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Cry Down Dark
"Peter Toombs never stopped loving Diana Ward. Not after they broke up; not after she married someone else; not after she died. Peter never got over how he failed Diana when she needed him most when they were in college. Even as he became a successful TV writer, his failure haunted him more than the monsters he created to scare others.
His obsession prompts him to lease Diana’s childhood home in the small Utah town of Bern. He’s convinced that if he lives there, she will come back for him. When he sleeps, he dreams of ghosts: Diana’s, the ghost he believes should be in the house, and the ghost of someone he never met. The townsfolk, however, don’t like having a stranger in Bern. They have secrets they don’t want Peter to learn. Secrets about Diana and her death. Secrets about Peter and the ghosts that follow him.
Joined by his friend Connor and Diana’s widower Aaron, Peter must survive Bern and discover the truth behind Diana’s fate. Learning the truth could exorcise the ghosts from Peter’s life or it could break his heart and bring him face to face with his worst fears."
His obsession prompts him to lease Diana’s childhood home in the small Utah town of Bern. He’s convinced that if he lives there, she will come back for him. When he sleeps, he dreams of ghosts: Diana’s, the ghost he believes should be in the house, and the ghost of someone he never met. The townsfolk, however, don’t like having a stranger in Bern. They have secrets they don’t want Peter to learn. Secrets about Diana and her death. Secrets about Peter and the ghosts that follow him.
Joined by his friend Connor and Diana’s widower Aaron, Peter must survive Bern and discover the truth behind Diana’s fate. Learning the truth could exorcise the ghosts from Peter’s life or it could break his heart and bring him face to face with his worst fears."
- GenresHorrorParanormal
156 pages, Paperback
Published April 3, 2016
8 people are currently reading
671 people want to read
About the author
T.J. Tranchell
18 books34 followersT.J. Tranchell was born on Halloween and grew up in Utah. His first book, CRY DOWN DARK, represented Utah on the New York Times “50 States, 50 Scares” list in 2020. Along with that book, TELL NO MAN and THE LAMENTATIONS OF BLACKHAWK form The Blackhawk Cycle. In addition, Tranchell has released two collections: ASLEEP IN THE NIGHTMARE ROOM and THE PRIVATE LIVES OF NIGHTMARES. In 2022, he fulfilled a dream by being published in Fangoria magazine.
Tranchell teaches English at a community college and is currently a student in the UCR- Palm Desert Low Residency MFA program.
Tranchell teaches English at a community college and is currently a student in the UCR- Palm Desert Low Residency MFA program.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 12, 2016
One of the great reading gratifications is finding a debut novel that does what only strong debuts can do: energetically present a focused, linear story that is populated by a small group of well-drawn characters. TJ Tranchell’s Cry Down Dark does this and more. The short novel tells a well-crafted and satisfying story that unfolds, in bite-size chapters, with secrets and revelations that homage great mainstream horror and suspense stories.
This homage quality is the novel’s greatest pleasure. Tranchell’s protagonist, Peter Toombs, is the composite but coherent embodiment of an alter ego, the kind of character writer’s live to write. He (and the story surrounding him) alludes to and incorporates King, Barker, Poe, and Serling. And yet, despite these explicit references, the novel feels more like part of a tradition than something derivative. It is an original work in the way that bands form new songs for a new time while looking back to Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. In other words, Cry Down Dark has a clear heritage but a distinctive personality.
Plot-wise, the story begins with a funeral and stays in one of those small secretive towns that only exist in horror stories or maybe John Carpenter movies. There’s the hint of the supernatural (just a small sprinkle, really), but the primary suspense emerges in the human world of will, violence, and determination—the conflict between a stubborn, secretive town and an accomplished outsider. This outsider, Peter, laments his youthful ambition and immaturity, which led him to choose success over his love, Diana (who eventually married another man and, ultimately, died of a tumor, and whom the town claims as its own, with all the creepiness that suggests). Peter’s bond toward Diana leads him, now a successful horror writer, to buy her childhood home in a secluded Utah town. The rest of the story unfolds as the barely bottled hostility of the town toward Peter and the ominous prophecy of a small girl—“She’ll come back for you”—converge with Peter’s need to atone (though atone on his own terms, not the town’s). In the end, only Peter or the town will get what it wants, and the test of a good story is that outcome is never certain until the book concludes.
