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Hawk Mountain
An English teacher is gaslit by his charismatic high school bully in this tense story of deception, manipulation, and murder.
Single father Todd is relaxing at the beach with his son, Anthony, when he catches sight of a man approaching from the water’s edge. As the man draws closer, Todd recognizes him as Jack, who bullied Todd relentlessly in their teenage years, but now seems overjoyed to have “run into” his old friend. Jack suggests a meal to catch up. And can he spend the night?
What follows is a fast-paced story of obsession and cunning. As Jack invades Todd’s life, pain and intimidation from the past unearth knife-edge suspense in the present. Set in a small town on the New England coast, Conner Habib’s debut introduces characters trapped in isolation by the expansive woods and the encroaching ocean, their violence an expression of repressed desire and the damage it can inflict. Both gruesome and tender, Hawk Mountain offers a compelling look at how love and hate are indissoluble, intertwined until the last breath.
Single father Todd is relaxing at the beach with his son, Anthony, when he catches sight of a man approaching from the water’s edge. As the man draws closer, Todd recognizes him as Jack, who bullied Todd relentlessly in their teenage years, but now seems overjoyed to have “run into” his old friend. Jack suggests a meal to catch up. And can he spend the night?
What follows is a fast-paced story of obsession and cunning. As Jack invades Todd’s life, pain and intimidation from the past unearth knife-edge suspense in the present. Set in a small town on the New England coast, Conner Habib’s debut introduces characters trapped in isolation by the expansive woods and the encroaching ocean, their violence an expression of repressed desire and the damage it can inflict. Both gruesome and tender, Hawk Mountain offers a compelling look at how love and hate are indissoluble, intertwined until the last breath.
307 pages, Hardcover
First published July 5, 2022
237 people are currently reading
11726 people want to read
About the author
Conner Habib
1 book189 followersConner Habib hosts the podcast Against Everyone with Conner Habib, which features in-depth conversations on topics as broad as punk rock, philosophy, fiction, and occultism. His writing has appeared in multiple online and print magazines. He lives in Ireland.
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February 19, 2023
HAWK MOUNTAIN by Conner Habib (this is a DEBUT) << mind blown.
Release Date: July 2022
General Genre: Psychological, Adult Horror/Suspense
Subgenre/Themes: some Coming-of-Age (high school), Gothic, Human Monsters, Mind-Bender, Mystery, Psychological, Reads Like a Thriller
Writing Style: brisk pacing, short chapters, multiple POV, dual timelines, critically acclaimed
What You Need to Know: Dual timelines tell the story of Todd and his mysterious high school bully, Jack. Flashbacks bring the reader back to Todd and Jack's volatile high school experience. The present-day story is about Jack suddenly showing up on the same beach where Todd is with his son. Their lives become increasingly entangled again while the reader observes the escalation of their relationship then, and now.
My Reading Experience: I knew two pages into it that this would grab ahold of me and not let go until it was finished. TWO. PAGES. IN. And I was right. I binge-read this in 24 hours. I could not stop mostly because I'd never read anything like it. It's an absorbing, fascinating, psychological, horror story of bad decisions.
Conner Habib runs his readers through a wide variety of uncomfortable feelings. Low-key anxiety turns to frustration, confusion, concern, worry, shock, disgust, and fear, and it's unrelenting. Just madness.
I loved the way the dual timelines clicked together at key points in the story to unlock answers to questions; a slow peeling back of layers intentionally and strategically. That worked well for me.
The book broken up into parts was quite effective, as was the peppering of other POVs to add insight. Some authors give the reader more information than the characters are allowed to have which is common in thrillers in order to build in some suspense...the reader is just dying to see a character(s) to find out what we already know.
But in HAWK MOUNTAIN, the characters know more than we do and it's these secrets and the way they are doled out over the course of very short chapters that keep the pages FLYING at warp speed.
There is something so messed up about how Habib's arresting story holds the reader hostage with an unflinching narrative of events that escalate at an alarming rate. I was barely finished processing what had just transpired before I was knee-deep in another panic-inducing situation.
It felt like watching a movie where you're just in a constant state of sitting on the edge of your seat yelling at the TV screen with the hope that the characters will slow down long enough to think things through.
But alas,
All rationality and reasonableness are left behind, do not come here for that.
Show up for the reckless, chaotic, self-sabotaging chaos.
A few triggers: (skip if you do not want these)
child abuse, homophobia, homophobic slurs, unfiltered gruesome violence
Final Recommendation: Carve out ample time for yourself to finish in one sitting. Putting a bookmark in this one is not an option.
Comps: Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan, The Shrink Next Door TV show (Apple TV+)
Release Date: July 2022
General Genre: Psychological, Adult Horror/Suspense
Subgenre/Themes: some Coming-of-Age (high school), Gothic, Human Monsters, Mind-Bender, Mystery, Psychological, Reads Like a Thriller
Writing Style: brisk pacing, short chapters, multiple POV, dual timelines, critically acclaimed
What You Need to Know: Dual timelines tell the story of Todd and his mysterious high school bully, Jack. Flashbacks bring the reader back to Todd and Jack's volatile high school experience. The present-day story is about Jack suddenly showing up on the same beach where Todd is with his son. Their lives become increasingly entangled again while the reader observes the escalation of their relationship then, and now.
My Reading Experience: I knew two pages into it that this would grab ahold of me and not let go until it was finished. TWO. PAGES. IN. And I was right. I binge-read this in 24 hours. I could not stop mostly because I'd never read anything like it. It's an absorbing, fascinating, psychological, horror story of bad decisions.
Conner Habib runs his readers through a wide variety of uncomfortable feelings. Low-key anxiety turns to frustration, confusion, concern, worry, shock, disgust, and fear, and it's unrelenting. Just madness.
I loved the way the dual timelines clicked together at key points in the story to unlock answers to questions; a slow peeling back of layers intentionally and strategically. That worked well for me.
