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The Nightmare Girl
When family man Joe Crawford confronts a young mother abusing her toddler, he has no idea of the chain reaction he’s setting in motion. How could he suspect the young mother is part of an ancient fire cult, a sinister group of killers that will destroy anyone who threatens one of its members? When the little boy is placed in a foster home, the fanatics begin their mission of terror.
Soon the cult leaders will summon their deadliest hunters—and a ferocious supernatural evil—to make Joe pay for what he’s done. They want Joe’s blood and the blood of his family. And they want their child back.
Soon the cult leaders will summon their deadliest hunters—and a ferocious supernatural evil—to make Joe pay for what he’s done. They want Joe’s blood and the blood of his family. And they want their child back.
Audiobook
First published January 6, 2015
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About the author
Jonathan Janz
60 books2,079 followersJonathan Janz is an author and public schoolteacher. His sci-fi horror novel VEIL is now available, and you can find his story "Lenora" in THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: NEW TALES OF STEPHEN KING'S THE STAND. He’s represented for Film & TV by Adam Kolbrenner of Lit Entertainment, and his literary agent is Lane Heymont. His ghost story The Siren and the Specter was selected as a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novels Children of the Dark and The Dark Game were chosen by Booklist and Library Journal as Top Ten Horror Books of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children. You can sign up for his newsletter (http://jonathanjanz.us12.list-manage....), and you can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, and Goodreads.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
July 13, 2024
**3.5-stars rounded up**
A delightful gore fest of a read!
Originally published in 2015, The Nightmare Girl was recently re-released by Flame Tree Press. Thank you so much to them for sending me a copy to read and review.
My first Janz, but definitely not my last.
Since this author is new to me, I really wasn't sure what to expect going in. Horror can be a difficult genre to find a style you really mesh with.
I had a lot of fun reading this and definitely plan to pick up his other works.
This story follows our protagonist, Joe Crawford, a contractor and family-man who frequently loses out on jobs because he is too honest with his customers. Joe is an every man and I was drawn to him immediately.
When he witnesses a young mother abusing her toddler in a gas station parking lot, he can't stand by and watch. He steps in and does something about it. Once the police are called, and the child ultimately removed from the mother's home however, his fate is sealed, and it isn't good.
Before you know it, Joe and his family are on the receiving end of threats and acts of violence from the young mother, Angie's, family and friends. A pagan fire cult.
Yeah, her family and friends are all members of a local pagan fire cult...
I really enjoyed the pacing and plot development of this one. One of my favorite aspects, Joe's best bud, Officer Darrel Copeland. He was just such a fantastic addition to this story.
I loved their time spent together. There was some great banter, humor and loyalty and while a lot of the plot elements were dark, I felt this relationship added a nice contrast.
There were some great fight scenes, a lot of gore that made me cringe and a satisfying ending. The descriptive text was so solid that I could picture these scenes playing out in my head like a movie.
I would highly recommend this to any Horror fan. Give it a shot, I don't think you will be disappointed!
A delightful gore fest of a read!
Originally published in 2015, The Nightmare Girl was recently re-released by Flame Tree Press. Thank you so much to them for sending me a copy to read and review.
My first Janz, but definitely not my last.
Since this author is new to me, I really wasn't sure what to expect going in. Horror can be a difficult genre to find a style you really mesh with.
I had a lot of fun reading this and definitely plan to pick up his other works.
This story follows our protagonist, Joe Crawford, a contractor and family-man who frequently loses out on jobs because he is too honest with his customers. Joe is an every man and I was drawn to him immediately.
When he witnesses a young mother abusing her toddler in a gas station parking lot, he can't stand by and watch. He steps in and does something about it. Once the police are called, and the child ultimately removed from the mother's home however, his fate is sealed, and it isn't good.
Before you know it, Joe and his family are on the receiving end of threats and acts of violence from the young mother, Angie's, family and friends. A pagan fire cult.
Yeah, her family and friends are all members of a local pagan fire cult...
I really enjoyed the pacing and plot development of this one. One of my favorite aspects, Joe's best bud, Officer Darrel Copeland. He was just such a fantastic addition to this story.
I loved their time spent together. There was some great banter, humor and loyalty and while a lot of the plot elements were dark, I felt this relationship added a nice contrast.
There were some great fight scenes, a lot of gore that made me cringe and a satisfying ending. The descriptive text was so solid that I could picture these scenes playing out in my head like a movie.
I would highly recommend this to any Horror fan. Give it a shot, I don't think you will be disappointed!
March 21, 2020
This was the first full length novel by this author and I absolutely enjoyed it. Joe has a melee with two child abusing women at a filling station. From then on his life changes completely. Angie and her mother Shareon are members of a strange cult. The house next door he has to renovate is also involved (he's a constructor). How will the story end for Joe, his wife Michelle, their daughter Lilly and Little Stevie (the abused kid)? You'll read about skimpy outfits, women setting themselves on fire, some bizarre ashes, Peeping Tom motif, an eerie cult, strange rites... this is a real horror fest with a great violent final. Reading this novel made a lot of fun. The author wrote a well plotted story and pushed all the right buttons for an excellent horror tale. Absolutely recommended. A highlight!
January 28, 2019
THE NIGHTMARE GIRL was actually first published in 2015 by Samhain. That publisher has since closed up shop and this book is getting a second debut with a far superior cover design, mid February 2019 by Flametree Press. In fact, it needs to be said that Janz is a prolific writer with a dozen or more titles in his back catalog--all of which (NEW and previously released books) will be available for "Janz Fans" with an aggressive release schedule throughout 2019.
*whew*
It's very impressive and a staggering achievement.
For me, Janz is most successful when he writes a little bit of himself into his main protagonists. In CHILDREN OF THE DARK, Will Burgess becomes flesh & blood effortlessly. A coming-of-age narrative that was so intimately detailed, there's no way a little bit of reality wasn't hiding out in that character's persona.
I'd venture to guess that David Caine, the grieving, paranormal skeptic from THE SIREN shares very similar qualities with his creator as well.
In THE NIGHTMARE GIRL, Joe Crawford is a stand-up guy. A family man who is deeply in love with his wife and young daughter. He holds a hard line between right and wrong--even when he's tempted to be drawn in by the allure of something forbidden or to take the easy way out in a difficult situation, Joe is immediately conflicted by his flesh nature and even though he struggles (because the man isn't perfect) he almost always chooses the "right thing".
Janz does a fantastic job setting up the story for his readers in the first two parts. The pacing is perfect as he builds into the characters so that we can really invest in their lives as conflict and tension begin to rise to a boiling point.
I could not get enough of Joe Crawford and his "bestie" Darrel Copeland. Their relationship was entertaining and hilarious as they ran around on some amateur sleuthing errands exchanging witty banter and insults.
I also loved Joe's relationship with his wife Michelle. They were flirty, sincere and authentic as a 40 year old couple raising a young girl in a small town.
The antagonists and the dark, occult themes to this otherwise picturesque story were in such stark contrast to the health and vibrancy of the protagonists that it really terrified me.
I was concerned for my new fictional friends and I found myself screaming out against what was sure to be a horrible outcome should situations continue to escalate.
What an engaging horror story.
I never wanted to leave its pages.
The climax and conclusion was BANANAS. So many things I didn't see coming and the ending had me in shambles.
Truly one of my new favorite Janz stories.
*whew*
It's very impressive and a staggering achievement.
For me, Janz is most successful when he writes a little bit of himself into his main protagonists. In CHILDREN OF THE DARK, Will Burgess becomes flesh & blood effortlessly. A coming-of-age narrative that was so intimately detailed, there's no way a little bit of reality wasn't hiding out in that character's persona.
I'd venture to guess that David Caine, the grieving, paranormal skeptic from THE SIREN shares very similar qualities with his creator as well.
In THE NIGHTMARE GIRL, Joe Crawford is a stand-up guy. A family man who is deeply in love with his wife and young daughter. He holds a hard line between right and wrong--even when he's tempted to be drawn in by the allure of something forbidden or to take the easy way out in a difficult situation, Joe is immediately conflicted by his flesh nature and even though he struggles (because the man isn't perfect) he almost always chooses the "right thing".
Janz does a fantastic job setting up the story for his readers in the first two parts. The pacing is perfect as he builds into the characters so that we can really invest in their lives as conflict and tension begin to rise to a boiling point.
I could not get enough of Joe Crawford and his "bestie" Darrel Copeland. Their relationship was entertaining and hilarious as they ran around on some amateur sleuthing errands exchanging witty banter and insults.
I also loved Joe's relationship with his wife Michelle. They were flirty, sincere and authentic as a 40 year old couple raising a young girl in a small town.