[Extended review: Picky, detail stuff—with some stuff that might shape how a first-time reader reads the book. In other words, a semi-spoiler]
Cry Down Dark lives in a literary and filmic world, one that takes place in the twenty-first century, but a twenty-first century devoid of its most ubiquitous features: smartphones and social media (there is one reference to a cell phone, but it is so fleeting and inconsequential that the phone may as well be a police scanner). Peter waits by the phone. He feels, as only last-century fiction (i.e. Misery) can create, separated from the connected world. There is a bit of anachronism in Peter's world, but this fault is forgivable (and generally consistent).
Not only is Peter Toombs in a cellphone-less 2016, he elects to stay in a small town knowing that his very predicament is easily solved by a car. He is a willing victim, almost (there is something of a Wicker Man vibe at times). It is fair to question this world and Peter’s consent to live in it. Yet, these apparent faults match with the kind of character Tranchell has created: a man who wants to believe in a moral and traditional world. He rejects contemporary society, for a time (he bring DVDs—no streaming). He stays in town because he is doing penance, accepting that he has earned his disfavor.
Peter is a man driven by ghosts, a few of which (a lost child, a dream of giants), do verge on cliché, especially as these elements come and go throughout the story, at times taking the forefront, at times seeming (like the technology of 2016) forgotten. Yet the strength of that primary bond between Peter and Diana is sufficient enough to drive the story, though not because of the power of love or some trite sentiment. Rather, Peter is, whether he wants to admit it, driven by a blend of guilt and entitlement. He certainly feels guilt toward his choices and how they led to Diana marrying another man. But he isn’t about to give up what he gained; he isn’t renouncing his wealth or success. In fact, his greatest interior struggle is how to not feel envy toward his best friend, Connor, who gained the television fame that Peter believes is rightfully his.
Peter’s ghosts, then, are not outside forces or resolvable battles. They are parts of his personality that drive him forward as a person who is both deeply flawed and intensely determined, even to the point of becoming cavalier and selfish. These traits, though, do not make Peter necessarily unlikeable or unsympathetic. Instead, they make him complex and, to some degree, tragic. Peter wants to know himself. He wants to grow. He wants to believe in God and a moral universe. And yet, these good and hopeful desires are at war with a very human—and American—belief that it is possible to have everything and sacrifice nothing. If Peter didn’t have this belief, he wouldn’t move to Bern, Utah, and he wouldn’t believe that the love of his life could still—despite her very obvious death—be alive.
There are craft issues with the book, but they tend to add to the novel’s charm rather than undermine it. The key of these is the question of point of view, specifically Tranchell’s evolving third-person narrator. For much of the book’s first portion, this narrator spends his attention in the third-person limited, aligned with Peter. But this narration changes. Eventually, the narrator, in a true metafiction movement, becomes Peter Toombs’s fictive narrating self—a Rod Serling type who freely moves between characters, events, knowledge, and voice. He knows the future, the past, and he (presumably “he”) makes moral notes and subtle jokes. In short, the narrator becomes a new character around the time the novel shifts from a tight, claustrophobic story about an alienated writer to a broad, sometimes comic-horror book about the town and people connected to that author.
In the end, the narrator is a welcome character and voice. He is a promise of what Tranchell may or may not develop in his future work (though it’s not always clear in Cry Down Dark whether the evolving narrative voice is intentional or a sign, rather, of the novel’s phases of construction). The one real problem with the narrator is that he sometimes undermines the novel’s true moments of suspense and conflict. For example, the narrator outs himself as more than a functional storyteller when revealing—unbeknownst to Peter Toombs—the identity of an assassin, a person Peter believed dead. This juicy secret that could emerge as a later discovery shifts the story from Peter’s to the narrator’s. The effect of this is to mute the suspense in scenes, though there is a trade-off: the narrator’s distance invites the growing possibility that Peter Toombs is not in control of his story; he really could die. So whereas the omniscient TV-horror host narrator (e.g. Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents) reduces the small conflicts within scenes, he raises the stakes for the overall story.