The book broken up into parts was quite effective, as was the peppering of other POVs to add insight. Some authors give the reader more information than the characters are allowed to have which is common in thrillers in order to build in some suspense...the reader is just dying to see a character(s) to find out what we already know.
But in HAWK MOUNTAIN, the characters know more than we do and it's these secrets and the way they are doled out over the course of very short chapters that keep the pages FLYING at warp speed.
There is something so messed up about how Habib's arresting story holds the reader hostage with an unflinching narrative of events that escalate at an alarming rate. I was barely finished processing what had just transpired before I was knee-deep in another panic-inducing situation.
It felt like watching a movie where you're just in a constant state of sitting on the edge of your seat yelling at the TV screen with the hope that the characters will slow down long enough to think things through.
But alas,
All rationality and reasonableness are left behind, do not come here for that.
Show up for the reckless, chaotic, self-sabotaging chaos.
A few triggers: (skip if you do not want these)
child abuse, homophobia, homophobic slurs, unfiltered gruesome violence
Final Recommendation: Carve out ample time for yourself to finish in one sitting. Putting a bookmark in this one is not an option.
Comps: Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan, The Shrink Next Door TV show (Apple TV+)
June 24, 2022
. . . Todd searches and searches. But Jack is gone.
Except the impression of Jack will never be gone, not really. He's in the dark behind Todd's closed eyes, like an afterimage from staring too long into a burning light.
And then, fifteen years later, Todd will open his eyes, and Jack will be there above him again, blotting out the sun.
Remember that bully from high school, the one who tormented you for no reason, and made your senior year a living hell? Now imagine having him enter your life again fifteen years later.
I had no idea what to expect from this little walk on the dark side. I thought there might be more of a reaction from Todd, a verbal confrontation with a rehash of all those old wounds, along with a demand for an explanation, but it never really comes . . . not verbally, anyway.
I finished the book still not knowing which characters really deserved my sympathies.
The only thing I know for sure is that this was one disturbing, twisty read
This title will be available July 5th.
Except the impression of Jack will never be gone, not really. He's in the dark behind Todd's closed eyes, like an afterimage from staring too long into a burning light.
And then, fifteen years later, Todd will open his eyes, and Jack will be there above him again, blotting out the sun.
Remember that bully from high school, the one who tormented you for no reason, and made your senior year a living hell? Now imagine having him enter your life again fifteen years later.
I had no idea what to expect from this little walk on the dark side. I thought there might be more of a reaction from Todd, a verbal confrontation with a rehash of all those old wounds, along with a demand for an explanation, but it never really comes . . . not verbally, anyway.
I finished the book still not knowing which characters really deserved my sympathies.
The only thing I know for sure is that this was one disturbing, twisty read
This title will be available July 5th.
July 13, 2022
dnf’d at 50% found todd to be immensely unlikable in an unfun way. i found the exploration of gayness and masculinity was extremely shallow, the homophobic (and racist) bully who is actually gay and in love with his gay presenting target has been so overdone that if i see it in a contemporary space it better be perfect. there were so many odd clichés when it came to the portrayal of characters it made feel like i was reading a story from a fake AITA reddit post. the book takes a turn out of nowhere that i assume was supposed to be chill/terror inducing but felt ham fisted and zapped any tension that the first part was trying to build. this may be because i found the adult todd to be extremely annoying. i really was looking forward to this book because it was pitched to me as something different than it was. this story is pitched as a thriller but had a lot of trouble building suspense. i think if i went in with the expectation of it being lit fic i may have held out longer for pay off. i will say habib’s prose is evocative, and he’s obviously a writer of skill. just wasn’t for me unfortunately. very disappointing😔
April 2, 2022
4.5 stars
Living your life numb and grudged.
This was brilliant. Conner Habib knocked it out of the park with this debut! I was engaged from the start. This book touches on topics of bullying, abuse, mental health, sexual identity, manipulation, and grief. Mainly focusing on the effects of what constant harassment and neglect can build within a person.
This story follows Todd and his son, Anthony, in the aftereffects of moving back to Todd's hometown to start over and get back to living, five years after his divorce from Livia who walked out on a life with him and her child. When someone from Todd's high school days, Jack, comes barreling back into his life. Piece by piece the suppressed anger and mask slowly chip away. Livia comes knocking—decided she finally wants a relationship with Anthony. Stress, grudges, and accusations cause turmoil and a crack in Todd's state of mind. Will everything he does finally give him ease?
Thank you W. W. Norton & Company for gifting me this ARC! This will be published July 5th, 2022!
Living your life numb and grudged.
This was brilliant. Conner Habib knocked it out of the park with this debut! I was engaged from the start. This book touches on topics of bullying, abuse, mental health, sexual identity, manipulation, and grief. Mainly focusing on the effects of what constant harassment and neglect can build within a person.
This story follows Todd and his son, Anthony, in the aftereffects of moving back to Todd's hometown to start over and get back to living, five years after his divorce from Livia who walked out on a life with him and her child. When someone from Todd's high school days, Jack, comes barreling back into his life. Piece by piece the suppressed anger and mask slowly chip away. Livia comes knocking—decided she finally wants a relationship with Anthony. Stress, grudges, and accusations cause turmoil and a crack in Todd's state of mind. Will everything he does finally give him ease?
Thank you W. W. Norton & Company for gifting me this ARC! This will be published July 5th, 2022!
