The Phantom Reflex

by Fred Tippett II

Troubled, teenaged Thomas Grant has long known that he has unusual powers, despite that no one else believes his claims. As an orphan in the care of abusive guardians, Thomas is given a choice—spend the summer with his guardians in New York City or with his loving girlfriend in Maple, her pristine upstate hometown.

He should have chosen The City.

Very quickly, Thomas finds himself trapped in Maple as a strange and sinister plot—a plot with him at its center—begins to unfold. People who try to help him or even befriend him disappear… or die. It all ties to a cult of demonists that worships an ageless, satanic force. A force with a destiny that Thomas slowly learns is horrifyingly intertwined with his own.

298 pages, Paperback

Expected publication October 10, 2026

About the author

Fred Tippett II is the well-reviewed author of thrilling mystery novels—The Women in White, The Lethal List, and Textbook Murder—as well as the gripping short stories The Intruder and Gumbo Night. He is also a licensed attorney and primarily uses his legal education to bolster the credibility of police procedural elements for his novels.

You can find Fred at @fred_flinstone8 on Twitter and Instagram.

Reviews

[donutdot · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc!!!

i enjoyed this more than i thought i would, to be frank especially after seeing the ratings but oh boy i didn't realise i was craving that y2k horror/action story but this scratched the itch!!

the story is action packed and the first half, the creepiness of maple, definitely kept me on my toes. i was so excited to read about a satanist town desperate to keep thomas around, and his weird powers that manifested. the whole sameness of the residents and everyone smiling and staring at thomas gave me the creeps, especially the everett family. the deaths of jacob bright and carter evans honestly shocked me.

personally i thought the story took a very sharp turn halfway through into unexpected territory. spoilers ahead (until i say otherwise), but the whole alternate universes and the ancient ones and the outsiders and the whole war, monster army and the seven blew my mind. at first i was very sceptical and disappointed that a story i was getting very invested in suddenly changed, but then when marina and casey got involved i was hyped again.

sure the shifters were a far cry from devil worshippers but i was fully into this. marina and casey were badass and i was so glad there are actually adults in authority who trust and believe them?? the final part where thomas unlocks his powers and kills the shifters is batshit insane but i liked how this kind of opens up the story world.

end of spoilers.

but for me, one part that was jarring is the use of first and last names, especially for carter, where he is addressed as both evans and carter by thomas. sometimes both in the same sentence. i hope this gets resolved in editing. other than that, the pacing is good and keeps me engaged throughout.

i am excited to see more of the seven, and what other agents of the outsiders threaten them. crossing my fingers and toes for a sequel!!

[John-Phillip O'Hagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of I want to start by thanking NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review prior to release. Secondly thank you to the author Fred Tippett II for writing a very interesting story. I will start by saying that the book went a different way than I had imagined from reading the description, but in a positive way of course. I enjoyed the supernatural lore the author used and would be interested to see the author expand upon it in possibly later novels or a new series. While I did enjoy reading the novel and was genuinely interested in the storyline and how it would unfold, some areas were a little harder to read than others. In some sections, the novel switches between using the last names of a character to their first names then back again all within the same page which at times made me pause or become confused. This is especially so when said page has 5-6 characters, it can halt the flow of the novel (again just my observation). I also found that the relationship between the main character and his girlfriend felt not as genuine as it could have been for a teenage romance/relationship. The way they spoke and acted with one another didn't feel right which perhaps was the point of the story given how things unfold, however, to me it just didn't jive. Like any book, the pacing can falter here and there but overall it was a quick, good read for anyone who enjoys the supernatural/horror/teens genre.

[Tyler Foskitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phantom Reflex was an excellent supernatural horror novel, and I loved every second of it. The worldbuilding was one of the strongest parts of the book, and I loved how everything connected together as the story progressed. My only complaint was that the narration occasionally switched between first and last names, which made it easy to lose track of who was being discussed, but that's an easy fix. Other than that, I had a hard time putting it down and finished it in a single day. A well-deserved 5 stars.

[Sukhdave Takhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

*thank you netgalley for the ARC so i was able to read and give my honest review*

First i like to say oh dear Thomas you did go through it in this book. I did like the story overall there was some parts i had to reread the pages because i was getting confused who was who. It could been i needed to slow down or just alittle better editing chose could helped.

[Jenny T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t want to stop reading this. From an eerie mystery that gave me the chills to a visceral and gory Horror with a large chunk of the Supernatural layered through. This was a gripping story from start to finish that left me wanting more. Ending with a satisfying but very much open door feel which would allow for a potential series continuation. I enjoyed the characters and felt very connected to the main character’s journey.