Ultimately, the narrative voice of the book’s second half is satisfying and compelling. It adds a large power to Tranchell’s small book, suggesting that whatever Peter Toombs’s fate, the person telling his story has many more tales to tell. And that is a delightful promise.
This homage quality is the novel’s greatest pleasure. Tranchell’s protagonist, Peter Toombs, is the composite but coherent embodiment of an alter ego, the kind of character writer’s live to write. He (and the story surrounding him) alludes to and incorporates King, Barker, Poe, and Serling. And yet, despite these explicit references, the novel feels more like part of a tradition than something derivative. It is an original work in the way that bands form new songs for a new time while looking back to Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. In other words, Cry Down Dark has a clear heritage but a distinctive personality.
Plot-wise, the story begins with a funeral and stays in one of those small secretive towns that only exist in horror stories or maybe John Carpenter movies. There’s the hint of the supernatural (just a small sprinkle, really), but the primary suspense emerges in the human world of will, violence, and determination—the conflict between a stubborn, secretive town and an accomplished outsider. This outsider, Peter, laments his youthful ambition and immaturity, which led him to choose success over his love, Diana (who eventually married another man and, ultimately, died of a tumor, and whom the town claims as its own, with all the creepiness that suggests). Peter’s bond toward Diana leads him, now a successful horror writer, to buy her childhood home in a secluded Utah town. The rest of the story unfolds as the barely bottled hostility of the town toward Peter and the ominous prophecy of a small girl—“She’ll come back for you”—converge with Peter’s need to atone (though atone on his own terms, not the town’s). In the end, only Peter or the town will get what it wants, and the test of a good story is that outcome is never certain until the book concludes.
[Extended review: Picky, detail stuff—with some stuff that might shape how a first-time reader reads the book. In other words, a semi-spoiler]
Cry Down Dark lives in a literary and filmic world, one that takes place in the twenty-first century, but a twenty-first century devoid of its most ubiquitous features: smartphones and social media (there is one reference to a cell phone, but it is so fleeting and inconsequential that the phone may as well be a police scanner). Peter waits by the phone. He feels, as only last-century fiction (i.e. Misery) can create, separated from the connected world. There is a bit of anachronism in Peter's world, but this fault is forgivable (and generally consistent).
Not only is Peter Toombs in a cellphone-less 2016, he elects to stay in a small town knowing that his very predicament is easily solved by a car. He is a willing victim, almost (there is something of a Wicker Man vibe at times). It is fair to question this world and Peter’s consent to live in it. Yet, these apparent faults match with the kind of character Tranchell has created: a man who wants to believe in a moral and traditional world. He rejects contemporary society, for a time (he bring DVDs—no streaming). He stays in town because he is doing penance, accepting that he has earned his disfavor.
Peter is a man driven by ghosts, a few of which (a lost child, a dream of giants), do verge on cliché, especially as these elements come and go throughout the story, at times taking the forefront, at times seeming (like the technology of 2016) forgotten. Yet the strength of that primary bond between Peter and Diana is sufficient enough to drive the story, though not because of the power of love or some trite sentiment. Rather, Peter is, whether he wants to admit it, driven by a blend of guilt and entitlement. He certainly feels guilt toward his choices and how they led to Diana marrying another man. But he isn’t about to give up what he gained; he isn’t renouncing his wealth or success. In fact, his greatest interior struggle is how to not feel envy toward his best friend, Connor, who gained the television fame that Peter believes is rightfully his.
