A big old slice of literary fiction that is nevertheless ready to dance with why we read -- or experience, or like to experience -- horror. We know, from the outset, that there will be blood; someone dies at a full-contact haunted house, in the 90s. It's to Mattson's credit that while I <i>knew</i> who was going to die, he made me hope it would be someone else more than once. It's also to his credit that the frights in the haunted house are rendered chillingly indeed (I shudder to think what he could do if he went full-on into the horror space), and that the people feel very alive right up until they aren't. There's a lot going on here: racism, grappling with sex and sexuality, capitalism and commodification. But more than all that, it's a hell of a read, one I demolished in under 48 hours.

Reprieve is the story of a brutal killing in Quigley House, a haunted escape room, focusing on four contestants and the escape room employees.
The contestants must fight through booby traps and frightening costumed actors to collect envelopes and reach the last cell without shouting the safe word “reprieve” to win a cash prize. Before they can finish in the last cell, a man breaks in and brutally murders one of the contestants.

The contestants include a Black college student, a Thai exchange student, and a white couple. The novel alternates narratives of the contestants’ and employees’ backstories, their progress through the house, and various court transcripts and discusses themes of racism, greed, and deceit. Most of the characters are unlikeable, the action is very violent, and the descriptions of the progress through the house are too long. The issues raised were significant, but the work was too violent for me to enjoy.

I received this book as an advanced copy from NetGalley

This is a story where four contestants make it to the finals in an escape room. If they make it through they will get a cash reward.. But before they can complete this someones breaks in and kills one of the contestants..

I did like the premise of the story and the characters, but it jumped around a lot and at times I felt lost in the story.
I did enjoy it once I got through it.

Going into this “literary novel of social horror,” I had two expectations: 1) I wouldn’t like it given the mostly-unfavorable early reviews, and 2) I’d get to snarkily say in my own review how I threw up my hands and yelled “Reprieve!” when I didn’t finish it.

Reprieve (noun) = “The cancellation or postponement of a punishment.”

To my surprise, I ended up needing no reprieve from the book at all, though I’m well aware others may view reading it as a punishment. It really does come down to expectations. If you pick it up for the HORROR, you’ll be bored by the backstory. If you snag a copy for the SOCIAL critique, you’ll have a better outcome.

The basic concept is that contestants have entered a full-contact escape room / haunted house in 1997, and if they make it all the way through without yelling the titular safe word they’ll win $60,000. But something has gone wrong. Readers bounce from gory scenes in the house to interrogation-type interludes to (lengthy) backstories of the characters. Said characters are diverse, which I loved, though their diversity serves the book’s effort to examine race issues, gender politics, and financial disparity.

This is James Han Mattson’s sophomore novel, and I applaud his attempt to feed his audience a horrific meal with a little meat on its bones. It just definitely won’t be to everyone’s tastes.

3.5 stars

Let's get one thing straight up front: Reprieve is not a horror novel. Yes, several chapters are set in a full-contact haunted house. And yes, those chapters are gory and disturbing and frightening. But those scenes make up only a fraction of a novel that was much more thoughtful and contemplative than I expected it to be.

At the center of the novel is Quigley House, a full-contact haunted house outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Because the novel begins with a court transcript, we know immediately that a crime has occurred there. But before we know exactly what that crime is, we meet Kendra, Jaidee, and Leonard, taking a deep dive into the lives of these very different individuals whose fates will all eventually collide at Quigley House.

So if Reprieve isn't horror, what is it then? It's a book that explores all the ways humans are vulnerable, whether because of fear or for cultural, racial, or emotional reasons. It's a commentary on racism, assimilation, capitalism, fetishism, sexism and misogyny. James Han Mattson addresses these topics organically in insightful prose through well-crafted characters that are sometimes unlikable but always sympathetic. The narrative is well-structured, alternating between backstory, the events at Quigley House, and courtroom excerpts, allowing Mattson to develop and maintain tons of tension throughout the entire book. It's not horror, but it sure is suspenseful.

I was so impressed with Reprieve and the way it blended genres to make such a thought-provoking statement about contemporary American life. It could've been all blood and guts and gore, but Mattson chose to make it more than that -- and I think that was a brilliant choice. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for my review copy.

I wanted to like this book, but it was all build up and no climax. I kept waiting for something big to happen and nothing did.