The antagonists and the dark, occult themes to this otherwise picturesque story were in such stark contrast to the health and vibrancy of the protagonists that it really terrified me.
I was concerned for my new fictional friends and I found myself screaming out against what was sure to be a horrible outcome should situations continue to escalate.
What an engaging horror story.
I never wanted to leave its pages.
The climax and conclusion was BANANAS. So many things I didn't see coming and the ending had me in shambles.
Truly one of my new favorite Janz stories.
December 4, 2014
This crazy cult story was a lot of fun! This was my first Jonathan Janz book, but it will not be my last.
This was a fast paced tale about Joe and his family, (wife Michelle and daughter Lily). I became a big fan of Joe throughout this story. Mostly because all of his problems started due to one good deed: stopping a woman from abusing her toddler at a gas station. Once he stops her and the police arrive, his whole life goes to hell.
I enjoy stories about cults and satanic worship and all that good stuff. (Rosemary's Baby still gives me the creeps!) Mr. Janz put alI the elements together here in a perfect way. I LOVED how this story was told and there was one scene that freaked me the hell out, and it happened well before the denouement. I like that there were scary portions like this all throughout the story.
Speaking of the denouement though, I did feel that the story went a bit over the top towards the end, and as a result, lost some of its believability. Other than that, I have no complaints about this tale.
Overall, I enjoyed the hell out of his book! I will not be waiting very long to check out more of Jonathan's work.
Highly recommended for fans of stories about cults and satanic worship!
I was provided a free eARC of this story by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is it!
This was a fast paced tale about Joe and his family, (wife Michelle and daughter Lily). I became a big fan of Joe throughout this story. Mostly because all of his problems started due to one good deed: stopping a woman from abusing her toddler at a gas station. Once he stops her and the police arrive, his whole life goes to hell.
I enjoy stories about cults and satanic worship and all that good stuff. (Rosemary's Baby still gives me the creeps!) Mr. Janz put alI the elements together here in a perfect way. I LOVED how this story was told and there was one scene that freaked me the hell out, and it happened well before the denouement. I like that there were scary portions like this all throughout the story.
Speaking of the denouement though, I did feel that the story went a bit over the top towards the end, and as a result, lost some of its believability. Other than that, I have no complaints about this tale.
Overall, I enjoyed the hell out of his book! I will not be waiting very long to check out more of Jonathan's work.
Highly recommended for fans of stories about cults and satanic worship!
I was provided a free eARC of this story by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is it!
April 1, 2019
4.5*
THE NIGHTMARE GIRL begins with our main character, Joe Crawford, intervening when he witnesses a young mother physically abusing her infant son at a gas station. What he doesn't count on, is the fact that the abuser and her psychotic mother are part of a long-time cult dealing with the power of fire. Now, Joe has an entire sect of zealots out for his blood--and that of his own family.
The pacing of this book was fantastic--page turning every step of the way. There was tangible sense of dread and foreboding that built up steadily throughout the novel's progression, intensifying continuously. After several scenes. I found myself wanting to look out the windows to assure myself that nobody was out there, looking in!
Once more, Janz showcases his incredible knack for characterization. Our main character is so believable that he could practically walk off the pages and into reality. Joe's love for his family, in particular his young daughter, Lily, gives him a sense of being so real and HUMAN that you are able to suspend your belief regarding some of the more fantastic elements in the novel.
The only part that seemed slightly out of sync with the rest of the story was the extremely climatic ending--a little over-the-top when taken in conjunction with the entire story as a whole.
I've really been enjoying every story that I've read from Jonathan Janz lately, and THE NIGHTMARE GIRL is no exception.
*Originally released in 2015 from Samhain Publishing, it has been brought back now by FLAME TREE PRESS.*
Highly recommended!
THE NIGHTMARE GIRL begins with our main character, Joe Crawford, intervening when he witnesses a young mother physically abusing her infant son at a gas station. What he doesn't count on, is the fact that the abuser and her psychotic mother are part of a long-time cult dealing with the power of fire. Now, Joe has an entire sect of zealots out for his blood--and that of his own family.
The pacing of this book was fantastic--page turning every step of the way. There was tangible sense of dread and foreboding that built up steadily throughout the novel's progression, intensifying continuously. After several scenes. I found myself wanting to look out the windows to assure myself that nobody was out there, looking in!
Once more, Janz showcases his incredible knack for characterization. Our main character is so believable that he could practically walk off the pages and into reality. Joe's love for his family, in particular his young daughter, Lily, gives him a sense of being so real and HUMAN that you are able to suspend your belief regarding some of the more fantastic elements in the novel.
The only part that seemed slightly out of sync with the rest of the story was the extremely climatic ending--a little over-the-top when taken in conjunction with the entire story as a whole.
I've really been enjoying every story that I've read from Jonathan Janz lately, and THE NIGHTMARE GIRL is no exception.
*Originally released in 2015 from Samhain Publishing, it has been brought back now by FLAME TREE PRESS.*
Highly recommended!
February 15, 2019
When Joe intervenes as a young mother abuses her toddler in a gas station parking lot, he thinks he’s doing the right thing — he has no idea that he’s setting into motion a plot of revenge from a local cult, whose members will stop at nothing to punish Joe for his good deed.
Another Jonathan Janz title, another highly anticipated horror release for me — or re-release, as it were, since The Nightmare Girl was originally released years ago, but fell out of print when the original publishing house closed. I’m so glad that Flame Tree Press decided to add it to their list of Janz re-release titles, because I would have been so sad to miss out on this creepy, suspenseful tale.
As usual when it comes to Jonathan’s works, I knew I could go into this story expecting a healthy dose of creep factor, a protagonist worth rooting for, some really cringe-inducingly awful side characters/villains, and probably a little merciless genocide. Naturally, I was right, and this story hit the mark on all counts.
Something that sets The Nightmare Girl apart from the other books I’ve read of Jonathan’s, though, is just how easy it is to love Joe Crawford as a protagonist. He’s flawed and human, sure, but he’s got a heart of pure gold and his number one goal at the end of every day is just to take care of his family. There are scenes between Joe and his baby girl that totally made me melt because they feel so genuine (and, knowing how much Jonathan Janz loves his own kids, I knew it was coming from an honest place in his heart).
While The Nightmare Girl wasn’t the scariest book of Jonathan’s I’d picked up, it was one of the most quickly paced and entertaining (the police chief Joe befriends, Daryl Copeland, is a riot who made me laugh constantly — especially with that sneaky Daryl Dixon reference), and I genuinely enjoyed it so much and was sad when it came to an end. I also loved the way all bets were off in the end as the violence and murder cranked all the way up, and left me on the edge of my seat, internally panicking over who would be left standing.
If you couldn’t gather from what I’ve already said in this review, The Nightmare Girl was just one more opportunity for Jonathan to remind me why he’s become my favorite horror author, and why I keep reaching for his stories over and over again, and genuinely believe I always will.
I’d happily recommend The Nightmare Girl to anyone who enjoys horror (or even particularly dark and bloody thrillers), cult stories, and suspense.
Content warnings for graphic violence, murder, child abuse
Thank you so much to Flame Tree Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
November 16, 2014
My second Jonathan Janz read in a week, both curtesy of Netgalley and I’ve got to say, the guy can certainly spin an entertaining and engrossing story, one that will keep you up way, way past bedtime.
The Nightmare Girl, first impression has a great cover and did the story match up, most definitely yes, this is a thrilling page turner that offers no respite whatsoever. One that before you know it you’re approaching the end and its then decision time, to sleep or not, my votes for not.
The start is excellent, it brings a genuine feeling of unease when family man Joe Crawford pulls into the garage to fill up. Joe is stung into action when he sees a Mother strike her toddler and he unwittingly sets off a chain of events rooted deep in the past that are about to ignite on the present with devastating consequences. The child is taken from her Mother by the authorities, unleashing a whirlwind in the form of a cult with little or no boundaries, their only parameters, bloody revenge and the return of the child.
Have to say I didn’t really make any notes as I read this, you don’t feel the need to with a story that flows as rapidly as this, there’s a feeling of apprehension throughout, plenty of action, more than a fair share of bloodshed and yeah I’d recommend it.
I received The Nightmare Girl from Samhain Publishing & Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and that’s what you’ve got.
Also posted at.
http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
The Nightmare Girl, first impression has a great cover and did the story match up, most definitely yes, this is a thrilling page turner that offers no respite whatsoever. One that before you know it you’re approaching the end and its then decision time, to sleep or not, my votes for not.