Peter’s ghosts, then, are not outside forces or resolvable battles. They are parts of his personality that drive him forward as a person who is both deeply flawed and intensely determined, even to the point of becoming cavalier and selfish. These traits, though, do not make Peter necessarily unlikeable or unsympathetic. Instead, they make him complex and, to some degree, tragic. Peter wants to know himself. He wants to grow. He wants to believe in God and a moral universe. And yet, these good and hopeful desires are at war with a very human—and American—belief that it is possible to have everything and sacrifice nothing. If Peter didn’t have this belief, he wouldn’t move to Bern, Utah, and he wouldn’t believe that the love of his life could still—despite her very obvious death—be alive.
There are craft issues with the book, but they tend to add to the novel’s charm rather than undermine it. The key of these is the question of point of view, specifically Tranchell’s evolving third-person narrator. For much of the book’s first portion, this narrator spends his attention in the third-person limited, aligned with Peter. But this narration changes. Eventually, the narrator, in a true metafiction movement, becomes Peter Toombs’s fictive narrating self—a Rod Serling type who freely moves between characters, events, knowledge, and voice. He knows the future, the past, and he (presumably “he”) makes moral notes and subtle jokes. In short, the narrator becomes a new character around the time the novel shifts from a tight, claustrophobic story about an alienated writer to a broad, sometimes comic-horror book about the town and people connected to that author.
In the end, the narrator is a welcome character and voice. He is a promise of what Tranchell may or may not develop in his future work (though it’s not always clear in Cry Down Dark whether the evolving narrative voice is intentional or a sign, rather, of the novel’s phases of construction). The one real problem with the narrator is that he sometimes undermines the novel’s true moments of suspense and conflict. For example, the narrator outs himself as more than a functional storyteller when revealing—unbeknownst to Peter Toombs—the identity of an assassin, a person Peter believed dead. This juicy secret that could emerge as a later discovery shifts the story from Peter’s to the narrator’s. The effect of this is to mute the suspense in scenes, though there is a trade-off: the narrator’s distance invites the growing possibility that Peter Toombs is not in control of his story; he really could die. So whereas the omniscient TV-horror host narrator (e.g. Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents) reduces the small conflicts within scenes, he raises the stakes for the overall story.
Ultimately, the narrative voice of the book’s second half is satisfying and compelling. It adds a large power to Tranchell’s small book, suggesting that whatever Peter Toombs’s fate, the person telling his story has many more tales to tell. And that is a delightful promise.
April 18, 2016
Fast paced and edgy. Runs the gamut of emotions with the main character and really imposes that creepy feel you get from secluded small towns. The supernatural feel is deftly done and intertwines into the flow of the story without hindering it. Fantastic read. Makes me want more novels from this author.
August 11, 2016
Stephen King slow burn style story with a feeling of Poe throughout. I enjoyed the story though there were a few details which ended up feeling more convenient than plot devices. I'd recommend it though as an over all fun experience.
January 13, 2017
Cry Down Dark by T.J. Tranchell was a delight to read. At approximately 150 pages, it feels refreshing and light. Yet it’s anything but. It’s dark and full of mystery and quite a bit of creepiness. It’s the story of Peter Toombs, a horror writer, who learns of the death of an ex-girlfriend (Diana) and goes to her funeral. He’s still hung up on her, even though she had remarried. At the funeral, he gets a very poor reception. People don’t like him, nor want him there. He says some words, and a little girl runs up to him and grabs his leg and tells him not to be sad, Diana will come back for him. At this point I was hooked. Peter hangs around the town, visiting Diana’s grave, wondering if she is truly going to come back, and things begin to get weird. The town starts monitoring him. I admit, much like the townsfolk, at this point I didn’t like Peter either. I kept thinking “move on dude!” You’re being creepy. Yet I feel he redeemed himself later in the story. I thought it had a bit of a Bentley Little feel to it with the whole town conspiracy thing. Before I knew it, this became a real page turner for me and I had to find out what was going to happen. Would Diana really come back? Why did the town care so much about Peter? It’s a fascinating journey following a sad and heartbroken man as he tries to reclaim what he lost and can never get back. I highly recommend Cry Down Dark. Great read.
