Wow, this isn’t really the continuation I was expecting. It was such a surprise, it easily grabbed you and had you speculating immediately. It was a great follow up full of more of what made the first one so great. It felt cohesive and added much to the ongoing story arc. Again this is a horror lovers dream book. Chock full of tidbits, and Easter eggs from various slashers as with the first book. If you don’t appreciate horror movies you might not recognize the quotes. Definitely a nightmare inducing book.

This review is voluntary as I received an arc of this title.

Can this series please be made into movies? The visuals would be freaking phenomenal. I like that you could really feel that 4 years had passed, the characters had grown and dealt with the events of the first book in their own way, which felt realistic. These aren’t the same characters we knew in book 1. We have familiar faces and some new ones to give us some fresh perspectives on how the whole town has responded to the Independence Day Massacre and how their opinion of Jade has shifted.

As for plot, we have a big bad guy who comes to town and who better to deal with him than Letha and Jade? I love both of these characters so much and I will be so sad if this is the end of their stories.

The end of book 1 was where all the action was, but this book spreads it out evenly throughout. Just as things start to calm down it smacks you in the face again. Stephen Graham Jones just does not miss!

Don't Fear the Reaper was a great book and definitely an upgrade from the first one. So I feel that I need to clarify that while I liked the first book, I felt that it was a little slow for a horror novel. However, Don't Fear the Reaper has a faster pace and I enjoyed every second of it. I highly recommend reading this novel if you even remotely enjoyed the first one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

I love how atmospheric his books are. They are horrifying, realistic and nightmare worthy. This is such a good follow up book to My Heart Is A Chainsaw. I somehow loved it even more!!!

I love Don’t Fear the Reaper even more than My Heart Is a Chainsaw! Honestly, they are both FIVE STARS. The Indian Lake trilogy is my absolute favorite. I was over the moon when this was announced as a trilogy. These books are perfect for any reader who is a fan of Stephen Graham Jones (he can do no wrong), a horror movie fan, an entertaining plot, and/or who loves fierce female characters. BRAVO SGJ

Source: DRC via NetGalley (Gallery Books, Gallery/Saga Press) in exchange for an honest review
Pub. Date: February 7, 2023
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

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Why did I choose to read this book?

I read its predecessor My Heart is a Chainsaw and since Stephen Graham Jones is quickly becoming the horror king of my heart, I had to read the next one. Unrelated, but if you haven’t read the standalone The Only Good Indians, you should. It’s one of the best books I have ever read across all genres.

What is this book about?

Jade is back. She’s been released from prison after being acquitted of her father’s murder and she has returned to Proofrock just as a notorious serial killer has gone missing nearby. Letha Mondragon (the supposed Final Girl from book 1) is now a horror fanatic (having learned her lesson from not listening to Jade in the first book) and we begin to see how the last 4 years have been for the survivors of the Independence Day Massacre. A new horror is visiting Proofrock, as teenagers are starting to be murdered through disembowelment and Jade (now Jennifer, trying to be more adult and turning over a new leaf) sees the cycle beginning again. Her investigations launch the next set of horror lessons surrounding slasher behavior.

What is notable about the story?

This book moves so much faster and is so much more enjoyable than My Heart is a Chainsaw. Not to say that book one wasn’t enjoyable, it was just claustrophobic, limited to one view. Don’t Fear the Reaper opens up to many experiences while keeping Jade/Jennifer at the center of it all. I also loved the switch from a drawn out story over many months to this book basically happening over the course of like, two days, with most of the action happening during a huge snowstorm. The tension was very high in this one, and it never let up.

THE ENDING – not gonna spoil but so so good.

The story as a whole made me regret that I groaned through the slasher education in My Heart is a Chainsaw. I needed to be paying attention to understand all the decisions and motivations in Don’t Fear the Reaper. What’s notable about this is that, in this way, Stephen Graham Jones made me a part of the slasher cycle. It was sneaky, and I was a little bit mad for a second, but in the middle of Don’t Fear the Reaper I realized that I was just another exasperated adult who wasn’t listening in My Heart is a Chainsaw, and I was paying for it now that the events were unfolding a mile a minute. This was absolutely genius. I might be giving the gag away, but if you decide to start this trilogy PAY ATTENTION IN BOOK ONE. Although if the slasher theme holds up, you won’t listen to my warnings anyway.

Was anything not so great?

This might just be me, but the timeline felt a little difficult to follow. There is this big storm and the bodies are piling up and the events seem to be happening all in the same day/night. Maybe I just don’t have a good idea of how big Proofrock is. The sleuth in me wishes I had a map like what fantasy books typically give so I could flip back to it and think about where everyone is. Or some time stamps maybe. I wanted to feel the immediacy of the passage of time, how short it was.

What’s the verdict?

I’m doling out 5 stars on Goodreads for this one. Fast pacing, good mystery, the right number of snowplows, and a fantastic ending – if you’re a horror fan you’ll want to catch up on this trilogy. Jones is an absolute master at his craft and if you aren’t reading his books, you are missing out. Go get ’em.

In Don’t Fear the Reaper, the sequel to My Heart is a Chainsaw, Stephen Graham Jones proves to be a master storyteller and possibly a magician.

The story catches up with Jade Daniels on the day that she returns to Proofrock, Idaho after four years in prison. On the same day, serial killer Dark Mill South escapes from his prison convoy in order to continue his murder spree. His goal is to kill 38 people as revenge for 38 Dakota men that were hanged in 1862.

My favorite supporting character, Letha Mondragon, survived the first book but not without losing her family and part of her face. She’s a mother now so she is tougher than ever. Letha has mama bear energy which I love. I’m hoping that she makes it to the end of the trilogy.

It seems like many of the characters have brushed up on their horror movie knowledge so they don’t get tricked by the bogeyman again. There is even a special section at the video store dedicated to Jade’s favorite horror movies. My youngest kid loves horror movies so she will know all about horror movies soon. My kid and Jade would be BFFs for life.

Jade is fighting the bogeyman again. Bless her chainsaw heart. Is Dark Mill South the only bogeyman in town?

If you enjoy the following photo, then you will enjoy Don’t Fear the Reaper. If you can’t watch a horror movie with your eyes open, then maybe you’re not ready for Don’t Fear the Reaper.

This is very much for fans of My Heart is a Chainsaw. Jade is back - four years older and now known as Jennifer- and so is a vicious serial killer. She uses her vast vast knowledge of slasher films (who knew there are so many) to find the villain. There's lots of gore, some strange humor, and it was all too much for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. My bad for requesting this- I wasn't a fan of the first one and DNF this.

This was a good sequel to the original book, but I had some of the same problems with this one that I did the first. The characters were confusing and I had a hard time keeping track. The premise was so good, though, that I continued.

So, this is what literature love feels like. I was unsure if a sequel could match one of my favorite reads of the last few years, but Stephen Graham Jones killed.

Jade F***king Daniels is back! I loved this as much as the first. Seriously...how many horror books can simultaneously gross you out and leave you a sobbing mess because you love the main character so much and you want so much for her to come out on top?!?!? Jade is my hero and I can't wait to read this again and again.

Four years after the Lake Witch killings, Jade returns to Proofrock the same day that serial killer Dark Mill South escapes from prison. Jade, now going by Jennifer, wants to leave the past in the past but once again, the town is subjected to unbelievable carnage.

I don't find myself saying this often, but, the sequel was better. Since we were already introduced to most of these characters in book one, the pacing felt much quicker and it was maintained throughout the story. Just like the first book, My Heart is a Chainsaw, there are an abundance of horror-movie/slasher references which could be overwhelming for someone not familiar with the genre.

Of course I knew about slasher movies, but before this series I hadn't thought about horror novels having a slasher sub-genre. It seems obvious, I know, but it hasn't been something I've really read before. It's not my favorite type of horror book but I can see myself reading more in the future when the mood strikes.

“[S]he’s Jade fucking Daniels. And a thousand men like you can’t even reach up to touch her combat boots.” Back in Proofrock after four years, Jade/Jennifer quickly finds herself in the middle of a new murder rampage. As the deaths multiply, the plot takes many wonderful twists and turns until many truths are revealed amid the carnage. Stephen Graham Jones has once again created a compelling, taut, terrifying story of revenge and regret where the monsters are not always what we think they are. Hats off to a master storyteller and his kickass heroine.

Yes oh my god yes!!! Such an incredible sequel that makes me ravenous for the third installment. This book lives up to the hype, it is the hype!!!! Will always champion this series and all writings by SGJ!

Don't Fear the Reaper is a solid sequel that delivers and expands on the ideas of the first. It relishes just as much in the slasher canon and delivers a brutal body count to match. As with many sequels of the genre, the twists are many and the red herrings abound.

While I enjoyed the plot and pacing here, I struggled with writing and overwhelming number of perspectives the chapters traveled between. There were so many different points of view captured throughout this story, and it really muddled the story down. As the action increased following what was occurring and who it was occurring to became more difficult. This was further hindered by the writing itself which is great at capturing emotion and atmosphere, but falls flat when capturing the actual activity's of characters.

Still, I think this is a solid slasher novel and would recommend it to fans of the genre.

Two books into the Lake Witch Trilogy and I can't wait to see how it all ends. If My Heart Is a Chainsaw laid the foundations for the trilogy by introducing Jennifer "Jade" Daniels and Letha Mondragon before simultaneously reaffirmed and upending slasher film tropes, this novel does what the best sequels do: dials up the action.

Four years after the Independence Day Massacre on Indian Lake, Jennifer returns to Prufrock on the same day that serial killer Dark Mill South escapes custody...in the middle of a whiteout snow storm...when the town has lost access to internet, power, and consistent phone lines...and the sheriff is nowhere to be found. No wonder the bodies begin to pile up--at first, in the style of classic slasher film murders. This time, though, Jennifer is not alone in knowing the rules of the slasher genre; former "final girl" Letha Mondragon is a survivor and true believer now, ready to coax Jennifer into joining her in thwarting a killer's murderous rampage through Prufrock. But is it Dark Mill South? A rabid slasher film fan ready to wreak vengeance to mark Jennifer's return? Another of the supernatural entities trapped in Indian Lake? In order to survive the night, Jennifer must become Jade once more and be ready for any possibility.

This book is best read after My Heart Is a Chainsaw because it assumes a baseline knowledge of the events and characters of the first book. I found that I appreciated the first book even more reading this one, which makes me look forward to a richer understanding of Don't Fear the Reaper once I read the conclusion of the trilogy. There was a lot going on in this book--perhaps too much for a stand alone, but probably exactly as much needs to be here to set up the final book. Certainly there are several loose ends here that could become the driving action of the next installment, so I hesitate to say that some weren't needed here even if it did seem that way on first read. There was one aspect of the story that bent this way and that before arriving at a final twist, and I probably need to go back and map it a bit better to fully grasp it.

That said, I really enjoyed this and Jennifer/Jade remains a badass lead. Thirty pages in, I was spooked--and there were no shortage of creepers, ghouls (human and supernatural), and relentless killers to keep me guessing until the end.

Highly recommend for lovers of horror novels, slasher films, or both.

Stephen Graham Jones is, heh, killing it in this sequel to My Heart Is A Chainsaw. Taking four years after the events of the first in the series, this was a scary, brilliant sequel. Highly recommended

I fell in love with Jade Daniels in book one, My Heart is a Chainsaw. Although the sequel begins with Jade going as Jennifer and wanting to put all her slasher movie days behind, yearning for a fresh start. Only Leda Mondragon, the girl Jade thought was going to be the final girl in the first book has now taken her scepter, analyzing slasher movies and trying to get Jennifer to return to her days of Jade and Bay of Blood.

As with any good sequel, we have both old and new characters, but as any successful slasher sequel knows, it needs to be bloodier than the first film, and SGJ completely delivers on the bloodier deaths and the higher body count. If book one had most of the deaths happening in the latter portion of the book, Reaper begins with blood and ends in blood. Not to mention that this time our beloved characters have to also deal with nature, ie. blizzard.

I absolutely LOVED this book. There’s something about Jones’s writing and the fact that he’s a huge slasher fan that just makes the inner slasher fan in me squeal in dark delight anytime I catch any reference to a slasher that many aren’t aware of (in this case, Curtains). Maybe if you’re not a slasher fan you can’t enjoy that part of the book as much as someone who is, however, the novel on its own packs such a punch that you can’t help but wonder what will happen in book three and how much damage the survivors of book two will take into the following book.

If you love slashers, the supernatural, serial killers, folklore and much more more, then you will love Don’t Fear the Reaper as it has a bit of everything to satisfy even the pickiest of horror readers. Honestly, I can’t wait to dive back into Proofrock and see what else is going to haunt them next time around.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I just really like SGJ books. They are always spooky and keep me at the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed My Heart is a Chainsaw, and this sequel was excellent!

Don't Fear the Reaper
By Stephen Graham Jones

This is a horror story about…horror stories! Specifically slasher movies. It is a convoluted mishmash of all the Freddies and Jasons etc. which have held horror aficionados in thrall for years. If you are a fan of the genre, you might enjoy the book and not get lost in the references.

Not being a fan, I found this book very slow going – and finally gave up about halfway through. For me it was like reading a book written in a language I don't speak.