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A Certain Evil
146 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 15, 2026
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Ryan Parish was just born wrong. Even at the young age of seven, it was already well known that something is off about him.
I'm not going to go into too many details, because the less you know about this, the better. Honestly, I expected a horror that would make me terrified of our mmc Ryan, and yes, it does that. It really does.
But I didn't expect how spectacular this was written!
The constant tension from page 1, my gut was twisting in apprehension and concern. The chapters are quick, succinct and set the scene beautifully. The point gets across extremely well, and it doesn't linger too long. It knows when to move on to keep you hooked.
While you go into it knowing basically everything you need to (especially if you know anything about psychopaths), but we also are seeing this world through the eyes of those around him.
There are a plethora of themes woven throughout this so organically, and it truly made me experience the whole gamut of emotions as well as keeping my mind contemplating all the various issues of each character.
As I said, I don't want to give spoilers, but the characters are so well rounded, and I found myself caring about them.
Even thinking I knew everything, I was still pleasantly and sickeningly surprised when I got to the end. I'm still thinking about it a day after, and I think I will think about this from time to time. Definitely recommend this, but definitely check trigger warnings!!!! The horror is done tastefully and doesn't glorify anything, but there are still quite a few triggers there. (As there would be given who Ryan is.)
Hard 5 star.
Ryan Parish was just born wrong. Even at the young age of seven, it was already well known that something is off about him.
I'm not going to go into too many details, because the less you know about this, the better. Honestly, I expected a horror that would make me terrified of our mmc Ryan, and yes, it does that. It really does.
But I didn't expect how spectacular this was written!
The constant tension from page 1, my gut was twisting in apprehension and concern. The chapters are quick, succinct and set the scene beautifully. The point gets across extremely well, and it doesn't linger too long. It knows when to move on to keep you hooked.
While you go into it knowing basically everything you need to (especially if you know anything about psychopaths), but we also are seeing this world through the eyes of those around him.
There are a plethora of themes woven throughout this so organically, and it truly made me experience the whole gamut of emotions as well as keeping my mind contemplating all the various issues of each character.
As I said, I don't want to give spoilers, but the characters are so well rounded, and I found myself caring about them.
Even thinking I knew everything, I was still pleasantly and sickeningly surprised when I got to the end. I'm still thinking about it a day after, and I think I will think about this from time to time. Definitely recommend this, but definitely check trigger warnings!!!! The horror is done tastefully and doesn't glorify anything, but there are still quite a few triggers there. (As there would be given who Ryan is.)
Hard 5 star.
May 13, 2026
A Certain Evil is at its strongest when it works as neighborhood horror. The Brooklyn setting feels specific and lived-in: corner stores, pizzerias, bars, delis, family homes, and marshland paths all give the novella a real sense of place. This is not a vague small-town evil story. It feels rooted in a particular community, and that grounding gives the horror more weight than it would have had in a more generic setting.
The best part of the book is Billy “Turtle.” He gives the story its heart. His nervous habits, his attachment to his train set, his love for small vulnerable things, and his painful need to be seen by his father make him the most emotionally convincing character in the novella. His arc is simple, but it feels earned, and the ending works best when it belongs to him rather than to Ryan.
Viktor is another strong element. His presence gives the book a moral framework, and his understanding of evil carries weight because of what he has lived through. At times, the book states its themes a little too directly through him, but he still works as a witness to the kind of darkness the story is trying to examine.
My main issue is Ryan. As a source of horror, he is effective enough. As a character, he is much less interesting. He is cruel and dangerous from the beginning, and he remains mostly the same until the end. That can work in a more straightforward slasher or pulp horror story, but *A Certain Evil* reaches for more psychological weight than that. I wanted more interiority, more contradiction, or at least more uncertainty around him.
The book also becomes less convincing when it tries to explain what Ryan represents. On one hand, it frames him as a kind of born evil, something almost elemental. On the other, it introduces inherited trauma, abuse, and family damage as part of the same picture. Those ideas can absolutely exist together, but here they never fully reconcile. Some of the trauma backstory also felt more like plot machinery than something the novella had enough room to process with the weight it deserved.
