Book Summary:

Ben Bookman has been hard at work on his latest novel, The Scarecrow. He even heads home – to Blackwood mansion – to get it written. Unfortunately, the events of his book seem to be coming to life, and that means the town of New Haven is in for a horrible time.

Enter Detective Mills, the person responsible for investigating a gruesome murder. A murder that eerily matches up with Ben's book. You can see where this is heading. What is real? What is fiction? And what can humanity do when the lines between the two begin to blur?

My Review:

Wow. Wow! This is the first novel I've read by J.H. Market and guys, I'm hooked! The Nightmare Man is such a chilling and fantastic read. If you love stories where the lines of fact and fiction blur, you will love this book.

Oh, right, it's also pretty horrifying. The marketing of The Nightmare Man (T. Kingfisher meets Cassandra Khaw) is so painfully spot-on here! Seriously, I've never seen a more accurate comparison. As a fan of both authors, I mean that in the best way possible.

The Nightmare Man is worth the read, especially for horror and mystery fans. You'll also probably enjoy it if you like darker fantasy novels.

Highlights:
Nightmares turned Real
Mystery/Horror
Scarecrows
T. Kingfisher Vibes (yes, please!)

Trigger Warnings:
Missing Children
Serial Killer

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert is a 2023 Crooked Lane Books publication.

I seldom read new horror novels, excepting one or two favorite authors, but this one was pointed out to me as one I might want to check out.

I figured it wouldn’t hurt to step outside of my comfort zone just a little bit, as well. So, this was maybe an unusual pick for me to read during the Christmas season.

The story starts off with a grisly crime scene, one that mimics passages from horror novelist Ben Bookman’s latest book. Things spiral downwards from there as Ben becomes a prime suspect.

As horror novels go, this one is unique. There is the requisite gore- apparently a requirement in horror novels these days, as ‘atmosphere’ doesn’t compute any longer- but, that said, it’s a smart thriller with some interesting twists.

One will have to go slow and remain focused as it would be easy to get lost or confused in some parts. After the initial adrenaline rush, the story does lose momentum a bit- but eventually the pieces begin to fit together nicely.

Overall, not really knowing anything about the work of the authors this novel was compared to, and not being in the loop for what counts as a good horror/thriller anymore- I can only say I thought this is probably one that could appeal to more of a mainstream readership, because while violent, it doesn’t depend on that alone- it does have a plot and an interesting premise. I am glad I gave it a try and will consider trying out more books by this author.

Blackwood Mansion holds secrets. No one knows this better than Ben Bookman, the boy who grew up in the mansion, and who was so influenced by its mystique that he became a bestselling horror author. But after making a name for himself as a successful writer (he is literally nicknamed The Nightmare Man), his past is coming back to haunt him. Someone is acting out the grotesqueries in his novels - murdering in the same ways, targeting the same victims as those described within the pages of his books. Naturally all accusations turn to Ben himself. After all, without his twisted imagination, these things would never have happened. But is it really that simple? Although Ben denies all culpability, time is quickly running out for him and detectives to find the real killer. Failing to do so will not only result in more lives lost, but also the unleashing of thousands of living nightmares, personalized to everyone’s worst fears.

This book is a prime example of how sometimes I wish there were two separate rating categories: one for plot, and one for writing quality. As far as plot creativity and concepts, The Nightmare Man is a four-star novel. Unfortunately, the writing style and quality got in the way of the story and prevented me from becoming fully immersed in the terrifying world that Markert conjured. For one, there seems to be a lack of trust in the reader; many things are spelled out that could be left up to the audience’s imagination and filled in by virtue of being an attentive and experienced reader. More than a few scenes were clumsily overexplained and I found it frustrating.

The second pitfall was that Markert seemed to be overly ambitious. There were so many moving pieces, so much backstory, so many bread crumbs laid in the exposition that had to be recovered by the end of the novel. I felt that Markert should have taken a page from his protagonist’s book and given all the different “monsters” (loosely used here) their own, fully-fleshed out novels rather than cramming them into one. The result of his choice to sandwich all the terror into one text lessened the impact and just left me feeling as though I was missing important details due to the sheer amount of information.

So is this a criticism for the writer or the editor? Here is where I feel conflicted about this particular review. But taken as a whole, two-stars is where Nightmare Man ended up landing. A great story with an execution that left something to be desired.

Much thanks to J.H. Markert, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review

J. H. Markert's horror debut is a disturbing masterpiece reminiscent of Stephen King's "The Dark Half." I might have to start sleeping with a dreamcatcher over my bed now! Old school horror at its finest.

