This book is a mystery that is difficult to get through. The story moves slowly, and the characters are not likable. Others might like this story better than I. I did like the setting…the book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley.

This book started off on a low note for me and just stayed there. I didn’t like any characters besides maybe Dylan. I was totally turned off by the unsanitary conditions in which she was tattooing, at the beginning. There’s no excuse for it.

It wasn’t poorly written, which is why I gave it the stars I did. But defiantly not for me.

Forget the supernatural occurrences, the true horror here is the domestic situation of the protagonist - heavily triggering for me so if alcoholism and general deadbeat behavior is upsetting to you, I recommend passing.

I'll admit, I picked this up on a Read Now option on Netgalley because of the cool cover, and it's my mistake. Hopefully some other readers are blind to the faults I found in this early on.

This book opens on a probably-unsanitary kitchen tattooing session, our protagonist working on her heavy-drinking, waste of space ex, and doesn't get better from there.

I found myself screaming at the main character early on, and not stopping. Dubious childcare choices, hauling the alcoholic loser father of the child back to the town for a sham of a custody hearing - none of this was what I gathered from the summary. It didn't make sense and I can't stand a foolish and weak protagonist.

This might be for some other readers, but I pass.

I’m not ashamed that I picked out this book solely for it’s cover (Psst! This is how I operate!). Don’t let that description fool you. I must stress that it doesn’t do this book any justice because you know what, it was a lot more than that! This book had all the elements that would make you deeply invested in it. That goes without saying that this book certainly lived up to its tittle and the cover. I hope this review of mine can attest to that.

The story follows Adriana Krause, a single mother in her custody battle with her estranged father, the longest running mayor to serve Cellar Township, Bradley R. Krause over her young son, Dylan. Drawing has always come easy to Adriana. Moreover, she got a talent for bringing subjects to life. Since childhood, Adriana has been losing sleep over the same haunting nightmare; a rotting arm at the bottom of a lake, or just Lake Nightmare as she called it.

Following one fateful night at the police station, Adriana landed herself a much needed job as a sketch artist at a local police force when she sketched a real-life face of a mugger.

Officer Matthew Hinkley, Matt the Rookie dreams of being a detective but six months of service at the Cellar Police Department resembled an office job more than anything else. That is until Adriana comes along. The two quickly hit it off over mutual trust and shared secrets. When Matt stumbled upon an old case file, with a name similar to that of the nightmarish man from Adriana’s Lake Nightmare, things escalated out of control as they took matter into their own hands which resulted in shocking discovery. The biggest danger is that further investigation may leave their lives or jobs at stake.

Face the Night, a supernatural horror is Alan Lastufka’s first novel. This gripping thriller will be available for sale on 08 March 2022.

This has been an honest review in exchange for the free advance readers copy I received. A special thanks to NetGalley, Shortwave Media, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and the author for the chance.
#FacetheNight #NetGalley

A Bad Dad and a Daughter Just Trying Her Best

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Face the Night, though it contains triggers that I'm sensitive to. Author Alan Lastufka used a tried and true, small town/villainous dad/struggling daughter dynamic effectively. His talented presentation had me invested in Adriana's success and her father's downfall in only half a paragraph.

Mayor Bradley Krause's cruel and unnatural undermining of everything Adriana tried to do made me hate him. In his sociopathic narcissism, he would cross any boundary to maintain his power over his two fixations: his daughter and ultimate power in the town of Cellar. I felt fully invested in the outcome as the action forged ahead at a rapid pace.

Likewise, I rooted for Cellar's new deputy, Officer Matthew Hinkley, to be her knight in shining armor. The author used a light touch to guide the two leads into a budding romance; but he was merciless as he set terrible trouble upon them.

The author developed other supporting characters in the town who made me want to see the town of Cellar protected. I admire the way he wove nightmares and paranormal elements into the story. It made the tension quickly escalate as Adriana and Matthew try to unravel the mystery. Drug abuse and unexplained attacks led to deadly tragedies. The characters had to struggle to maintain their equilibrium, making Adriana's fight for survival even more desperate.