December 27, 2022
Some men would rather This begins as a frog-in-boiling water book, as Todd’s high school bully Jack shows up unexpectedly and begins to encroach on his life and his son Anthony’s in increasingly sinister ways. This narrative is assisted by Todd’s relentless, excruciating passivity; it’s easy to feel sympathetic for flashback/past tense Todd as he endures the torment of everyone turning against him during his senior year, but present day/tense Todd is a frustrating wet mop, forever distracted, not answering, walking out of the room or staring off into space while Jack ingratiates himself into Anthony’s life. At some point, Todd, you have got to do more than just think You have to leave at the guy who beat you up in high school when he moves in or takes your six-year-old to the beach without you! Well, at some point Todd does do more than just stare off into space and his internalized homophobia and tangled erotic/traumatic feelings for Jack cause him to react and the rest of the book is his descent into madness as he copes with the consequences of that overreaction by doing a lot of really horrible things to his son and the people in their lives. It’s no wonder that Todd is so repressed; there is zero possibility of anyone being gay in this book for some reason. The time period strikes me as maybe 90s-ish for past Todd and present day for the rest of it, but while I get that the US is experiencing a pretty severe regression in public perception/reaction to the concept that LGBTQ+ folks deserve to be alive and also happy, everyone’s reaction to the possibility of, say, Todd or the librarian at the school he works at being gay, was depressingly bigoted. I really enjoyed Habib’s writing style, which is sharp and precise and lovely; Anthony swallowing memories like a snake swallows an egg, fall branches driving death towards their edges, the light wind sounding different through through each set of trees. This book is mildly unbearable and pretty gross, and that ending! so my Spook-tober reading pile has started off well.
June 15, 2024
The surprise hit of the year!
Here and there people were gushing about this and when I actually found the audiobook on my Storytel membership I decided to give it a try. Very good decision, I finished it in one sitting and I love when that happens.
Single father Todd and his son Anthony are relaxing on the beach when all of a sudden they meet his cruel childhood bully Jack, who, now as an adult, acts very normal, as if they had been the best of friends forever. A dinner leads to Jack spending the night and another night at their place, but Todd can't let go of the past, and to his horror his son seems to get attached to Jack too. Things escalate and take really unexpected, devastating turns which will make you feel confused.
Todd's flashbacks of being bullied are harsh, without being over the top (Looking at you, Heaven!), done in a way that everyone can relate and find a part of themselves in these characters. It definitely will go right through you. All the more surprising is the course of the story which questions roles and whether or not a person can change, and how the traces of our past can prevail in a number of ways. Very fucked up, in a good way.
Here and there people were gushing about this and when I actually found the audiobook on my Storytel membership I decided to give it a try. Very good decision, I finished it in one sitting and I love when that happens.
Single father Todd and his son Anthony are relaxing on the beach when all of a sudden they meet his cruel childhood bully Jack, who, now as an adult, acts very normal, as if they had been the best of friends forever. A dinner leads to Jack spending the night and another night at their place, but Todd can't let go of the past, and to his horror his son seems to get attached to Jack too. Things escalate and take really unexpected, devastating turns which will make you feel confused.
Todd's flashbacks of being bullied are harsh, without being over the top (Looking at you, Heaven!), done in a way that everyone can relate and find a part of themselves in these characters. It definitely will go right through you. All the more surprising is the course of the story which questions roles and whether or not a person can change, and how the traces of our past can prevail in a number of ways. Very fucked up, in a good way.
June 3, 2024
First of all, why is this book so underrated. It's criminally good. I was hooked and how. I went in with no expectations and not reading the synopsis. When something happened (iykyk) I was like nooo😭 The writing is almost poetic. This is the author's debut and I can't wait to read whatever they write next🖤
July 5, 2022
Gory? Yes. But so, so good.
November 21, 2022
I vacillated a bit on whether or not this was a 3 or 4 star read for me. On the positive side, the author Conner Habib writes in a very lyrical style with passion and intelligence. Negatively, even with all the purple prose it became a slog to get through. Vivid descriptions and infinitesimal narration can be fine in small amounts but for someone with my attention span it becomes rather tedious. The plot is worthy of 4 stars with twists and turns that eventually lead to a surprising if slightly predictable outcome. The characters though left me wanting. Specifically, the protagonist Todd Nasca. Fuck, at some point I started to loathe him. For me the main takeaway is do not be like Todd Nasca.
The first part of this novel, which I enjoyed more so than the second part dealt primarily with the persecution of Todd Nasca during senior year of High School. This recollection was spawned by the reappearance of Jack, his bully during his final year of primary school. Before this Todd was living his best milquetoast life. He led an ordinary life that was neither glamorous nor hellish. He had a maybe/could be girlfriend and was looking forward to coasting through his final year. He was set up to go Keene University and was anxious to get on with a life he was sure was only going to get better and better. Todd makes a cardinal sin by snickering when a poem written by Jack is read aloud. Todd has now made a mortal enemy. After this transgression, Jack attempts to humiliate Todd in a myriad of ways. He eggs him on mercilessly, repeatedly questioning his manhood and sexuality and tries to goad him into a fight. At one point he even physically assaults him, punching him in the gut. Through his charm, good looks and aggression, Jack has marginalized Todd into an outcast. At this point in the story, it is easy to relate and feel for Todd but the swerve is soon to occur.
While the first part seesawed between present day Todd, a single father of a young boy, Anthony and his senior year, the second part was focused on how Todd coped with his life gradually unravelling. This is where the switch occurred for me when Todd went from being a sympathetic character to being something different. There is no doubt that Todd is in a bit of a pickle. His ex-wife after a half decade is all of a sudden interested in establishing a relationship with their son. He has just moved in part to make sure that she cannot find him or their son, so he is trying to establish himself and his son. His job molding the minds of the youth is challenging without all of the requisite stresses and he is trying to do it alone. Not to mention, the mysterious and possibly diabolical figure from his past is starting to impose. On the pretext of meeting him serendipitously Jack has weaseled into their lives, finding refuge on the living room couch. To top it all off, Jack charms Anthony with his effortless magnetism. Fearing some nefarious plot to turn his own kid against him, Todd decides to act.