July 4, 2019
In this slim volume, T.J. Tranchell gives us a spellbinding tale of loss and horror. We meet horror author Peter Toombs, obsessed with his deceased ex-girlfriend. When he moves to her childhood home, he finds himself in a conspiracy led by the mysterious townspeople of Bern, Utah. Tranchell takes a well-used concept: “a town with a secret” and breathes fresh life into it.
By the end of first sentence, I was immersed. The book then took hold of me and did not let go until the last sentence. This, I believe, came from the well-constructed characters. Not once did my belief in them waver and they proved to be the strongest element of the book, from the main character to the least of the supporting cast.
The prose itself was well-written, though nothing profound. The transition of point-of-view felt awkward at times and I found myself less impressed by the ending. Over all, however, it was an enjoyable, addictive tale.
By the end of first sentence, I was immersed. The book then took hold of me and did not let go until the last sentence. This, I believe, came from the well-constructed characters. Not once did my belief in them waver and they proved to be the strongest element of the book, from the main character to the least of the supporting cast.
The prose itself was well-written, though nothing profound. The transition of point-of-view felt awkward at times and I found myself less impressed by the ending. Over all, however, it was an enjoyable, addictive tale.
May 22, 2018
Cry Down Dark is TJ Tranchell's debut novel (more of a novella in length), and a well-crafted story more in line with the psychological and literary side of horror fiction. The story follows Peter Toombs, famous author and TV horror writer who moves to his first love, Diana's, hometown in hopes she'll come back for him. Already a tragic figure, Peter is haunted by regrets and his past as well as the impending hostility of the small town wary of his presence. In terms of plot, it's pretty simple, and leads to a suspenseful climax, though the heart of the book is the emotions, especially around Peter's grief and relationship with Diana. That said, the supernatural element is minimal (for a ghost story, which I like), and the horror element is mostly in the suspense, and references to the genre (since Peter is a TV writer). Although I enjoyed the ending, I felt it was a bit rushed, and thought some of the townspeople's intents and motives could've been fleshed out. Nonetheless, Cry Down Dark is a well-written novella for fans of quiet, psychological horror.
January 18, 2025
50 states 50 books #4: Utah
I’ll be honest, I hated this book. I wanted to like it, but really truly could not be on the main characters side for a second. He’s a little whiny, jumps to conclusions constantly with little to no evidence (conclusions that conveniently happen to be correct every time), and is overall kind of a creep. I enjoyed the premise of the town and wish the characters and their motives had been explored further, rather than being left with a lot of exposition and no real explanation. I love small-town horror, but prefer a reason for the small town to be evil. Maybe I just wasn’t picking up what was being put down, but I don’t think so. Not to entirely discredit Tranchell, however. This was his debut novel, and I’m willing to give some of his following work a try! This one was just not it for me.
I’ll be honest, I hated this book. I wanted to like it, but really truly could not be on the main characters side for a second. He’s a little whiny, jumps to conclusions constantly with little to no evidence (conclusions that conveniently happen to be correct every time), and is overall kind of a creep. I enjoyed the premise of the town and wish the characters and their motives had been explored further, rather than being left with a lot of exposition and no real explanation. I love small-town horror, but prefer a reason for the small town to be evil. Maybe I just wasn’t picking up what was being put down, but I don’t think so. Not to entirely discredit Tranchell, however. This was his debut novel, and I’m willing to give some of his following work a try! This one was just not it for me.
July 13, 2019
Haunted by the one who got away
A beautiful story about the loneliness and pain left in the wake of loss. It's especially tough for Peter, the love of his life gone for good even though they'd been separated for years. He mourns Diana, moving to her former town and purchasing her childhood home. Bern is a small town chock full of secrets, and Peter has no idea what he stumbled into.
I loved the prose, and Peter's journey was both surprising and touching. The side characters also impressed me, particularly Connor and Aaron. If you enjoy atmospheric mysteries, small town oddities, lost loves, and traumatized people attempting to gain redemption, then this is the book for you!