I'd like to thank Alan Lastufka, his publishers, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read Face the Night as a free advanced reading copy. I don't feel any obligation while writing my honest review: it's a good read!

I really think this book could benefit from a structural edit. There is a great deal of head hopping which not only makes the book confusing, but as a reader one is constantly taken out of deep point of view, so it’s hard to really engage with the characters. The main character is. not particularly sympathetic or even interesting. I do think there is potential here,, there is atmosphere, and the 80’s are convincingly brought to life.
I read to 48% , so I will not be posting to other sites.

A solid 4 star read. I read this in a few hours, and it’s great for mystery fanatics that need their fix! One thing I didn’t expect this horror/mystery to do, was break my heart with the stories of real people struggling. We get guided through money problems, familial struggles, corruption, seamlessly through this short novel - and I loved it! This very personal take also really helped sprinkle through clues about the end result, and other secrets hidden throughout. The child felt like a real person and not just an object, the romance and friendships were beautifully written. I even loved the side characters like Jennifer, who has a special place in my heart. I liked how this story went from normalcy for a single mother, to a fast placed thriller nearing the end of the book.

However, because of how raw and real the stories of these people felt, the supernatural element fell flat. Weirdly enough, I would have preferred it to be taken out completely. Rather than Adrianna’s visions being real, I would’ve preferred a descent into madness, watching Adriana struggle and take it out on people who care about her. Framing at as a supernatural event, as we see it all through her eyes, but at the end revealing that they were all delusions and hallucinations from trauma. Albeit, still being correct. The other characters in the book were also far too accepting of the supernatural being real, despite not experiencing it themselves. In a fantasy book where it is already established, this is fine, but because this is meant to be normal life it felt weird. It felt like it went from gritty and real to a little goofy in a few seconds near the end of the book.

Looks like I’m the first to review this book on GR. Well, let’s see…perfectly serviceable doesn’t get the best rap and yet, it would be so apt here. There’s nothing really wrong with perfectly serviceable, it’s essentially the equivalent of conversational fine, as in “so, how’s that book?” “oh, it’s fine.”
I mean, it is fine, technically. It covers all the basis, the writing’s decent, the characters are decent…it’s just that nothing in this book ever gets above that level.
The plot is a conglomeration of a number of genre themes – not a single original thing to be found here plot-wise. It’s one of those small town ghostly mysteries with the protagonist who sees dead people/premonitions/lake monsters and people around her. Does Adriana (Addie) make a compelling protagonist? Well, once again, she’s fine. Nothing special about her, got pregnant too young out of some teenage rebellion/stupidity, had a kid too young, now she’s living off her estranged father’s conditional largesse. The father, Bradley, is also the town’s longtime mayor and an all-around scumbag, who manipulates Addie and a bunch of other people for fun and gains.
Addie’s something of an artist, she draws, she does tattoos. Now, in order to maintain the custody of her kid, she has to get a proper job. And she does, but her dreams continue to be haunted by some terror rising out of a lake, so she begins to snoop around and finds out all sorts of disturbing but not-all-all-surprising truths about her father and other local potentates.
She scores some allies along the way, and, to his credit, the author does a good job with side characters. And then the story rolls down to its inevitable conclusion of justice and fairness for all, pretty much a happy ending.
Is it worth the almost 400 pages of getting there? Well, that’s a matter of personal preference. I’d say for an unoriginal story with nothing new to offer, featuring just average writing and just average characters, 371 pages might be a stretch. But then again, there’s nothing really objectionable about this book either. It’s that solidly committedly fine of a production. The realism of the narrative does its best to offset the myriad convolutions of small-town politics and attitudes. Also stands to mention, this is a debut, so for a debut it’s decent, decently edited too. The author might get some original ideas down the road and step up his game. I mean, if the most negative thing one can say about the book is how meh, how bland, how plain it is…well, that’s actually ok, objectively. Especially, for a random debut. Reader mileage may vary. Thanks Netgalley.

One of the best horror novels I’ve read all year. Great story and even better characters. I highly recommend!