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Nightjars
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Expected 29 Sep 26Win a free print copy of this book!
10 days and 02:13:46
25 copies available
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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 a blind date. But before she 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 father, who killed his victims by exsanguination before his own death. 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.
On a rainy night, Luke Oshel gets stood up halfway through a blind date. But before she 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 father, who killed his victims by exsanguination before his own death. 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.
352 pages, ebook
Expected publication September 29, 2026
About the author
Michael Wehunt
45 books463 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 - 21 of 21 reviews
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.
May 21, 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.
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.
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!
May 4, 2026
I mean this in the best way, what the hell did I just read?
Nightjars was wacky, dark, and without a doubt one of the more creative vampire novels I’ve read.
This was my first introduction to a work by Michael Wehunt, and I must say, he would excel at writing a feature film or a limited series. In fact, I would love to see Nightjars turned into one.
It was so atmospheric. He built this world that felt so grounded in reality and yet so strange at the same time. There were many moments where I literally had goosebumps because what I was reading made my skin crawl.
I feel like the vampire thing has been overdone as of late, but y’all… there’s something about this one. Appalachian vampires for the win!!
Luke believes his father was a serial killer, and quite honestly… it’s ruining his life.
His wife divorced him. He turned to drinking. His memories of the horrible ventures his father brought him along on are bubbling to the surface, but never quite coming into focus.
And then, just when he finally has it together, a blind date blows it all up. She ditches him at the bar, but not before leaving behind an old Polaroid depicting Luke as a child… and a dead body.
It’s so insane. Just read it, please.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.
Nightjars was wacky, dark, and without a doubt one of the more creative vampire novels I’ve read.
This was my first introduction to a work by Michael Wehunt, and I must say, he would excel at writing a feature film or a limited series. In fact, I would love to see Nightjars turned into one.
It was so atmospheric. He built this world that felt so grounded in reality and yet so strange at the same time. There were many moments where I literally had goosebumps because what I was reading made my skin crawl.
I feel like the vampire thing has been overdone as of late, but y’all… there’s something about this one. Appalachian vampires for the win!!
Luke believes his father was a serial killer, and quite honestly… it’s ruining his life.
His wife divorced him. He turned to drinking. His memories of the horrible ventures his father brought him along on are bubbling to the surface, but never quite coming into focus.
And then, just when he finally has it together, a blind date blows it all up. She ditches him at the bar, but not before leaving behind an old Polaroid depicting Luke as a child… and a dead body.
It’s so insane. Just read it, please.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this, I DNF'd Wehunt's last book about halfway through, but I enjoyed this one so much that I may have to revisit October Film Haunt. This is such a unique take on the kind of tale it is, the 'monster' reveal doesn't become clear (though it isn't a far leap) until about 70% of the way into the book and it ties everything together so well. I really enjoyed Wehunt's story and the multiple POVs. With excerpts from a book about Nightjars strewn throughout giving just enough of a tease towards what is coming, Wehunt keeps the reader right on the knife's edge from the jump.
Luke Oshel is a recovering addict trying to get his life together and be a good father to his young daughter Sophia. His biggest concern of the night should be if mentioning his daughter and co-parenting situation with his ex-wife will scare off his date, but when she goes to the bathroom and doesn't return, the photograph left at the table becomes his biggest concern. Because that photo shows Luke when he was a child with a masked man and a dead body in his bedroom. Luke has been aware of trauma surrounding his childhood and his father for a while, he went through hypnosis sessions trying to remove the truth in his memories surrounding the women his father may have murdered. Memories of his father referring to them as Nightjars resurface, along with memories of other murders. As more photos of Luke covered in blood with murder victims pop up, he must contend with what is happening and if he can trust his own mind.
Kristin, Luke's ex-wife, is concerned about him. He's cancelling time with Sophia, and she's worried he may be using again, until a pair of detectives come to her door and tell her Luke is a suspect in multiple murders. Pregnant with her fiancée's child, it is not the ideal time to start playing detective around the North Georgia Appalachians, but she is willing to do what it takes to keep her daughter's father safe. She refuses to believe that her ex-husband could have done this, despite the evidence piling up and her fiancée's concerns about their own safety. She will do whatever it takes to protect her family, and Luke is still family.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.