The start is excellent, it brings a genuine feeling of unease when family man Joe Crawford pulls into the garage to fill up. Joe is stung into action when he sees a Mother strike her toddler and he unwittingly sets off a chain of events rooted deep in the past that are about to ignite on the present with devastating consequences. The child is taken from her Mother by the authorities, unleashing a whirlwind in the form of a cult with little or no boundaries, their only parameters, bloody revenge and the return of the child.
Have to say I didn’t really make any notes as I read this, you don’t feel the need to with a story that flows as rapidly as this, there’s a feeling of apprehension throughout, plenty of action, more than a fair share of bloodshed and yeah I’d recommend it.
I received The Nightmare Girl from Samhain Publishing & Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and that’s what you’ve got.
Also posted at.
http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
March 11, 2019
I'm sort of calling this The Year of Janz. Last year I FINALLY discovered his work, and I was really bummed when I heard that most of his books had been published by the now defunct Samhain Publishing. I was going to have to search the web for second-hand copies. But then I got extremely lucky. The amazing folks at Flame Tree Press announced that they would be releasing Janz's back catalog. Essentially, we have been getting a book a month this year, and I couldn't be happier. The latest on my long list of books to catch up on is The Nightmare Girl.
I love Janz's creature features and his books that deal heavily with the supernatural. One of my favorites of his is The Siren and the Specter. There are supernatural elements in this story, but mainly the antagonists are just people. And that kind of story, that gets under my skin. Because what happens to our protagonist Joe Crawford could plausibly happen to anyone who decides to step up and do the right thing. Crawford makes a split second decision to stop a stranger from harming her baby, and suddenly he's thrust into a situation where he and his wife and young daughter are harassed and threatened repeatedly because of that split second decision.
Crawford is a contractor, and the kind of man that looses a bid on a project because he's too honest to the customer. He always does what he knows is right, even if he makes mistakes and gives into to temptation, if only for the briefest of moments. He's a good man, husband, and father. I loved his interactions with his wife and daughter. They are his world, and so once the harassment begins the reader is truly nervous for Joe and his family. I also love the dynamic that develops between him and police chief Daryl Copeland. Their moments together play out like a buddy cop movie, and I love how their friendship developed. Copeland is tough as nails on the outside, but he secretly reads romance novels and truly cares about Joe and his family. He's one of my favorite characters in the book.
The tension ratchets up and continue to get worse until it culminates in one hell of a nail biter of an ending. The final chapters of this book had me on the edge of my seat, especially once Joe and Daryl discover that the people threatening his family are part of a cult, and they go to the compound to confront the leader. The story jumps into high gear at that point, and it doesn't stop until the very end. I really loved The Nightmare Girl, and I'm excited to dig into my next title by Janz. I would say the Year of Janz is going very well.
I love Janz's creature features and his books that deal heavily with the supernatural. One of my favorites of his is The Siren and the Specter. There are supernatural elements in this story, but mainly the antagonists are just people. And that kind of story, that gets under my skin. Because what happens to our protagonist Joe Crawford could plausibly happen to anyone who decides to step up and do the right thing. Crawford makes a split second decision to stop a stranger from harming her baby, and suddenly he's thrust into a situation where he and his wife and young daughter are harassed and threatened repeatedly because of that split second decision.
Crawford is a contractor, and the kind of man that looses a bid on a project because he's too honest to the customer. He always does what he knows is right, even if he makes mistakes and gives into to temptation, if only for the briefest of moments. He's a good man, husband, and father. I loved his interactions with his wife and daughter. They are his world, and so once the harassment begins the reader is truly nervous for Joe and his family. I also love the dynamic that develops between him and police chief Daryl Copeland. Their moments together play out like a buddy cop movie, and I love how their friendship developed. Copeland is tough as nails on the outside, but he secretly reads romance novels and truly cares about Joe and his family. He's one of my favorite characters in the book.
The tension ratchets up and continue to get worse until it culminates in one hell of a nail biter of an ending. The final chapters of this book had me on the edge of my seat, especially once Joe and Daryl discover that the people threatening his family are part of a cult, and they go to the compound to confront the leader. The story jumps into high gear at that point, and it doesn't stop until the very end. I really loved The Nightmare Girl, and I'm excited to dig into my next title by Janz. I would say the Year of Janz is going very well.
February 19, 2019
If you read horror, read Jonathan Janz.
This year alone (2019) I've devoured 4 of his books, with The Nightmare Girl being the latest 5 star read. Not only are his books gloriously gory but they are loaded with interesting characters and entertaining plots.
In The Nightmare Girl, we're introduced to small business owner Joe Crawford. He's a family man trying to do best by his young family, steadily earning a living in construction. He's a good natured, honest, All American kind of guy who finds himself deeply embroiled in a situation he's ill prepared for.
A chance encounter of the crazy kind sees him intervening in a strangers' public display of family violence; the result leaves a mother charged and her child in foster care. As horrible as that is in itself, things get turned up a notch when the mother commits suicide before his very eyes, kick starting a chain of horrors culminating in a cult ritual that threatens to tear the town fabric in two.
The Nightmare Girl is a well rounded horror which doesn't fail to entertain. Much like the other novels by Jonathan Janz I've read, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
My rating: 5/5 stars.
This year alone (2019) I've devoured 4 of his books, with The Nightmare Girl being the latest 5 star read. Not only are his books gloriously gory but they are loaded with interesting characters and entertaining plots.
In The Nightmare Girl, we're introduced to small business owner Joe Crawford. He's a family man trying to do best by his young family, steadily earning a living in construction. He's a good natured, honest, All American kind of guy who finds himself deeply embroiled in a situation he's ill prepared for.
A chance encounter of the crazy kind sees him intervening in a strangers' public display of family violence; the result leaves a mother charged and her child in foster care. As horrible as that is in itself, things get turned up a notch when the mother commits suicide before his very eyes, kick starting a chain of horrors culminating in a cult ritual that threatens to tear the town fabric in two.
The Nightmare Girl is a well rounded horror which doesn't fail to entertain. Much like the other novels by Jonathan Janz I've read, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
My rating: 5/5 stars.
June 1, 2015
Joe Crawford and his family pull into a gas station and could not believe what they saw. A young mother was abusing her child. Joe went over to the young mother and stop the abuse to the child. The child was taken away by Social Services and put into a foster home. The young mother is a part of an ancient fire cult that will destroy anything that gets in it's way. The young mother swore to seek rev3enge on Joe and his family for his actions. This was a fast paced book with plenty of action. I was hooked from the first page. The characters in the book were well developed and this made the story stronger. There were a few twists and turns in the book with a surprising ending. Each book that I read by Jonathan Janz is better than the last one.
February 19, 2021
This is without a doubt my favourite Janz I’ve yet to read. It is absolutely bloody BRILLIANT. There is not a single thing about it that wasn’t perfect, it’s just that good. Everything about it drew me in from the start, I was completely hooked from page one and it only got better and better as it went on. I always get a little giddy when a horror story features cults, something about it just really does it for me, ESPECIALLY when they’re as deliciously evil and sinister as this one. The story starts off with a bang and doesn’t let up the whole way through, it’s shock after shock until BOOM, that crazy and absolutely bananas ending that I honestly didn’t see coming and that couldn’t have been more perfect. I could go on for days about how great this book was but you should just read it yourself instead, you won’t regret it!
August 7, 2021
Jonathan Janz is really hitting his stride lately and kicking out some quality dark fiction. The Nightmare Girl is a very good supernatural tale of sinister cults and old school small town terror.
Joe tries to be a Good Samaritan, but his deeds backfire in a big way when the child that he tries to help has some nasty blood relatives that want to see him dead along with anyone that stands in the way of their sinister plans. Now Joe has put himself and his family in the crosshairs.
There is a palpable sense of dread in this one that builds steadily from the opening scene all the way through the climatic ending sequence. Well written and evenly paced with very good characterization.
*I received an advance review copy of this release from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Joe tries to be a Good Samaritan, but his deeds backfire in a big way when the child that he tries to help has some nasty blood relatives that want to see him dead along with anyone that stands in the way of their sinister plans. Now Joe has put himself and his family in the crosshairs.
There is a palpable sense of dread in this one that builds steadily from the opening scene all the way through the climatic ending sequence. Well written and evenly paced with very good characterization.
*I received an advance review copy of this release from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Want to read
June 28, 2017This hardcover edition is numbered 14 of 60 copies signed and numbered by Jonathan Janz.
June 23, 2024
I had recently finished reading another horror novel by Jonathan Janz Exorcist Road which truly scared the pants off me and had my heart beating out of control, so was keen to grab this novel of his also.
