Review: The Extra

The Extra by Annie Neugebauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

   I scrub my hands over my face beneath my hood, breathe slowly into my damp palms-mustn't seem annoyed to the participants-and walk to a different spot to get a new view of the area. 

   I get ten plus me again. It's not a mistake. There are eleven people here right now. 

   There's an extra.

-- Annie Neugebauer, The Extra

10 people get out of a van and set out on a university-sponsored camping/hiking trip. That evening 11 people arrive at the campsite ... only Matt, the leader, and his 2 assistants realize there is an additional person, but since they recognize and have memories of each and every person in the group, none of them can tell which one it is. 

The Extra is Annie Neugebauer's first book in The Outsiders Sequence and is set in a remote, forested area in Arkansas. The story is told from Matt's perspective as he tries to keep the camping neophytes safe while he struggles with the questions raised by the appearance of the extra: how did they join the group without anyone else realizing it, and why? Which member of the group IS the extra? And, most important of all, what are they going to do about it? 

As the story unfolds the leaders try to unravel the mystery of the extra, and you can feel the tension increase as Matt tries to master his own panic and uncertainty about what to do to keep the group safe.

The Extra is a gem. It doesn't have (or need!) jump-scares, physical violence or gore; what it offers is a suspense-filled, psychological thriller/mystery tale set in a wonderfully atmospheric location. It should be on your TBR pile along with The Other, the second (but standalone) book in Neugebauer's The Outsiders Sequence. 

Review: Incarnate

Incarnate by Alma Katsu (expected publication: Sept 22, 2026)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Incarnate asks the questions: "How far would you go to become famous and popular?" and "What price are you willing to pay?" 

Dorothy Wagner, a frequent target of bullies while in middle school, has always been something of a loner. Intelligent, but insecure about her body image. Socially shy, but longing to fit in.

After graduating from college, Dorothy lands a job with a ground-breaking visual effects studio.  She devises a plan to secretly leverage the company's superior software tools to create an artificial persona, Isabella, who can be everything Dorothy is not, hoping to turn her creation into a social media superstar and gain popularity and fame by proxy. Thinking she has nothing to lose and that it's probably a scam, she accepts an offer from an anonymous stranger, who promises to help her get what she wants. Dorothy soon learns the painful price of success, and discovers the dark lengths that she will go to in order to protect her secrets. 

Incarnate is a riveting, dark tale of our time. As artificial intelligence runs rampant and social media sensations rise and fall, Alma Katsu has captured the devastating impact and horrific consequences these can have in the lives of those who fall victim to their glamour. 

 

Incarnate can be seen as a cautionary tale about the addictive and toxic side of social media, the lasting impact of bullying, and the growing spread of AI-generated content and personas. 

Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing an eARC of #Incarnate for review via #Netgalley.

Review: The Sorrows

The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In spite of or, perhaps, because of, its dark history, Castle Blackwood, on the remote, uninhabited island of the Sorrows, seems the perfect place for two Oscar-nominated composers to find inspiration for the musical score of a famed director's new horror movie. The duo arrange to spend a month on the island with their companions, cut off from all outside contact, and enter a dark and disturbing world where their baser instincts are brought to the surface, and echoes of the Sorrows' past take root in the present.

In The Sorrows, not all monsters are supernatural, and not all horrific acts can be blamed on the influence of what lurks within Castle Blackwood.

This is one of those rare stories that will keep you up at night. You HAVE to read "just one more chapter" before turning off the light... and when (if!) you do set it aside, your mind spins thinking about what you just read and what might happen next in Jonathan Janz's The Sorrows.

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Review: Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story

Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story by Jonathan Janz is a fantastic short story, released as a limited edition chapbook, that provides background of one of the main characters in his ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ sci-fi/thriller/horror tale Veil.

Although connected, readers don't have to have read Veil to appreciate the suspense and action of Stretch-Neck

My review of Veil can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

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Review: We Are for the Dark

We Are for the Dark by Gretchen McNeil
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'Tis a well-lived day!
May ye have health to see the morrow.
-- Gretchen McNeil, We Are for the Dark

Bale Island, off the coast of Newfoundland, appears on no maps, but that's where Constable Miriam Rideout and ex-FBI agent, now priest, Shane Ryan find themselves after a couple of frantic phone calls from, and apparent subsequent disappearance of, the island priest. The two outsiders initially mistrust one another, but soon develop mutual respect and friendship as they launch their investigation; a task made more difficult in the face of the odd behavior of the islanders, their apparent religious fanaticism, and their repeated vague warnings about dangers on the island.

In We Are For the Dark, McNeil tells a darkly compelling story, deftly peeling back layers to reveal some of the mysteries of the islanders and of the island, and raising questions about who, or what, is hidden in the shadows of the medieval St. Barrind’s Church... and why.

Thanks to DAW for providing an eARC for review via NetGalley.

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