrative with almost lyrical prose. He explores the often ruminated question. Are we bound by inheritance, to repeat the sins of our parents. Has Luke’s father’s darkness been transmitted to him through the bloodline? This is not a fast paced serial-killer procedural, but rather a literary atmospheric exploration of memory and family trauma. Multiple twists and reveals appear as the tension and intrigue escalate in this dense mystery.
I had the benefit of switching between by kindle and the audio version. The narrators provided a much appreciated extra dimension. With their varying voices and inflections they brought the story to life in the theatre of my mind.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for providing both an Uncorrected Proof and advanced audio version in exchange for my unbiased review.
Published: September 2026 by St. Martin’s Press
Audio Version by Macmillan Audio
Narrated by Matt Godrey & Zura Johnson
Bram Stoker Award Winning author, Michael Wehunt weaves a complex literary horror novel, with elements of a serial killer mystery , combined with a psychological study involving both inheritance and the vampire myth. Our protagonist, Luke Oshel is extremely fragile. He is a recovering addict, estranged from his ex-wife and very concerned if he can can be a good father to his four year-old daughter. He was raised by a cruel, abusive father, who was a serial killer. His horrific murders involved draining the victim’s blood. He had no recollection of these events. Attempting normalcy, he goes on a date with a mysterious women. There initial interchange is bizarre, and she gets up to go to the bathroom and never returns. Under her napkin she has left a photo. Luke sees what appears to be him as a child in the presence of a corpse and a masked man. In the course of the novel, more of these unsettling photographs appear, apparently depicting Luke participating in these horrific murders. Even with therapy Luke cannot fully understand what is a truthful memory or hallucinations. These recollections are both gory and horrific. But are they real? Later in the story we meet his ex-wife and adorable daughter. Chapters are provided that present her viewpoints. At the same time a new string of serial killings occur, reminiscent of his father’s crimes.
Wehunt masterfully weaves an unsettling narrative with almost lyrical prose. He explores the often ruminated question. Are we bound by inheritance, to repeat the sins of our parents. Has Luke’s father’s darkness been transmitted to him through the bloodline? This is not a fast paced serial-killer procedural, but rather a literary atmospheric exploration of memory and family trauma. Multiple twists and reveals appear as the tension and intrigue escalate in this dense mystery.
I had the benefit of switching between by kindle and the audio version. The narrators provided a much appreciated extra dimension. With their varying voices and inflections they brought the story to life in the theatre of my mind.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for providing both an Uncorrected Proof and advanced audio version in exchange for my unbiased review.
October 2, 2026
Me: Mention Bluey one more time, motha fucka, see what happens.
The book: Bluey Bluey Bluey Bluey fuck you Bluey Bluey Bluey.
Also Wes did nothing wrong, Kristen is just a giant idiot. This book had the author's trademark strong prose, but good lord, his characters are such sad sacks. How does Wehunt always manage to gather so many Debbie Downers in one place?
The book: Bluey Bluey Bluey Bluey fuck you Bluey Bluey Bluey.
Also Wes did nothing wrong, Kristen is just a giant idiot. This book had the author's trademark strong prose, but good lord, his characters are such sad sacks. How does Wehunt always manage to gather so many Debbie Downers in one place?
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
NIGHTJARS is a horror-tinged fever dream that had me questioning my sanity right alongside the main character.
The story had surprising emotional depth and complexities, while at the same time keeping my adrenaline kicked into high gear. I love when an author can make me believe a story with supernatural content, and Michael Wehunt did exactly that.
I started with the ebook late at night, then switched to the audiobook the next morning. I highly recommend the audio. Production is seriously brilliant. As I was listening, there’s a point where a certain voice comes in, and it was so creepy that I literally jumped. The narrators absolutely nailed the eerie vibe.
*Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the free eARC, and to Macmillan Audio (#MacAudio2026) for the free audiobook download!*
The story had surprising emotional depth and complexities, while at the same time keeping my adrenaline kicked into high gear. I love when an author can make me believe a story with supernatural content, and Michael Wehunt did exactly that.
I started with the ebook late at night, then switched to the audiobook the next morning. I highly recommend the audio. Production is seriously brilliant. As I was listening, there’s a point where a certain voice comes in, and it was so creepy that I literally jumped. The narrators absolutely nailed the eerie vibe.
*Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the free eARC, and to Macmillan Audio (#MacAudio2026) for the free audiobook download!*
August 4, 2026
Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
That was FANTASTIC. I can’t really explain why that scratched an itch in my brain as well as it did but truly that was a wild ride and one I would happily recommend people go on. The prose is excellent: lyrical at times without being too dense or heavy. I love the characters—they’re believable and emotionally consistent throughout the story. This extends to their relationships too, which I think are fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking but interesting across the board. I absolutely love the depictions of the “Dracula” aspect (apt comparison, I will say)—I feel like it’s rare to have something be in the supernatural thriller horror genre and have it actually be all of those things. I think overall the premise is well-fleshed out and compelling and was executed effectively. The pacing is great and carries through all the way to the end. If I could nitpick I’d say maybe I wish some of the lore was made a little bit clearer (there’s lots going on) but I don’t find myself bothered by this. Really excellent stuff. I loved it!
That was FANTASTIC. I can’t really explain why that scratched an itch in my brain as well as it did but truly that was a wild ride and one I would happily recommend people go on. The prose is excellent: lyrical at times without being too dense or heavy. I love the characters—they’re believable and emotionally consistent throughout the story. This extends to their relationships too, which I think are fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking but interesting across the board. I absolutely love the depictions of the “Dracula” aspect (apt comparison, I will say)—I feel like it’s rare to have something be in the supernatural thriller horror genre and have it actually be all of those things. I think overall the premise is well-fleshed out and compelling and was executed effectively. The pacing is great and carries through all the way to the end. If I could nitpick I’d say maybe I wish some of the lore was made a little bit clearer (there’s lots going on) but I don’t find myself bothered by this. Really excellent stuff. I loved it!
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