Whilst The Nightmare Girl did not have the pace or the punch in my opinion that Exorcist Road did, on it's own merits it's still a really good read and a good horror novel. I have but one complaint - I was not scared, or terrified BUT enjoyed the plot and the build up to the rather tense moments at the end of the book.
Playing with fire has never been more dangerous. When family man Joe Crawford confronts a young mother abusing her toddler, he has no idea of the chain reaction he’s setting in motion. How could he suspect the young mother is part of an ancient fire cult, a sinister group of killers that will destroy anyone who threatens one of its members?
When the little boy is placed in a foster home, the fanatics begin their mission of terror.Soon the cult leaders will summon their deadliest hunters—and a ferocious supernatural evil—to make Joe pay for what he’s done. They want Joe’s blood and the blood of his family. And they want their child back.
Joe Crawford intervened with the WRONG family, oh yes! Doing the noble thing at a gas station, stopping a young mother from abusing her toddler leads to all sorts of problems in Joe's life. Suddenly he is the focus of a cult the women was part of and thing go from bad to worse. Sometimes doing a good deed can get you into hot water (or hot flames in this case).
The plot is slower than with a lot of horror fiction, it's a slow build up to the grand finale scenes BUT it's very well written and builds up the mounting tension slowly so that you get to savour every moment. Jonathan Janz know how to spin a good yarn, tell a good tale with a touch of the macabre and the dark in it. No doubt about that.
The characters are all good, they "pop" in this book, stand out each and every one of them, both good and evil ones. It was the same in Exorcist Road, Janz does not have his characters blend in with the background, they each stand out on their own merits so you can connect with them and get to know them.
Something evil this way comes towards Joe and his family, all because of an intervention in a gas station, a good deed, being a solid citizen. Will Joe and his family survive the aftermath of his choices? I do love the imagination of the author. The concept of the cult and how they worshipped and came together was brilliant, and interesting and of course disturbing. How far will they go? Very far apparently!
This falls into the category of milder horror fiction for me, it's not super scary or terrifying, hard core horror fans will find this a good story with a mild tinge of the horrible. There are some sinister scenes and moments pottered here and there. Others might find the whole book quite scary. It depends on your personal scare factor really. But a very well written book with an interesting plot and nice build up to what was a really good ending and grand finale. 4 stars from me.
I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Whilst The Nightmare Girl did not have the pace or the punch in my opinion that Exorcist Road did, on it's own merits it's still a really good read and a good horror novel. I have but one complaint - I was not scared, or terrified BUT enjoyed the plot and the build up to the rather tense moments at the end of the book.
Playing with fire has never been more dangerous. When family man Joe Crawford confronts a young mother abusing her toddler, he has no idea of the chain reaction he’s setting in motion. How could he suspect the young mother is part of an ancient fire cult, a sinister group of killers that will destroy anyone who threatens one of its members?
When the little boy is placed in a foster home, the fanatics begin their mission of terror.Soon the cult leaders will summon their deadliest hunters—and a ferocious supernatural evil—to make Joe pay for what he’s done. They want Joe’s blood and the blood of his family. And they want their child back.
Joe Crawford intervened with the WRONG family, oh yes! Doing the noble thing at a gas station, stopping a young mother from abusing her toddler leads to all sorts of problems in Joe's life. Suddenly he is the focus of a cult the women was part of and thing go from bad to worse. Sometimes doing a good deed can get you into hot water (or hot flames in this case).
The plot is slower than with a lot of horror fiction, it's a slow build up to the grand finale scenes BUT it's very well written and builds up the mounting tension slowly so that you get to savour every moment. Jonathan Janz know how to spin a good yarn, tell a good tale with a touch of the macabre and the dark in it. No doubt about that.
The characters are all good, they "pop" in this book, stand out each and every one of them, both good and evil ones. It was the same in Exorcist Road, Janz does not have his characters blend in with the background, they each stand out on their own merits so you can connect with them and get to know them.
Something evil this way comes towards Joe and his family, all because of an intervention in a gas station, a good deed, being a solid citizen. Will Joe and his family survive the aftermath of his choices? I do love the imagination of the author. The concept of the cult and how they worshipped and came together was brilliant, and interesting and of course disturbing. How far will they go? Very far apparently!
This falls into the category of milder horror fiction for me, it's not super scary or terrifying, hard core horror fans will find this a good story with a mild tinge of the horrible. There are some sinister scenes and moments pottered here and there. Others might find the whole book quite scary. It depends on your personal scare factor really. But a very well written book with an interesting plot and nice build up to what was a really good ending and grand finale. 4 stars from me.
I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 14, 2024
“A Good Samaritan trying to do the right thing really kicks the hornet’s nest.” Oh yeah, it’s on and this novel gets cranked up to 110% fast. This was a brutal experience, and absolutely a wicked good time.
I loved this book and Jonathan Janz is someone all horror lovers should indulge in. This book has a lot of great humor and witty dialogue. The friendship between Joe Crawford, and Officer Copeland is fun, and admirable. Sarcasm is dead on point here with the pairs insults.
For me, cult stories are hit or miss & at times they can fall flat. If Nightmare Girl ever becomes a film, in the right hands I would be ecstatic (Ari Aster please 🙏 Midsommar was great. ) The bad guys are bad and they bring the fire. 🔥 I mean it, this is one maniacal cult you wouldn’t want to mess with. Janz does a great job of the anxiety ridden filled in a small town, and the random people knowing about your behavioral traits, and personal habits.
Violence gets cranked up to 110% in its bloody finale.
Nightmare Girl gets 5 skeletal fingers outta 5. A masterpiece.
I loved this book and Jonathan Janz is someone all horror lovers should indulge in. This book has a lot of great humor and witty dialogue. The friendship between Joe Crawford, and Officer Copeland is fun, and admirable. Sarcasm is dead on point here with the pairs insults.
For me, cult stories are hit or miss & at times they can fall flat. If Nightmare Girl ever becomes a film, in the right hands I would be ecstatic (Ari Aster please 🙏 Midsommar was great. ) The bad guys are bad and they bring the fire. 🔥 I mean it, this is one maniacal cult you wouldn’t want to mess with. Janz does a great job of the anxiety ridden filled in a small town, and the random people knowing about your behavioral traits, and personal habits.
Violence gets cranked up to 110% in its bloody finale.
Nightmare Girl gets 5 skeletal fingers outta 5. A masterpiece.
January 5, 2015
No good deed goes unpunished.
When a man steps in to protect an abused child from his mother, all Hell breaks loose. Mommy Dearest belongs to a cult of killer crazies, crazies who thrive on the kind of carnage and chaos only the truly insane are capable of.
A frenetic, fun read with a flair for overkill, I had to check to make sure I wasn't reading a Richard Laymon novel.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When a man steps in to protect an abused child from his mother, all Hell breaks loose. Mommy Dearest belongs to a cult of killer crazies, crazies who thrive on the kind of carnage and chaos only the truly insane are capable of.
A frenetic, fun read with a flair for overkill, I had to check to make sure I wasn't reading a Richard Laymon novel.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 26, 2019
Wow. Oh my God.
I'm such a fan of Jonathan Janz. His books are over-the-top, unsettling, and so much fun. I thought I knew what to expect when picking up a Janz novel, but I'm realizing I was wrong. We will be blessed with quite a few releases from Janz this year, and I'm excited to see where each book will take me. There was more than one scene in The Nightmare Girl that left me gasping and horrified. For me, humans are often the scariest of creatures.
While reading The Nightmare Girl, I was reminded of Janz's The Siren and the Specter as well as Joe Lansdale's Cold in July. I was pleased to see Lansdale mentioned in the acknowledgments at the end of The Nightmare Girl. Lansdale's influence on Janz's work is apparent, and I highly recommend them both.
If you haven't read Janz before, The Nightmare Girl is the perfect place to start. It was originally published before Samhain Publishing went under and has now been re-released through Flame Tree Press. If you enjoyed Janz's The Siren and the Specter, I think you will really dig this one as well.
Review copy provided by publisher
I'm such a fan of Jonathan Janz. His books are over-the-top, unsettling, and so much fun. I thought I knew what to expect when picking up a Janz novel, but I'm realizing I was wrong. We will be blessed with quite a few releases from Janz this year, and I'm excited to see where each book will take me. There was more than one scene in The Nightmare Girl that left me gasping and horrified. For me, humans are often the scariest of creatures.
While reading The Nightmare Girl, I was reminded of Janz's The Siren and the Specter as well as Joe Lansdale's Cold in July. I was pleased to see Lansdale mentioned in the acknowledgments at the end of The Nightmare Girl. Lansdale's influence on Janz's work is apparent, and I highly recommend them both.
