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Blood in the Woods
For Jody, growing up in the late eighties and early nineties in the small Louisiana town of Hammond with his best friend Jack was filled with wonderful childhood memories.
Time spent playing in the woods, shooting pellet guns, blowing up mailboxes, fighting at school and upon the dawning of interest in the fairer sex, their carefree lives typical of children with few responsibilities and no worries beyond the next pop-quiz or getting to second base.
As they grow older together and experience the joys and pains of life, love, family and friendship, they uncover a grim secret that their home town has kept, and through little more than an innocent, idle curiosity, Jody and Jack stumble upon something horrific in the woods and their lives quickly take a most sinister and dangerous turn as they find themselves hunted by an unspeakable evil...
Time spent playing in the woods, shooting pellet guns, blowing up mailboxes, fighting at school and upon the dawning of interest in the fairer sex, their carefree lives typical of children with few responsibilities and no worries beyond the next pop-quiz or getting to second base.
As they grow older together and experience the joys and pains of life, love, family and friendship, they uncover a grim secret that their home town has kept, and through little more than an innocent, idle curiosity, Jody and Jack stumble upon something horrific in the woods and their lives quickly take a most sinister and dangerous turn as they find themselves hunted by an unspeakable evil...
379 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 28, 2016
21 people are currently reading
396 people want to read
About the author
J.P. Willie
3 books34 followersJ.P. Willie was born in Covington, Louisiana to parents Gayla and Joseph Willie on October 30th, 1981. He graduated from Tara High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and joined the United States Army on October 20, 2000.
While serving in the Army, his duty stations include: Fort Bragg (North Carolina), Caserma Ederle (Italy), Mannheim (Germany), Fort Benning (Georgia), Schofield Barracks (Hawaii) and Fort Polk (Louisiana). He served two combat tours in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He will retire from the Military in October of 2020.
J.P. Willie began is writing career in March of 2008 and his first novel, Blood In The Woods, was published by HellBound Books Publishing. The story is inspired by true events that occurred during his childhood and has terrified readers across the globe. His first short story, Welcome Home Rougarou, reached #5 for short reads on Amazon.com and is now a short film. He wrote the screenplay with direction from his mentor, Shawn Anthony, CEO of Harvest Moon Motion Pictures & Television. J.P. Willie assembled the talented cast and crew for the film and served as the producer and assistant director. His second short film titled, Crybaby Bridge: A Louisiana Urban Legend, is in pre-production. J.P. Willie wrote the screenplay, serves as producer and will also directed the film.
J.P. enjoys writing Horror, Psychological Thrillers, Supernatural Fiction and Dark Fiction. He is working on his first novella, Hot Summer Savior.
While serving in the Army, his duty stations include: Fort Bragg (North Carolina), Caserma Ederle (Italy), Mannheim (Germany), Fort Benning (Georgia), Schofield Barracks (Hawaii) and Fort Polk (Louisiana). He served two combat tours in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He will retire from the Military in October of 2020.
J.P. Willie began is writing career in March of 2008 and his first novel, Blood In The Woods, was published by HellBound Books Publishing. The story is inspired by true events that occurred during his childhood and has terrified readers across the globe. His first short story, Welcome Home Rougarou, reached #5 for short reads on Amazon.com and is now a short film. He wrote the screenplay with direction from his mentor, Shawn Anthony, CEO of Harvest Moon Motion Pictures & Television. J.P. Willie assembled the talented cast and crew for the film and served as the producer and assistant director. His second short film titled, Crybaby Bridge: A Louisiana Urban Legend, is in pre-production. J.P. Willie wrote the screenplay, serves as producer and will also directed the film.
J.P. enjoys writing Horror, Psychological Thrillers, Supernatural Fiction and Dark Fiction. He is working on his first novella, Hot Summer Savior.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 8, 2019
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy of Blood in the Woods in exchange for an honest review!