Luke Oshel is a recovering addict trying to get his life together and be a good father to his young daughter Sophia. His biggest concern of the night should be if mentioning his daughter and co-parenting situation with his ex-wife will scare off his date, but when she goes to the bathroom and doesn't return, the photograph left at the table becomes his biggest concern. Because that photo shows Luke when he was a child with a masked man and a dead body in his bedroom. Luke has been aware of trauma surrounding his childhood and his father for a while, he went through hypnosis sessions trying to remove the truth in his memories surrounding the women his father may have murdered. Memories of his father referring to them as Nightjars resurface, along with memories of other murders. As more photos of Luke covered in blood with murder victims pop up, he must contend with what is happening and if he can trust his own mind.
Kristin, Luke's ex-wife, is concerned about him. He's cancelling time with Sophia, and she's worried he may be using again, until a pair of detectives come to her door and tell her Luke is a suspect in multiple murders. Pregnant with her fiancée's child, it is not the ideal time to start playing detective around the North Georgia Appalachians, but she is willing to do what it takes to keep her daughter's father safe. She refuses to believe that her ex-husband could have done this, despite the evidence piling up and her fiancée's concerns about their own safety. She will do whatever it takes to protect her family, and Luke is still family.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Nightjars | Michael Wehunt
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤/5
After reading Michael Wehunt’s "Nightjars", I feel like if you scanned my fingerprints, you’d find his story embedded in the patterns of my skin. This is the kind of horror that doesn’t scream at you so much as stand silently in the doorway at 3AM while you pretend not to notice it.
Luke Oshel’s life fractures open after a failed blind date leaves him with a photograph he has no memory of ever taking: himself as a child, a corpse in the background, and something masked lurking nearby. From there, the story spirals into blood-soaked paranoia, buried trauma, generational rot, and something ancient moving through the North Georgia mountains with teeth buried deep in the dark. Every new revelation feels like peeling wet wallpaper off a condemned house and realizing there’s another room hidden underneath.
And god, this book is RELENTLESSLY eerie. The narrative itself feels haunted. The phrasing is strange in this hypnotic, off-kilter way where you keep rereading sentences because your brain is trying to decide whether you imagined them wrong.
What makes Nightjars hit so hard is that beneath all the gore, psychological unraveling, and Appalachian folk horror, there’s this incredibly raw emotional core about fractured families, addiction, memory, and the terrifying weight of inheritance. Luke is somehow deeply sympathetic even while the book keeps asking whether he’s capable of monstrous things. And Kristen? I loved her. Completely. The bond between her and Luke has this fierce, exhausted steadfastness to it that feels so real and so specific (especially dropped into a story this unhinged). Their dynamic genuinely felt unlike anything I’ve read before.
Also: if you think you know where the supernatural elements are headed, you probably don’t. Wehunt takes familiar horror territory and twists it into something far stranger and more folkloric than expected. Yes, there are shades of vampiric horror here, but not in the recycled way horror so often falls back on. There’s something deeply wrong in those hills, something ancient and hungry, and the thematic reveals kept blindsiding me right up until the final pages.
Tropes for ya:
⛰️ Appalachian folk horror
📷 Found photographs / found evidence
😶🌫️ Unreliable memories👀Dual POV
🔪 Generational trauma/serial killer legacy
🔐 Small town secrets
🧛🏼Supernatural mystery
😨 Psychological horror
👪 Co-parenting & fractured families
💊 Addiction & recovery themes
What an absolute 5-star waking nightmare, and I loved every deeply cursed second of it. You can get your copy of “Nightjars” on September 29, 2026.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Michael Wehunt for the opportunity to read and revel in this book.
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤/5
After reading Michael Wehunt’s "Nightjars", I feel like if you scanned my fingerprints, you’d find his story embedded in the patterns of my skin. This is the kind of horror that doesn’t scream at you so much as stand silently in the doorway at 3AM while you pretend not to notice it.
Luke Oshel’s life fractures open after a failed blind date leaves him with a photograph he has no memory of ever taking: himself as a child, a corpse in the background, and something masked lurking nearby. From there, the story spirals into blood-soaked paranoia, buried trauma, generational rot, and something ancient moving through the North Georgia mountains with teeth buried deep in the dark. Every new revelation feels like peeling wet wallpaper off a condemned house and realizing there’s another room hidden underneath.
