“What if the make believe exists? What is that’s what we see when we dream…”

The perfect blend of horror, thriller and the paranormal. I was completely and utterly encompassed by this book from the first page. I devoured it as much as it devoured me. The concept of nightmares coming to life alone is enough to keep me from sleeping, let alone the rest of the horror in this tale.
The twists, turns and gore will leave your stomach weak yet yearning for more. The storytelling in this book (dare I say it) rivals Stephen King in the depth, detail and destruction of my brain which has left me with a sudden need for more J. H. Markert books in my life. In short, it destroyed me in the best way. I highly recommend.

Special thanks for the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC!

I’ve been sleeping on Markert clearly. I was afraid I wouldn’t enjoy this as I had not read their previous book but I don’t believe it took away, and I’m on to that one next!

The synopsis of the book was real promising and I was really excited to read this during spooky season, but I ended up not liking this book.
There was way too many POV's to keep straight and then on top of that it kept going to past and present. It just got confusing to follow all of them sometimes.
It also took me forever to get into and I kept leaving the book every couple chapters. This book just wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley, Publisher and J.H. Markert for letting me read the ARC for an honest review. Available 11/21/2023

I really did not end up liking this book. Mister Lullaby has a lot of promise, bit falls flat. There are far too many POVs in this to keep the story straight and honestly its a bit dizzying. It also took too long to get into it. At this point the author is not for me, but by no means am I saying not to read it for yourself.



Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 2.5/5

I found this book to be a bit of a conundrum. The beginning dragged a bit, which I recognize was sort of necessary for character development, but when things kicked into gear, it felt a bit all over the place. The amount of POVs was a bit much for me and felt unnecessary for telling the story. The ending gave me whiplash - it came on far too suddenly and did not wrap up nearly enough of the questions. Overall, a good story with a creepy premise, but falls short just short of the finish line.

This was the scary story that I have been waiting for. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read it early!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC!

Mister Lullaby was the perfect mix of Stephen King's It and Stranger Things vibes. The short chapters flew by, each one ending with new and intriguing information that kept me completely invested in the story. Despite having a rather large cast of characters, I found that I was never confused. I never had to go back and double check whose POV I was in.

For the majority of the book, I just knew that this would be a 5 star read for me but ultimately I deducted one for the rather abrupt ending. The conclusion will probably work for some but it unfortunately did not work for me. I would have liked another chapter or two to wrap everything up. But having said that, the story was so very interesting and fast-paced, which I loved. This was the perfect read to get me in the mood for spooky season!

Mister Lullaby by J. H. Markert is described as a horror novel but unfortunately I didn't feel the horror. I thought it was a book with potential that never delivered. It had a lot of characters. You had a veteran who was injured, a cop who wanted to be sheriff, a comatose boy, an attack victim, a mentally handicap man, and a whole lot of different murderers. All of these people are linked by a tunnel that leads to another world called LaLaLand. The premise of the story sounded great and the plot was reminiscent of Stephen King's stories but it just wasn't quite there. It built slowly and there was a good bit of character development. It was told in various different timelines from various different points of view which at timea got confusing. It seemed like it rushed to the end and never really finished. I think it would have been great if it were longer and the climax wasn't rushed, as the world building and character building were wonderful. The ending was also disappointing as it didn't really end and that left me frustrated that I spent all that time on a book without an adequate ending.
Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read, rate and review this arc which will be available 11/21/2023! All opinions herein are mine and mine alone.

It was okay. I was wicked confused throughout. The jumping from one character to another was annoying. The storyline wasn’t cohesive. Interesting premise but to me it fell short.

“Because that’s what Lalaland was, the land of colorful deception, the land of wrong, the land of make-believe, the land where if you could think it, you could make it so, the land of Mr. . . .”

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for a copy of this book.

SPOOOOOKY SEASON IS AMONG US!!! 👻

Warning. This book is creeeepy. Beware of reading it alone at night. 🔪
From the moment you open the book you will find yourself flipping through the pages way past your bedtime. This author creates such a chilling atmosphere and the details create such vivid and unsettling scenes.
My one thing is, I needed more of a resolution at the end.
All horror fans will love this and be prepared to lose sleep for Mister Lullaby🎶.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy Mr. Lullaby as much as I did with Markerts first book, The Nightmare Man. This book read more macho, more violent towards women. Just wasn’t my thing. Thank you for the arc for me to read!

Sorry, this one was a DNF for me. The blurb sounded absolutely amazing but the actual story just kept gathering momentum without actually going anywhere.

The reviews I’ve seen to date on Mister Lullaby have been pretty favorable, so I might be in the minority of people who did not enjoy it. It took me a LONG time to get into it and, by the the time I finally did, it ended so abruptly and weirdly. I didn’t enjoy this one at all, although the concept behind it was good and the writing was well done.

Harrod's Reach is a small town that has plenty of experience with unexplainable phenomena. One source of strange activity is an old train tunnel that continues to fascinate local constituents both young and old.  Young Sully Dupree went into the tunnel years ago and never quite returned. He suffered an injury and now lingers in a comatose state. While Sully and others like him lie helpless in a state of endless sleep there is something sinister waking up and hunting them in the shadows.

This novel can be read as a stand-alone or as a follow-up to The Nightmare Man. Rarely can I say that I enjoyed a sequel more than the first book in a series . . . this book set this story aflame for me and now I’m begging for more.

If you enjoy horror or fantasy, add this to your cart. Trust me . . . this is your jam!

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of Mister Lullaby for my unbiased evaluation.  5 stars

It's an intriguing, creepy, small-town horror with an old train tunnel that seems to be linked with murders and unnatural occurrences. It was confusing to me at first because of the many characters' perspectives and the before and after kind of approach but in the end, I thought I really enjoyed reading it because of the overall eeriness. Also, the ending seems to be abrupt, hopefully a second book would come.

Mister Lullaby by J.H. Markert
Pub Date 11/21/23
⭐⭐⭐

For fans of Insidious or Nightmare on Elm Street, Mister Lullaby is a unique take on a disturbing nightmare. Mister Lullaby is a nightmare you don't want to follow you home.

Sully Dupree, a local boy from the small town of Harrod's Reach becomes injured and slips in a coma after playing in an old train tunnel, The townspeople makes the decision to close the tunnel off for good before anyone else gets hurt. But when two bodies are found in front of the tunnel with lullabies attached to them and Sully briefly awakens screaming. "Run" everything changes. Sully and other coma patients around the world are trapped in Lalaland, a world filled with evil and nightmarish creatures that are trying to enter the real world. While hundreds of coma patients are working to keep them at bay, another man who hears Mister Lullabies voice is already working hard to kill as many "dead heads" as quickly as possible. Wake up because Mister Lullaby is coming.

J.H. Markert spins a fascinating tale full of terrifying characters that will make you want to stay awake. I enjoyed the storyline and how the pieces all came together. However I felt the ending was rushed and too many questions were left unanswered.

This book was quite the ride. It was a slowwwww burn and had a lot of strings but they all tied together pretty nicely in the end. I was very confused in the beginning not gonna lie, but that was part of why I kept reading.

I did think the end kind of fell off. I would’ve liked a little more out of the ending. What happened to all the coma patients??? And all the mares and animals?? I have questions.

This book could definitely be a movie, the suspense and mystery would keep your attention!
The storyline is built around a tunnel in Harrod’s Reach, closed off but holding its secrets.
The townsfolk and main characters are desperate to solve the unexplained deaths, strange occurrences and to bridge the gap between the living and world of nightmares.
Life in the village takes a turn for the worse when the tunnel is reopened, the battle is on to find answers.
There’s a lot going on and with all of the characters it can seem chaotic. As the story develops it’s easier to follow each character’s purpose and the tension continues to build.
The author is extremely talented in nightmarish creatures and situations, creepy and haunting! I wonder if we’ll see any of these characters again?

Thank you to Crooked Lane Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you @netgalley @crookedlanebooks for the #gifted copy of this book!

Hush little baby, don’t say a word, mamas gonna buy you a mockingbird.🎶 All aboard the Lullaby Express! 😱

If you’re looking for a book to scare the pants off of you, keep you up at night, make you hide in a closet or never sing a lullaby again this book is for you! This is my second book by this author and I liked this scary tale more than the first. But for real though this book is what nightmares are made of. This would be the perfect October scary movie! Quite frankly it felt like I was watching an old school Stephen King movie. 😱

This premise of this book is Mister Lullaby has the ability to bring alive people’s worst nightmares and make them come to life. It starts off with an old abandoned train tunnel where two corpses are found dead with lullaby’s pinned to their bodies. This is the same site where a young girl ends up in a coma after trying to run through the tunnel. Almost a dare of sorts to make it from one side to the other but not everyone makes it out the other side. 😳 Sally wakes briefly but seems to be stuck with hundreds of others in a coma after coming into contact with Mr. Lullaby. The police aren’t sure what or who to believe. Are the town superstitions really real?

As I mentioned above, this book is not for the faint of heart. If you love scary movies make sure to grab a copy of this one!

Mr. Lullaby takes the mystery and unanswered questions surrounding sleep and comas and twists them inside out, creating a terrifying land filled with monsters, evil, and horror. I did, however, find the ending rather disappointing after all the build up around Mr. Lullaby. The big bad was easily defeated in the end and the story ubruptly ends leaving me feeling lost.