If you haven't read Janz before, The Nightmare Girl is the perfect place to start. It was originally published before Samhain Publishing went under and has now been re-released through Flame Tree Press. If you enjoyed Janz's The Siren and the Specter, I think you will really dig this one as well.
Review copy provided by publisher
March 13, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Joe confronts an abusive mother at a gas station, little does he realise the lengths the family will go to, to get the child back. When the mother commits suicide Joe soon realises that the religious group she was involved in will go to extreme lengths to ensure he suffers.
This is now my third book read by this author and he has failed to disappoint in all three. He has an uncanny knack of writing great characters that you find believable and care about. He is fast becoming a 'go to' author that I know can deliver the goods.
The story itself is entertaining, well paced for the most part and has some great characters. The author easily builds a sense of unease in the first part of the story, cleverly building in the cults backstory and giving the reader enough time for you to connect with the main characters and become invested in their outcomes.
The books pacing picks up to breakneck speed at the end and as such lost a little impact, it became easy to miss out on details as it all got a bit over the top although it was engaging enough that I found it impossible to put down.
Joe is a great character and as in his other work, the author makes him a sympathetic character and he has some great dialogue. My only gripe with the characters is that I found the friendship between Joe and Copeland, the cop assigned to the abuse case, to be forced. Their first interaction is when Joe is being questioned by Copeland around the altercation that starts the book off, the next time we read about them, they're having a drink at a bar. The friendship just seemed rushed and as such not believable, the rest of the set up in the book is absolutely spot on, this is the only thing that really niggled me.
All in all, a great read and highly recommended.
When Joe confronts an abusive mother at a gas station, little does he realise the lengths the family will go to, to get the child back. When the mother commits suicide Joe soon realises that the religious group she was involved in will go to extreme lengths to ensure he suffers.
This is now my third book read by this author and he has failed to disappoint in all three. He has an uncanny knack of writing great characters that you find believable and care about. He is fast becoming a 'go to' author that I know can deliver the goods.
The story itself is entertaining, well paced for the most part and has some great characters. The author easily builds a sense of unease in the first part of the story, cleverly building in the cults backstory and giving the reader enough time for you to connect with the main characters and become invested in their outcomes.
The books pacing picks up to breakneck speed at the end and as such lost a little impact, it became easy to miss out on details as it all got a bit over the top although it was engaging enough that I found it impossible to put down.
Joe is a great character and as in his other work, the author makes him a sympathetic character and he has some great dialogue. My only gripe with the characters is that I found the friendship between Joe and Copeland, the cop assigned to the abuse case, to be forced. Their first interaction is when Joe is being questioned by Copeland around the altercation that starts the book off, the next time we read about them, they're having a drink at a bar. The friendship just seemed rushed and as such not believable, the rest of the set up in the book is absolutely spot on, this is the only thing that really niggled me.
All in all, a great read and highly recommended.
September 20, 2016
I actually forgot I hadn't reviewed this great book by Jonathan Janz. The Nightmare Girl is a cautionary tale of good deeds gone wrong.
Have you ever thought about how simple decisions can have huge impacts on your life? Maybe you were at the right place at the right time to change the impact on someone else's life. In Nightmare Girl, Joe Crawford, a general contractor, is a guy with a good heart. He is at the right place at the right time and he does something to intervene when a mother attempts to abuse her child, and in doing so, Joe changes the course of his life because the mother is more than just abusive, a lot more. She is involved with an ancient fire cult and, for Joe's intrusion, there will be hell to pay.
This cleverly written story is one lightning paced piece of fiction. Janz hits a homerun with Nightmare Girl. The characters are believable and the progression of the story is quick, but extremely realistic. This story could've almost been pulled out of the headlines. I am a fan of cult fiction and this story offers that and a lot more. The story will stick with you for some time after you complete it. Maybe the next time you have a chance to intervene it will make you think twice about the choices you make. A solid 4 stars for this supernatural laced thriller.
Have you ever thought about how simple decisions can have huge impacts on your life? Maybe you were at the right place at the right time to change the impact on someone else's life. In Nightmare Girl, Joe Crawford, a general contractor, is a guy with a good heart. He is at the right place at the right time and he does something to intervene when a mother attempts to abuse her child, and in doing so, Joe changes the course of his life because the mother is more than just abusive, a lot more. She is involved with an ancient fire cult and, for Joe's intrusion, there will be hell to pay.
This cleverly written story is one lightning paced piece of fiction. Janz hits a homerun with Nightmare Girl. The characters are believable and the progression of the story is quick, but extremely realistic. This story could've almost been pulled out of the headlines. I am a fan of cult fiction and this story offers that and a lot more. The story will stick with you for some time after you complete it. Maybe the next time you have a chance to intervene it will make you think twice about the choices you make. A solid 4 stars for this supernatural laced thriller.
November 20, 2019
Janz has quickly become one of my favorite authors. He definitely knows how to push the pace of the plot. He introduces his characters early and gives a chance to know them intimately before throwing them into dire danger or death.
His strongest skill is in the building of suspense. my favorite parts of his writing are the sections when he ratchets up the tension notch by notch. He has an undeniable ability to leave the reader wondering what it going to happen next.
His characterization skills are adroit, and good character building is what engages me as a reader. This book pulled me in and the father/daughter relationship is so vivid and realistic, I am sure he has seen the pattern in real life.
The actions builds late in the book, and while I am not a huge fan of chapter after chapter of action, this section is handled skillfully and completely. The novel feels like it becomes cinematic with its startling action scenes and vivid moment by moment sequencing.
Perhaps most importantly, this author knows how to end well. He ties up the loose ends and allows the story to complete itself.
Five out of five stars.
His strongest skill is in the building of suspense. my favorite parts of his writing are the sections when he ratchets up the tension notch by notch. He has an undeniable ability to leave the reader wondering what it going to happen next.
His characterization skills are adroit, and good character building is what engages me as a reader. This book pulled me in and the father/daughter relationship is so vivid and realistic, I am sure he has seen the pattern in real life.
The actions builds late in the book, and while I am not a huge fan of chapter after chapter of action, this section is handled skillfully and completely. The novel feels like it becomes cinematic with its startling action scenes and vivid moment by moment sequencing.
Perhaps most importantly, this author knows how to end well. He ties up the loose ends and allows the story to complete itself.
Five out of five stars.
October 18, 2024
Not bad. Janze has a pleasant writing style which makes the whole thing very readable, while his sharp, humorous dialogue adds color to the characters. Horror with cults always attracts my attention, this one kept it as well. Quite effective when it comes to the build-up of threat and tension, and the lunacy during the final chapters didn't disappoint either.
January 25, 2019
My review of The Nightmare Girl can be found at High Fever Books.
Reading The Nightmare Girl, a few aphorism immediately sprung to mind. One being that no good deed goes unpunished, and the second being that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And on this last one in particular…brother, it’s getting awfully hot in here.
Joe’s got a good heart, and a good family to match in his wife, Michelle, and daughter Lily. So, when he stops to fill up the car with gas and overhears a heated confrontation brewing between a mother and her infant, the noise of the child screaming helplessly as he gets smacked around, Joe intervenes. He tries to diffuse the situation, and does to a certain extent, but opens up a whole new world of pain for both their families.
Little Stevie is taken away from his mother and placed into foster care. The mother kills herself. Grandma blames Joe and begins stalking him, turning up in his life in random and inconvenient moments. Grandma has allies, too, in a cult that soon seeks to put the hurt on Joe in various way, straining his marriage and leading him into danger.
All this, though, is just the tip of the iceberg. Jonathan Janz slowly unravels the mystery of Stevie’s family and the peril Joe has unwittingly found himself neck deep in. His good intentions, his plan to better both his life and Little Stevie’s, only fan the flames higher and higher.
Family dynamics and interpersonal relationships are at the core of The Nightmare Girl, and Janz knows how to build interesting characters that have a good bit of meat on their bones. Joe’s a common man, and all the more relatable for it. Reading Janz’s depictions of Joe with his daughter was something I could immediately latch onto, and Lilly, with her obsession of trains, was practically a reflection of my own toddler during his Thomas the Tank Engine phase. Joe and Sheriff Copeland have an earnest relationship, one that provides a lot of humor to some otherwise grim proceedings, and as they work together to get to the bottom of the occult happenings in Joe’s life it’s impossible not to root for them.
For the most part, The Nightmare Girl is a slow burn. Unlike the action-heavy Savage Species, Janz is more interested here in the human characters, their relationships and motivations, and the occasional strange occurrences, setting up plenty of questions and mysteries as he methodically builds tension and paranoia along the way. The final quarter of the book, though, is a full-fledged assault and that slow burn quickly shifts gears to a roiling boil as everything comes to a viscerally violent, action-packed head, Janz-style.