Blood in the Woods by J.P. Willie takes place in the late '80s through the early '90s and follows a young boy named Jody who is growing up in a small Louisiana town. The majority of the book explores what it's like to spend your childhood in the deep south. Friendships are made, mischief runs amok, and summer nights are full of wonder and adventure. The book spans many years, starting out when Jody is only eight years old and following him into his teens. In that time, I grew very close to this boy. He's the kind of kid who is rambunctious, foul-mouthed, and destructive, so it's easy to get annoyed by him, but he also has a big heart. Like most kids.
Unfortunately, when Jody's family and friends become targeted by a trio of devil worshipers, Jody experiences a lot of loss, turning him into a bit of a bully. It's sad to see, but it's a fresh take. You don't usually read about that kind of transition in books involving child characters, but Jody's dark metamorphosis is interesting to witness. That being said, Blood in the Woods is a rather nihilistic coming-of-age story. Yes, it has a lot of heart and even made me tear up at the end, but it is unflinchingly grim, even when nothing particularly horrific is happening.
Now, I have family deep in the mountains of Kentucky, so I spent a good chunk of my childhood up there. I know how challenging life can be in the south. It is very isolating and different than what most of us are used to. As a kid, you have to make your own fun. That wasn't hard for me since I had peace of mind knowing I'd be back at home within a week or two, but other kids might try their hands at vandalism or brawling with other kids or hunting animals. There are aspects of southern living that may be seen as ugly to you and me, from the killing of animals to offensive slurs, but that's the norm for those people, and Blood in the Woods doesn't stray away from it. Both sides of southern living (the good and the ugly) are preserved within these pages, so be weary of that before you start reading. You may not agree with everything you read here. I definitely didn't, and that's okay.
Getting into the horror side of Blood in the Woods… while this is primarily a coming-of-age story, there are extreme horror elements. They are few and far between, but they will leave even the most hardened of readers feeling sick to their stomachs. That's the intention here, of course, and these unspeakable acts are never glorified, but casual horror readers might not want to put themselves through something so brutal. There are scenes in which animals and children are murdered, including two rape scenes, the latter of which is extremely graphic and heart wrenching. I was shocked and had to skim through it, so be forewarned. The horror scenes are very… horrific.
The disturbing aspects aside, this is a fun and nostalgic ‘satanic panic’ tale that feels very fleshed out and organic, which makes sense considering the author based the book off real events. Sure, there were some slow bits and a scene involving a Satanist Taco Bell cashier that felt very random, but it’s easy for me to recommend Blood in the Woods to anyone who thinks they can handle the hard-to-stomach scenes.
Blood in the Woods by J.P. Willie takes place in the late '80s through the early '90s and follows a young boy named Jody who is growing up in a small Louisiana town. The majority of the book explores what it's like to spend your childhood in the deep south. Friendships are made, mischief runs amok, and summer nights are full of wonder and adventure. The book spans many years, starting out when Jody is only eight years old and following him into his teens. In that time, I grew very close to this boy. He's the kind of kid who is rambunctious, foul-mouthed, and destructive, so it's easy to get annoyed by him, but he also has a big heart. Like most kids.
Unfortunately, when Jody's family and friends become targeted by a trio of devil worshipers, Jody experiences a lot of loss, turning him into a bit of a bully. It's sad to see, but it's a fresh take. You don't usually read about that kind of transition in books involving child characters, but Jody's dark metamorphosis is interesting to witness. That being said, Blood in the Woods is a rather nihilistic coming-of-age story. Yes, it has a lot of heart and even made me tear up at the end, but it is unflinchingly grim, even when nothing particularly horrific is happening.