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert, published by Crooked Lane Books/ Penguin Random House, is a book that stays with you. A dark read that is not for the faint of heart.
Ben Bookman is a writer and heir to an estate spends the weekend at the family manor writing a new story when the storyline comes true.
Detective Mills along with his daughter Samantha Blue are assigned to the case so gruesome, the blood runs cold in my veins just thinking about the story.
A thriller of its finest, the story takes the reader into the depths of the criminal mind. Mixed with pnr elements the story grips you with both hands and doesn't let go anymore, thrilling, literally. An outstanding read that stays with me, 5 stars.

Ladies and gentlemen 𝕎𝕖 ℍ𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝔸 𝕎𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕣! First of all...that cover! I mean can you even?! It's amazing! The book itself is terrifyingly creepy and makes you feel like you're watching a top notch unsettling horror film. It is reminiscent of the old school horror tropes I love and I am constantly in search of a true work of horror like this. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦! Horror fans get ready because these characters are going to come to life and haunt your dreams! 😱

The Nightmare Man follows Ben Bookman, a successful horror novelist, and Detective Mills, a man with a special gift who is investigating gristly murders based off Ben's latest work of horror. Detective Mills finds a family gruesomely murdered and bound inside corn husk cacoons within their barn. The murders are eerily exact replicas of the murders from Ben's new release, The Nightmare Man. Now Ben is a prime suspect and both he and the detective try to find the link between the book and the murders before anyone else can die. Ben has one problem though, he doesn't remember writing the book, but he does remember writing it at his grandfather's estate. The Blackwood Mansion, surrounded by Nightmare pines, with it's atrium filled with thousands of numbered books with no words must hold the answer to the Nightmare they are all living.

The Nightmare Man was perfection! It was chilling and twisty with terrifying supernatural elements. It's everything you want in good horror. It's one of those stories that is destined to be one of the great horror classics of its time. If you love horror then this is a 𝕄𝕦𝕤𝕥 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕!

A special thank you to the author, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

CW: child abuse, murder, torture, alcoholism, self harm, suicide

Buckle up! This is a dark one!


Ben Bookman is a successful thriller writer, crafting terrifying stories that have caused nightmares in readers across the world. His latest novel, The Scarecrow, was written in a frenzied haze in a single weekend at his grandfather’s home and its creation, and story, have caused a rift in his marriage. During a book signing at his local bookstore, a man claims that Ben has stolen his nightmare, destroying his life and driving him to take his own life right there in the store.

Not too far away, Detective Winchester Mills has been called to the scene of a horrifying murder. An entire family, minus the young daughter who was luckily found alive, have been found brutally murdered at their murder matches a murder found within Ben Bookman’s latest book.

As the police begin their investigation, it’s discovered that Ben’s books seem to inspire a copycat killer that has been terrorizing the area for years. As the investigation goes deeper into Ben’s life and childhood, dark and disturbing secrets about his family, their ties to a psychiatric hospital, and Ben’s own mental stability come to light. Detective Mills also has his own secrets to protect. His own nightmares and sleep troubles have plagued his life for years, causing a rift between himself and his only daughter, and now exacerbated by the latest string of killings.

As Ben looks more and more like the prime suspect, he tries to uncover what actually happened to him during that hazy weekend at his grandfather’s house. A house that contains a room off-limits to everyone; a room full of books with no words.

Whew this is a dark one! The murders are quite brutal and inventive in their cruelty, but the real horror comes from the town’s connections to the Oswald Asylum and how Bookman’s family was shaped by their time spent at Blackwood mansion. Ben Bookman grew up wealthy with a well-respected grandfather who specialized in treating sleep disorders. After Ben’s younger brother went missing as a child, his parents died tragically in a car crash, leaving him and his sister alone as young adults. Amanda, Ben’s wife, really dislikes Blackwood and is very vocal about how unsettling and disturbing she has always found the mansion. Within the mansion is The Atrium. The Atrium was off-limits to everyone and required explicit permission from Robert, the grandfather, to enter. Ben knows that he wrote his latest book in The Atrium, but has no memory of doing so, and, something happened in that room that caused their longtime nanny to abruptly quit. Located on Blackwood’s property is the Oswald Asylum. Robert built the asylum on his property and dedicated his life to treating those with sleep disorders and apparently worked a little too closely with local law enforcement to place patients there instead of jail. As the story unfolds, we discover that a startling amount of people connected to the murders received treatment for sleep disorders at Oswald as children. It also begins to feel like there is more to everyone’s dreams than anyone wants to fully admit.