By the end, the body count and moral corruption become a little too concentrated. There is an abuser, an addict, a deadbeat, a hypocrite, and several broken or compromised adults all orbiting the same small neighborhood. The final stretch has momentum, but the sheer concentration of damage makes the world feel less complex than the strong setting initially suggests.
Still, there is real craft here. The pacing is strong, the setting feels authentic, and Billy’s arc gives the novella an emotional center that stayed with me. A Certain Evil is a better-built book than many short horror thrillers, but its thematic reach is stronger than its grasp.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The best part of the book is Billy “Turtle.” He gives the story its heart. His nervous habits, his attachment to his train set, his love for small vulnerable things, and his painful need to be seen by his father make him the most emotionally convincing character in the novella. His arc is simple, but it feels earned, and the ending works best when it belongs to him rather than to Ryan.
Viktor is another strong element. His presence gives the book a moral framework, and his understanding of evil carries weight because of what he has lived through. At times, the book states its themes a little too directly through him, but he still works as a witness to the kind of darkness the story is trying to examine.
My main issue is Ryan. As a source of horror, he is effective enough. As a character, he is much less interesting. He is cruel and dangerous from the beginning, and he remains mostly the same until the end. That can work in a more straightforward slasher or pulp horror story, but *A Certain Evil* reaches for more psychological weight than that. I wanted more interiority, more contradiction, or at least more uncertainty around him.
The book also becomes less convincing when it tries to explain what Ryan represents. On one hand, it frames him as a kind of born evil, something almost elemental. On the other, it introduces inherited trauma, abuse, and family damage as part of the same picture. Those ideas can absolutely exist together, but here they never fully reconcile. Some of the trauma backstory also felt more like plot machinery than something the novella had enough room to process with the weight it deserved.
By the end, the body count and moral corruption become a little too concentrated. There is an abuser, an addict, a deadbeat, a hypocrite, and several broken or compromised adults all orbiting the same small neighborhood. The final stretch has momentum, but the sheer concentration of damage makes the world feel less complex than the strong setting initially suggests.
Still, there is real craft here. The pacing is strong, the setting feels authentic, and Billy’s arc gives the novella an emotional center that stayed with me. A Certain Evil is a better-built book than many short horror thrillers, but its thematic reach is stronger than its grasp.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
June 7, 2026
This was my first book by this author, and it definitely won’t be my last. The short chapters kept the story moving at a great pace, making it a very fast and engaging read. Every chapter felt purposeful, flowed naturally into the next, and made it difficult to stop reading.
Ryan Parrish is a chilling main character. His psychopathic tendencies begin to emerge at a very young age, and by the age of seven there are already clear signs of the person he will become. Watching his character develop throughout the story was both fascinating and disturbing. The author does an excellent job showing his gradual descent, making him increasingly unsettling with every chapter.
There is a twist near the end that I genuinely didn't see coming. While the twist itself wasn't the main reason I loved the book, it was well done and added an extra layer to an already compelling story. For me, the real strength of the book was watching Ryan's life unfold from childhood onward and seeing just how much worse he became as he got older.
My favorite characters were Turtle and Viktor. They were the characters I found myself most attached to and added another layer to the story.
Overall, this was an engrossing, fast-paced read with excellent pacing, short chapters, and a memorable cast of characters. As my first experience with this author, it was a great one, and I’ll definitely be picking up more of his work
I received an advance review copy from Book Sirens for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Ryan Parrish is a chilling main character. His psychopathic tendencies begin to emerge at a very young age, and by the age of seven there are already clear signs of the person he will become. Watching his character develop throughout the story was both fascinating and disturbing. The author does an excellent job showing his gradual descent, making him increasingly unsettling with every chapter.
There is a twist near the end that I genuinely didn't see coming. While the twist itself wasn't the main reason I loved the book, it was well done and added an extra layer to an already compelling story. For me, the real strength of the book was watching Ryan's life unfold from childhood onward and seeing just how much worse he became as he got older.
My favorite characters were Turtle and Viktor. They were the characters I found myself most attached to and added another layer to the story.
