What do you think?
Rate this book
The Night Will Find Us
THEY SAY NEVER GO INTO THE WOODS AT NIGHT...
School’s out for summer and that means one thing to Parker, Chloe, and their four friends: a well-deserved camping trip in the Pine Barrens, a million-acre forest deep in the heart of New Jersey. But when old grudges erupt, an argument escalates into the unthinkable, leaving one of them dead and the killer missing. As darkness descends and those left alive try to determine a course of action, the forest around them begins to change…
In the morning, more of the group has vanished and the path that led them into the woods is gone―as if consumed by the forest itself. Lost and hungry, the remaining friends set out to find help, only to realize that the forest seems to have other plans―a darker, ancient horror lies dead and dreaming in a lake in the center of the woods. And it’s calling to them.
Meanwhile, deep in the trees, the killer is still at large, and one of the group’s own has started to transform and warp into something other. Something inhuman. Something that wants to feast.
Banding together to survive, the friends soon begin to understand the true nature of the horror waiting for them in the Pine Barrens―and that not all of them will make it out alive.
School’s out for summer and that means one thing to Parker, Chloe, and their four friends: a well-deserved camping trip in the Pine Barrens, a million-acre forest deep in the heart of New Jersey. But when old grudges erupt, an argument escalates into the unthinkable, leaving one of them dead and the killer missing. As darkness descends and those left alive try to determine a course of action, the forest around them begins to change…
In the morning, more of the group has vanished and the path that led them into the woods is gone―as if consumed by the forest itself. Lost and hungry, the remaining friends set out to find help, only to realize that the forest seems to have other plans―a darker, ancient horror lies dead and dreaming in a lake in the center of the woods. And it’s calling to them.
Meanwhile, deep in the trees, the killer is still at large, and one of the group’s own has started to transform and warp into something other. Something inhuman. Something that wants to feast.
Banding together to survive, the friends soon begin to understand the true nature of the horror waiting for them in the Pine Barrens―and that not all of them will make it out alive.
311 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 2020
106 people are currently reading
4706 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 313 reviews
August 8, 2024
**3.5-stars rounded up**
A gory and gritty Survival Horror story.
Let's just all admit, getting lost in the woods is f*ing terrifying, but I'm not going to stop going into them. This was disturbing as heck!
Thank you to the publisher, Turner Publishing, for providing me with a copy. I appreciate it and definitely look forward to picking up more from Matthew Lyons in the future!
A gory and gritty Survival Horror story.
Let's just all admit, getting lost in the woods is f*ing terrifying, but I'm not going to stop going into them. This was disturbing as heck!
Thank you to the publisher, Turner Publishing, for providing me with a copy. I appreciate it and definitely look forward to picking up more from Matthew Lyons in the future!
March 26, 2021
There was some good stuff here. But it was never as good as it could have been.
I've said it before and I'll say it again; I adore survival horror - in a desert, on a snowy mountain, in a nightmarish forest. No matter where, I am here for it. Unfortunately the survival and horror elements in The Night Will Find Us were overshadowed by weak characters and a muddled plot.
The bones of the plot are nothing surprising. Six teens go camping in the woods, where horrors and disaster beyond their dreams awaits them. Raise a hand if you've heard this one before!
So - let's talk the positives first. As I've said before, I love the fight to survive stuff. It's an opportunity for wonderfully scary moments and can push characters in interesting directions. I think a lot of the gore (and whew, was there a lot) was creative. I also thought the ending showed a lot of ingenuity, even if I didn't care much for the epilogue.
Annnnd that's where the positives end. There's a good core idea under it all, but the details can't support it.
My biggest problem, bar none, is with the characters. They were all some combo of messily drawn, unbelievably annoying, underwritten, and lacking nuance. They make terrible decisions that makes it hard to root for them.
Then there was Nate.
Nate is LITERALLY one of the worst characters I've ever read. If I ever met Nate in person, I think I would vomit from revulsion. He watches porn in a group setting, is viciously rude and mean, and everything that comes out of his mouth comes from a place of vulgarity and cruelness. I cannot think of one redeeming quality about him.
I get the temptation to write unlikeable characters, especially in horror. There's a certain schadenfreude in watching terrible people have terrible things happen to them. However. I am still stuck reading about that god-awful character. And it takes away from the emotional stakes of the story. If I don't connect to anyone, why should I care what happens to them?
The other characters are more tolerable, but not enjoyable. Chloe is blander than a saltine. To quote Louise Belcher, "If she was a spice, she'd be flour." Josh and Adam aren't any better. They are a pair of real nothing boys. Nicky got a few beats of character development, thank god, but not nearly enough for me. And Parker actually felt like a real character at times! Too bad the character he was wasn't someone I wanted to read about.
And because all of these characters are so shallowly painted, the violence doesn't land like it should. Yes, it's brutal and gory and creative. But it's missing that visceral quality that could take it from good to great. I can't help but to compare it to Be Not Far from Me, where the violence felt so real and unavoidable.
There are also significant tonal issues. Think dramatic near death acts of violence interspersed with Wile E. Coyote jokes. I don't expect (or want) a totally humorless plot, but the dissonance took me out of the story.
The plot was interesting, but a little messier than I would have liked. I enjoy creepy woods and ambiguity, but I felt like there were opportunities to have solid, interesting answers that were ignored. And for every moment that I thought was cool, like the bone trees and their horrid fruit, you'd have an uninspired derivative one where a character finds a decapitated baby doll or decides to wander off on their own.