And god, this book is RELENTLESSLY eerie. The narrative itself feels haunted. The phrasing is strange in this hypnotic, off-kilter way where you keep rereading sentences because your brain is trying to decide whether you imagined them wrong.
What makes Nightjars hit so hard is that beneath all the gore, psychological unraveling, and Appalachian folk horror, there’s this incredibly raw emotional core about fractured families, addiction, memory, and the terrifying weight of inheritance. Luke is somehow deeply sympathetic even while the book keeps asking whether he’s capable of monstrous things. And Kristen? I loved her. Completely. The bond between her and Luke has this fierce, exhausted steadfastness to it that feels so real and so specific (especially dropped into a story this unhinged). Their dynamic genuinely felt unlike anything I’ve read before.
Also: if you think you know where the supernatural elements are headed, you probably don’t. Wehunt takes familiar horror territory and twists it into something far stranger and more folkloric than expected. Yes, there are shades of vampiric horror here, but not in the recycled way horror so often falls back on. There’s something deeply wrong in those hills, something ancient and hungry, and the thematic reveals kept blindsiding me right up until the final pages.
Tropes for ya:
⛰️ Appalachian folk horror
📷 Found photographs / found evidence
😶🌫️ Unreliable memories👀Dual POV
🔪 Generational trauma/serial killer legacy
🔐 Small town secrets
🧛🏼Supernatural mystery
😨 Psychological horror
👪 Co-parenting & fractured families
💊 Addiction & recovery themes
What an absolute 5-star waking nightmare, and I loved every deeply cursed second of it. You can get your copy of “Nightjars” on September 29, 2026.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Michael Wehunt for the opportunity to read and revel in this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
🛁 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 🛁
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt
“The hinges of haunted house doors always creak.”
I hadn’t read any of Michael Wehunts other books prior to reading this arc of Nightjars, but damn does that man know how to craft a story.
The first thing I loved about it was its atmospheric, almost too flowery at times descriptions. The author loves him a metaphor and a simile and uses them frequently and masterfully to set a scene or describe a feeling. I also loved the way that the title, Nightjar, took on many different meanings throughout the book, keeping the reader on their toes. I really enjoyed it.
The second thing I loved was that the back of the book synopsis gave nothing away and the story really took its time letting the reader figure out what was going on. Without spoilers, I do prefer when a story ends in less of a horror trope, but I think this one was done really really well.
Toward the end, about 70% through, I needed a BIT more action and a bit less exposition, because I just wanted to get to that big part of the story where everything went down, but that’s really a me problem.
Overall, this story was beautifully written, and unfolded in a gorgeous way. It played on the themes of parenthood and how much of our parents we carry with us into our own adulthoods, addiction and its effects on families, and what it means to really discover who you are when the sun goes down. I even shed some tears at the end. A great piece of modern horror. 🛁📚✨
Nightjars by Michael Wehunt
“The hinges of haunted house doors always creak.”
I hadn’t read any of Michael Wehunts other books prior to reading this arc of Nightjars, but damn does that man know how to craft a story.
The first thing I loved about it was its atmospheric, almost too flowery at times descriptions. The author loves him a metaphor and a simile and uses them frequently and masterfully to set a scene or describe a feeling. I also loved the way that the title, Nightjar, took on many different meanings throughout the book, keeping the reader on their toes. I really enjoyed it.
The second thing I loved was that the back of the book synopsis gave nothing away and the story really took its time letting the reader figure out what was going on. Without spoilers, I do prefer when a story ends in less of a horror trope, but I think this one was done really really well.
Toward the end, about 70% through, I needed a BIT more action and a bit less exposition, because I just wanted to get to that big part of the story where everything went down, but that’s really a me problem.