The Nightmare Girl was originally published a few years back by the now-defunct Samhain, but has been resurrected by Flame Tree Press. If you missed this book the first time around, it’s well worth checking out now that it’s back in print.
Reading The Nightmare Girl, a few aphorism immediately sprung to mind. One being that no good deed goes unpunished, and the second being that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And on this last one in particular…brother, it’s getting awfully hot in here.
Joe’s got a good heart, and a good family to match in his wife, Michelle, and daughter Lily. So, when he stops to fill up the car with gas and overhears a heated confrontation brewing between a mother and her infant, the noise of the child screaming helplessly as he gets smacked around, Joe intervenes. He tries to diffuse the situation, and does to a certain extent, but opens up a whole new world of pain for both their families.
Little Stevie is taken away from his mother and placed into foster care. The mother kills herself. Grandma blames Joe and begins stalking him, turning up in his life in random and inconvenient moments. Grandma has allies, too, in a cult that soon seeks to put the hurt on Joe in various way, straining his marriage and leading him into danger.
All this, though, is just the tip of the iceberg. Jonathan Janz slowly unravels the mystery of Stevie’s family and the peril Joe has unwittingly found himself neck deep in. His good intentions, his plan to better both his life and Little Stevie’s, only fan the flames higher and higher.
Family dynamics and interpersonal relationships are at the core of The Nightmare Girl, and Janz knows how to build interesting characters that have a good bit of meat on their bones. Joe’s a common man, and all the more relatable for it. Reading Janz’s depictions of Joe with his daughter was something I could immediately latch onto, and Lilly, with her obsession of trains, was practically a reflection of my own toddler during his Thomas the Tank Engine phase. Joe and Sheriff Copeland have an earnest relationship, one that provides a lot of humor to some otherwise grim proceedings, and as they work together to get to the bottom of the occult happenings in Joe’s life it’s impossible not to root for them.
For the most part, The Nightmare Girl is a slow burn. Unlike the action-heavy Savage Species, Janz is more interested here in the human characters, their relationships and motivations, and the occasional strange occurrences, setting up plenty of questions and mysteries as he methodically builds tension and paranoia along the way. The final quarter of the book, though, is a full-fledged assault and that slow burn quickly shifts gears to a roiling boil as everything comes to a viscerally violent, action-packed head, Janz-style.
The Nightmare Girl was originally published a few years back by the now-defunct Samhain, but has been resurrected by Flame Tree Press. If you missed this book the first time around, it’s well worth checking out now that it’s back in print.
December 3, 2023
This is only my second book by Janz but I consider myself an expert now 😂, I really enjoy his writing style, the mesh of humour and horror is just 🤌 Janz is adroit at creating characters that are authentic and extremely likeable, the relationship between Joe and Darrel had me laughing out loud I loved the witty banter and I would say this is where he truly shines as an author but honestly, everything is great, the pacing and building of tension, the mystery, the body horror, I particularly enjoyed the ending of this one it was a descent into absolute gory horror, pick up a book, I can guarantee you will laugh, be creeped out and maybe your ice cold heart will melt a little, I don't have a heart so I wouldn't know but I imagine your human hearts would 🙄 🧛🏻♀️
January 31, 2022
So many parts of this book are just downright scary and bizarre. I’ve found a new author and that is always a plus! So the jacket on this book is short but it does give away a lot. It must be hard to write a good jacket as you want to entice the reader but not give too much away. The jacket didn’t spoil things for me in any way.
Joe Crawford is a contractor married to Michelle with a three year old daughter Lilly. While driving home one day they stop for gas and that’s when they see a woman beating the hell out of her two year old son in a nearby van at the station. Joe goes to cool things down but as anyone knows cooling things down can very quickly heat things up. A huge melee ensues with the mother Angel Waltz and her vicious mother Sharon. Others at the gas station who also witnessed the whole fiasco come to Joe’s defence and once things simmer down at the station the follow up by Police in a small town in Indiana called Shadeland leads to the Waltz child (Stevie) being seized by children’s protective services as his body sadly tells the tale of repeated physical abuse. Angel is thrown in jail for that and the drugs found in her house too. The lead investigator Darrell Copeland is chief of police and believes that Angel will never make bail but she does.
A small faux pas in the book is that upon release she is not released with court stipulations or conditions. In Canada in such a scenario if bail was met (who am I fn kidding – there really is no such thing as US type bail in Canada. A person promises to make bail if the accused is set free but no money is ever put down and if the accused does not comply with court mandated conditions the courts never seek any money from the person who sponsored the bail. Oh it’s quite the joke). So Angela upon release starts to stalk Joe. Again as a Canadian I’m thinking she would be on conditions to not associate directly or indirectly with Joe meaning no one she knows could bother Joe or it’s a breach of her court ordered conditions and back in jail she would go. So I made a new friend through Linkedin who worked in the Michigan district courts. He confirmed that conditions would in fact be set in a similar manner stateside and that if those conditions are in fact breached they are considered contempt of court and often the accused arrested on such a breach stays in jail until the original charges are dealt with in court and then the contempt of court charge is then dealt with on its own. Again this is basically the same in Canada but our joke of a legal system usually allows the accused to breach court conditions and be released on the joke of a bail that enables further breaches of court orders like 3-4 times before that accused is held in custody until the original court date. In both countries if you are not released and stay in jail until the original charges are dealt with in court your time sitting in jail (called dead time) may be in fact way more than what you would have faced as penalty to your original charges. My apologies for getting into all this but I think it may help readers with regard to a slew of things you may actually need to know as you read books related to the courts. So anyway it bothered me that Angie and her family were so flagrant in stalking Joe and his family. It did not fly but honestly it did not hurt the story line and honestly how many people really know about all this?
So we quickly learn that Joe and his family need to be afraid. That the Waltz’ are mixed up in some crazy cult which deals with the occult. I want to say that this author can write. He tells a great story and keeps you captivated. Parts are disturbing and scary. Some words he uses are rare ones indeed. Words like “ susurrus” and others I had to google but he doesn’t overdo that aspect – rare words.
So Joe and Michelle decide to adopt Stevie and they go to old friends Sadie and Harold Hawkins for a letter or recommendation regarding adoption. Sadly though the cult considers anyone associated to Joe and his family fair game. So the Hawkins become fair game. They are older, like in their 80’s but what happens to them and the investigation by Darrell Copeland into what happened gets this novel moving. For a few chapters I was mesmerized. I just wanted to keep reading but what happens when Darrell and Joe (yes they go together and in small town policing it might happen cuz the chief thinks he’s more important than he really is). Darrell and Joe end up in the nearby town of Ravana where the cult has their commune. In this part of the book it gets crazy and I needed to take a break here and there while reading because I really didn’t like what was happening to some characters I truly came to love.
So in the end the cult believes they need to sacrifice a few people as part of a ceremony to resurrect their long lost cult. I won’t get into all the details but it all flies in my opinion. Yet the ending doesn’t really fly so much and I won’t get into detail with regard to that and its very minor. And here I’m talking about the ending with regard to the ceremony. Again a key thing or two is not explained and again in no way enough to spoil the read. So the author has toyed with some boundaries in my opinion but not in any serious way. The chapters dealing with what the cult does are gripping.
So I’m so glad I found a great new author. I have another Jonathan Janz book in wait – The Siren and the Spectre. But I liked this one so much I looked at his other works as well. Some dealt with vampires, some with werewolves and one series is called Savage Species with some crazy species taking over the earth. Oddly, this subject matter which usually enthuses me did not. I am in the mood for some semi normal thrillers I guess (for now). So when the mood strikes me I’ll look into one of his other works along those lines as I’m sure with his writing style and his imagination they are likely quite excellent. I usually do love my vampire stories.....
This read was grabbing. I thoroughly enjoyed it – small print and all. An easy four stars and I highly recommend it!
Joe Crawford is a contractor married to Michelle with a three year old daughter Lilly. While driving home one day they stop for gas and that’s when they see a woman beating the hell out of her two year old son in a nearby van at the station. Joe goes to cool things down but as anyone knows cooling things down can very quickly heat things up. A huge melee ensues with the mother Angel Waltz and her vicious mother Sharon. Others at the gas station who also witnessed the whole fiasco come to Joe’s defence and once things simmer down at the station the follow up by Police in a small town in Indiana called Shadeland leads to the Waltz child (Stevie) being seized by children’s protective services as his body sadly tells the tale of repeated physical abuse. Angel is thrown in jail for that and the drugs found in her house too. The lead investigator Darrell Copeland is chief of police and believes that Angel will never make bail but she does.