A beautiful story about the loneliness and pain left in the wake of loss. It's especially tough for Peter, the love of his life gone for good even though they'd been separated for years. He mourns Diana, moving to her former town and purchasing her childhood home. Bern is a small town chock full of secrets, and Peter has no idea what he stumbled into.
I loved the prose, and Peter's journey was both surprising and touching. The side characters also impressed me, particularly Connor and Aaron. If you enjoy atmospheric mysteries, small town oddities, lost loves, and traumatized people attempting to gain redemption, then this is the book for you!
February 13, 2020
T.J. Tranchell instills classic horror conventions like a persistence of dread, psychic ills, and other tropes. The plot is equally chilling and captivating, yet what stood out to me most was Tranchell's protagonist, Peter Toombs. Readers are introduced to the complexity of this character early on, one that required great care in execution from Tranchell.
Tranchell created character dynamic and arc in Toombs with incredible poise and tact. This is an excellent read for anyone who loves horror and dark fiction!
Tranchell created character dynamic and arc in Toombs with incredible poise and tact. This is an excellent read for anyone who loves horror and dark fiction!
January 11, 2020
Short read but interesting. I have not read much Horror/Thriller themed books but Cry Down Dark hooked me up to the end cause I had to know what happens next. I’m quite unsure as to how I feel right now that I’ve finished reading it. The last few pages were a roller coaster ride though it had me hanging in the end. Overall, I think it poses a great sense of mystery. Well done, TJ!
June 26, 2022
This was a fun, quick novella! I've been wanting to get more into horror, and I think this was a good little taste of the genre. The writing is well-done and the story was creepy. Tranchell specifically mentions Twilight Zone in his book, and the vibe of the actual story and town is very Twilight Zone-esque which I loved. He builds suspense and a feeling of dread really well for such a short story. Wasn't anything mind-blowing, but very solid!
February 23, 2021
I absolutely loved this book, but the ending was very confusing & didn't make much sense, which is why I gave it 4 stars.
January 6, 2019
I loved the flow of this story. Sad with a twist of madness. Well done TJ for your 1st novella.
July 25, 2016
Fast-paced and compelling little horror novella. I wished that a few things had been further developed, but was satisfied with the ending, which is pretty rare for me in the horror genre. Lots of excellent references and homages to horror television, film, and novels throughout, which were a real treat. I'd recommend it.
July 7, 2018
i would give it a 3.5. Not bad for a debut novel. It picked up quick and remained interesting. There were, however, some ideas that I felt weren't fully developed and some wording that was a bit confusing that I had a hard time getting past.
July 27, 2017
Fantastic!
Horror isn't even my favorite genre and I loved this book! Gave me the chills quite a few times.
My favorite part was the almost poetic flow of the writing style. I'll be looking for more books by this author.
Horror isn't even my favorite genre and I loved this book! Gave me the chills quite a few times.
My favorite part was the almost poetic flow of the writing style. I'll be looking for more books by this author.
April 8, 2018
The perfect, fresh page turner for a rainy weekend in. It's been a while since I can honestly say I've been so compelled by an author's writing style. Beautifully and poetically written, as if Poe was writing a classic King story about a writer in a creepy small town.
September 12, 2024
There was some solid pathos in the characters here, but the structure seemed a little wonky.
July 25, 2021
2.5/5
Slowly chalking off another read from the “50 States, 50 Scares” NY times reading list, I decided at the beginning of this month that I wanted to review the Utah title that is mentioned in the article. Utah is a state with beautiful national parks, and supposedly has some of the best skiing in America. When I associate horror with Utah, I think of deserts and demons, Ted Bundy walking prowling small towns and highways looking for his next victim. It also has a certain devoutness to it, so religious cults also come to mind. I was intrigued by the unusual paranormal synopsis and some of the other reviews I read on Goodreads, so I picked up this novella.