Now, I have family deep in the mountains of Kentucky, so I spent a good chunk of my childhood up there. I know how challenging life can be in the south. It is very isolating and different than what most of us are used to. As a kid, you have to make your own fun. That wasn't hard for me since I had peace of mind knowing I'd be back at home within a week or two, but other kids might try their hands at vandalism or brawling with other kids or hunting animals. There are aspects of southern living that may be seen as ugly to you and me, from the killing of animals to offensive slurs, but that's the norm for those people, and Blood in the Woods doesn't stray away from it. Both sides of southern living (the good and the ugly) are preserved within these pages, so be weary of that before you start reading. You may not agree with everything you read here. I definitely didn't, and that's okay.
Getting into the horror side of Blood in the Woods… while this is primarily a coming-of-age story, there are extreme horror elements. They are few and far between, but they will leave even the most hardened of readers feeling sick to their stomachs. That's the intention here, of course, and these unspeakable acts are never glorified, but casual horror readers might not want to put themselves through something so brutal. There are scenes in which animals and children are murdered, including two rape scenes, the latter of which is extremely graphic and heart wrenching. I was shocked and had to skim through it, so be forewarned. The horror scenes are very… horrific.
The disturbing aspects aside, this is a fun and nostalgic ‘satanic panic’ tale that feels very fleshed out and organic, which makes sense considering the author based the book off real events. Sure, there were some slow bits and a scene involving a Satanist Taco Bell cashier that felt very random, but it’s easy for me to recommend Blood in the Woods to anyone who thinks they can handle the hard-to-stomach scenes.
July 20, 2020
I recently was honored to do an Author Q & A interview with the author: J. P. Willie, you can check it out here from my YouTube Channel; AreYouIntoHorror here, enjoy, Richard.
https://youtu.be/ozdk4VYBIL0
Willie's "Blood In The Woods" is one of the most terrifyingly real coming of age stories since Kings "IT", however this has nothing to do with the supernatural...this has to do with real situations of true horror that deals with devil worship in the Louisiana backwoods, in the small town of Hammond.
Though the 2 young boys; Jody and his best friend Jack are little hellions, what they experience in this novel was nothing that any child boy, or girl should ever, EVER have to witness and or go through.
As much as I loved this book, many parts were extremely disturbing to me, even stomach churning at times, this book deals with child rape, child murder and torture, animals that are family pets are gruesomely tortured and murdered and such, that I do recommend this is not to be read by someone who is not willing to go into this with a very open mind, heart and stomach. For this being Willie's debut novel, he knocked this out of the park!!! Hopefully he can continue to scare the hell out of me as a new fan of his work! Be prepared though, very sad, scary and disturbing.
Here is a link to my video review of this 5 star read, from my YouTube Channel; AreYouIntoHorror
here:
https://youtu.be/TxYue-J-9nk
Thanks for reading......Richard.
https://youtu.be/ozdk4VYBIL0
Willie's "Blood In The Woods" is one of the most terrifyingly real coming of age stories since Kings "IT", however this has nothing to do with the supernatural...this has to do with real situations of true horror that deals with devil worship in the Louisiana backwoods, in the small town of Hammond.
Though the 2 young boys; Jody and his best friend Jack are little hellions, what they experience in this novel was nothing that any child boy, or girl should ever, EVER have to witness and or go through.
As much as I loved this book, many parts were extremely disturbing to me, even stomach churning at times, this book deals with child rape, child murder and torture, animals that are family pets are gruesomely tortured and murdered and such, that I do recommend this is not to be read by someone who is not willing to go into this with a very open mind, heart and stomach. For this being Willie's debut novel, he knocked this out of the park!!! Hopefully he can continue to scare the hell out of me as a new fan of his work! Be prepared though, very sad, scary and disturbing.
Here is a link to my video review of this 5 star read, from my YouTube Channel; AreYouIntoHorror
here:
https://youtu.be/TxYue-J-9nk
Thanks for reading......Richard.
August 4, 2020
This book scared the hell out of me in broad daylight! The writing style is top notch horror expert and the story line had me hyperventilating every other page. This book is easily a 5 star and if I could give double that I would. I can’t wait for what comes next from this talented writer and he is now one of my favs!