It just felt so basic. Like I know this book is capable of doing better than that.
The Night Will Find Us has some great ideas and glimpses of the fantastic book it could be. Sadly, all the positives are outweighed by shallow, unpleasant characters and a plot that's good at being creepy, but never quite manages to be captivating.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Ingram for the review copy.
I've said it before and I'll say it again; I adore survival horror - in a desert, on a snowy mountain, in a nightmarish forest. No matter where, I am here for it. Unfortunately the survival and horror elements in The Night Will Find Us were overshadowed by weak characters and a muddled plot.
The bones of the plot are nothing surprising. Six teens go camping in the woods, where horrors and disaster beyond their dreams awaits them. Raise a hand if you've heard this one before!
So - let's talk the positives first. As I've said before, I love the fight to survive stuff. It's an opportunity for wonderfully scary moments and can push characters in interesting directions. I think a lot of the gore (and whew, was there a lot) was creative. I also thought the ending showed a lot of ingenuity, even if I didn't care much for the epilogue.
Annnnd that's where the positives end. There's a good core idea under it all, but the details can't support it.
My biggest problem, bar none, is with the characters. They were all some combo of messily drawn, unbelievably annoying, underwritten, and lacking nuance. They make terrible decisions that makes it hard to root for them.
Then there was Nate.
Nate is LITERALLY one of the worst characters I've ever read. If I ever met Nate in person, I think I would vomit from revulsion. He watches porn in a group setting, is viciously rude and mean, and everything that comes out of his mouth comes from a place of vulgarity and cruelness. I cannot think of one redeeming quality about him.
I get the temptation to write unlikeable characters, especially in horror. There's a certain schadenfreude in watching terrible people have terrible things happen to them. However. I am still stuck reading about that god-awful character. And it takes away from the emotional stakes of the story. If I don't connect to anyone, why should I care what happens to them?
The other characters are more tolerable, but not enjoyable. Chloe is blander than a saltine. To quote Louise Belcher, "If she was a spice, she'd be flour." Josh and Adam aren't any better. They are a pair of real nothing boys. Nicky got a few beats of character development, thank god, but not nearly enough for me. And Parker actually felt like a real character at times! Too bad the character he was wasn't someone I wanted to read about.
And because all of these characters are so shallowly painted, the violence doesn't land like it should. Yes, it's brutal and gory and creative. But it's missing that visceral quality that could take it from good to great. I can't help but to compare it to Be Not Far from Me, where the violence felt so real and unavoidable.
There are also significant tonal issues. Think dramatic near death acts of violence interspersed with Wile E. Coyote jokes. I don't expect (or want) a totally humorless plot, but the dissonance took me out of the story.
The plot was interesting, but a little messier than I would have liked. I enjoy creepy woods and ambiguity, but I felt like there were opportunities to have solid, interesting answers that were ignored. And for every moment that I thought was cool, like the bone trees and their horrid fruit, you'd have an uninspired derivative one where a character finds a decapitated baby doll or decides to wander off on their own.
It just felt so basic. Like I know this book is capable of doing better than that.
The Night Will Find Us has some great ideas and glimpses of the fantastic book it could be. Sadly, all the positives are outweighed by shallow, unpleasant characters and a plot that's good at being creepy, but never quite manages to be captivating.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Ingram for the review copy.
June 2, 2023
3.0 stars
Fine but forgettable. Very tropey with a typical plot involving unlikeable young people.
Fine but forgettable. Very tropey with a typical plot involving unlikeable young people.
January 18, 2022
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job bringing this story to life. It reminded me of The Ruins. It was creepy and atmospheric and that’s about all that is positive about it. The story is all over the place and there’s vague explanations for what is happening. The characters could’ve been developed more. This had so much potential to be great! Sadly, I found myself not really caring if anyone made it out of the forest.
Schools out and six teens decide it would be fun to go camping in the Pine Barrens. A tragic event early on in their trip divides the group. As tensions rise, the path they followed earlier disappears and they find themselves lost in the million acre forest.
The forest seems to come alive around them and the teens quickly realize there is something sinister stalking them in the woods. Something that doesn’t want them to leave. They encounter numerous strange things in the woods and begin to question what is real. Will they be able to survive the terror that surround them?
Schools out and six teens decide it would be fun to go camping in the Pine Barrens. A tragic event early on in their trip divides the group. As tensions rise, the path they followed earlier disappears and they find themselves lost in the million acre forest.
The forest seems to come alive around them and the teens quickly realize there is something sinister stalking them in the woods. Something that doesn’t want them to leave. They encounter numerous strange things in the woods and begin to question what is real. Will they be able to survive the terror that surround them?
October 22, 2020
My full video review of The Night Will Find Us by Matthew Lyons can be found HERE.
I very much enjoyed this fast and furious tale of isolation, cosmic monsters, and angry teenagers. If you want a book that gets right into the horror without missing a beat, pick this one up! It wastes no time to give horror readers what they want.
I very much enjoyed this fast and furious tale of isolation, cosmic monsters, and angry teenagers. If you want a book that gets right into the horror without missing a beat, pick this one up! It wastes no time to give horror readers what they want.
July 23, 2020
...Reads like a Stan Winston creature feature by way of Richard Bachman, with a dash of H.P. Lovecraft to boot. It's sharply written, mesmerizing, and propulsive. ...First-rate in every respect.