Overall, this story was beautifully written, and unfolded in a gorgeous way. It played on the themes of parenthood and how much of our parents we carry with us into our own adulthoods, addiction and its effects on families, and what it means to really discover who you are when the sun goes down. I even shed some tears at the end. A great piece of modern horror. 🛁📚✨
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book gave me nightmares. The imagery in Nightjars is vivid, rich and seriously scary. Luke, our protagonist, is likeable and flawed, coping (poorly) with his disturbing childhood, until a stranger slips him a polaroid that brings deeply buried memories to the surface again. We are sent on a journey into the North Georgia mountains as Luke reckons with his past as it collides dangerously with his present, and the lines between reality and horror blur. Some things worked beautifully here - Wehunt's writing is perfectly punchy and delivers the kind of scares that feel like when you see something out of the corner of your eye, and it slips away just as you turn to look. There are two passages in particular that truly hit me with a jump scare. We also have dual POVs and having a grounded point of view feels helpful in keeping us, as readers, on track. Wehunt's world building is also clearly very thought out, and he definitely stuck the landing at the end. Definitely highly recommend for fans of folk horror, Appalachia, psychological horror and stories that incorporate found footage tropes. Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and give my honest feedback!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Nightjars is a cool novel about love, family, and above all else, generational trauma, oh and also vampires, a really interesting take on the vampire as a matter of fact, one that is both familiar, and utterly strange and new. I found myself many times amazed that Wehunt had managed to take something so familiar and twist it in ways that make it skin-crawlingly original. My hats off to him for that.
Beyond that, Nightjars is about three generations of a family, and how the sins of the father echo out, and through, tainting the lives of everyone that comes after, and how hard it can be to fight that kind of generational curse. As someone who has suffered the real world analogue to Wehunt's genre take on the subject, it was quite cathartic to root for the characters to overcome it, and prevail. He manages to pull it off quite well, with an ending that, once it gets going, grabs hold of you and never lets go.
Two for two, is what I would say about Nightjars. Wehunt is on a roll with his novels, and I can't wait to see what he has up his sleeves next. Highly recommend this one. Check it out.
Beyond that, Nightjars is about three generations of a family, and how the sins of the father echo out, and through, tainting the lives of everyone that comes after, and how hard it can be to fight that kind of generational curse. As someone who has suffered the real world analogue to Wehunt's genre take on the subject, it was quite cathartic to root for the characters to overcome it, and prevail. He manages to pull it off quite well, with an ending that, once it gets going, grabs hold of you and never lets go.
Two for two, is what I would say about Nightjars. Wehunt is on a roll with his novels, and I can't wait to see what he has up his sleeves next. Highly recommend this one. Check it out.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this 5-star creepy, engaging read!
On a rainy evening, Luke Oshel is abandoned mid–blind date, but not before his date leaves behind a shocking photograph. It shows Luke as a child, standing in his bedroom with a dead body in the background and a masked figure nearby. The problem? Luke has no memory of this ever happening.
Soon, more disturbing photos begin to appear, each linking him to violent crimes. As his past resurfaces, Luke is forced to confront buried memories, his struggles with addiction, and the frightening possibility that he may be following in the footsteps of his father, a killer who died years ago. With new murders happening and all signs pointing to him, Luke must search for the truth deep in the Appalachian Mountains while trying to protect the people he loves most.
This book hooked me immediately. The story is tense, creepy, and full of twists, making it hard to put down. The setting feels vivid and atmospheric, adding to the unease and mystery throughout the story. I highly recommend.
On a rainy evening, Luke Oshel is abandoned mid–blind date, but not before his date leaves behind a shocking photograph. It shows Luke as a child, standing in his bedroom with a dead body in the background and a masked figure nearby. The problem? Luke has no memory of this ever happening.
Soon, more disturbing photos begin to appear, each linking him to violent crimes. As his past resurfaces, Luke is forced to confront buried memories, his struggles with addiction, and the frightening possibility that he may be following in the footsteps of his father, a killer who died years ago. With new murders happening and all signs pointing to him, Luke must search for the truth deep in the Appalachian Mountains while trying to protect the people he loves most.
This book hooked me immediately. The story is tense, creepy, and full of twists, making it hard to put down. The setting feels vivid and atmospheric, adding to the unease and mystery throughout the story. I highly recommend.
May 3, 2026
This was perfection! Wehunt did an amazing job of blending classic vampire lore with modern day murder mystery, crime, and psychological thriller. It was a layered story of generational curses (of the supernatural kind) trauma, addiction, and family. The love the main character Luke had for his daughter and ex-wife absolutely crushed me.
