This book had me on the edge of my seat. I did not expect for a book called the nightmare man to be this good. I am so glad I was fortunate enough to be able to read this ARC.

J. H. Markert's The Nightmare Man is for hard-core horror fans. It is a very haunting and scary story that is not for the faint of heart. Written along the lines of Freddy Kreuger meets Stephen King, the book is multidimensional with cryptic characters. The writing successfully taps into the readers imagination with a fear of the unknown. It combines ordinary circumstances with shocking and grotesque settings used to create a real sense of terror.

Synopsis:
Ben Bookman is a best-selling author. As his new horror novel is released, he is faced with the fact that the brutal murders in his book are actually happening. Police Detective Mills and his daughter Samantha Blue are determined to solve this unusual case before the rest of the book comes to pass.

The Nightmare Man is too scary for me to review and not include a strong warning. The novel will have a huge audience with glowing reviews, but it will not appeal to everyone because of its extremely graphic violence. Be sure to check the trigger warnings before proceeding.

The Nightmare Man by J. H. Markert is available on January 10th.
(4.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫)

Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for sharing this totally spooky book with me. Your kindness is appreciated!

I really loved it! The sense of unease that existed through the whole book made just want to keep reading and not put it down!

I don''t always read horror and man, this book really creeped me out (in a good way)! Ben is an author (and who doesn't love books about books...) but during a book signing, a man puts a gun to his own chin and blows his head off! I'm both hooked and horrified! And as it goes on we see very odd murders (like people wrapped up in corn-husk cocoons hanging from the ceiling)! I couldn't tear my eyes away even when it got darker (the night AND the book)! So enter at your own risk because the line between reality and fantasy is crossed so many times that your head will be spinning continuously. And I will NEVER look at a scarecrow again the same way!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

A lovingly crafted book of scares that will delight horror readers with a series of terrifying murders that take place in a town that seems to attract them. I greatly enjoyed my time with this book, trying to figure out what exactly was going on and how it connected to a mysterious manor and a psychological asylum.

When this book turns on the gas, the scares absolutely hit! There are some great moments that I thought provided some nightmare-fueling visuals which make this an easy recommendation to horror fans.

Very well written, but kind of a slow read for me. When compared to Fisher I had real high expectations for this one. I could say it was a good story that just started with a slow burn. Would I recommend this book to others? For sure, but if I wanted to read a Batman novel I would have read a graphic novel. The gore and blood is what saved it for me.

I originally requested an arc of The Nightmare Man because the title and cover art IMMEDIATELY made me think of Freddy Krueger from The Nightmare on Elm Street which just happens to be my favorite horror franchise of all time. It even looks like he is wearing a knives claw on the cover!

I had never heard of this book before nor the author, J. H. Market, but I am SO glad I was approved for an arc of this. The Nightmare Man is an absolute mind fvck! Horror is by far my favorite genre, but I am generally skeptical about horror novels-they either tend to be too wussy or waaay too gruesome/splatterpunk for my tastes,

This book, however, was PERFECT! It might have been even better waiting a little bit later to read it during Halloween but I didn't want to wait that long haha. I love this book so much. The twists and turns in it had me on the edge of my freaking seat!

There is a slow-creeping haunting feeling that overshadows this book that will have you looking over your shoulder LONG after finishing it. This book *literally* consumed every second of my life while I was reading it. I felt like I was transported into another place, another world. I could not put this book down to save my damn life! Even now I still have this creepy, unsettling feeling that I know is going to carry into my dreams tonight :(

I'm sure I am not the only reader who at one point could no longer tell the difference between what was real and what wasn't. The characters were all multi-dimension and felt entirely fleshed out and like they could be your actual next door neighbors (yay......a new fear of mine!).

The plot is weaved together meticuloulsy which will keep you guessing, and feeling tense and on edge the entire time. J.H. Market is now an auto-buy from me just from this book alone.

Absolutely worthy of 5/5 stars without a doubt. Amazing. Terrifying. Who's gonna be paying for my therapist's bills now, huh?!

It's wickedly good! An unusual combination of myth and horror/thriller is fascinating. The story's hook is the dynamic between Ben and Amanda and Winchester's personality. This is unusual to me and highly intriguing. First, the characters pull me in, then the plot line.

Markert's blur vision between myth and reality works to confuse the reader. The Nightmare Man seems larger than all the psychos running around within the story. The surprise ending to Winchester was unexpected. Even though Ben was the protagonist, his character didn't develop as much as I would have liked. This was an unconventional story that kept me guessing and wanting more. There should be another novel following this one as the ending is very open, and I would like to see where The Nightmare Man and Mr. Dream ends.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for letting me read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This novel grabbed from the get go! What an opening. Ben Bookman is a famous author of horror who, while at a book signing, is approached by a fan who then proceeds to blow is own head off claiming the author knew and wrote his nightmares. Enter Detective Mills and his daughter rookie detective Samantha Blue who arrive at the scene of a murder that seems amazingly similar to the events in Ben's novel. More and more murders are committed that are scarily familiar to the events in the novel. So, of course Bookman becomes the number one suspect. This book had me on the edge of my seat. A truly captivating thriller that kept twisting and turning until the climactic ending. This was such a great story. I will never look at moths the same again. I look forward to more horror by Markert!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4907334760

this book feels like a case of “it’s me not you”, i don’t know why but i didn’t find it nearly as enjoyable as i thought i would. refreshing new concept with an intriguing cast of characters but by the end there were so many of them. it could’ve benefitted from removing some especially since i didn’t care for a few, and others were just background ornaments. the book did have a slow start which took me a long time to get into the story. felt disjointed, muddy, at times. overall, a decent, new addition to the horror genre but not something i would go back to reread for its brilliance y’know.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for supplying me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed how you took a detective/killer novel and added in the spooky folklore elements. The idea of someone just hiding and scaring random people is terrifying (the boogeyman). Or the guy that pushed people from high buildings, so creepy yet all realistic nightmares. I also have to add, I have Marian syndrome strangely enough, so wild to see it mentioned in a book. That was a first for me. Thank you so much for allowing me to test drive your novel.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: January 10, 2023
Novelist Ben Bookman (killer name for an author by the way) wrote his novel, The Scarecrow, over the course of one weekend spent alone in his family’s rundown (and creepy) family estate. During a release tour, a fan commits suicide during a book signing, claiming Bookman was able to “see his nightmares”. Then, people in and around Ben’s small community are being brutally murdered- in the exact ways that are portrayed in the novel. Police begin to question Ben, looking for a connection, but Ben knows that some of his secrets can’t come out, whatever the cost.
J.H. Markert’s first horror novel, “The Nightmare Man”, is a hodgepodge of different elements- first, Ben’s family history with his grandfather, the man known to “stop nightmares”, which leads to Ben’s chosen profession. Then, there’s the history behind the manor house itself, which has its own deep, dark secrets hidden behind the walls. The police investigator, Mills, has his own history with nightmares, that only get worse as the investigation continues, leading to even more tension with him and his daughter, also a police officer. Markert has a lot of ideas in one novel, and although each and every one of them were deliciously spooky and entertaining, they didn’t seem to gel together until the first third of the book.
I wanted more of the Bookman family history with their “capturing nightmares”, more of the history behind the manor and more of Mills’ background, not just with his estranged daughter but throughout his childhood. “The Nightmare Man” had enough juice in it to power a series of novels instead of just one, and I wish Markert had turned this into a multi-novel series (which is something I rarely say). I wanted more of everything! Luckily, Markert managed to focus on enough of the spooky plot points to keep me reading, and I was pulled in from the start, desperate to know how it ended.
There are a lot of characters in this novel, which can sometimes be difficult to sort through, especially with all the familial relationships, but it’s worth the effort. The novel is narrated by Mills and Ben alternatively, with segments from the “before” (before the two merged paths following the investigation), which builds up tension while providing a bit of background knowledge and character development.
“The Nightmare Man” is something straight out of a Stephen King novel (except in this case, a J.H. Markert) and I definitely think that Markert is making a name for himself in horror fiction. I eagerly look forward to having more novels to haunt my dreams!

DNF at 37%.

The book has good prose, but pdf formatting on Kindle kills any enjoyment of the reading process. When reading becomes a chore, I call it quits. I feel the book is good. I don't understand why the publisher can't share protected .epub.

Thanks to the publisher for giving me the possibility to try the book.

The Nightmare Man is not the most original book ever, but it's solid -- a good old-fashioned scary story with a strong sense of plot and pacing. It has some genuine frights, but the villains are basically Arkham Asylum escapees and to me the horror elements were more fun-scary (a.k.a. a bit cheesy) than something that would actually keep one up at night. I think this would be an enjoyable Fall Break type of read.

I found this book a little hard to follow at times, and it seemed to drag on a bit. But I did like the premise.

Thank you to NetGalley for the prerelease ebook.

JH!! Well done on a fun ride!

For me this was more of a psychological thriller with sprinkles of formidable horror.

This book makes excellent use of all the terrors of yesteryear: Asylums, dreams, haunted houses and people getting possessed. Oh, and not to forget some good old fashioned blood and gore.

With witty language and great sarcastic interactions by Mills and Blue, Mills and Turtle this had me enthralled to the end.
And the names of characters were downright hilarious too!!

Perhaps the saga may continue...

Best read at your mansion in the atrium sipping on bourbon reading a blank book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

Excellent new horror novel!

It's odd for me to read "new" horror and not spend my time comparing it to all the great horror I've read before it. However, this story starts with a bang and doesn't slow, so I had no choice but to just strap in and enjoy the ride.

The Nightmare Man is about an author whose latest book is suddenly coming true. Things are not quite that simple though and as the bodies pile up, and the crime scenes become more gruesome, sins from the past suddenly start to be revealed and connections are made.

I loved the use of nightmares in this story and the idea of a person who can give nightmares, and someone else who can take them away was fascinating, well done, and presented a thrilling story.

Also, my Stephen King-loving heart loved all of the references!

Highly recommend to all horror fans, or just anyone wanting a good scare.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked lane Books for the earc in exchange of an honest review.

I was hoping to find those kind of horror plot that looks like an eightie's horror movie. And I guess is what I've got in a way.

It doesn't ignore all the pop horror history. It acknowledge it. The beginning is haunting like one of Hannibal's murders in the TV show. It is twisted and Grim a bit staged.

Then the book goes alternating points of view of the detectives and the suspect, a conflicted writer. The writer is unreliable because in the beginning he is having blackouts and he sleepwalk. (Not gonna said anything else)

So it is all about a few common places of horror but is intriguing and well done.

Like and old movie that reads new and creepy.

If I had it when I was a kid I would have nightmares. Remmains of all those Saturday nights sneaking to watch horror flicks.

Really enjoyed it

I enjoyed this book. I can not wait for more by this author! Thanks to publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book!

A truly harrowing whodunnit.

J. H. Market has created a truly interesting horror novel focusing on dreams and nightmares. This book was a pleasant surprise from what I originally thought it might be. It is a medium paced book that I found myself racing to finish as I approached the end.

This book follows a horror author, who is currently stuck writing a sequel to his hit book. When murders start being discovered that align exactly with his novel, he knows something else must be going on. There are so many moving pieces to this story that it felt a little hard to keep up with at times, however it all comes out to a startling but very interesting conclusion.


Check this book out!

PS - I loved all the Stephen King references in this book.