May 25, 2021
I haven’t hated something this much since Bird Box.
October 15, 2022
Y’all I just don’t know. It was like with each turn of the page it got worse and worse.
July 5, 2021
"I'm starting to realize that lots of things can get lost in the woods. Towns, dads, lives."
My library has "grab bag" options, where we ask the librarians to pick books for us. I've only tried a time or two, and this book finally hit my bag today. I'm so excited to read this! NO idea how this never made it on my radar but I'm glad it's here now!!
and now that I'm done, I KNOW I need to thank a librarian. Sometimes you just need a good horror story. It needs to have high suspense, a lot of gore and blood. I like wondering who will die next and knowing my MC may not make it out alive.
This one has the wonderful undercurrent of terror about getting lost in the woods. The sheer need to survive the elements and mother nature as much as whatever is hunting you. It didn't need the paranormal element to keep the tension high but it was okay that it had it.
And it ended perfect. I loved that last chapter. So glad I read this!
My library has "grab bag" options, where we ask the librarians to pick books for us. I've only tried a time or two, and this book finally hit my bag today. I'm so excited to read this! NO idea how this never made it on my radar but I'm glad it's here now!!
and now that I'm done, I KNOW I need to thank a librarian. Sometimes you just need a good horror story. It needs to have high suspense, a lot of gore and blood. I like wondering who will die next and knowing my MC may not make it out alive.
This one has the wonderful undercurrent of terror about getting lost in the woods. The sheer need to survive the elements and mother nature as much as whatever is hunting you. It didn't need the paranormal element to keep the tension high but it was okay that it had it.
And it ended perfect. I loved that last chapter. So glad I read this!
November 23, 2020
As I go through life with my ADD brain firmly ensconced, I realize that it's becoming far less frequent that I'll pick up a book and read it cover-to-cover without stepping away to pick up one of the other two dozen or so books on my reading table that I'm at least partway through. There are certain authors that are consistently unmarred by my brain's fickle nature--off the top of my head: Josh Malerman, Paul Tremblay, Nick Cutter, Dennis Lehane, Stephen King, Riley Sager... etc.
Point being that Matthew Lyons' excellent THE NIGHT WILL FIND US was one of those books I didn't so much read as devour, emptying the story into my head like black soup over the course of a couple days, and smacking my lips with satisfaction when I was done.
THE NIGHT WILL FIND US isn't "breakneck" horror, like Tremblay's SURVIVAL SONG, or an "unrelenting" thriller like S.A. Cosby's white-knuckler, BLACKTOP WASTELAND, but it's a page-turning hell-ride nonetheless, focusing your attention more on the characters and their interactions than the horrors of the danger-filled, haunted forest hunkered around them, salivating with grotesque hunger at the group of tender morsels that stumbled most recently into its midst.
Another thing Lyons does well is to work the forest's mythology into the story like intertwined vines, taking you into the past by way of a character's supernatural escalation of consciousness rather than stopping the story dead to hit you with a "PAST" chapter header, the kind of thing that always elicits an internal groan from me as a reader. To my initial point, it's one of the things Lyons does masterfully in order to keep the momentum of the story going while keeping you, the reader, simultaneously cringing at the creeping horror you know is coming while developing a knowledge of the mythology and provenance of the living, and quite mad, forest.
I highly recommend this one to anyone looking for a slick, character-driven, violent and relatively gore-soaked story, complete with murder, ghosts, bizarre rituals, haunted trees and even, without giving too much away, a cosmic horror angle that will scratch the itch of Lovecraft fans. So grab your camping gear and follow Mr. Lyons' into the dark, dense forest. You'll be glad you did.
Point being that Matthew Lyons' excellent THE NIGHT WILL FIND US was one of those books I didn't so much read as devour, emptying the story into my head like black soup over the course of a couple days, and smacking my lips with satisfaction when I was done.
THE NIGHT WILL FIND US isn't "breakneck" horror, like Tremblay's SURVIVAL SONG, or an "unrelenting" thriller like S.A. Cosby's white-knuckler, BLACKTOP WASTELAND, but it's a page-turning hell-ride nonetheless, focusing your attention more on the characters and their interactions than the horrors of the danger-filled, haunted forest hunkered around them, salivating with grotesque hunger at the group of tender morsels that stumbled most recently into its midst.
Another thing Lyons does well is to work the forest's mythology into the story like intertwined vines, taking you into the past by way of a character's supernatural escalation of consciousness rather than stopping the story dead to hit you with a "PAST" chapter header, the kind of thing that always elicits an internal groan from me as a reader. To my initial point, it's one of the things Lyons does masterfully in order to keep the momentum of the story going while keeping you, the reader, simultaneously cringing at the creeping horror you know is coming while developing a knowledge of the mythology and provenance of the living, and quite mad, forest.
I highly recommend this one to anyone looking for a slick, character-driven, violent and relatively gore-soaked story, complete with murder, ghosts, bizarre rituals, haunted trees and even, without giving too much away, a cosmic horror angle that will scratch the itch of Lovecraft fans. So grab your camping gear and follow Mr. Lyons' into the dark, dense forest. You'll be glad you did.
October 30, 2020
The Night Will Find Us has an excellent cover and an intriguing premise of six high schoolers who go camping in the woods and end up fighting for their lives against some unknown cosmic horror.
There's lots of gore and the setting is creepy as heck, but unfortunately this book did not work for me. The characters were all super underdeveloped--- the only one who was a little real was terribly unlikable.
The plot was a bunch of different pieces thrown together; it felt like the author had about 4 different ideas of what they wanted and they tried to include them all and none of it stuck.
You've got some creepy woods, a Puritan style misogyny tale, an ancient cosmic evil, and some messed up kid with a gun.
I really hated this dude just shooting people and then having a semi redemption arc and also the whole "burning down a forest" thing just made me sad.
The TLDR of it is: teenage boys come in a few varieties; porn obsessed, sport jock with girlfriend, big loner with bad home life and unremarkable regular guy. All the boys are angry. Girl 1 is basically a boneless white meat chicken breast of boring who makes shitty choices. Girl 2 is slightly more interesting because she's a redhead who smokes ( ooh quirky!) And is a little rage filled.
Together they wanna get drunk and dumb in the woods, but the woods are evil and full of vengeful spirits...or maybe the ground is just poison. They do dumb stuff and hurt eachother until only one survives. Never before has the Final Girl been so bland.
There's lots of gore and the setting is creepy as heck, but unfortunately this book did not work for me. The characters were all super underdeveloped--- the only one who was a little real was terribly unlikable.
The plot was a bunch of different pieces thrown together; it felt like the author had about 4 different ideas of what they wanted and they tried to include them all and none of it stuck.
You've got some creepy woods, a Puritan style misogyny tale, an ancient cosmic evil, and some messed up kid with a gun.
I really hated this dude just shooting people and then having a semi redemption arc and also the whole "burning down a forest" thing just made me sad.
The TLDR of it is: teenage boys come in a few varieties; porn obsessed, sport jock with girlfriend, big loner with bad home life and unremarkable regular guy. All the boys are angry. Girl 1 is basically a boneless white meat chicken breast of boring who makes shitty choices. Girl 2 is slightly more interesting because she's a redhead who smokes ( ooh quirky!) And is a little rage filled.
Together they wanna get drunk and dumb in the woods, but the woods are evil and full of vengeful spirits...or maybe the ground is just poison. They do dumb stuff and hurt eachother until only one survives. Never before has the Final Girl been so bland.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2021
A group of teens decide to celebrate the end of their junior year by going on a camping trip; what could go wrong? In this horror/thriller mashup, the answer is plenty. The premise of this book is a favorite and Matthew Lyons certainly knows how to tell a great story. It is entertaining enough that if the author decides to continue the tale, I certainly plan on picking up the next book. It is successful in leaving the reader wanting to see what comes next.
You can read Tracy's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Tracy's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
February 18, 2021
I hate writing such bad reviews but honestly this book disappointed me so much. It started off so unrealistic and way off plot to what the book was supposed to be based around. Writing was very bland and repetitive all the way through, and I can’t even talk about how rushed and terrible the ending was. Boom, everything’s fine! No twist or anything at the end.
October 8, 2022
Started great and then fizzled out. Too much fluff, making it lose the creepy/supernatural factor for me.
March 19, 2023
What the fuck was this-
I can never go camping again. Nu uh. Never again.
I can never go camping again. Nu uh. Never again.
October 17, 2021
Yes!
Why the hell is this book so underrated? It's nothing particularly original, but it was great!
No spoilers here, just going to tell you how it is...
The story has good pacing, with relatable people. No annoying, quirky characters (well one is annoying but he's meant to be), and a very engrossing, and surprising story. Yes, I was actually surprised for once! Not at all what I was expecting either. It actually caught me off-guard.
No pandering to minorities. No political bullshit. Just good old-fashioned horror.
Highly recommended for fans of backwoods horror, camping, psychological fuckery, young adult protagonists, and a bit of supernatural-ness thrown in. All mixed together creating a cracking survival-horror cocktail.
I watched the exorcist on laserdisc when I was seven -(Yes I'm that old)- alone in the dark at an older friend's house. I know good horror. This is good horror.
4.5* rounded up.
Why the hell is this book so underrated? It's nothing particularly original, but it was great!
No spoilers here, just going to tell you how it is...
The story has good pacing, with relatable people. No annoying, quirky characters (well one is annoying but he's meant to be), and a very engrossing, and surprising story. Yes, I was actually surprised for once! Not at all what I was expecting either. It actually caught me off-guard.
No pandering to minorities. No political bullshit. Just good old-fashioned horror.
Highly recommended for fans of backwoods horror, camping, psychological fuckery, young adult protagonists, and a bit of supernatural-ness thrown in. All mixed together creating a cracking survival-horror cocktail.
I watched the exorcist on laserdisc when I was seven -(Yes I'm that old)- alone in the dark at an older friend's house. I know good horror. This is good horror.
4.5* rounded up.
July 11, 2020
This is the book I've been craving since I finished The Hollow Places. Some excellent nature horror and genuine creepy parts.
November 14, 2020
2.5 rounded up to 3. Review to come on Horror DNA
March 23, 2025
4.7*
Imagina un bosc que respira, on els arbres semblen escoltar i les ombres tenen vida pròpia. Així és aquesta novel·la, una immersió en un món on la natura mateixa es converteix en un enemic i els secrets del passat es revelen amb sang. Un grup d'adolescents, lluitant per sobreviure, descobreixen que el veritable perill són les forces invisibles que els envolten. Amb una atmosfera opressiva i un ritme que no et deixa respirar, aquesta novel·la et mante en tensió fins a l'última pàgina. Perfecte per als amants del terror que busquen alguna cosa més enllà dels sustos fàcils.
Imagina un bosc que respira, on els arbres semblen escoltar i les ombres tenen vida pròpia. Així és aquesta novel·la, una immersió en un món on la natura mateixa es converteix en un enemic i els secrets del passat es revelen amb sang. Un grup d'adolescents, lluitant per sobreviure, descobreixen que el veritable perill són les forces invisibles que els envolten. Amb una atmosfera opressiva i un ritme que no et deixa respirar, aquesta novel·la et mante en tensió fins a l'última pàgina. Perfecte per als amants del terror que busquen alguna cosa més enllà dels sustos fàcils.
October 1, 2022
4.5 ⭐️ A little big spooky, a little bit creepy, a little bit supernatural. Wrapping up the book took a little too long, but really kept me going throughout the whole thing!
September 11, 2023
TW: Language, underage smoking, bullying, family drama, murder, toxic friendships, gory scenes, blood, alcoholism
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Rocked by violent tragedy during an end-of-school-year camping trip, six teenage friends – Parker, Chloe, Adam, Nicky, Josh and Nate – find themselves lost and running for their lives through the darkest depths of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a million-acre forest in the heart of the state. Banding together to survive, they soon discover that there is something far older and far crueler waiting for them in the woods – something that doesn’t want them to escape.As they plumb the depths of this forest that has seemingly swallowed them whole, haunted by ghosts figurative and literal, they come to understand the nature of the ancient cosmic horror that lies dead and dreaming in a lake in the center of the woods. As one among them is transformed through his own desperation into an agent of this dread, formless horror, the ones that remain must fight back to survive as they explore the dead towns and endless sprawls of trees, rivers and campgrounds deep in the Barrens.Steadily picked off one by one by this malevolent force and their turned friend, hope finally comes for the survivors in the form of their respective bonds to the forest itself – one a long-buried secret, the other an uninvited connection that allows one of the friends to see further than she ever could before. Together, their fight to finally escape twill take them to the heart of the woods and the secrets buried there, but only one of them will make it out alive.
Release Date: October 20th, 2020
Genre: Horror
Pages: 336
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
1. There's a lot of gore
2. The writing was pretty good
What I Didn't Like:
1. Nate
2. Nate coming back via guilt
Overall Thoughts:
Omg Nate was annoying. I was hoping from the first time meeting him he'd be the first one killed off (and I was right). And Nate bad mouthing Parker when he even said someone had to have his mouth wired. Honestly, why would anyone want to be friends with Nate. He's a bully.
Why would Adam chase Parker into the woods when Parker just killed someone? You don't chase a person down and confront them.
Why can't one person walk back to the van and go off to get help? Why do they all have to stay at the campsite and wait for Adam to maybe come back?
Omg Nate is back but in some weird dead soul haunting Parker. Why can't he just be dead? I don't want to ever hear from Nate again and now he's here...
All this stuff happening and they keep just sitting around waiting and waiting.
Final Thoughts:
Oh I waited for so long to read this book and it just what I expected.
I really enjoyed the authors writing. I feel like he was very good at describing the elements of the woods and the murders.
I didn't like Nate at all. It felt too Stephen King like to have a character that is dead follow him around.
It just fell flat for me. I wanted more than the characters sitting around and waiting to be killed off.
There's a tale inside this book to explain the supernatural element and I honestly didn't care that much about it.
I dnfed this one at page 150 (45%) because where I was once interested in the book my mind started to wander and I just no longer cared.
I will definitely be reading the next book from the author though because I do like how he writes.
Recommend For:
• Isolated stories
• Slashers
• Troupe characters
• Supernatural elements
IG | Blog
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Rocked by violent tragedy during an end-of-school-year camping trip, six teenage friends – Parker, Chloe, Adam, Nicky, Josh and Nate – find themselves lost and running for their lives through the darkest depths of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a million-acre forest in the heart of the state. Banding together to survive, they soon discover that there is something far older and far crueler waiting for them in the woods – something that doesn’t want them to escape.As they plumb the depths of this forest that has seemingly swallowed them whole, haunted by ghosts figurative and literal, they come to understand the nature of the ancient cosmic horror that lies dead and dreaming in a lake in the center of the woods. As one among them is transformed through his own desperation into an agent of this dread, formless horror, the ones that remain must fight back to survive as they explore the dead towns and endless sprawls of trees, rivers and campgrounds deep in the Barrens.Steadily picked off one by one by this malevolent force and their turned friend, hope finally comes for the survivors in the form of their respective bonds to the forest itself – one a long-buried secret, the other an uninvited connection that allows one of the friends to see further than she ever could before. Together, their fight to finally escape twill take them to the heart of the woods and the secrets buried there, but only one of them will make it out alive.
Release Date: October 20th, 2020
Genre: Horror
Pages: 336
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
1. There's a lot of gore
2. The writing was pretty good
What I Didn't Like:
1. Nate
2. Nate coming back via guilt
Overall Thoughts:
Omg Nate was annoying. I was hoping from the first time meeting him he'd be the first one killed off (and I was right). And Nate bad mouthing Parker when he even said someone had to have his mouth wired. Honestly, why would anyone want to be friends with Nate. He's a bully.
Why would Adam chase Parker into the woods when Parker just killed someone? You don't chase a person down and confront them.
Why can't one person walk back to the van and go off to get help? Why do they all have to stay at the campsite and wait for Adam to maybe come back?
Omg Nate is back but in some weird dead soul haunting Parker. Why can't he just be dead? I don't want to ever hear from Nate again and now he's here...
All this stuff happening and they keep just sitting around waiting and waiting.
Final Thoughts:
Oh I waited for so long to read this book and it just what I expected.
I really enjoyed the authors writing. I feel like he was very good at describing the elements of the woods and the murders.
I didn't like Nate at all. It felt too Stephen King like to have a character that is dead follow him around.
It just fell flat for me. I wanted more than the characters sitting around and waiting to be killed off.
There's a tale inside this book to explain the supernatural element and I honestly didn't care that much about it.
I dnfed this one at page 150 (45%) because where I was once interested in the book my mind started to wander and I just no longer cared.
I will definitely be reading the next book from the author though because I do like how he writes.
Recommend For:
• Isolated stories
• Slashers
• Troupe characters
• Supernatural elements
IG | Blog
August 8, 2023
Ah, the one that got away. Back in 2020, I want to say June(?), this book came through Kendall Reviews for review consideration and I jumped all over it. Back then, unfortunately, my Kindle could be a huge jerk and, while I accepted it, the PDF that was sent to me was completely unreadable. It happens. Not as much lately, but it didn’t matter what I did – straight PDF emailed, file converted to a MOBI, file converted to an EPUB, my Kindle wouldn’t display it in any way that allowed me to read it.
So, I had it purchased, but as review requests were stacked up, I put it aside onto my ‘normal’ TBR and it slowly made its way to the top of the heap.
And then it arrived.
And I wanted to just straight kick myself in the face for having had it wait there.
THIS BOOK IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO READ.
THIS BOOK IS EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD WRITE.
Look, if you took Nevill’s ‘The Ritual’ and then threw it into a blender with A.M. Shine’s ‘The Creeper,’ and even a bit of David Sodergren’s ‘Maggie’s Grave,’ you’ll have an idea of what you’re in for.
What I liked: The story follows Parker, his cousin, Chloe, and their friends, Nate, Adam, Nicky and Josh (those two a couple), as they head into the woods of New Jersey to celebrate high school graduation.
Parker is struggling. His father has disappeared and his mom has turned to alcohol. With his downward spiral now evident with his friends, it makes for an occasion that should be an exciting time, but instead is awkward, tension-filled and making for short-fuses.
Look, this alone would’ve made for a solid ‘things are creepy here in the woods’ novel, but Lyons decides to completely throw us to the figurative wolves by having them go to an area that the soil itself is embedded with an ancient evil.
ANCIENT EVVVVVVIIILLLLL!
YEEEEESSSS!
God, yes. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
You know how much I love that.
So, Lyons gives us an explosive, emotional, completely unexpected scene, very early on that sets things in motion. We get a phenomenal obstacle, with great barriers and throughout, Lyons continues to push us ever forward, towards the darkness that awaits in an abandoned setting within.
Every something new was introduced, I wanted to pump my fist with glee, as this goes everywhere I wanted and more.
On top of that, we get resolutions for every single character, which is very rare indeed.
The ending was magical and even the epilogue dropped the ‘horror’ volume a few degrees to give us some closure and an update on how things went on after all was said and done.
What I didn’t like: Honestly, there was only one thing within the entire book that I scoffed at. I suspend my belief throughout 99% of reading anything, but this was the rare case where Lyons continued to beat people up and have them beat up. That was why, when one character ends up at the bottom of a cliff and seemingly ‘walks it off’ I was put off by that moment. That doesn’t happen. They were beat to hell and already on death’s doorstep, so even a two foot fall would’ve hurt them. Yet, they seemingly fall a solid ten-to-twenty feet and had almost no reaction to it. That was a hard one to push aside.
Why you should buy this: Man, just look at the title. And consider this. Ancient evil in a forest. Teens trying to survive. Both each other and the thing that dwells there. If that doesn’t have your hackles up and your credit card out, I don’t know what will.
This hummed along, and has easily cemented itself alongside so many great books on my ‘best creepy book in the woods’ list. Lyons nailed every single aspect of this.
Outstanding.
So, I had it purchased, but as review requests were stacked up, I put it aside onto my ‘normal’ TBR and it slowly made its way to the top of the heap.
And then it arrived.
And I wanted to just straight kick myself in the face for having had it wait there.
THIS BOOK IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO READ.
THIS BOOK IS EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD WRITE.
Look, if you took Nevill’s ‘The Ritual’ and then threw it into a blender with A.M. Shine’s ‘The Creeper,’ and even a bit of David Sodergren’s ‘Maggie’s Grave,’ you’ll have an idea of what you’re in for.
What I liked: The story follows Parker, his cousin, Chloe, and their friends, Nate, Adam, Nicky and Josh (those two a couple), as they head into the woods of New Jersey to celebrate high school graduation.
Parker is struggling. His father has disappeared and his mom has turned to alcohol. With his downward spiral now evident with his friends, it makes for an occasion that should be an exciting time, but instead is awkward, tension-filled and making for short-fuses.
Look, this alone would’ve made for a solid ‘things are creepy here in the woods’ novel, but Lyons decides to completely throw us to the figurative wolves by having them go to an area that the soil itself is embedded with an ancient evil.
ANCIENT EVVVVVVIIILLLLL!
YEEEEESSSS!
God, yes. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
You know how much I love that.
So, Lyons gives us an explosive, emotional, completely unexpected scene, very early on that sets things in motion. We get a phenomenal obstacle, with great barriers and throughout, Lyons continues to push us ever forward, towards the darkness that awaits in an abandoned setting within.
Every something new was introduced, I wanted to pump my fist with glee, as this goes everywhere I wanted and more.
On top of that, we get resolutions for every single character, which is very rare indeed.
The ending was magical and even the epilogue dropped the ‘horror’ volume a few degrees to give us some closure and an update on how things went on after all was said and done.
What I didn’t like: Honestly, there was only one thing within the entire book that I scoffed at. I suspend my belief throughout 99% of reading anything, but this was the rare case where Lyons continued to beat people up and have them beat up. That was why, when one character ends up at the bottom of a cliff and seemingly ‘walks it off’ I was put off by that moment. That doesn’t happen. They were beat to hell and already on death’s doorstep, so even a two foot fall would’ve hurt them. Yet, they seemingly fall a solid ten-to-twenty feet and had almost no reaction to it. That was a hard one to push aside.
Why you should buy this: Man, just look at the title. And consider this. Ancient evil in a forest. Teens trying to survive. Both each other and the thing that dwells there. If that doesn’t have your hackles up and your credit card out, I don’t know what will.
This hummed along, and has easily cemented itself alongside so many great books on my ‘best creepy book in the woods’ list. Lyons nailed every single aspect of this.
Outstanding.
December 24, 2020
Struggled with the beginning as they are all so annoying but I really enjoyed the last third good survivalist horror, not for the squeamish.
July 17, 2022
A camping in the woods horror with a supernatural element. A fun read. The characters are not always likeable so you might end up wanting them killed off more than you want them to be spared.
Read
June 24, 2025dnf. I don't like reading about teenagers with guns.
Imagine watching your friend shoot and kill someone... You go after him to try and talk... Then... he shoots you in the knee, ending your football career. 💔
I feel too bad for Adam to continue this.
back to romance I go 🫡
Imagine watching your friend shoot and kill someone... You go after him to try and talk... Then... he shoots you in the knee, ending your football career. 💔
I feel too bad for Adam to continue this.
back to romance I go 🫡
July 27, 2021
Hello, summerween, it’s me again.
This book is pretty action packed and that action starts almost immediately. The setting is sufficiently creepy and I was intrigued by the flashbacks to horrors of centuries past. I’m always down for a spooky, haunted woods type book and there were some horror elements that were executed really well. The pacing, the tension, the layers of mystery. However after awhile the gore kind of wore on me and I started feeling a little over it and I began to want off this ride almost as much as the characters did.
Speaking of characters. I really wish they were more fleshed out. I felt like I wanted more from all of them, especially the ones who stick around longer than others. I felt like the author built a really interesting friend group dynamic but it fell apart so quickly that I felt a little lost with what we had left. There’s also one character who was so insufferable that I truly did not care what happened to him from the get go, and I felt like that just set me on a not-great path where my empathy for the other characters were concerned, especially as I knew too little about them to really feel much.
Overall, if you’re looking for a fast-paced, Blairwitchy type read with a fair amount of gore and action but also some darker undertones of ancient evil, this may be the ticket for you. It was gripping but I just really wanted to like it more than I did.
This book is pretty action packed and that action starts almost immediately. The setting is sufficiently creepy and I was intrigued by the flashbacks to horrors of centuries past. I’m always down for a spooky, haunted woods type book and there were some horror elements that were executed really well. The pacing, the tension, the layers of mystery. However after awhile the gore kind of wore on me and I started feeling a little over it and I began to want off this ride almost as much as the characters did.
Speaking of characters. I really wish they were more fleshed out. I felt like I wanted more from all of them, especially the ones who stick around longer than others. I felt like the author built a really interesting friend group dynamic but it fell apart so quickly that I felt a little lost with what we had left. There’s also one character who was so insufferable that I truly did not care what happened to him from the get go, and I felt like that just set me on a not-great path where my empathy for the other characters were concerned, especially as I knew too little about them to really feel much.
Overall, if you’re looking for a fast-paced, Blairwitchy type read with a fair amount of gore and action but also some darker undertones of ancient evil, this may be the ticket for you. It was gripping but I just really wanted to like it more than I did.
April 7, 2022
*Mini review for those who just want to get on with it and start reading.
The night will find us takes place in the NJ Pine Barrens where 6 teens just out of high school discover just how cruel the world can really be.
To begin you are introduced to all 6 main protagonists and in the first 20 pages it’s a bit hard to keep each one straight, but as the events of the story take place and each gets separated from the whole you begin to really get to know each and what part they play in the story.
This is a 5 star read all the way to roughly 80% that last 20% begins to decline some for me as our protagonists begin to be downright tortured by their experiences trying to escape the barrens and the forces within.
It’s a bit repetitive in a few spots but all it all it’s a 4.5 star read that actually gave me nightmares which as a horror reader is surprisingly rare and speaks volumes to this story…
So don’t just sit there reading this review, read this book it’s worth your time.
The night will find us takes place in the NJ Pine Barrens where 6 teens just out of high school discover just how cruel the world can really be.
To begin you are introduced to all 6 main protagonists and in the first 20 pages it’s a bit hard to keep each one straight, but as the events of the story take place and each gets separated from the whole you begin to really get to know each and what part they play in the story.
This is a 5 star read all the way to roughly 80% that last 20% begins to decline some for me as our protagonists begin to be downright tortured by their experiences trying to escape the barrens and the forces within.
It’s a bit repetitive in a few spots but all it all it’s a 4.5 star read that actually gave me nightmares which as a horror reader is surprisingly rare and speaks volumes to this story…
So don’t just sit there reading this review, read this book it’s worth your time.
January 24, 2022
I really enjoyed this. Nice gory haunted woods tale with some great atmosphere and action sequences. Very well paced, looking forward to more from this writer. I, like many other readers found the characters weak and/or unlikable, but found it to be fitting for the slasher-esque element of the story.
I found this to be a mashup of a lot of really great elements, but some lack around cohesion of the whole package. I loved the burnt ghost town, the bone trees, the cave fruit...it plays like a greatest hits of the writer's nightmare material. Would love to see a sequel that ties everything up a bit better and answers the many questions readers will likely have when the end this. I know I did.
None the less, it's a blisteringly quick read and I can't think of any good reason most Horror readers wouldn't enjoy it. A fun and dark debut, strewn with some nice gory moments, monsters and ghosts.
I found this to be a mashup of a lot of really great elements, but some lack around cohesion of the whole package. I loved the burnt ghost town, the bone trees, the cave fruit...it plays like a greatest hits of the writer's nightmare material. Would love to see a sequel that ties everything up a bit better and answers the many questions readers will likely have when the end this. I know I did.
None the less, it's a blisteringly quick read and I can't think of any good reason most Horror readers wouldn't enjoy it. A fun and dark debut, strewn with some nice gory moments, monsters and ghosts.
April 20, 2022
I love this book. It is reminiscent of the old Friday the 13th movies. Though instead of Jason, there's something more sinister, more dark. It was definitely a page turner and you never know what is coming next. You may never go camping again... Brilliant debut novel for Matthew Lyons. Can't wait to read his next one.
August 31, 2020
OK, so this freaking book....
I started this book while my husband was putting my son to bed, thinking, "I'll just read a little before bed." NOPE. Literally every single time my husband tried to talk to me, I snapped out, "WHAT?!" because he DARED to interrupt me while I was reading this book.
I just had a double espresso because I got no sleep last night. Because of this book.
I can't stop thinking about this book.
Honestly, this book could have gone wrong in a lot of ways. There are so many creepy aspects that things could have gotten lost. And yet, they didn't. It was just extremely unsettling and the author is just like, "Y'all want some creepy body stuff? OK. Some supernatural shit? I got you. What about sacrifices? You guys into that? DONE. Oh, and we have to have an old weird church, obvs." AND THAT'S NOT EVEN ALL OF IT. WHY IS IT JUST FULL OF THINGS THAT MAKE MY SKIN CRAWL?? LAKES WITH NO RIPPLES. WHY IS THAT TERRIFYING IN THIS BOOK? I don't know but it really is and damn, did I enjoy it. Here's a super creepy line with no context: "revealing rows of crooked yellow-gray teeth, all mismatched, like they'd been pulled from a dozen different heads." I just....I cannot with this.
And yet, there are things that are not completely explained, because what fun would that be?
AND THIS IS HIS DEBUT NOVEL. Like how very dare you, Matthew Lyons. How dare you not have 25 other books? What am I supposed to do now. But welcome, Matthew Lyons, to my very limited goodreads shelf, "creepy af."
Books/authors you might like if you like this book because I said so with no authority: Christian Galacar (Big Bad, Cicada Spring); H.P. Lovecraft because obviously; Alex North; The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup; Shirley Jackson (The Summer People); and the short story "My Father's Mask" in the book 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill.
I started this book while my husband was putting my son to bed, thinking, "I'll just read a little before bed." NOPE. Literally every single time my husband tried to talk to me, I snapped out, "WHAT?!" because he DARED to interrupt me while I was reading this book.
I just had a double espresso because I got no sleep last night. Because of this book.
I can't stop thinking about this book.
Honestly, this book could have gone wrong in a lot of ways. There are so many creepy aspects that things could have gotten lost. And yet, they didn't. It was just extremely unsettling and the author is just like, "Y'all want some creepy body stuff? OK. Some supernatural shit? I got you. What about sacrifices? You guys into that? DONE. Oh, and we have to have an old weird church, obvs." AND THAT'S NOT EVEN ALL OF IT. WHY IS IT JUST FULL OF THINGS THAT MAKE MY SKIN CRAWL?? LAKES WITH NO RIPPLES. WHY IS THAT TERRIFYING IN THIS BOOK? I don't know but it really is and damn, did I enjoy it. Here's a super creepy line with no context: "revealing rows of crooked yellow-gray teeth, all mismatched, like they'd been pulled from a dozen different heads." I just....I cannot with this.
And yet, there are things that are not completely explained, because what fun would that be?
AND THIS IS HIS DEBUT NOVEL. Like how very dare you, Matthew Lyons. How dare you not have 25 other books? What am I supposed to do now. But welcome, Matthew Lyons, to my very limited goodreads shelf, "creepy af."
Books/authors you might like if you like this book because I said so with no authority: Christian Galacar (Big Bad, Cicada Spring); H.P. Lovecraft because obviously; Alex North; The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup; Shirley Jackson (The Summer People); and the short story "My Father's Mask" in the book 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 313 reviews