I won’t dive into the major because nothing really comes together. I thought this was going to be a story about a man obsessing over his dead ex-girlfriend. and everything is set up perfectly, but the Tranchell quickly changes course, and the rest of the plot is severely misguided and unbalanced. I appreciated the various “Twilight Zone” nods, and the atmosphere was cruel and luring at times, but there should’ve been more emotion and depth in something like this.
There are a lot of things wrong with “Cry Down Dark”, even it’s title.
Slowly chalking off another read from the “50 States, 50 Scares” NY times reading list, I decided at the beginning of this month that I wanted to review the Utah title that is mentioned in the article. Utah is a state with beautiful national parks, and supposedly has some of the best skiing in America. When I associate horror with Utah, I think of deserts and demons, Ted Bundy walking prowling small towns and highways looking for his next victim. It also has a certain devoutness to it, so religious cults also come to mind. I was intrigued by the unusual paranormal synopsis and some of the other reviews I read on Goodreads, so I picked up this novella.
I won’t dive into the major because nothing really comes together. I thought this was going to be a story about a man obsessing over his dead ex-girlfriend. and everything is set up perfectly, but the Tranchell quickly changes course, and the rest of the plot is severely misguided and unbalanced. I appreciated the various “Twilight Zone” nods, and the atmosphere was cruel and luring at times, but there should’ve been more emotion and depth in something like this.
There are a lot of things wrong with “Cry Down Dark”, even it’s title.
November 10, 2020
I think I missed something. The book was well written in the sense that the main character was well fleshed out, and the tension, and creepiness was yummy. But damn if I can make heads or tails of the ending.
Peter Toombs moves into the childhood home of his lost love Diana. The small town is quaint, but things become creepy really fast. Peter himself is obsessed with a dead woman, and is more than a little creepy himself. I don't blame Diana's family for hating his guts.
That's the strength of the story. Peter is a good character to spend a novel with. Too bad the rest of the characters didn't measure up. I still don't understand what their motivations were. Why go through all that? What was the point?
It wasn't terrible, but it definitely needed more work.
Peter Toombs moves into the childhood home of his lost love Diana. The small town is quaint, but things become creepy really fast. Peter himself is obsessed with a dead woman, and is more than a little creepy himself. I don't blame Diana's family for hating his guts.
That's the strength of the story. Peter is a good character to spend a novel with. Too bad the rest of the characters didn't measure up. I still don't understand what their motivations were. Why go through all that? What was the point?
It wasn't terrible, but it definitely needed more work.
December 23, 2023
This is really 3.5 stars and a solid debut horror novella. The first 117 pages were a true 4 star read, compelling, great characters, grief, a creepy town with mysterious motivations. An intriguing story arc with all characters coming together, after being waylaid by a fake accident, was seemingly foreshadowing a horrifying climax in the cemetery.
But I did not quite understand what the town was doing in the cemetery. What was the ceremony Peter interrupted? I was scared and I felt the terror but what was the Judge doing? I do not understand. I liked the post-climactic ending but the climax itself was a jumble for me.
Still a good enough debut for me to continue to read Tranchell.
But I did not quite understand what the town was doing in the cemetery. What was the ceremony Peter interrupted? I was scared and I felt the terror but what was the Judge doing? I do not understand. I liked the post-climactic ending but the climax itself was a jumble for me.
Still a good enough debut for me to continue to read Tranchell.
September 28, 2023
Friggin...WOOOOOOO!
I love me some demonic possession, boy, and THIS is as fresh a take as I've seen. "Dispossession" in the Mormon church would make an interesting non-fic book, but this...
AMAZING!!!!
I love me some demonic possession, boy, and THIS is as fresh a take as I've seen. "Dispossession" in the Mormon church would make an interesting non-fic book, but this...
AMAZING!!!!
October 28, 2020
Can we all just agree that the end doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense? As a metaphor for loss? Sure! But, like...otherwise?
October 15, 2025
Tranchell weaves a tale that feels genuinely Bachman, a fast-paced horror in a small Utah town.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews