3.75/5

I really liked the writing style. It was engaging from the beginning and had that quality where you keep telling yourself "just one more chapter" because it constantly gives you something new to think about.

I also loved the true crime-esque setup without it actually being true crime. It scratches that same itch—the interviews, the investigation, the gradual piecing together of events—but without being tied to a real case. I thought that was a really interesting way to tell the story.

The whole book is heavy, gritty, gory, intense, and stressful in the best way. The descriptions of the violence are graphic enough that you can vividly picture what's happening, but they never crossed the line into becoming so excessive that they overshadowed everything else. As someone who enjoys horror, I thought it struck a really good balance.

The pacing was another highlight for me. It naturally speeds up as Vincent gets closer to the truth, creating this growing sense of urgency, then slows down when the story needs room to breathe or let the tension simmer. It made the whole investigation feel dynamic rather than constantly trying to outdo itself.

Honestly, the whole book felt like one of the darker, more intense episodes of Criminal Minds, and I mean that as a compliment.

I also have to admit that I'm a sucker for anything set in Louisiana. I just love the atmosphere. There's something about the swamps, the small towns, the folklore, and the sense that the landscape itself is hiding secrets. It added so much to the mood of the novel, and I really liked that it incorporated elements of Cajun mythology into the story instead of using the setting as nothing more than a backdrop.

The twists were well done too. I found myself changing my mind about the suspects multiple times because the misdirection was handled really well. Nothing felt completely out of nowhere, but it also never became predictable.

The one thing I struggled with was Vincent's obsession with the case. It wasn't just dedication—it became all-consuming. He spiralled into it so quickly that everything else in his life ceased to matter. His wife, his daughter, his own wellbeing... the investigation became the centre of his universe. There were moments where it genuinely felt manic, like he couldn't see anything beyond solving the case. As a plot point, it absolutely made sense and fit the story. As a reader, though, I found it frustrating—not because it was unrealistic, but because I couldn't help feeling for his family, who were slowly being pushed further and further to the sidelines while the case consumed him. It made sense narratively, but emotionally, it was difficult to watch unfold.

Overall, I had a really good time with this one. It's dark, gritty, atmospheric, and genuinely unsettling, with an engaging writing style and a mystery that keeps you guessing right until the end. It feels like reading one of the darker Criminal Minds cases set against the backdrop of Louisiana, and that's a combination I was always going to enjoy. Definitely worth picking up if you like crime thrillers with horror elements.

Truly uncomfortable. And intentionally so.

There is an insane amount of racism throughout this book, but it's not there for shock value. It's woven into the investigation, the history, the institutions, and the people involved. It's ugly, infuriating, and often difficult to read, but it's also contextually important to the story being told.

What really got me was how every new piece of information seemed to make everything worse. Just when you think you've got a handle on what's happened, another detail comes out and your stomach drops. Then another. And another. The deeper the investigation goes, the more unsettling it becomes.

It's incredibly twisty without feeling convoluted. Every revelation feels earned, and the mystery keeps expanding in ways I genuinely wasn't expecting.

I spent most of the book with that horrible feeling of knowing something is deeply wrong but not yet understanding the full extent of it.

The pacing is excellent, the investigation is compelling, and the gradual uncovering of the truth is done really well.

Not always an easy read emotionally, but definitely an engaging one. The kind of mystery where every answer somehow leads to an even more disturbing question.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but the movie was better.

The fungus and horror aspects were intriguing as hell. The science-fiction horror concept is genuinely creepy, and David Koepp does a great job of making this strange, rapidly spreading organism feel like a legitimate threat. The storyline itself is strong too—fast-moving, tense, and with a premise that hooks you immediately.

The problem was the characters.

They kinda sucked, I won't lie.

Not because they were flawed, but because some of the choices made around them just felt bizarre and unnecessary. Roberto's almost-cheating storyline added very little, and Teacake following Naomi home came across as creepy rather than charming or endearing. There were multiple moments where I found myself wondering what purpose certain character beats were supposed to serve beyond making me like them less.

And then there's the drug discussion.

An insane amount of it.

Not in a way that was relevant to the plot or themes, either. It kept popping up to the point where it became distracting. For a book with a killer fungus, escalating horror, and a genuinely compelling central threat, it felt like time was being spent on things that simply didn't need to be there.

Which is frustrating because the actual horror story is really good.

The fungus? Great.

The tension? Great.

The premise? Great.

The characters? ...less great.

Still an enjoyable read overall thanks to the strength of the concept, but it's one of those books where the monster is far more interesting than most of the people running from it.