Overall, this was an engrossing, fast-paced read with excellent pacing, short chapters, and a memorable cast of characters. As my first experience with this author, it was a great one, and I’ll definitely be picking up more of his work
I received an advance review copy from Book Sirens for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 24, 2026
DISCLAIMER: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A Certain Evil by A.F. Cosentino is a short, sweet debut horror novella. From the very beginning, we're introduced to Ryan Parrish's cold, calculating, sadistic personality and evil urges. This book goes from zero to one hundred in less than ten pages and keeps up the pace for its entire 137-page duration.
The best thing about this book is how real the characters feel, while maintaining an air of a nightmarish dystopia. Every character is an individual, with their own thoughts, feelings, memories, and flaws. You get a sense that you've met these people before. You can hear the inflection in Melissa's voice, and you can smell the coffee and eggs Viktor had for breakfast.
I do wish there were more to this book. I would read a full series of A Certain Evil. However, the story does wrap up quite nicely. The pace is a little jumpy at times, and there are a lot of characters, most of whom don't feel as though they have much bearing on the story.
A Certain Evil by A.F. Cosentino is a short, sweet debut horror novella. From the very beginning, we're introduced to Ryan Parrish's cold, calculating, sadistic personality and evil urges. This book goes from zero to one hundred in less than ten pages and keeps up the pace for its entire 137-page duration.
The best thing about this book is how real the characters feel, while maintaining an air of a nightmarish dystopia. Every character is an individual, with their own thoughts, feelings, memories, and flaws. You get a sense that you've met these people before. You can hear the inflection in Melissa's voice, and you can smell the coffee and eggs Viktor had for breakfast.
I do wish there were more to this book. I would read a full series of A Certain Evil. However, the story does wrap up quite nicely. The pace is a little jumpy at times, and there are a lot of characters, most of whom don't feel as though they have much bearing on the story.
May 31, 2026
Is someone born evil, or do circumstances shape them into something darker? This story dives into that unsettling question. While the “bad seed” concept can sometimes feel overdone (I immediately always think of the movie The Good Son), this novella has unexpected twists and layered character dynamics that unfold as the tension builds.
I’ve always liked the idea of novellas, but with thrillers and horror especially, I tend to want more. There is so much potential to dig deeper into the characters and their motivations. That said, this is a quick, engaging read that pulls you in right away. The short chapters and fast pace make it hard to put down as you follow the MC's disturbing journey.
The book is dark.
I’ve always liked the idea of novellas, but with thrillers and horror especially, I tend to want more. There is so much potential to dig deeper into the characters and their motivations. That said, this is a quick, engaging read that pulls you in right away. The short chapters and fast pace make it hard to put down as you follow the MC's disturbing journey.
The book is dark.
March 31, 2026
This was a quick and easy read which really pulls you in and keeps you interested. They are short chapters and the story moves quickly, taking you through the start of psychopathic Ryan’s life and into the carnage that he wants to cause. Dysfunctional family life and family secrets are at the heart of this book, and you cannot help feeling a little bit of sympathy for what they are all going through.
Make no mistake, there are a LOT of dark themes in this book, but they never feel overwhelming and it just gives you a little bit of insight into how monsters are made.
An enjoyable read from a new author! Be sure to check it out.
Make no mistake, there are a LOT of dark themes in this book, but they never feel overwhelming and it just gives you a little bit of insight into how monsters are made.
An enjoyable read from a new author! Be sure to check it out.
April 28, 2026
This was quick, brutal and unputdownable. Could it be someone born from a brutal act can be so evil or is it nature? In this case i go with both. I couldn’t put this down. Turtle and his snooping came good in the end.
This author packed this short book with so much punch it gave me goosebumps.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This author packed this short book with so much punch it gave me goosebumps.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 16, 2026
Overall I really enjoyed the book. The chapters were short and moved rather quickly. However with that said I do feel like there was some holes that could have been filled to make the book a bit more interesting. There were a lot of unanswered questions in the end.
April 22, 2026
I loved the writing style of this. Also this was a quick read, with a lot packed into this short story.
Character development was easy to follow. Cannot wait to see what other work this author does.
Character development was easy to follow. Cannot wait to see what other work this author does.
May 2, 2026
This was an addictive and fast paced thriller that reminded me of a movie I saw. Ryan was a distributed young man who made some unhinged decisions. I was hooked.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews