The Moor by Sam Haysom | Book Review
This is an ARC that fell through the cracks. I hate it when I do that.
'There's a delightful bit of sleight-of-hand at the heart of the novel that I particularly enjoyed.' – Owen King, co-author of Sleeping Beauties
It begins with a ghost story around a campfire. Teenagers out on a walking trip, trying to act brave in front of each other.
But as the walk gets underway and the boys begin to fall out, odd things start to happen.
Noises in the night. A severed rabbit’s foot outside someone’s tent.
Soon, the boys begin to disappear.
As panic sets in and a storm approaches, the remaining boys must band together to face a darkness not even the local ghost stories could help them predict.
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I requested The Moor from Netgalley in 2018 and I just now made time to read it. I’m sorry Netgalley, publisher, and author. But better late than never (I hope!).
I just reread the blurb and seeing as it does mention a severed rabbit foot, I’m thinking that’s probably why I stuck it on the back burner for so long. I probably hit the request button too soon and you can’t take that back (or at least you couldn’t in 2018) because I don’t enjoy reading about animal abuse and pet dismemberment and I have read too much of it lately but here we are (and I know that it’s totally my fault). But at least the blurb is honest and I appreciate that.
CW: animal abuse and dismemberment
Anyhow, this is a creepy mystery about a group of boys who head out on a hiking trip with the local charming dad who everyone loves but doesn’t truly know (ummm, giant RED FLAG parents!). This dad decides to tell the kids a creepy ghost story around the campfire on their first night out that sets them all on edge and then a kid goes missing and the fear really ramps up for them. There are your typical boy bully problems and it’s well written with a surprise or two but unfortunately, all of the boys began to run together in my head. It’s a short book and there isn’t enough room to give them the proper characterization they deserved. It also jumps around in timelines and features news snippets which I liked but also took up some word count that could’ve been used towards character building.
Is it worth a read? Most definitely. It’s easy to fall into and it’s a quick read. I’d like to see what the author does with a little more room.
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I love a camping horror story...but I also have so many other books on my mind right now I won't be getting to this one any time soon I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteGoing camping with someone you don't really know and then a kid going missing would make for a horrible time in real life but for a book it sounds like it has promise.
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