I enjoyed the different medias used throughout the book to go with the main storyline. We get backstory and a better picture of repressed memories through pages of a journal and also through hypnotherapy notes. We also get some historical background on Nightjars through pages of a book that belonged to Luke’s father. It all played really well alongside the current story.
So yeh. Appalachian folklore, but make it vampires! This book appealed so much to my mountain roots. I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone who enjoys Appalachian horror. It honestly made my heart so happy. The creepy factor was 10/10 and some of the imagery will haunt me for days to come.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Michael Wehunt for the ARC!
I enjoyed the different medias used throughout the book to go with the main storyline. We get backstory and a better picture of repressed memories through pages of a journal and also through hypnotherapy notes. We also get some historical background on Nightjars through pages of a book that belonged to Luke’s father. It all played really well alongside the current story.
So yeh. Appalachian folklore, but make it vampires! This book appealed so much to my mountain roots. I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone who enjoys Appalachian horror. It honestly made my heart so happy. The creepy factor was 10/10 and some of the imagery will haunt me for days to come.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Michael Wehunt for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
If you love disquieting psychological horror that is rife with trauma... Nightjars will envelope you.
Michael Wehunt is one of my favorite creators of weird, unsettling tales. His debut novel The October Film Haunt was incredible, challenging, and downright horrifying.
Nightjars is a more accessible tale, built around fractured homes and the memories we choose to remember. There is plenty of WehuntWeird™ but new readers will find this tale easy to get sucked into.
Wehunt also deserves so much recognition for his ability to perfectly capture the subtle terrors of nature. I don't think I've ever read another author that can make footfalls through the woods be so damn creepy.
"Its feet slid through the leaves, like snakes tasting her with their tongues" 😳
Readers seeking an elevated horror experience should look no further than Wehunt. He is both raw and poetic.
Oh and damn scary...
Michael Wehunt is one of my favorite creators of weird, unsettling tales. His debut novel The October Film Haunt was incredible, challenging, and downright horrifying.
Nightjars is a more accessible tale, built around fractured homes and the memories we choose to remember. There is plenty of WehuntWeird™ but new readers will find this tale easy to get sucked into.
Wehunt also deserves so much recognition for his ability to perfectly capture the subtle terrors of nature. I don't think I've ever read another author that can make footfalls through the woods be so damn creepy.
"Its feet slid through the leaves, like snakes tasting her with their tongues" 😳
Readers seeking an elevated horror experience should look no further than Wehunt. He is both raw and poetic.
Oh and damn scary...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
352 pages
3 stars
Oh my gosh, they are real birds. Beautiful birds.
I was very entranced with this book. But I was also confused. I found it heavy going in places. I needed to turn the pages back and re-read. Perhaps I wasn’t in the mood to delve fully into the novel. I have no idea how I could be so taken with the book and yet find it so hard going. Maybe I was in a mood.
The story seemed to hop around too much in places. I was very taken and yet I wasn’t.
I finally had to put it aside. I do want to return to it. I hate leaving a book unfinished, especially one with as much promise as this one shows.
I want to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for forwarding this book to me. I fully intend to finish the book. (I almost made it !!) I will revise my review when I complete the novel.
3 stars
Oh my gosh, they are real birds. Beautiful birds.
I was very entranced with this book. But I was also confused. I found it heavy going in places. I needed to turn the pages back and re-read. Perhaps I wasn’t in the mood to delve fully into the novel. I have no idea how I could be so taken with the book and yet find it so hard going. Maybe I was in a mood.
The story seemed to hop around too much in places. I was very taken and yet I wasn’t.
I finally had to put it aside. I do want to return to it. I hate leaving a book unfinished, especially one with as much promise as this one shows.
I want to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for forwarding this book to me. I fully intend to finish the book. (I almost made it !!) I will revise my review when I complete the novel.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I've been a big fan of Michael Wehunt ever since his short story collection GREENER PASTURES (much recommended if you enjoy his novels). It is wonderful to see his novels reaching a wider audience! I enjoyed OCTOBER FILM HAUNT, but NIGHTJARS is more the kind of novel I usually read, with its dark family secrets and psychological turmoil. There are some very scary images and some innovative moves with the genre as well as emotional resonance.