January 16, 2020
This book was fast paced, dark, gory, but also humorous at times. A horror coming-of-age novel. I loved the writing style and how it was able to keep my attention. It gave me like a Catcher in the Rye feel, but with horror elements. I can't believe that the story was inspired by true events from the author. 🙈 Some scenes are really graphic and hard to read at times. [Trigger Warning: Sexual Violence] As a whole, it was such a fun read for me. I loved it! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
January 7, 2020
Morbid..fowl...and a crazy ride!
September 11, 2020
A brutal, well crafted, and heartfelt coming of age tale. While this story definitely has undertones that borderline on a particular sub genre of horror, it is first and foremost a novel about friendship. If you are someone who has had a less than stellar childhood, or have been prematurely forced to grapple with issues that even an adult would struggle to navigate, then you will relate to this book in some fashion. I was a huge fan of the pace at which J.P. Willie chose to reveal the darker aspects of this story. While his writing style here is as barebones as it gets, it really worked well with the type of storytelling he chose to roll with. Every person in this novel feels like someone you either know already, or could potentially meet in your own life. As I was reading, sometimes I felt that the author was spending a bit too much time building the backstories of every single character. However, because of how smooth and well thought out the prose was, there wasn’t a single moment that felt wasted. This creative choice actually ended up making the overall experience more impactful than I thought it would be. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I was holding back genuine tears while finishing the epilogue. It’s been a while since I’ve read a coming of age tale, and this one really surprised me on all fronts. However, take note that this novel is definitely not for the faint of heart. While the violence in this book is only brought into play sparingly, the author doesn’t hold back at all when it’s occurring. If you are sensitive to fiction that depicts graphic violence against children and animals, stay away from this one. Seriously. Having read and watched almost every dark thing under the sun, I was shocked by how much the brutality of certain scenes got under my skin. There were two instances of animal cruelty that absolutely made my jaw fall to the floor. It is also worth mentioning that this novel contains one of the most depraved and detailed rape scenes that I’ve ever read. The imagery is extremely vivid, so tread with caution. If you feel like you can handle that stuff, then don’t hesitate to pick up this book. Overall, I was immensely satisfied with BLOOD IN THE WOODS. In fact, I’d say that this is in my top four coming of age stories of all time, right behind Stephen King’s IT, Bret Easton Ellis’s LESS THAN ZERO, and Khaled Hosseini’s THE KITE RUNNER. Keep in mind that I haven’t read an abundance of these types of stories. You might not enjoy the overall journey as much as I did if you are someone who has delved deeply into this genre. I highly recommend this book to horror fans, as well as readers who want a realistic and gritty coming of age story with a heart. 4.5 stars out of 5, rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.
December 16, 2020
I really could not stomach the vulgar descriptions of tortured animals of this book. I'm not some loony PETA activist, I just don't think it was necessary to write multiple paragraphs going into extreme detail describing the brutal and disgusting torture of a bunch of birds. I wanted to read and like this book, but come on man, are you writing murder p*rn? Because that's what it struck me as, and I couldn't get passed it. I tried. I tried three times a few weeks apart, and it was just too much. Definitely not for me.
March 19, 2020
So this book had a lot of potential, but falls short. The book takes place in the span of about 3 years it seems, and at times drags along with nothing important. It is almost more a book of two boys growing up, and they had a sad event happen, but more about their lives than anything. I did like that it was written in the 1st person, but it was written like it was from a child. The book is very slow moving and predictive.
January 21, 2023
Yes it has a horror element to it, but at its basics it's a coming of age story. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn meet the devil worshippers. It has humor, warmth, explicit violence, child abuse. I enjoyed it but it was a little too much with the descriptions of the antics of 2 boys getting into mischief, playing, swearing, riding bikes,etc.
January 17, 2018
Blood in the Woods takes the reader into the back blocks of southern of America, God-abiding territory, and devil worship and dark rituals lie at the heart of the narrative, pulsing a backbeat. The prologue not only sets up the story to come, it demonstrates the longevity of the evil taking place in the woods around Hammond, secret practices that have been going on for decades.