A small faux pas in the book is that upon release she is not released with court stipulations or conditions. In Canada in such a scenario if bail was met (who am I fn kidding – there really is no such thing as US type bail in Canada. A person promises to make bail if the accused is set free but no money is ever put down and if the accused does not comply with court mandated conditions the courts never seek any money from the person who sponsored the bail. Oh it’s quite the joke). So Angela upon release starts to stalk Joe. Again as a Canadian I’m thinking she would be on conditions to not associate directly or indirectly with Joe meaning no one she knows could bother Joe or it’s a breach of her court ordered conditions and back in jail she would go. So I made a new friend through Linkedin who worked in the Michigan district courts. He confirmed that conditions would in fact be set in a similar manner stateside and that if those conditions are in fact breached they are considered contempt of court and often the accused arrested on such a breach stays in jail until the original charges are dealt with in court and then the contempt of court charge is then dealt with on its own. Again this is basically the same in Canada but our joke of a legal system usually allows the accused to breach court conditions and be released on the joke of a bail that enables further breaches of court orders like 3-4 times before that accused is held in custody until the original court date. In both countries if you are not released and stay in jail until the original charges are dealt with in court your time sitting in jail (called dead time) may be in fact way more than what you would have faced as penalty to your original charges. My apologies for getting into all this but I think it may help readers with regard to a slew of things you may actually need to know as you read books related to the courts. So anyway it bothered me that Angie and her family were so flagrant in stalking Joe and his family. It did not fly but honestly it did not hurt the story line and honestly how many people really know about all this?
So we quickly learn that Joe and his family need to be afraid. That the Waltz’ are mixed up in some crazy cult which deals with the occult. I want to say that this author can write. He tells a great story and keeps you captivated. Parts are disturbing and scary. Some words he uses are rare ones indeed. Words like “ susurrus” and others I had to google but he doesn’t overdo that aspect – rare words.
So Joe and Michelle decide to adopt Stevie and they go to old friends Sadie and Harold Hawkins for a letter or recommendation regarding adoption. Sadly though the cult considers anyone associated to Joe and his family fair game. So the Hawkins become fair game. They are older, like in their 80’s but what happens to them and the investigation by Darrell Copeland into what happened gets this novel moving. For a few chapters I was mesmerized. I just wanted to keep reading but what happens when Darrell and Joe (yes they go together and in small town policing it might happen cuz the chief thinks he’s more important than he really is). Darrell and Joe end up in the nearby town of Ravana where the cult has their commune. In this part of the book it gets crazy and I needed to take a break here and there while reading because I really didn’t like what was happening to some characters I truly came to love.
So in the end the cult believes they need to sacrifice a few people as part of a ceremony to resurrect their long lost cult. I won’t get into all the details but it all flies in my opinion. Yet the ending doesn’t really fly so much and I won’t get into detail with regard to that and its very minor. And here I’m talking about the ending with regard to the ceremony. Again a key thing or two is not explained and again in no way enough to spoil the read. So the author has toyed with some boundaries in my opinion but not in any serious way. The chapters dealing with what the cult does are gripping.
So I’m so glad I found a great new author. I have another Jonathan Janz book in wait – The Siren and the Spectre. But I liked this one so much I looked at his other works as well. Some dealt with vampires, some with werewolves and one series is called Savage Species with some crazy species taking over the earth. Oddly, this subject matter which usually enthuses me did not. I am in the mood for some semi normal thrillers I guess (for now). So when the mood strikes me I’ll look into one of his other works along those lines as I’m sure with his writing style and his imagination they are likely quite excellent. I usually do love my vampire stories.....
This read was grabbing. I thoroughly enjoyed it – small print and all. An easy four stars and I highly recommend it!
May 25, 2019
Seeing the cover and the title of this book was my first introduction to Jonathan Janz as a writer. Both worked because I made a point of buying his work after reading the premise, which reminded me of Joe Hill’s The Fireman. The first chapter of The Nightmare Girl reminded me of a section of Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 and the rest of the novel is of the same high quality I expect from Joe Hill. In other words Jonathan Janz is one the must read writers of the current moment. He’s stories are insightful, scary and deeply moving.
The Nightmare Girl follows a family of three; the main character Joe, is a nice guy and we are provided numerous scenes with his family and with his work mates that show this while never becoming too sweet. The story starts when Joe intervenes in a public display of child abuse that results in the child being taken from his mother and the mother and her family blaming Joe for it. And then the craziness grows from there.
The Nightmare Girl is a great book, it’s beginning section is told in a crisp, effective style that doesn’t linger. When the horror starts, and there is plenty of horror in these pages, the writing expands, growing more detailed as if the writer was really enjoying describing all the gory, scary shit. Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy reading it to. There’s a particular note worthy scene in which Joe stumbles upon two dead bodies, a scene that exists in a thousand books but unlike the thousand other times I’m read such a scene I was surprised and found it was told with refreshing originality.
The reason for this is the writer does not follow the trope of cutting away from the horror in order to create shock. He lingers in such scenes so that the horror impacts deeper. This brings me to another positive which makes me rate Jonathan Janz so highly and that’s his choice of language when describing something, it’s like he’s seeing something old with a new lens and he lets the reader see it to.
I loved the relationship Joe has with his family, his budding friendship with another character, Copeland and his stubborn noble attitude. The Nightmare Girl sits comfortable on the shelf beside some of the best books I’ve read in horror. This is one too read.
The Nightmare Girl follows a family of three; the main character Joe, is a nice guy and we are provided numerous scenes with his family and with his work mates that show this while never becoming too sweet. The story starts when Joe intervenes in a public display of child abuse that results in the child being taken from his mother and the mother and her family blaming Joe for it. And then the craziness grows from there.
The Nightmare Girl is a great book, it’s beginning section is told in a crisp, effective style that doesn’t linger. When the horror starts, and there is plenty of horror in these pages, the writing expands, growing more detailed as if the writer was really enjoying describing all the gory, scary shit. Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy reading it to. There’s a particular note worthy scene in which Joe stumbles upon two dead bodies, a scene that exists in a thousand books but unlike the thousand other times I’m read such a scene I was surprised and found it was told with refreshing originality.
The reason for this is the writer does not follow the trope of cutting away from the horror in order to create shock. He lingers in such scenes so that the horror impacts deeper. This brings me to another positive which makes me rate Jonathan Janz so highly and that’s his choice of language when describing something, it’s like he’s seeing something old with a new lens and he lets the reader see it to.
I loved the relationship Joe has with his family, his budding friendship with another character, Copeland and his stubborn noble attitude. The Nightmare Girl sits comfortable on the shelf beside some of the best books I’ve read in horror. This is one too read.
April 4, 2019
Review Copy
It's a sad thing when an author's work is no longer available because the publisher goes out of business, but it's wonderful when a new publisher sees value in putting that book back into the world. Such was the fate of The Nightmare Girl.
This is another Jonathan Janz book I missed when it was first released by Samhain. I'm so glad Flame Treet Press decided to add this to their February 2019 lineup.
Joe, Michelle, and their young daughter, Lily is a family that I grew to love and I would hate to see them harmed.
Janz is a wonderful storyteller. Here he's talking about Lily...
"When she didn't nap she was more frightening than a terrorist on crystal meth."
The trouble began with an incident at a gas station when Joe intervened as a woman was beating her two-year-old son about the face because he wouldn't stop crying. This led to charges against the mother and having her son placed in foster care. And that was just the beginning.
Some authors just have "it" and Jonathan is one of those authors. Janz builds tension the way a construction worker puts up a new house. The Nightmare Girl has great pacing and the scenes where Joe exacts revenge on the "family" are violent and cathartic...
"The bit was a good one, a thick silver masonry bit, either a 5/8 or 3/4, and though its tip was wide and blunt, it bored into Axl's forehead without problem. The skin began to swirl into bloody ribbons, the curls spinning around the bit like May Day streamers, and though Axl thrashed to be free of the drill, Joe had both the leverage and the brute strength to drive it relentlessly downward."
If you didn't get to read The Nightmare Girl when it first came out, rejoice in its re-release. I can't give enough praise for this one. It gets my unconditional recommendation.
Published by Flame Tree Press, The Nightmare Girl is currently available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book formats.
From the author's bio - Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His ghost story, The Siren and the Specter, was selected as a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novel, Children of the Dark, was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan's main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children.
It's a sad thing when an author's work is no longer available because the publisher goes out of business, but it's wonderful when a new publisher sees value in putting that book back into the world. Such was the fate of The Nightmare Girl.
This is another Jonathan Janz book I missed when it was first released by Samhain. I'm so glad Flame Treet Press decided to add this to their February 2019 lineup.