This is a very dark, very compelling and complex thriller. There’s this incredible blend of supernatural elements and the very real brutality of humanity that keeps you guessing all the way until the end.

It has all my horror favorites: a creepy house, a disturbing hospital, mysterious books, and every single person having a secret to protect.

CW: child abuse, murder, torture, alcoholism, self harm, suicide

Buckle up! This is a dark one!


Ben Bookman is a successful thriller writer, crafting terrifying stories that have caused nightmares in readers across the world. His latest novel, The Scarecrow, was written in a frenzied haze in a single weekend at his grandfather’s home and its creation, and story, have caused a rift in his marriage. During a book signing at his local bookstore, a man claims that Ben has stolen his nightmare, destroying his life and driving him to take his own life right there in the store.

Not too far away, Detective Winchester Mills has been called to the scene of a horrifying murder. An entire family, minus the young daughter who was luckily found alive, have been found brutally murdered at their murder matches a murder found within Ben Bookman’s latest book.

As the police begin their investigation, it’s discovered that Ben’s books seem to inspire a copycat killer that has been terrorizing the area for years. As the investigation goes deeper into Ben’s life and childhood, dark and disturbing secrets about his family, their ties to a psychiatric hospital, and Ben’s own mental stability come to light. Detective Mills also has his own secrets to protect. His own nightmares and sleep troubles have plagued his life for years, causing a rift between himself and his only daughter, and now exacerbated by the latest string of killings.

As Ben looks more and more like the prime suspect, he tries to uncover what actually happened to him during that hazy weekend at his grandfather’s house. A house that contains a room off-limits to everyone; a room full of books with no words.

Whew this is a dark one! The murders are quite brutal and inventive in their cruelty, but the real horror comes from the town’s connections to the Oswald Asylum and how Bookman’s family was shaped by their time spent at Blackwood mansion. Ben Bookman grew up wealthy with a well-respected grandfather who specialized in treating sleep disorders. After Ben’s younger brother went missing as a child, his parents died tragically in a car crash, leaving him and his sister alone as young adults. Amanda, Ben’s wife, really dislikes Blackwood and is very vocal about how unsettling and disturbing she has always found the mansion. Within the mansion is The Atrium. The Atrium was off-limits to everyone and required explicit permission from Robert, the grandfather, to enter. Ben knows that he wrote his latest book in The Atrium, but has no memory of doing so, and, something happened in that room that caused their longtime nanny to abruptly quit. Located on Blackwood’s property is the Oswald Asylum. Robert built the asylum on his property and dedicated his life to treating those with sleep disorders and apparently worked a little too closely with local law enforcement to place patients there instead of jail. As the story unfolds, we discover that a startling amount of people connected to the murders received treatment for sleep disorders at Oswald as children. It also begins to feel like there is more to everyone’s dreams than anyone wants to fully admit.

This is a very dark, very compelling and complex thriller. There’s this incredible blend of supernatural elements and the very real brutality of humanity that keeps you guessing all the way until the end.

It has all my horror favorites: a creepy house, a disturbing hospital, mysterious books, and every single person having a secret to protect.

"Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of Crooked Tree. Ben Bookman, bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, spent a weekend at the ancestral home to finish writing his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. Now, on the eve of the book’s release, the terrible story within begins to unfold in real life."

I think that the best way to enjoy this book is to go in without too many details, so I'll keep it vague.
This book is your worst nightmare coming to life. The story was unique and not like anything I've read before. I was fully engaged from the very beginning and couldn't stop turning the pages to see what would happen next. I loved the characters and the way this story was told with past and present time lines from different POV's. This is definitely a dark story, but it is so well done and I loved it from beginning to end!
I would absolutely love for the story to continue, hint hint @jamesmarkert74

Thank you to @netgalley, @crookedlanebooks, and @dreamscapemedia for the gifted copy of this book.

There's a lot to love in this book: horror, thriller, paranormal. There's a riveting and gripping plot, there's gore and plenty of surprises.
I couldn't put it down even when I was very scared.
The author is a talented storyteller and this story is excellent.
Can't wait to read another by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

5 stars and a heavy recommendation for murder mystery/horror lovers! This title will not disappoint! Thank you to the publishers at Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Crooked Tree is a town plagued by nightmares. The most notable nightmare is Ben Bookman, a local horror novelist whose new book, The Scarecrow, is being brought to life by someone, page for bloody page. Who is behind these grizzly crimes and what other nightmares lurk in the Bookman past?