The story opens with the narrator, a veteran recently returned from a stint in Afghanistan, coming to terms with his past. Through the lens of a man examining his childhood, Blood in the Woods is as much a meditation on boyhood and coming of age as it is a tale of terror. The narration is warm, conversational, the narrator self-effacing. Jody and his friend Jack love to run amok, inventing games and having adventures and always in trouble. Yet their escapades are innocent, and deep down they are both good kids, and the reader cannot help but be charmed by them. Willie’s storytelling reminds me of Tobias Wolff’s in This Boy’s Life, especially in the early parts of the novel, and to begin with the narration has the flavour of memoir. Little wonder, as Blood in the Woods is based on truth.
To Willie’s credit, his account of the sorts of evil practices going on in Hammond and its surrounds is measured and balanced. Through the eyes of both Jody’s grandfather, Jerry, and a fast-food cook come Satanist, the author is at pains to explain that not all cults and not all who worship Satan are evil and do bad things. Making this point early in the story, and reinforcing it later, serves to offset prejudice and ignorance, enlightening the reader without labouring the point.
Entertaining and chilling in equal measure, Blood in the Woods is an earthy and believable story, one laced with social realism. The story has soul, it lives and breathes. The horror simmers in the background, popping up now and then over the backyard fence with ever increasing intensity, until it breaks out in a gripping, breathtaking finale.
Without doubt, Blood in the Woods is a novel that deserves a wider audience. Sometimes genre labels shackle a book, especially when many readers are spooked by the very word ‘horror’. If that is you, don’t be put off! You’ll be missing out on a highly entertaining read!
The story opens with the narrator, a veteran recently returned from a stint in Afghanistan, coming to terms with his past. Through the lens of a man examining his childhood, Blood in the Woods is as much a meditation on boyhood and coming of age as it is a tale of terror. The narration is warm, conversational, the narrator self-effacing. Jody and his friend Jack love to run amok, inventing games and having adventures and always in trouble. Yet their escapades are innocent, and deep down they are both good kids, and the reader cannot help but be charmed by them. Willie’s storytelling reminds me of Tobias Wolff’s in This Boy’s Life, especially in the early parts of the novel, and to begin with the narration has the flavour of memoir. Little wonder, as Blood in the Woods is based on truth.
To Willie’s credit, his account of the sorts of evil practices going on in Hammond and its surrounds is measured and balanced. Through the eyes of both Jody’s grandfather, Jerry, and a fast-food cook come Satanist, the author is at pains to explain that not all cults and not all who worship Satan are evil and do bad things. Making this point early in the story, and reinforcing it later, serves to offset prejudice and ignorance, enlightening the reader without labouring the point.
Entertaining and chilling in equal measure, Blood in the Woods is an earthy and believable story, one laced with social realism. The story has soul, it lives and breathes. The horror simmers in the background, popping up now and then over the backyard fence with ever increasing intensity, until it breaks out in a gripping, breathtaking finale.
Without doubt, Blood in the Woods is a novel that deserves a wider audience. Sometimes genre labels shackle a book, especially when many readers are spooked by the very word ‘horror’. If that is you, don’t be put off! You’ll be missing out on a highly entertaining read!
January 28, 2018
A coming of age novel with a twist!
The story centre's around Jody and his best friend Jack, two loveable characters who get into all sorts of mischief, set in the early 90's when technology hasn't zombified children and kids made their own entertainment.
whilst on a bike ride with another friend (Justin) Jody finds something disturbing in the woods and while there are whispers of devil worship Jody and his friend try to forget the whole experience, however someone else saw them that fateful day and a game of cat and mouse ensues building up to a climax that will take your breath away!
Reading this novel was like knowing the characters personally I felt there pain, happiness and sadness I was there with them, I laughed, I cried and I gasped..... (a lot! ).