Thank you to William Murrow/Custom House and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure about this one. I think I wanted it to be something that it was not -- about insanity, about horror, about things gone wrong. But it was about greed and manipulative love and how people get lost in today's landscape of echo chambers and convince themselves of things because reality is too troubling. So, I guess it worked. Because it was kind of a downer.

I think the narration suffered going between so many characters who were so different, as well as court documents. Their voices were singular but not because of the writing -- because of the shit they were talking about. I still had so many questions. What the hell was wrong with Shawn? Why did no one help Leonard? What was John's motivation? How did Kendra's mom/aunt never find out about her job?

So, 3 stars. It was fine. Spooky, for sure!

I loved the cover and description of Reprieve, and read it thinking it might have some teen crossover. While one of the protagonists is a teen, I'd say this is firmly an adult title, both with content and style.

Reprieve is a novel that tells the story of Quigley House and a tragedy that happens there one night in 1997. Quigley House, a famous interactive locked-room type haunted house attraction, pays teams $60,000 if they can make it through all of the cells of the house without saying the word "reprieve." On this night in 1997, a young Black college student is murdered in cold blood by a white man, and this novel tells of the events and court case that takes place before and after.

I really loved the way this book was written. The back and forth of the narration between the different characters, the jumps in the timeline of the events leading up to the tragedy sandwiched in-between the interviews and court documents was very effective and well-done.

Quigley House makes people uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that they often don't even make it half way through before calling it quits, even with 60k on the line. As a reader, we are also made uncomfortable with the topics the author brings forward in this novel--sexism, racism, and homophobia are addressed, and done so in such a way that readers (at least this reader) will think about it long after. I wasn't even really sure which narrators were unreliable, and maybe all of them were, and that makes reading about these topics even more effective, in my opinion.

This isn't horror in the traditional sense. Yes, there is graphic haunted house gore described, and some of these characters really go through so much in that short time they attempt to make it through Quigley House. But James Han Mattson also proves that daily life is full of horror-whether that is the fear of living in your own body, the fear of outside forces, the fear of loving and losing someone. This book won't be for everyone, but I certainly got so much out of it, and I know that when I read it again, I will learn even more about myself and the world that I live in.

Fascinating societal commentary, but the ambitious genre-bending plot struggles to convince at times, Reprieve is being marketed as a 'literary novel of social horror', and I find that to be spot-on, and an useful label to set one's expectation accordingly: this is a novel about the experience of discrimination (race, social class, sexual orientation, etc.) first and foremost, that just so happens to feature a full-contact haunted house attraction (which evolves into a pseudo-metaphor as the plot thickens). More Jordan Peele's Us than the movie Escape Room—don't go into this expecting a fast-paced thrill.

I really enjoy the structure of Reprieve; told through broken segments of courtroom transcript, events leading up to the fatal incident at the attraction, as well as 'origin story' of it racially diverse cast of characters. The novel has a lot of ground to cover, and the assortment of its format keeps the pacing concise without the unnecessary in-between. It's message regarding racism in America is quite on the nose, but not to the point of annoyance. I particularly enjoy the unpacking of Asian countries' fetishism for (White) American culture—which is something I have personally experienced (being Chinese and raised in Taiwan), and haven't really seen referenced in any American novel.

The horror element is competent, though its moment in the spotlight is quite limited. Reprieve allots most of its page count on the characters (we follow 3 primarily), which is a shame because it happens to be its weakest link. The character arc clunky, with behavior that feels unrealistic in comparison to the grounded commentary on societal topics. The displacement between soap opera caricature (particularly the character who turned 'villainous'—one of the most unclear, least logical character development I've read) and serious discussion conjures an unpleasant dissonance that lingers throughout the book's entirety.

I appreciate Reprieve in fragments: it's overarching concept, the narrative structure, and how the somber topics are incorporated and discussed (the 'spectacle' in the finale definitely hits a chord in regard to recent event). However, one can't overlook the importance of character, and Reprieve lost me every time its character behaving unreasonably simply to serve the plot. Overall, I applaud James Han Mattson for his aspiration, and definitely curious to see what he will write next!

This book was not what I expected from the plot summary. Parts were genuinely scary but it was also slow to unfold and not as fast-paced as I thought an escape-room horror novel would be. As a work of social horror, this book is concerned with examining societal norms and systems that perpetuate discrimination and harm to minorities. It left me devastated. I recommend it.

I enjoyed this thriller-horror story. This is a newer author for me which I enjoyed from beginning to end. This is a fast paced story that is not only full of action but also twists and turns. This was a hard to put down story that has characters that brought the story to life. The author's use of details made the story engaging as well as entertaining. This is a story about a butual murder that takes place in an escape room and the social horror that goes along with it. I really enjoyed the growth of the plot and how realistic it felt. This is worth the pick up for sure. I highly recommend this book.

A perfect genre-defying Halloween read! I’ll recommend to fans of Grady Hendrix, Joe Hill, and When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole.
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow / Custom House for digital review copy.

James Han Mattson crafts a tense journey through the minds of a handful of characters who attempt to stick it out in a haunted escape room for a cash prize. We know things went array from the beginning but Mattson's writing deftly captures that sense of tension and keeps it alive.

Reprieve by James Han Mattson is a dark, complex tale. When I requested the ARC, it sounded intriguing, as I thought it would be a thriller that is set in a full-contact escape room. “Reprieve” is the word that contestants must shout if they give up on continuing the challenges of the room. Unfortunately, I discovered that this book is actually described in the publisher’s blurb as a literary novel of social horror. That is a genre with which I am unfamiliar, and if this is a strong example, then I will probably avoid future novels in this genre.
On the plus side, the story is character driven and there is some smart, insightful, descriptive writing. Alternatively, the staff and players are mostly unlikeable—selfish, shallow, disturbed, homophobic, prejudiced and sexist. As an orphaned teenager, Kendra is the only sympathetic character of the bunch.
There is not a lot of real escape room action, nor are there the twists that I hope for in a suspense/thriller novel, but there are ghoulish actors and plenty of gore.
The author makes some significant social commentary in this novel, but overall, the story felt a bit fragmented and unfocussed. For me, it was an interesting introduction into the genre and an author with whom I was unfamiliar.

Thank you to Scene of the Crime, William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Reader, I was confused. This has lots of potential and much to say but all of that was largely lost for me because I was so confused about what was going on in the cells. The basic plot- that four people went into a house of horrors where there's a prize for completing six cells and only three come out alive- is interesting. The characters were interesting. But regrettably, this goes from the teenage Kendra moving to Nebraska after the death of her father and Jadie in Thailand to a sudden horror show in cage one. I couldn't figure out what the point of the cage was or how they were constructed or what the red envelopes are because those explanations did not come for many pages after. It would have helped tremendously to know those things before the first cell segment. I found myself flipping (or rather clicking) through this just to understand what I was reading and, once I did, thing settled down. A reader who is similarly frustrated should make sure to read the last chapter which, to my mind, meant more than all that went before and could stand alone as a short story. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A rare pass from me.

"Only one thing can triumph over fear, at least temporarily, greed."

In Reprieve, we meet a cast of characters involved in a legal investigation of a night gone wrong at a full-contact haunted house. At Quigley House, the rules are simple. If you can make it through each cell without using the safe word, "reprieve", and have all the needed matching envelopes you receive along the way, you win the cash.

I was fully invested in this story idea and read the entire book in one binge over 24 hours. I thought the premise was extremely unique, yet oddly reminded me of the show Squid Game, which I also binged in a single day. I enjoyed the writing style that switched between the courtroom script, flashbacks and present situation in the cells. The chapters were broken up nicely and each title let you know where you were. I got into a groove quickly!

The characters are unfortunately cringe-worthy. I found most of the cast extremely unlikable, as was the intention I believe. There's a lot to unpack in this book from prejudice, sexism, violence and gore. I was expecting a little more horror, so I actually think I'd recommend this if you like thrillers and want to test the waters of horror. The scenes in the cells are gross and frightening (also confusing to be honest), but most of the book is spent outside of the house. The chapters tend to focus a lot on the background of the characters prior to the game to show their development and connection to each other.

Overall, Reprieve gets a thumbs up from me!

This is a very strong book, that combines being a thiller, horror story, and biting social commentary. It focuses on a full contact escape room in Nebraska. It is nationally known and one of Lincoln's top attractions. On April 27, 1997, four contestants are on the verge of navigating the gauntlet of the room's challenges on their way to escaping and winning the large cash prize when, at the last stage of the competition, one contestant is killed. The book then explores what what led each of the contestants to Quigley House that night and the events that occurred. The thriller element was excellent and kept me fully engaged, and provided an interesting lens for the examination of critical societal issues through these characters.

Highly recommended!

"Reprieve" by James Han Mattson is a tale of two books. Quigley House, a full contact haunted house themed escape room in late 1990s Lincoln, Nebraska. Not many who enter Quigley House make it out; metaphorically, not in actuality. Infamous for it's gory. bloody, campily realistic, nightmare situations it subjects it's visitors to, Quigley House also offers a huge cash prize for those who can make it through all five cells in the houses underbelly without shouting out the safe word "reprieve." So far only one team has made it to the end and it looks like another team is about to make it, when suddenly everything goes wrong and one of the contestants is actually murdered.

I say that "Reprieve" is a tale of two books because the entire novel is split into two different timelines, and alternates POV between the two. The first timeline is in the past leading up to the and including the events that happened at Quigley House. In this timeline we also alternate POV between four different characters: Kendra, Bryan, Jaidee and Leonard. To be honest, I wasn't a fan of any of these characters. They all had a lot of flaws and very little redeeming qualities. Which is never bad, but it also was hard for me to root for any of them. At the beginning I found these chapters in the book to be less exciting, and drawn out. Each chapter per character is so long that I often had to remind myself where we left off with a certain character, once we finally came back to them.

But then in the last 100 pages that all shifted. I started to find these characters quite intriguing and interesting. I found that the pacing of their chapters was starting to speed up and find energy. I feel like the closer it got to the storyline discussing the actual events in the house and the murder, that's when it started to get really good, and I wish the entire book had been like that. I also was very interested in a lot of the social commentary on racism, homophobia, capitalism and sexism that was filtered through these characters and the situations they were in. However, if I am being honest, I would say that these social issues juxtaposed against the storyline of the haunted house, was a bit jarring for me. Had Mattson wrote a book with these same characters with the same social commentary and without the haunted house element it would've been a homerun. Here, although great insight and critique, it does feel a bit off.

The second book in "Reprieve" is the timeline of the trial for the murder that takes place. Written in interview format; this timeline presents all the evidence briefs, cross examination transcripts and witness statements during the trial. I found these sections to be very enthralling and entertaining, and actually wished more of them had been included. This is where the mystery and thriller aspect of this book pops in, and I just wished there had been more of it.

Overall, I would say that although I wish "Reprieve" focused in a bit more on exactly what it wanted to be, it for sure has a lot it wanted to say. Author Mattson, has a very unique and interesting voice and I would be interested in reading more of his future works. I want to thank NetGalley and William and Morrow Custom House, for giving me an advanced copy.

Thank you so much @williammorrowbooks & @netgallery for my gifted eARC! This is definitely one that I have been looking forward to reading for awhile!


I loved when I read the synopsis for this online! A full contact haunted escape room and a murder-this definitely sounded like something I had to read! This is far from scary-but definitely more on the gory side and touches on some pretty important topics.

This book takes place in Lincoln Nebraska where a group of people come together to compete in this escape room. Right before completing the tasks assigned, a man breaks into the escape room house and kills one of the contestants.

The narrative is told from different points of view, which I’m normally not a fan of, but it worked for me with this book. I did like that the book flowed from past to present and also intertwined with court room interviews. I definitely enjoyed the unique plot and storyline. The author did a really amazing job at incorporating major issues surrounding us today-such as, racism, identity, and sexuality. The only downfall for me was that all of the characters seemed so unlikeable!

Like I said above, if you are wanting a horror book or scary book (like I had thought this was) this one isn’t for you. I was happy that I read this and was pleasantly surprised by it. I am looking forward to reading more books from this author in the future. Pick this one up if you are interested in a unique and different read!

I went into this one pretty much unaware of what the story would be, other than that it was an escape room/locked haunted house thriller. Because of this, right from the beginning I was a little confused when it opened with a transcript of a court trial. I almost put it down and didn't finish, but I kept at it and got my bearings with it. In the end, it turns into more of a slightly gory social commentary about racism, sexism, and sexual orientation in the late 1990s. I am glad I finished this one as it is quite different from other books I've read. I definitely could see this being made into a movie as that is how it ended up playing out in my head as I went along.

Thank you to Netgalley, Scene of the Crime Reads and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.