This book is better than anything I could have imagined. It read like a movie, like a Netflix series with each chapter asking me "Are you still watching?" to which my reply was always YES or MORE PLEASE! This book has mystery, gore, lost time, a paranormal element; everything you want from a great series all well paced into one fantastic ride readers won't soon forget. The gore was tastefully done, not just something typed onto the page for a gross factor. Everything comes together in spooky harmony with twists I didn't see coming.

Five stars and a thirst for more to come from J.H. Markert. Recommended for readers of horror who liked It Rides a Pale Horse and Within these Wicked Walls. Pick up a copy and cozy up with a spooktackular book!

A true page turner so chilling a book that kept me reading late into the night.So many twists so many turns drew me in from the first pages.#netgalley #thenightmareman.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an early audiobook of The Nightmare Man in exchange for an honest review!

If The Nightmare Man would have ended around that 60% mark of the audiobook, I think this book could have been a favorite. Unfortunately, it kept going & sadly overstayed its welcome. The concept was phenomenal (writer writes a book and then the murders from the book start to happen in real life -- yes, please!), it felt weird(niiiiceeee vibes for a book with nightmares) & there is a pleasant amount of gore for the gore fans (also known as me).

But even with the pros, it didn't end up being a hit for me in the end & I just found myself hoping it'd be over soon.

This book was absolutely wild!! I had no idea where it was going from start to finish and I couldn’t stop turning pages!

What a ride this was. Definitely a worthy read if you’re a fan of horror, particularly supernatural. I haven’t read that many horror stories that have a supernatural element, but this one would definitely be up there on the list even if I’ve read a whole bunch of them.

What I loved about this book, other than it being really creepy at times, was that it was actually filled with twists and turns throughout. Don’t think that reading the synopsis is going to give you a clear idea of how the story will progress because it’ll surprise you. I liked the characters, even the unlikable ones, the plotline which was very intriguing, and I loved everything evil in this story. Do pick this up if you’re looking for a creepy story about the supernatural and the evil nature of people.

Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of New Haven. Ben Bookman, bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, spent a weekend at the ancestral home to finish writing his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. Now, on the eve of the book’s release, the terrible story within begins to unfold in real life.
Detective Mills arrives at the scene of a gruesome murder: a family butchered and bundled inside cocoons stitched from corn husks, and hung from the rafters of a barn, eerily mirroring the opening of Bookman’s latest novel. When another family is killed in a similar manner, Mills, along with his daughter, rookie detective Samantha Blue, is determined to find the link to the book—and the killer—before the story reaches its chilling climax.
As the series of “Scarecrow crimes” continues to mirror the book, Ben quickly becomes the prime suspect. He can’t remember much from the night he finished writing the novel, but he knows he wrote it in The Atrium, his grandfather’s forbidden room full of numbered books. Thousands of books. Books without words.
As Ben digs deep into Blackwood’s history he learns he may have triggered a release of something trapped long ago—and it won’t stop with the horrors buried within the pages of his book.

This is a thrilling read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

Wowza! This book kept me mesmerized from start to finish. You initially meet Ben Bookman, horror author, husband and father. He's struggling in his home life due to "something" that happened around the time he completed his newest novel, The Scarecrow. As if his life isn't difficult enough, it appears that the murders from his book are being recreated in real life. Naturally, all suspicion points to him as the author of the book but there's obviously so much more to it.

This book weaves a web of intrigue as you learn Ben's family history and get tidbits about the mystery and fear that surround his family's home - - the Blackwood estate. You also figure out early on that things happened in that house to Ben while he was growing up - - things that forever changed him.

The Nightmare Man is told in multiple points of view. That can be good or bad -- in the case of this book, it was a good thing. Gaining insight from various people was critical in building this story the right way. In addition, there are numerous flashbacks to events from the past. It all helps to explain and blend the storyline so you see the basis for where things are going in present day.

This book did have some gruesome descriptions and a few scary moments, but what I enjoyed most was the clever plot. The way the author built this story was quite brilliant and well-executed. It's original and twisty and I was obsessed with seeing how it all played out. I did figure out a few of the twists as we went, but the author did a nice job of keeping a few surprises tucked away. Well done.

In addition, I listened to a good portion of this book via audio. The narration was great. It truly lent itself to the spooky storyline and helped to make it a bit creepier at times. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for both the ARC and the early Listening Copy. I voluntarily chose to read/and listen to each of these and review them. The opinions contained within my review are my own.

I do at least half of my reading at night while nursing a baby. It took  me a while to read "The Nightmare Man" because it was legitimately a creepy read to read at night. For being a solid horror story, it deserves its 5-star rating!
"The Nightmare Man" is a story about nightmares that come to life. Ben Bookman is horror writer with a traumatic past- his little brother disappeared in the forest near his family home. His grandfather was a famous doctor that was able to magically take away people's nightmares, but also was head of a psychiatric hospital for special cases. In present time, people are dying because of what appears to be a scarecrow that not only kills people, but cuts them apart and sews them into corn husk cocoons. The kicker? Ben has been writing about the scarecrow, and it seems like his book is predicting the death of residents in the area.

For some reason, the first week I had a newborn I had the craziest nightmares that kept me up for hours and had me pacing the house, worried about fiery pits of hell and drowning (totally unrelated to the book)-- it both put me in the mood for a scary read and also made me want to get far, far away from anything that would scare me more. I'm a sucker for punishment I guess, I love scary stories. This book does a great job with creating a dark atmosphere.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book. Happy Publication Week! "The Nightmare Man" was released on Jan 10th and is available to read. There is a mystery/detective element to this story, and while it has magical elements, parts of the story felt real (adds to the horror!). I highly recommend this book for your next scare!

Oh, I loved this! This was pure horror. Yeah, another book about someone copying an author. But this one had more. This one had a two-fer. A creepy old mansion, abandoned for years. And it had an asylum. C’mon. An asylum! Crazy people just waiting to get out and reinfect the world.

For the most part, the characters fit into some very well worn boxes. The alcoholic and haunted author. The skeptical newswoman. Granted, these two are not always married. The marriage allowed us the slightly weird but strong child. The old, worn cop and the young cop with the past she is trying to escape come as a package.

I went back and forth between classic and cliche, here. I ended on classic with nods to the past. The drunken author who knows what he is doing is wrong. The Bookman name (which does get explained but still makes me think of the Bachman books) was definitely an homage.

And you have to love the wink to those of us reading the ARC when the author mentions how many of us read early on Netgalley.

This was a lot of fun and I hope I get to read about these people and this place again.

This is a good book. A real page turner. The farther along the story goes and the mysteries start to unfold, the more intense it gets and you can’t put it down. Nightmares. We’ve all had them and sometimes they seem to be too real. This book will have you thinking about your worst nightmares and you’ll be glad (or hope) they don’t become real.

“The Nightmare Man” starts out kind of rough and maybe even a little slow, but once this story plugs in and shakes off the shaky beginning, it becomes a really fantastic horror novel. Let me tell you, I was absolutely ecstatic, because I’ve read a ton of novels claiming to be horror novels in the past 18 months or so that other people have sworn would give me the shivers and I’ve been like, “Meh”. “The Nightmare Man”, however, is the only one so far to actually give me some genuine creepy, psychotic vibes. Markert assumed his new nom de plume specifically to write horror and made this novel his debut under that new name, and I honestly think it’s a whizz bang of a horror debut, because while I wasn’t scared (I don’t get scared by horror books or movies, I just happen to be a big fan of the genre in general), I was so… happy! Excited! I was downright giggly at the scenes, imagery, and plot points that would likely horrify others–but for someone like me I was clapping like this was a terrific horror show put on just for me.

Like I pointed out, the first act of the book does suffer from some pacing and plotting issues. It could’ve used some more time in editing, is my opinion, just because it feels like Markert maybe had the second and third acts of this book set in his head and he knew where he wanted this book to go and how he wanted this book to end… but then had to come up with a way to get there, so a first act had to be crafted to set it all up. As a result, a large chunk of the first act feels disconnected from the rest of the book, in my opinion. I was bored with that section enough I kept falling asleep and hoped beyond hope the book would get better.

Luckily, it did. There were some great plot twists and character turns, as well as deeply held secrets revealed at exactly the right times for the right reasons. Some of the weirder, more paranormal/metaphysical events that happen are genuinely creepy, deliciously violent, deeply sinister, and at one point it’s all just absolute bedlam.

I loved the various ways Markert worked in various myths, folktales, and fairy tales involving sleep, dreams, and death. I thought these holistic and non-scientific points were a great juxtaposition to the psychiatric legacy of the Bookman family.

It was a fantastic read for a dark, cloudy, rainy day.

NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books provided me with access to this title. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Thank you.

File Under: Psychological Thriller/Crime Thriller/Horror/Suspense Thriller/Thriller/Paranormal Fiction/Speculative Fiction