This a coming of age novel with a twist, it is a novel about family and friendships about lost innocence but ultimately it's about how far you will go to protect the ones you love.
I wanted to love this novel and it certainly did not disappoint.
If I was to describe this book to anyone I would say it's like stand by me meets The wicker man!
The story centre's around Jody and his best friend Jack, two loveable characters who get into all sorts of mischief, set in the early 90's when technology hasn't zombified children and kids made their own entertainment.
whilst on a bike ride with another friend (Justin) Jody finds something disturbing in the woods and while there are whispers of devil worship Jody and his friend try to forget the whole experience, however someone else saw them that fateful day and a game of cat and mouse ensues building up to a climax that will take your breath away!
Reading this novel was like knowing the characters personally I felt there pain, happiness and sadness I was there with them, I laughed, I cried and I gasped..... (a lot! ).
This a coming of age novel with a twist, it is a novel about family and friendships about lost innocence but ultimately it's about how far you will go to protect the ones you love.
I wanted to love this novel and it certainly did not disappoint.
If I was to describe this book to anyone I would say it's like stand by me meets The wicker man!
January 31, 2020
This is a coming of age story straight out of hell and usually I am okay with that. However, the main character in this story infuriated me. I just couldn't stand his bullying. I mean, tragedy withstanding, the kid really needed his butt whooped. Reading it felt like a drag at times because he was such a jerk that I had to force myself onward in the hopes that I would find some way to tolerate him. That being said, the ending was well done and felt realistic and the way he was forced to mature was a definite horror story.
February 8, 2018
This book is deeply unsettling, creepy, endearing and a crazy rollercoaster of horror. Jody looking back on his mostly charming childhood, as a young country boy doing boy stuff with his best friend, has a voice that speaks with equal parts joy, terror, love and despair. The narrative of Jody is reminiscent of Cory Mackenson of Boys Life by Robert R. McCammon.
This book reads very quickly. It is dark, funny, sad and bloody. But whatever you do...do not ignore those drums in the woods.
This book reads very quickly. It is dark, funny, sad and bloody. But whatever you do...do not ignore those drums in the woods.
November 13, 2019
Jody finds himself at his old stomping grounds reminiscing about a traumatizing part of his childhood
Excellent coming of age story that was dark and suspenseful
Well narrated and one of the best debut novels I’ve come across highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
Excellent coming of age story that was dark and suspenseful
Well narrated and one of the best debut novels I’ve come across highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
April 13, 2019
Truly a memorable story
The story is a journey through childhood innocence and horror. Putting oneself in the place of the main character is exciting and fearful at the same time. Great fiction inspired by true events!!
The story is a journey through childhood innocence and horror. Putting oneself in the place of the main character is exciting and fearful at the same time. Great fiction inspired by true events!!
January 7, 2017
Loved this book! Fantastic debut by J P Willie!! Definitely worth a read! If you enjoy Stephen King, Dean Koontz or Joe Hill, then you will love Blood In The Woods !
April 22, 2020
A coming of age story full of nostalgia from the 80s and 90s. Couldn’t help but reflect on my own childhood during this era reading this. It revolves around the two little creeps who we’re always throwing things and calling people names on your school bus and a psycho satanic cult that they are unfortunate enough to draw the attention of. The main two boys despite being little jerks are still fairly likable and relatable characters and it’s hard not to root for them even knowing that they constantly need their hides tanned for being mean bullies to other kids. It’s kinda hard to cheer for the Satanists that want their blood anyway. For the most part I enjoyed this trip into the past but my one real issue with this story is just how long seriously messed up things happen with these kids and this cult that has the boys fleeing for their lives on several occasions, and the boys fearing trouble by their parents keep tight lipped about it. There are multiple scenes in this book where brutal things are happening to animals, getting throats slit and hearts cut out and the boys don’t say a thing to adults afterwards. It also seemed strange to me that the boys never seemed to fear the cult breaking into their homes and killing their whole families while they slept. I received my share of parental ass whippings back then to but when faced with the choice of telling my parents what’s up and getting the belt across my backside and grounded or keeping mum about it and potentially getting your head cut off... I’m gonna face mom and dad and that belt every time. Why were the police not called? By the end it gets horribly brutal and graphic and I found myself cursing the author for being so descriptive in the utter destruction of innocence but by the time it was all over I understood why he had to do it that way. There was a reason for it beyond just gratuitous violence. A worthy read and I look forward to his future works.