This one has such a memorable opening, I bet if anyone read the first few pages they would have a hard time not continuing!
This one has such a memorable opening, I bet if anyone read the first few pages they would have a hard time not continuing!
May 6, 2026
All I can say is WOW! This book! Each time I thought I knew what would happen, something totally unexpected popped up.
Michael Wehunt gave the term “thriller” a new meaning. As I read the second half of the book when things started happening faster and faster, I just knew I had to finish it or I would be thinking about it until I could. By the end, my heart was beating fast and nothing was going to stop me from finishing.
Let’s just hope that the nightjars stay far far away.
Michael Wehunt gave the term “thriller” a new meaning. As I read the second half of the book when things started happening faster and faster, I just knew I had to finish it or I would be thinking about it until I could. By the end, my heart was beating fast and nothing was going to stop me from finishing.
Let’s just hope that the nightjars stay far far away.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
NIGHTJARS is a propulsive blast that carries you from its start to its finish. Narratively smart with a sharp use of point of view, Michael Wehunt takes an age old trope and gives it a new name and fresh teeth to devour his readers without dulling its emotional edge.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I blurbed this one!
I don’t frequently label things “among the best,” but in the case of Michael Wehunt’s stunning sophomore novel NIGHTJARS, I must make an enthusiastic exception. A terrifying, heartbreaking vampire novel that is as close to perfection as I’ve seen. Absolutely breathtaking.
I don’t frequently label things “among the best,” but in the case of Michael Wehunt’s stunning sophomore novel NIGHTJARS, I must make an enthusiastic exception. A terrifying, heartbreaking vampire novel that is as close to perfection as I’ve seen. Absolutely breathtaking.
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May 18, 2026Yes, it’s about vampires. In fact it might be the best vampire novel since Sturgeon’s Some Of Your Blood. Wehunt continues his journey into the dark, dragging us kicking and screaming. Especially screaming
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
does the nightjar remember the night
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I simply can never have enough vampire stories, no matter how many I consume there's always an author finding new ways to mold the archetype into something fresh. Nightjars features a more folklore kind of vampire, there's something wrong in them thar hills vibes if you catch my drift. Gory and psychological, at times a crime thriller, other moments a slasher film. Wehunt crafts a a raw metaphor for childhood trauma & addiction, alongside a tender exploration of the complexities of parental love and co-parenting. Luke was an endearing character throughout even with with the potential of being a blood thirsty killer. The Kristian played a much larger roll in the plot then I was expecting based on the description, but this was a pleasant surprise since she was a bad ass and a great foil for Luke
"The human animal has long been drawn to the vitality of blood. Everyone has a monster of some sort inside of them"
I am a sucker for the use of found media in a story (photographs, journal entries, torn pages of a book). The descriptions of the photographs in particular were my absolute favorite aspect of this book. I loved how they played with the distortion of nostalgia and the fallibility of memory.
"Does the nightjar remember the night"
Wehunt's writing style is descriptive to the point of being both evocative and abstract. When paired with an unreliable narrator / a poet as POV characters the meaning behind sentences become muddled and hard to grasp at times. There were several instance of lore dumping that I wish had been incorporated more naturally into the plot. This just comes down to personal preference, but I wish the ending had been less action oriented and held on to the slow, creeping tension established throughout the rest of the book. It still made me shed some tears though I wont lie.
* Thank you to the author, publisher & NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review. *
"The human animal has long been drawn to the vitality of blood. Everyone has a monster of some sort inside of them"
I am a sucker for the use of found media in a story (photographs, journal entries, torn pages of a book). The descriptions of the photographs in particular were my absolute favorite aspect of this book. I loved how they played with the distortion of nostalgia and the fallibility of memory.
"Does the nightjar remember the night"
Wehunt's writing style is descriptive to the point of being both evocative and abstract. When paired with an unreliable narrator / a poet as POV characters the meaning behind sentences become muddled and hard to grasp at times. There were several instance of lore dumping that I wish had been incorporated more naturally into the plot. This just comes down to personal preference, but I wish the ending had been less action oriented and held on to the slow, creeping tension established throughout the rest of the book. It still made me shed some tears though I wont lie.
* Thank you to the author, publisher & NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review. *
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