August's Eyes

"When I was in elementary school, I took the school bus home. My grandparents lived out in the country and had a long driveway. One day after the bus dropped me off and I was about a third of the way down said driveway, a red car pulled in behind me and stopped. A man got out of the car and started walking towards me. I didn't recognize him so I ran as fast as I could to the house. I didn't look back. For whatever reason, I didn't tell my parents when I got in the house and forgot about it. I didn't remember that happening until I was almost 30. The brain has a way of protecting us from things.<br/><br/>In AUGUST'S EYES, John starts having nightmares and visions set in a land of graveyards. He gets wrapped up in a decades-old mystery that won't stay buried.<br/><br/>This is the first book I've read by Glenn Rolfe and I loved every minute of it. The characters felt like real people with real problems that I grew attached to quickly. The town of Spears Corner (with way too many graveyards) was a creepy setting that felt like a place right out of a King novel- especially with the novel being set in Maine. I don't know if any of Rolfe's other stories are set there, but I think he could do that if he wanted to. I'd happily visit again.<br/><br/>I don't want to get into the plot much because I don't want to spoil anything. I will say that I tore through this book- I'm not a fast reader and it only took me two days to get through it. I wanted to know what was going to happen and as the stakes go up, this book gets harder and harder to put down. Without saying why, the ending of this book had me in tears and that's not a thing that happens to me often. I love when books make me feel things and I think it speaks to just how well these chapters were written that I cared that much about them. Bonus points for the "cameos" of some other authors in the small press horror scene and the musical references were fun too. Just a head's up...the horror of this story is mostly based in reality and when children are involved, none of it is ever easy to read. That said, none of it feels explicit or exploitative and manages to get the emotions of the events across. <br/><br/>Is this story dark? Unflinchingly. Do I recommend it? Absolutely.<br/><br/>*Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree press for the review copy"