March 1, 2022
3.5 stars, but I round up.
Would you like to read a Satanic Panic novel told from the perspective of the bullies? Well, then this is the book for you. Yeah, as you can tell, my feelings are complicated with this one. Grant it, I'm overly sensitive about these things, due to massive amounts of bullying when I was a chitling. So, not everyone might think this. I didn't hate Jody and Jack when they weren't trying to be the town's bad boys.
The plot was decent enough. I did find things to really like about it, but I definitely think, it could have used some trimming and some tweaks to help the characters seem a tad bit smarter.
If you'd like to read my full review then here is my blog link:
https://bugschaoticstacks.blogspot.co...
Would you like to read a Satanic Panic novel told from the perspective of the bullies? Well, then this is the book for you. Yeah, as you can tell, my feelings are complicated with this one. Grant it, I'm overly sensitive about these things, due to massive amounts of bullying when I was a chitling. So, not everyone might think this. I didn't hate Jody and Jack when they weren't trying to be the town's bad boys.
The plot was decent enough. I did find things to really like about it, but I definitely think, it could have used some trimming and some tweaks to help the characters seem a tad bit smarter.
If you'd like to read my full review then here is my blog link:
https://bugschaoticstacks.blogspot.co...
March 15, 2024
I wanted to read this book after watching the 1st True Detective. When I looked online it mentioned that it was based on true events. Further research brought me to Blood in the woods, promising it was the true story True Detective was based on.
It claims it is a horror story, it's more a coming of age story. Two boys growing up in rural Louisiana. It wasn't until the end of the book that the "horror" played out. It wasn't that scary.
The only horror in the book was the writing. Really it was comical, words no 9 yo boy would know much less use. I did finish the book because i got it at the library through exchange and to my surprise it came from Louisiana!
I would recommend it for a good laugh, but nothing to do with True Detective.
It claims it is a horror story, it's more a coming of age story. Two boys growing up in rural Louisiana. It wasn't until the end of the book that the "horror" played out. It wasn't that scary.
The only horror in the book was the writing. Really it was comical, words no 9 yo boy would know much less use. I did finish the book because i got it at the library through exchange and to my surprise it came from Louisiana!
I would recommend it for a good laugh, but nothing to do with True Detective.
May 16, 2021
WOW! Definitely a pure coming of age story, being a 90's kid I almost got choked up in the end. Pretty easy read overall. I love the mysteriousness of the cult in the begining and throughout the story. I wish they would have given a bit more motive for the satanic killers. They seemed a tad too one dimensional. I would have also liked to have seen more from peepaw, he was the most likable adult character by far in my opinion.
September 10, 2020
This book is great. Characters are well developed and the story swallows u whole. I felt the pain and fears of the kids. And don't get me started on Pepaw! I lost my grandpa the same way. After reading this I'm definitely gonna be following this author for years to come.
July 5, 2020
A combination coming of age / horror story. Characters were awesome, writing was intelligent, humorous, and gripping. Well done.
Read
September 9, 2020I skimmed most of it bc it was too slow for my taste but the writing was certainly good.
January 27, 2021
Svårgreppbar, hade fina stunder, men lite omständig, kan nog bli e bra film
May 25, 2023
Scary book. Grew up in Louisiana & lived for short time the in Ponchatoula. Very scary to think this happened in my home state
July 29, 2024
DNF- I tried and couldn’t get past the poor writing. Wouldn’t recommend.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews