Junkman

by Christopher Bevard

When forty-two year old bus driver Mark Devold inherits his late grandfather’s home in rural Galesburg, Illinois, he's forced to revisit painful memories of his childhood and the brutal, unspeakable crime for which his uncle Tony has been sentenced to life in prison. With his mother Audrey in an assisted living facility and his sister Ann living abroad, Mark lives a solitary life and struggles with alcoholism while attempting to maintain a rekindled relationship with his high school girlfriend, Cory. Then Mark discovers a homemade Halloween costume among the old house’s many effects—a grotesque body cast that calls to mind memories of trick-or-treating and days long past. At first, the thing appears to be little more than a creepy curiosity, but soon, Mark discovers that it seems to exert a strange influence over everything around his house, his family, and even his memories. As reality and hallucinatory fantasy become harder to separate, Mark discovers a terrifying secret about the costume —a secret that could cost him everyone he loves.

Genres: Horror

250 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 13, 2021

Reviews

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one surprised me, I wasn't sure if I really liked it until the last 30% and yet here I am ready to recommend it for fans of bleak supernatural horror.

Edited to add; if you've seen the movie where the guy finds an antique clown costume, this book has very similar vibes and it takes it a notch further.

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, simply excellent! But it's bound to be divisive: the book takes abuse for granted and without any fuss empathizes with both abuser and victim - it may even be charged with victim-shaming. I for one couldn't care less, this is an absolutely riveting supernatural story, written brilliantly, with great characters full of sin, heart and life. So any triggers or uncharacteristically balanced treatments of abuse would be absolutely secondary for me. The book stands out for the creepy situations it describes, the physical and psychological torture it depicts, and the hugely impressive good writing. The ending was heart-breaking, yet realistic and solidly grounded on the premises. This was the first time I read Christopher Bevard, but it certainly won't be my last!

[Ben Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Junkman by Christopher Bevard is the single creepiest book I’ve read this year. The cover vibes are spot on the story vibes. A slow descent into madness, driven by broken family history, terrible secrets and repressed trauma. But even with all that going on, the haunted faceless Halloween costume steals the show and freezes the blood.
K*ll
Junkman
K*ll

[Andrew Schultheis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very impressed with Christopher Bevard's Junkman. This creepfest is easily one of the best horror novels I've read in a while. There is an authenticity to his style of writing, a "realness" to the characters. As the dread kept building and the horrible things started happening to these people, I wanted to put the book away and stop reading it - but I couldn't.
Highly recommended.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy.

This book is a very difficult one. There are some heavy triggers, so I would suggest checking them before diving in. Junkman is a book that really pulls at your heart. Stories where basically good people who have been through some shit and are about to go through a whole lot more shit really get me. The "cursed object" in the book is severely creepy and it's very well-written, so those scenes were particularly effective. This was my first Christopher Bevard book, but I definitely hope to read more. 4.25 stars

[Morri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror done only the way Bevard can. There's a lot to unpack here, so jump on in- the water is bloody and just right.

I spent the first half of this book questioning if it was actually for me, but the final act is such a visceral, psychological mind-fuck that it made the entire journey worth it. If you’re the kind of horror reader who wants to feel physically uncomfortable—like you’ve spent the afternoon breathing in dust and stagnant air—Junkman is going to wreck you.

Christopher Bevard has tapped into a very specific kind of nightmare here. You know that feeling when you find something old and forgotten in a basement, and even though it’s just an object, you feel like it’s watching you? That’s the energy of this entire story. The costume isn't just a prop- it’s this hollow, faceless void that seems to absorb the worst parts of the family’s history. It reminded me so much of that specific dread in the movie Clown, but Bevard takes it into a much more nihilistic, existential territory.

The horror here isn't about jump scares or polished monsters. It’s about the slow rot. It’s the way trauma doesn't just hurt people—it infects the walls, the furniture, and the very ground they stand on. The writing is incredibly dense and hallucinatory; there were moments where the line between what was actually happening and the protagonist’s mental collapse got so blurry I felt like I was losing my grip along with him.

It’s not a difficult book to follow — it’s a difficult book to endure. The pacing is deliberate and heavy, building an atmospheric pressure that doesn’t rise toward a climax so much as fold inward. By the time you reach the end, it feels less like a peak and more like a controlled, inevitable collapse.

Bottom line: If you like your supernatural horror bleak, stained with grime, and deeply preoccupied with all the ways families can break each other, you need to read this masterpiece. Just be prepared for the fact that it doesn’t leave you feeling clean when you’re done. Even worse, you may never feel clean again.

[Zane · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s something deeply unsettling about Junkman not just in its horror, but in how it lingers. This isn’t clean, polished fear. This is grime under your nails, rotting in the-heat kind of horror. The kind that feels like it crawled out of a forgotten landfill and decided to tell its story.
Bevard doesn’t just write horror he weaponizes atmosphere. The imagery is thick, suffocating, and almost hallucinatory at times. You don’t just read this book… you sink into it. The titular Junkman feels less like a character and more like an embodiment of decay physical, emotional, and societal.The pacing has this slow, creeping dread that builds like a storm you can’t outrun. And when it hits? It’s not explosive it’s corrosive. It eats at you.

If you’re into bleak horror that feels raw and unfiltered, this is absolutely your lane. This isn’t for the faint of heart but if you like your horror dirty, disturbing, and a little existential… Junkman delivers.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really disturbing. A great story of family and relationships and the past haunting them forever. Kill Junkman Kill.

[Madison Fanning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is dark, tense, and atmospheric in the best way. It feels a bit like a fever dream where you can’t tell what’s going to happen next until it all comes crumbling to an end. Truly a great spooky read

[Sukhdave Takhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

*thank you booksprout for an Arc copy for a honest review*

the cover is what drew me in on booksprout and boy was i happy to get a copy. First of all who doesnt love a haunted item story... the storyline was great and i did feel for Mark as a recovering alcoholic myself. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from Christopher.

[Saprina Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was horrendous and disturbing in the best way possible! Creepy, anxiety inducing, viscerally horrific, all the things you want a horror book to be. This is definitely one of my favorite books I’ve read this year!

[Kristen Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an awesome, quick read that blended human horror with supernatural horror. Very creepy, and would definitely recommend if you like haunted/possessed item stories.

[Douglas G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Junkman by Christopher Bevard is a mixing bowl of grief, trauma, sadism, masochism, criminal sexual violence and pedophilia horrifically wrapped in a child's costume originating as a WWII trophy. With a writing style off left of William Faulkner, Bevard uses authentic coarse daily life as a setting that catches and captivates the reader's darker sides. Be cautioned; some passages may be triggering. This is not a "who done it"; it is a study in "why and how". Good to the last page.

[ChanaReadsHorror · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book that just gave you the creepy feelings from page one. You knew through the whole book that something was off, but you couldn't figure out where and that's what made you keep reading. The story builds slow, but not too slow and when the really crazy parts hit, it makes you want to just keep reading.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncomfortably dark, unsettling, unnerving. A total headfuck.

Absolutely recommended.

Be warned, very bleak. Triggers.

My favourite horror book of the year so far.

[Jody Steed · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wild ride! No one is safe.