People have snapped for far less than what Todd has endured but a fuller and more distorted picture emerges. Even precluding the act and subsequent cover-up, Todd’s sainthood does not hold up. Todds’ relationships paint a picture of a man who at best has a hard time relating to people. Whether it was his high school girlfriend who he accuses of being promiscuous or his wife who he ignores and does not try to find out what is going on with her, he comes across as aloof. He even treats Anthony’s flirtatious and fun-loving teacher as a prop meant to convey to his ex-wife Lidia that he has a new girlfriend. Quite frankly Todd is a user. Another example of this narcissism is when he catches the high school librarian in a compromising position and does not initially convey understanding. He makes him sweat it out and only confirms that he is with him when he knows he cannot take advantage of the situation. He does not get along with his parents, dreading having a conversation with them. As a teacher he targets one of his students who he forces to say that he loves the entire class. Knowing full well how high school trauma can follow one around, this seemed especially cruel. This poor boy is soon the object of derision forced to put up with bullies mocking him. The most prominent example of Todd being less than stellar is his treatment of Jack. While, the first part of the book makes Todd seem like the victim, the more you learn, Jack is victimized more than him. Not only is Jack a fish out of water, going from rural Maine to suburban New Hampshire his family life is tragic. He lost his mom and his father is abusive. He lives on the wrong side of the tracks and he is essentially given a scholarship to go to his new school. Being put on the spot, he gamely recites his award earning poem and gets mocked by Todd. While, he makes life for Todd difficult he shows him compassion during a school field trip to Hawk Mountain. Compassion, that Todd would not have shown him or probably anyone who had the misfortune of being in his orbit.
There was much to admire in this debut effort by Conner Habib. He crafted a work that left me guessing but my annoyance with the main character, Todd Nasca clouded my judgement and makes it a 3 for me.
The first part of this novel, which I enjoyed more so than the second part dealt primarily with the persecution of Todd Nasca during senior year of High School. This recollection was spawned by the reappearance of Jack, his bully during his final year of primary school. Before this Todd was living his best milquetoast life. He led an ordinary life that was neither glamorous nor hellish. He had a maybe/could be girlfriend and was looking forward to coasting through his final year. He was set up to go Keene University and was anxious to get on with a life he was sure was only going to get better and better. Todd makes a cardinal sin by snickering when a poem written by Jack is read aloud. Todd has now made a mortal enemy. After this transgression, Jack attempts to humiliate Todd in a myriad of ways. He eggs him on mercilessly, repeatedly questioning his manhood and sexuality and tries to goad him into a fight. At one point he even physically assaults him, punching him in the gut. Through his charm, good looks and aggression, Jack has marginalized Todd into an outcast. At this point in the story, it is easy to relate and feel for Todd but the swerve is soon to occur.
While the first part seesawed between present day Todd, a single father of a young boy, Anthony and his senior year, the second part was focused on how Todd coped with his life gradually unravelling. This is where the switch occurred for me when Todd went from being a sympathetic character to being something different. There is no doubt that Todd is in a bit of a pickle. His ex-wife after a half decade is all of a sudden interested in establishing a relationship with their son. He has just moved in part to make sure that she cannot find him or their son, so he is trying to establish himself and his son. His job molding the minds of the youth is challenging without all of the requisite stresses and he is trying to do it alone. Not to mention, the mysterious and possibly diabolical figure from his past is starting to impose. On the pretext of meeting him serendipitously Jack has weaseled into their lives, finding refuge on the living room couch. To top it all off, Jack charms Anthony with his effortless magnetism. Fearing some nefarious plot to turn his own kid against him, Todd decides to act.
People have snapped for far less than what Todd has endured but a fuller and more distorted picture emerges. Even precluding the act and subsequent cover-up, Todd’s sainthood does not hold up. Todds’ relationships paint a picture of a man who at best has a hard time relating to people. Whether it was his high school girlfriend who he accuses of being promiscuous or his wife who he ignores and does not try to find out what is going on with her, he comes across as aloof. He even treats Anthony’s flirtatious and fun-loving teacher as a prop meant to convey to his ex-wife Lidia that he has a new girlfriend. Quite frankly Todd is a user. Another example of this narcissism is when he catches the high school librarian in a compromising position and does not initially convey understanding. He makes him sweat it out and only confirms that he is with him when he knows he cannot take advantage of the situation. He does not get along with his parents, dreading having a conversation with them. As a teacher he targets one of his students who he forces to say that he loves the entire class. Knowing full well how high school trauma can follow one around, this seemed especially cruel. This poor boy is soon the object of derision forced to put up with bullies mocking him. The most prominent example of Todd being less than stellar is his treatment of Jack. While, the first part of the book makes Todd seem like the victim, the more you learn, Jack is victimized more than him. Not only is Jack a fish out of water, going from rural Maine to suburban New Hampshire his family life is tragic. He lost his mom and his father is abusive. He lives on the wrong side of the tracks and he is essentially given a scholarship to go to his new school. Being put on the spot, he gamely recites his award earning poem and gets mocked by Todd. While, he makes life for Todd difficult he shows him compassion during a school field trip to Hawk Mountain. Compassion, that Todd would not have shown him or probably anyone who had the misfortune of being in his orbit.
There was much to admire in this debut effort by Conner Habib. He crafted a work that left me guessing but my annoyance with the main character, Todd Nasca clouded my judgement and makes it a 3 for me.
August 8, 2022
Hawk Mountain
, Conner Habib's debut novel, is creepy and gory, yet shockingly emotional in places.
Todd is at the beach one afternoon with his young son Anthony when a man approaches. He is shocked to discover that the man is Jack, who transferred to Todd’s high school senior year and bullied him relentlessly, causing him to be the object of ridicule by many of his peers. But Jack is apparently thrilled to have run into his “old friend.”
Although Todd would like Jack to say hello and keep on walking, he wants to catch up. And grab dinner. And maybe stay the night? It’s not long before Jack has a fan in Anthony and starts insinuating himself into Todd’s life. His presence reawakens memories Todd had suppressed for years, as well as confusion about his feelings toward his old bully.
Little by little, Jack’s presence wreaks havoc in Todd’s life, causing trouble professionally and personally. And as Todd spirals out of control, everything is at risk.
This book had intrigued me for a while but it’s so far outside of my comfort zone that I hesitated reading it. It’s definitely gory, but at the same time, it’s a meditation on the lengths we go to hide our desires, and the cruelty we inflict on those we see ourselves in. Todd’s memories of Jack’s cruelty in high school definitely hit very close to home for me.
Habib is a tremendously talented writer and this is a very self-assured debut. This is definitely not for everyone but it’s a book that will make you think, and one you’ll want to discuss, even as it creeps you out.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Todd is at the beach one afternoon with his young son Anthony when a man approaches. He is shocked to discover that the man is Jack, who transferred to Todd’s high school senior year and bullied him relentlessly, causing him to be the object of ridicule by many of his peers. But Jack is apparently thrilled to have run into his “old friend.”
Although Todd would like Jack to say hello and keep on walking, he wants to catch up. And grab dinner. And maybe stay the night? It’s not long before Jack has a fan in Anthony and starts insinuating himself into Todd’s life. His presence reawakens memories Todd had suppressed for years, as well as confusion about his feelings toward his old bully.
Little by little, Jack’s presence wreaks havoc in Todd’s life, causing trouble professionally and personally. And as Todd spirals out of control, everything is at risk.
This book had intrigued me for a while but it’s so far outside of my comfort zone that I hesitated reading it. It’s definitely gory, but at the same time, it’s a meditation on the lengths we go to hide our desires, and the cruelty we inflict on those we see ourselves in. Todd’s memories of Jack’s cruelty in high school definitely hit very close to home for me.
Habib is a tremendously talented writer and this is a very self-assured debut. This is definitely not for everyone but it’s a book that will make you think, and one you’ll want to discuss, even as it creeps you out.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
April 17, 2023
I almost DNF’d this at the beginning of part 2, but I’m happy I didn’t!!
Just know if you pick this up, the first half is SLOW. Like, so damn incredibly slow 😂 it’s supposed to be a slow burn with mounting tension, but I felt nothing for the characters and honestly had a hard time keeping them together.
But then! Part two happened, and I’m happy I ended up sticking with it. It gets dark, not as dark as I was expecting, but things get pretty crazy in a slightly depraved, cerebral, and anxiety inducing way.
It ended way too soon, but I can see why the author chose that route.
All in all, I do recommend it, but beware of a slow start!!
Just know if you pick this up, the first half is SLOW. Like, so damn incredibly slow 😂 it’s supposed to be a slow burn with mounting tension, but I felt nothing for the characters and honestly had a hard time keeping them together.
But then! Part two happened, and I’m happy I ended up sticking with it. It gets dark, not as dark as I was expecting, but things get pretty crazy in a slightly depraved, cerebral, and anxiety inducing way.
It ended way too soon, but I can see why the author chose that route.
All in all, I do recommend it, but beware of a slow start!!
June 16, 2022
well! okay! yeah sure!
July 14, 2022
I haven't read a book this fast in a long time, and I loved every second of it. I found it impossible to turn away from.
*Hawk Mountain*, a debut novel by @againsteveryonewithconnerhabib (who also has a thoughtful podcast I've started to listen to) plays out like a thriller but this novel is pure horror.
It's expert use of time jumps and foreshadowing and withholding was so effective and unsettling; the gruesome moments left me breathless. And I cared about the main character.
A bit of *The Talented Mr. Ripley* and a heavy dose of the bloodiest of Alfred Hitchcock scenes, *Hawk Mountain* gave me a glorious rush to satisfy my hunger for horror. Plus, it's queer! Plus, it examines masculinity! Plus, you'll want to discuss and argue over the ending. Go read it!
*Hawk Mountain*, a debut novel by @againsteveryonewithconnerhabib (who also has a thoughtful podcast I've started to listen to) plays out like a thriller but this novel is pure horror.
It's expert use of time jumps and foreshadowing and withholding was so effective and unsettling; the gruesome moments left me breathless. And I cared about the main character.
A bit of *The Talented Mr. Ripley* and a heavy dose of the bloodiest of Alfred Hitchcock scenes, *Hawk Mountain* gave me a glorious rush to satisfy my hunger for horror. Plus, it's queer! Plus, it examines masculinity! Plus, you'll want to discuss and argue over the ending. Go read it!
August 20, 2022
This was extremely disturbing and so horrifying I had to pace my reading. And I’m saying this as a big horror fan who doesn’t squirmish easily. This is the bleakest book I’ve ever read in my life. 5 stars but cannot imagine recommending it to anyone I know.
April 10, 2022
I was interested in Hawk Mountain from the moment I read the blurb: ‘a horror novel about partners and friends, fathers and sons, bullies and scapegoats’... It wastes no time in presenting what immediately seems like a true nightmare of a scenario. Todd, a teacher and single dad, has a ‘chance encounter’ with Jack, who bullied him at school. As memories of that time crowd in on Todd, Jack claims he needs somewhere to spend the night – and then won’t leave. The idea of someone who made your life hell in the past finagling their way in like this, even establishing a bond with your child, is skin-crawling stuff, and Habib does an amazing job of making Todd’s resulting dilemma palpably realistic. But then something happens that flips absolutely everything on its head. And what’s really clever about the story from that point on is that, in a twisted way, it conforms to what you’re led to expect; it just does so in an upside-down way, deliberately playing with the reader’s sympathies and perceptions. It’s a quick, suspenseful read with a devilishly smart core.
I received an advance review copy of Hawk Mountain from the publisher through Edelweiss.
TinyLetter | Linktree
I received an advance review copy of Hawk Mountain from the publisher through Edelweiss.
TinyLetter | Linktree
August 29, 2022
First love is the love that stays with you forever (even if you don't want it to)
I found this book disturbing, retch inducing, sympathy inducing and all the time I knew something EVEN worse was just around the corner!
This book will linger in my mind as I try to figure out just what I've read and if the penultimate part really ended that way.......
I found this book disturbing, retch inducing, sympathy inducing and all the time I knew something EVEN worse was just around the corner!
This book will linger in my mind as I try to figure out just what I've read and if the penultimate part really ended that way.......
April 7, 2025
What a mind fk! This was written so lyrically and gave me the most knots-in-my-stomach feeling since Intensity by Dean Koontz. What a wild ride. You basically get slapped in the face about 1/4 of the way in and never recover. Whatever you think this book is when you go into it, no you don’t. WHEW.
March 15, 2022
I was not prepared for the ride this book took me on. You ever watch a scene in a movie where a character just SNAPS out of nowhere and then all of a sudden it shows the character was just zoning out? Well our initial plot twist was so sudden and intense that I genuinely felt that was the case, but I was wrong. That snap heralded such a tone change for the better part of this read to a point that I quite literally stayed up until 2am to finish reading.
Read. This. Book.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Read. This. Book.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 6, 2022
I’m in the minority, but I was completely underwhelmed by this muddle of a book…the writing is frequently overwrought, the story unconvincing, the characters flat, the dialogue stilted and artificial…I could go on. I’m really not sure what this author is going after, both in terms of genre and message…in my opinion, it doesn’t work as either horror or a thriller…and its literary pretensions are unfulfilled. I’ll give the author another chance, but this debut left me mostly unimpressed.
September 28, 2025
One day, your teenage tormenter reappears in your life, acting as if you were the best of friends and ingratiates himself into your life. That is where we begin with HAWK MOUNTAIN. This is such an interesting novel, I could talk about it for hours. It lives in a weird little venn diagram of coming of age, horror, thriller, and literary fiction. It is not fully any one of these but a little of all of them. I don't know how I missed it so long, but I also get it. Books like this are tricky. A lot of horror or thriller readers won't be into it because it is such a slow burn, and it isn't about traditional thrills or scares. Literary fiction readers will find it distasteful and grotesque. Luckily there are readers like me who love it when all these things come together to make something really unique and find it compulsively readable.
The story of Todd and Jack runs in two parallel lines, both of them slowly escalating. It is unclear where these two stories will take you, except you know that neither of them is going to end well. As teenagers it's a story of bullying and the muddiness of queer desire in a masculine world. As adults it's more about social niceties and lines getting crossed, though there's still plenty of the muddiness of queer desire in a masculine world. The social horror of this reminded me of the first third of the film Mother!, where a woman slowly loses her mind thanks to a set of houseguests who use the language of politeness to become more and more invasive and cruel. Jack is a person who crosses boundaries and Todd is a person who struggles to set boundaries, so the two of them together create an incredible discomfort. I am a strong believer that this is as much in the horror genre as any traditional scare, that the idea of acting like you're being a polite and reasonable person when you are not actually being polite or reasonable creates a level of visceral response that is right up there with any kill scene.
I have been complaining a lot for the last year or two about why everyone is writing about gender except men. Habib is absolutely writing about masculinity here, in a way that I've been wanting. Jack is, in so many ways, an ideal of masculinity. A strong, golden, genial guy who everyone likes. Todd is definitely not a masculine ideal, he is returning to work as a high school English teacher after spending several years as a single stay-at-home father. Fatherhood has been the one place where Todd can feel good about himself. That is, until Jack shows up and enchants Todd's young son.
This is a novel where the queer is more subtext than text. It's an interesting choice that I would love to ask Habib about. I have wondered why gay desire has returned to subtext in so many works I've encountered recently, but it is rooted in a tradition. And Habib certainly wants you to know about this subtext, it is presented to you quite clearly even if it is implication rather than direct statement. Though there are climactic moments where gay desire does come to the forefront, where actions and words become more direct, they are brief and so heightened as to be almost surreal, and then there is a return to reality.
The pacing of this is mostly quite well done. I personally think that there is no reason for the moving back and forth between storylines. In fact, I think just giving the full high school story first would have been in many ways more effective. It makes everything in the adult storyline hit harder and I think you'd still be able to preserve much of the unease and suspicion. But I get why this way works, though it is much more of the literary style of flashback than the genre style. (Clearly I prefer the latter, but that's me.)
I am being intentionally vague about the plot because this is one of those books that does things that may surprise you and it would be a real shame to spoil it. But it can be quite gruesome, so if gore isn't your thing I would pass.
A couple final notes:
-Anthony, Todd's son, is so well written. Usually children in fiction are plot devices who appear when they need to create trouble and disappear the rest of the time. But Anthony is around just as much as he should be (he can still be a bit of an appear/disappear device but this is also the reality of children) and he always feels like a real kid.
-I would probably not recommend audio, even though Habib reads it himself and I usually love author-read audiobooks. Habib's dialogue is so good. But the narrative he reads in what I call "poet voice" where there is a specific kind of sing song intonation and rhythm, with strange pauses. It annoyed me often but I was enjoying the book so much that I dealt with it.
The story of Todd and Jack runs in two parallel lines, both of them slowly escalating. It is unclear where these two stories will take you, except you know that neither of them is going to end well. As teenagers it's a story of bullying and the muddiness of queer desire in a masculine world. As adults it's more about social niceties and lines getting crossed, though there's still plenty of the muddiness of queer desire in a masculine world. The social horror of this reminded me of the first third of the film Mother!, where a woman slowly loses her mind thanks to a set of houseguests who use the language of politeness to become more and more invasive and cruel. Jack is a person who crosses boundaries and Todd is a person who struggles to set boundaries, so the two of them together create an incredible discomfort. I am a strong believer that this is as much in the horror genre as any traditional scare, that the idea of acting like you're being a polite and reasonable person when you are not actually being polite or reasonable creates a level of visceral response that is right up there with any kill scene.
I have been complaining a lot for the last year or two about why everyone is writing about gender except men. Habib is absolutely writing about masculinity here, in a way that I've been wanting. Jack is, in so many ways, an ideal of masculinity. A strong, golden, genial guy who everyone likes. Todd is definitely not a masculine ideal, he is returning to work as a high school English teacher after spending several years as a single stay-at-home father. Fatherhood has been the one place where Todd can feel good about himself. That is, until Jack shows up and enchants Todd's young son.
This is a novel where the queer is more subtext than text. It's an interesting choice that I would love to ask Habib about. I have wondered why gay desire has returned to subtext in so many works I've encountered recently, but it is rooted in a tradition. And Habib certainly wants you to know about this subtext, it is presented to you quite clearly even if it is implication rather than direct statement. Though there are climactic moments where gay desire does come to the forefront, where actions and words become more direct, they are brief and so heightened as to be almost surreal, and then there is a return to reality.
The pacing of this is mostly quite well done. I personally think that there is no reason for the moving back and forth between storylines. In fact, I think just giving the full high school story first would have been in many ways more effective. It makes everything in the adult storyline hit harder and I think you'd still be able to preserve much of the unease and suspicion. But I get why this way works, though it is much more of the literary style of flashback than the genre style. (Clearly I prefer the latter, but that's me.)
I am being intentionally vague about the plot because this is one of those books that does things that may surprise you and it would be a real shame to spoil it. But it can be quite gruesome, so if gore isn't your thing I would pass.
A couple final notes:
-Anthony, Todd's son, is so well written. Usually children in fiction are plot devices who appear when they need to create trouble and disappear the rest of the time. But Anthony is around just as much as he should be (he can still be a bit of an appear/disappear device but this is also the reality of children) and he always feels like a real kid.
-I would probably not recommend audio, even though Habib reads it himself and I usually love author-read audiobooks. Habib's dialogue is so good. But the narrative he reads in what I call "poet voice" where there is a specific kind of sing song intonation and rhythm, with strange pauses. It annoyed me often but I was enjoying the book so much that I dealt with it.
November 20, 2022
I picked this book up on a whim and I'm very glad I did! This is Habib's debut, and a very impressive one, at that! If you are looking to read a book that gives you a whirlwind of different emotions look no further, you found the perfect one here!
Hawk Mountain centers around a single father named Todd and his 7-year-old son, Anthony, who are enjoying a day at the beach when suddenly approached by Todd's childhood bully, Jack. A bit peculiar, Jack seems to be the polar opposite of his childhood self, and immediately inserts himself into Todd and Anthony's life, somehow talking his way into staying at their home for a few days... and thus initiates almost instant DRAMA!!
I instantly disliked Jack, and it was clear as day to me he was gaslighting Todd, and even attempting to turn Anthony against him. To me, it felt like Jack did everything he could to ruin Todd's childhood and now that he was an adult and evidently bored with his own life, tracked Todd down so he could continue his destruction! When an incident occurs resulting in a death, the insanity just escalates! Needless to say, the tension throughout was palpable!
This felt a lot like The Tell-Tale heart by Edgar Allan Poe, as the murderer slowly descended into paranoia and madness, and I was living for it!! Aspects of this novel I did not particularly enjoy was the complete pushover personality of Todd, and his horrendous parenting! It became more and more apparent to me that Todd had issues with his sexuality that developed in childhood and continued to remain unresolved as an adult. This denial started as pathological lying and led from one bad decision to the next! I literally wanted to reach through the pages and strangle Todd on multiple occasions, he was that frustrating!
If you are someone who is not a fan of guts and gore, this definitely won't be the book for you; there was tons of it throughout! Other potential triggers included chronic alcoholism, neglect of a minor (aka bad parenting), homophobia, and incredibly poor judgment in general! All of these things I can actually tolerate in a psychological thriller such as this, however what I cannot tolerate is an unresolved ending, which has always been a big pet peeve of mine, and was my biggest issue with this novel! I finished this one with a sense of aggravation, as it ends rather abruptly, leaving so many storylines up in the air. Will there be a follow-up novel? Or are we supposed to create our own ending?? Perhaps we will never know!
Had this ending been executed to where at least a couple of the key plot lines were resolved this most likely would have been a 5-Star caliber read for me! Despite all this it's one of the more impressive literary psychological thrillers I've ever read, and if you know me you know that I'm not a big fan of anything that is dubbed literary, as I feel the writing can sometimes feel like nonsensical rambling! If you're able to get past some of the primary triggers and issues, I definitely recommend this one!
Hawk Mountain centers around a single father named Todd and his 7-year-old son, Anthony, who are enjoying a day at the beach when suddenly approached by Todd's childhood bully, Jack. A bit peculiar, Jack seems to be the polar opposite of his childhood self, and immediately inserts himself into Todd and Anthony's life, somehow talking his way into staying at their home for a few days... and thus initiates almost instant DRAMA!!
I instantly disliked Jack, and it was clear as day to me he was gaslighting Todd, and even attempting to turn Anthony against him. To me, it felt like Jack did everything he could to ruin Todd's childhood and now that he was an adult and evidently bored with his own life, tracked Todd down so he could continue his destruction! When an incident occurs resulting in a death, the insanity just escalates! Needless to say, the tension throughout was palpable!
This felt a lot like The Tell-Tale heart by Edgar Allan Poe, as the murderer slowly descended into paranoia and madness, and I was living for it!! Aspects of this novel I did not particularly enjoy was the complete pushover personality of Todd, and his horrendous parenting! It became more and more apparent to me that Todd had issues with his sexuality that developed in childhood and continued to remain unresolved as an adult. This denial started as pathological lying and led from one bad decision to the next! I literally wanted to reach through the pages and strangle Todd on multiple occasions, he was that frustrating!
If you are someone who is not a fan of guts and gore, this definitely won't be the book for you; there was tons of it throughout! Other potential triggers included chronic alcoholism, neglect of a minor (aka bad parenting), homophobia, and incredibly poor judgment in general! All of these things I can actually tolerate in a psychological thriller such as this, however what I cannot tolerate is an unresolved ending, which has always been a big pet peeve of mine, and was my biggest issue with this novel! I finished this one with a sense of aggravation, as it ends rather abruptly, leaving so many storylines up in the air. Will there be a follow-up novel? Or are we supposed to create our own ending?? Perhaps we will never know!
Had this ending been executed to where at least a couple of the key plot lines were resolved this most likely would have been a 5-Star caliber read for me! Despite all this it's one of the more impressive literary psychological thrillers I've ever read, and if you know me you know that I'm not a big fan of anything that is dubbed literary, as I feel the writing can sometimes feel like nonsensical rambling! If you're able to get past some of the primary triggers and issues, I definitely recommend this one!
June 7, 2022
The premise of this book really intrigued me. A man running into his high school bully years later and having to deal with the tense situations that come up sounded interesting. Especially since the synopsis mentions manipulation, murder, and the story being fast-paced. However I unfortunately found this story to be incredibly underwhelming.
The book begins in a dual timeline format switching between when Todd and Jack are in high school and when they run into each other as adults. Something about the way it was written kept me from truly getting invested with the characters or what was happening to them. I felt like I wasn't learning enough about who they were as people. Also, I would say that apart from a few moments there isn’t anything remotely fast-paced about the story until almost halfway through the book.
I do think the book has some thought provoking aspects, such as the long lasting impact of bullying and homophobia. But I just wanted a bit more from the characters themselves. There were some fascinating parts of the plot, but I wanted more development so I could feel like I truly understood why the characters were doing certain things. There were some shocking and suspenseful moments that I think were executed well, but the book as a whole didn't quite work for me.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book begins in a dual timeline format switching between when Todd and Jack are in high school and when they run into each other as adults. Something about the way it was written kept me from truly getting invested with the characters or what was happening to them. I felt like I wasn't learning enough about who they were as people. Also, I would say that apart from a few moments there isn’t anything remotely fast-paced about the story until almost halfway through the book.
I do think the book has some thought provoking aspects, such as the long lasting impact of bullying and homophobia. But I just wanted a bit more from the characters themselves. There were some fascinating parts of the plot, but I wanted more development so I could feel like I truly understood why the characters were doing certain things. There were some shocking and suspenseful moments that I think were executed well, but the book as a whole didn't quite work for me.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 11, 2023
This was a 3.5 for me
Todd was really hard to like, and find sympathy for as the story progressed; he was a doormat, so passive I wanted to scream.
Todd was really hard to like, and find sympathy for as the story progressed; he was a doormat, so passive I wanted to scream.
June 17, 2022
•This book took me for a ride. I finished the last page and was left just staring at the ceiling, blinking in silence, unable to grasp what I was left feeling now that I had completed this harrowing and adrenaline fueled work of fiction. Author, Andrea Lawlor succinctly expresses in their blurb of this book that "finally, a horror story that knows cisheteropatriarchy is the villain!" They couldn’t be more right, and for Hawk Mountain to be a a debut novel really makes me excited for Conner Habib’s literary career. I want to say that I loved this story, which I do, but it is so damn bleak it makes me feel dirty for enjoying it so much. You’ve got to pick this up when it comes out in July. Highly recommend for those who enjoy the marriage of literary fiction and suspense. My nerves are shot, yall. Enjoy!
June 14, 2024
I liked the first third of this a lot, but after that I found my enjoyment draining away with each page. The whole middle section of the book felt unnecessarily long and lacking in any kind of subtlety. There’s definitely some good stuff here, but too much of it is obvious.
July 12, 2022
First love gone wrong - extremely wrong.
Habib got the flow between past and present just right, delicate and non invasive.
Another thread that keeps rising to the surface of my thoughts is that no matter how hard we try to give our children a better experience than we had growing up, we still do not get it right. Everything went haywire for Todd in this regard. Even in dealing with his students he found himself in the part of the aggressor in alienating Banner from his friends. Habib shows the cycle how the abused end up abusing so very well.
Habib got the flow between past and present just right, delicate and non invasive.
Another thread that keeps rising to the surface of my thoughts is that no matter how hard we try to give our children a better experience than we had growing up, we still do not get it right. Everything went haywire for Todd in this regard. Even in dealing with his students he found himself in the part of the aggressor in alienating Banner from his friends. Habib shows the cycle how the abused end up abusing so very well.
November 16, 2024
This one really got under my skin.
An extremely unpleasant and uncomfortable read about bullying. The story starts off flipping between then, when Todd is young victim of bullying, and now when Todd is a single parent about to start a new job in a new town. Todd then comes face to face with the person who bullied him at school and the results are devastating. The ending, beyond bleak.
I think the author got most of this spot on, especially the bits with young Todd. But, some bits in the 2nd half of the book just felt a bit off.
An extremely unpleasant and uncomfortable read about bullying. The story starts off flipping between then, when Todd is young victim of bullying, and now when Todd is a single parent about to start a new job in a new town. Todd then comes face to face with the person who bullied him at school and the results are devastating. The ending, beyond bleak.
I think the author got most of this spot on, especially the bits with young Todd. But, some bits in the 2nd half of the book just felt a bit off.
March 27, 2023
Oh my god this was amazing! Simultaneously dark and intimate. (Will hopefully have a more in-depth review later!)
July 11, 2023
A DEBUT ????? A D E B U T ???? unbelievable.
i can’t resist a vivid, gory descent into madness fueled by intense repression, and this was master-class. being trapped in the MC’s mind was so effective for this novel. i was on the edge of my fucking seat, experiencing revulsion and horror and sympathy and longing and pain. there’s SO much here.
anyways if you need me i’ll be thinking about this book 😀
i can’t resist a vivid, gory descent into madness fueled by intense repression, and this was master-class. being trapped in the MC’s mind was so effective for this novel. i was on the edge of my fucking seat, experiencing revulsion and horror and sympathy and longing and pain. there’s SO much here.
anyways if you need me i’ll be thinking about this book 😀
August 15, 2022
Oh. My. God.
It took me a bit to understand what this book was doing to me. The dread that permeates this novel is powerful. A dark, DARK story.
It took me a bit to understand what this book was doing to me. The dread that permeates this novel is powerful. A dark, DARK story.
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