Joe, Michelle, and their young daughter, Lily is a family that I grew to love and I would hate to see them harmed.
Janz is a wonderful storyteller. Here he's talking about Lily...
"When she didn't nap she was more frightening than a terrorist on crystal meth."
The trouble began with an incident at a gas station when Joe intervened as a woman was beating her two-year-old son about the face because he wouldn't stop crying. This led to charges against the mother and having her son placed in foster care. And that was just the beginning.
Some authors just have "it" and Jonathan is one of those authors. Janz builds tension the way a construction worker puts up a new house. The Nightmare Girl has great pacing and the scenes where Joe exacts revenge on the "family" are violent and cathartic...
"The bit was a good one, a thick silver masonry bit, either a 5/8 or 3/4, and though its tip was wide and blunt, it bored into Axl's forehead without problem. The skin began to swirl into bloody ribbons, the curls spinning around the bit like May Day streamers, and though Axl thrashed to be free of the drill, Joe had both the leverage and the brute strength to drive it relentlessly downward."
If you didn't get to read The Nightmare Girl when it first came out, rejoice in its re-release. I can't give enough praise for this one. It gets my unconditional recommendation.
Published by Flame Tree Press, The Nightmare Girl is currently available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book formats.
From the author's bio - Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His ghost story, The Siren and the Specter, was selected as a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novel, Children of the Dark, was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan's main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children.
March 29, 2015
Devoted husband and father, Joe Crawford, doesn't realize the dark and deadly path his life is about to embark on after he interrupts an episode of child abuse, while stopping for gas with his family. At first, Joe merely thinks the child's young mother and grandmother are drunken white trash. But then the threats begin, along with nightmares about his beloved family burned alive in an inferno.
With the aid of a wisecracking police chief, Joe tries to understand if Angie and Sharon Waltz are just a couple of unhinged whackos...or do they really belong to an ancient pagan cult, bent on destroying him and his family for his intervention.
Janz deftly weaves a suspenseful horror story, tinged with the supernatural (but balanced with equal amounts of humor), and shows us the depths someone will go to protect his family from the unthinkable.
Highly recommended.
With the aid of a wisecracking police chief, Joe tries to understand if Angie and Sharon Waltz are just a couple of unhinged whackos...or do they really belong to an ancient pagan cult, bent on destroying him and his family for his intervention.
Janz deftly weaves a suspenseful horror story, tinged with the supernatural (but balanced with equal amounts of humor), and shows us the depths someone will go to protect his family from the unthinkable.
Highly recommended.
January 10, 2015
I liked it a lot!
Review to come.
Review to come.
January 14, 2015
Jonathan Janz is in top form in this story. He comes out swinging (bad pun, read the book :-) to provide the blend of horror, suspense, dread and foreboding, humour, and generalized mayhem which keeps me coming back for more.
His skill with characters and his ability with pacing drew me quickly into the story and never let me go.
He's also one of the rare horror writers who succeeds in conveying a father's deep love for his family and children and the crazy extremes we who share his feelings could go to to protect them.
A fun, rapid read. Highly recommended!
His skill with characters and his ability with pacing drew me quickly into the story and never let me go.
He's also one of the rare horror writers who succeeds in conveying a father's deep love for his family and children and the crazy extremes we who share his feelings could go to to protect them.
A fun, rapid read. Highly recommended!
February 21, 2015
This review of The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz is the result of a copy sent to Ginger Nuts of Horror in exchange for an honest review.
So all I see on peoples feeds at the minute is Jonathan Janz this Jonathan Janz that. All I could think is who is this guy and I must check him out. I was then delighted to get a copy of The Nightmare Girl to review for Ginger Nuts of Horror. Did I like it? Read on…….. (The fact I have since bought another 5 of his books might give it away though).
Joe Crawford is returning home with his wife Michelle and daughter Lily when they stop for gas. In the station, Joe witnesses a young mother abusing her toddler son. He doesn’t stop to think and immediately does the honourable thing and confronts her. This results in a huge argument and fists are raised before the mother makes a quick exit. The police are called and the child taken from the mother into care. This is the start of a situation that spirals so quickly out of control for Joe and his family that it looks doubtful anyone will survive. Especially where the “cult” is concerned. They want the child back and they want revenge.
I can now see what all the Jonathan Janz fuss has been about. This guy can write. The concept of this story is one ordinary, hardworking guy doing the right thing. Often as not though the nice guy gets the raw end of the deal. That happens to Joe Crawford. In abundance. In the beginning you can do nothing but applaud him for his actions. He deserves a medal. But as things start to go wrong you can’t help but feel sorry for the man and his family. He is a genuinely nice guy and you can see where things are going for him and it doesn’t look pretty. His unlikely ally in all of this is the police chief Copeland. Their first meeting doesn’t go that well and you think they are going to be battling each other throughout the story. What comes of that is a wonderful friendship that develops so so much it brings a smile to your face when they are in scenes together. The sarcastic and often dark humour between the two is fantastic and breaks up the story every now and again and gives you a breather between the scary, fast paced bits.
And plenty of those bits there are. There is a certain creepiness to this story that takes me back to watching old horror films in the late 70’s and early 80’s when I was just a young kid. The ones I used to watch without my parents knowing and regretted for days after because I couldn’t sleep. The ones that seemed to concentrate on devil worshipping cults in some remote town in the back of nowhere. The ones that made you believe something like this could happen anywhere in the world. This books does that – makes you believe. You feel genuine fear when reading segments of this. There are the good old fashioned “someone pops up out of nowhere” bits. The “long, slow build-up of tension” bits. The “holy shit, run man” bits, and the “look with one eye closed at all the blood” bits.
In short this book is very bloody good. It’s old school horror. It has characters that you can’t help but cheer when they are the good guys and can’t help but absolutely hate when they are the bad guys. It will scare the crap out of you repeatedly. It will make you laugh. It will give you a lump in your throat at times. You will hold your breath. It also has one of the old classic mad mental endings that will have you rushing to turn the pages.
Can't give this any less than 5 stars. Loved it.
So all I see on peoples feeds at the minute is Jonathan Janz this Jonathan Janz that. All I could think is who is this guy and I must check him out. I was then delighted to get a copy of The Nightmare Girl to review for Ginger Nuts of Horror. Did I like it? Read on…….. (The fact I have since bought another 5 of his books might give it away though).
Joe Crawford is returning home with his wife Michelle and daughter Lily when they stop for gas. In the station, Joe witnesses a young mother abusing her toddler son. He doesn’t stop to think and immediately does the honourable thing and confronts her. This results in a huge argument and fists are raised before the mother makes a quick exit. The police are called and the child taken from the mother into care. This is the start of a situation that spirals so quickly out of control for Joe and his family that it looks doubtful anyone will survive. Especially where the “cult” is concerned. They want the child back and they want revenge.
I can now see what all the Jonathan Janz fuss has been about. This guy can write. The concept of this story is one ordinary, hardworking guy doing the right thing. Often as not though the nice guy gets the raw end of the deal. That happens to Joe Crawford. In abundance. In the beginning you can do nothing but applaud him for his actions. He deserves a medal. But as things start to go wrong you can’t help but feel sorry for the man and his family. He is a genuinely nice guy and you can see where things are going for him and it doesn’t look pretty. His unlikely ally in all of this is the police chief Copeland. Their first meeting doesn’t go that well and you think they are going to be battling each other throughout the story. What comes of that is a wonderful friendship that develops so so much it brings a smile to your face when they are in scenes together. The sarcastic and often dark humour between the two is fantastic and breaks up the story every now and again and gives you a breather between the scary, fast paced bits.
And plenty of those bits there are. There is a certain creepiness to this story that takes me back to watching old horror films in the late 70’s and early 80’s when I was just a young kid. The ones I used to watch without my parents knowing and regretted for days after because I couldn’t sleep. The ones that seemed to concentrate on devil worshipping cults in some remote town in the back of nowhere. The ones that made you believe something like this could happen anywhere in the world. This books does that – makes you believe. You feel genuine fear when reading segments of this. There are the good old fashioned “someone pops up out of nowhere” bits. The “long, slow build-up of tension” bits. The “holy shit, run man” bits, and the “look with one eye closed at all the blood” bits.
In short this book is very bloody good. It’s old school horror. It has characters that you can’t help but cheer when they are the good guys and can’t help but absolutely hate when they are the bad guys. It will scare the crap out of you repeatedly. It will make you laugh. It will give you a lump in your throat at times. You will hold your breath. It also has one of the old classic mad mental endings that will have you rushing to turn the pages.
Can't give this any less than 5 stars. Loved it.
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