This one was an interesting read! I really like it! There's just the right amount of intrigue to get you into it and suddenly boom. It was an interesting and normal-ish team of characters and they just felt right. The plot development was really good and I was just going page through page (I read it through the night which was kinda scary 😂) but the ending just felt off. There was excellent buildup and it all just fizzled out. Ending is really important and it just didn't work out for me. Still a good read! Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book!

I love books that take place on or around Halloween. This book was well written and kept my interest from start to finish. I thought this book had good characters and good pacing and definitely kept you guessing as to what was actually going on. Thank you to NetGalley and Cemetery Dance Publications for providing me with this ARC.

Five adults come back to their home town after one of their group is dead. When they all reunite, memories come flooding back of a terrifying night in the woods on Halloween 25 years ago. One member thinks it would be a good idea to go out into the woods one more time to help everyone heal and finally off on from the trauma of that night. But not all is what it seems. This is one of the better horror novels I’ve read in awhile! This book was fast paced and was hooked from page one. I’m excited to read more from this author!

A group of estranged friends, now in their forties, receive an invite to reunite...seemingly out of the blue. Once reunited in their old hometown, they receive troubling news that one of their childhood friends recently died. But that's not even the most troubling thing that transpires. The group is forced to face their past, unearth secrets meant to be kept buried, and even pay a visit to a patch of forest known to them all as Suicide Woods.

This is the second book I've read by Kristopher Triana (behind Gone to Meet the River Man), and I enjoy his writing style. He has a way of pulling you in, either through a descriptive setting or through the nature of his central characters. In the case of this book, you get to know the five main characters throughout the first chunk of the story- their attitudes toward one another, the state of their past and present relationships, and life events that have shaped the people they are today.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. There's something about childhood friends getting back together decades later to rehash a horrific event that intrigues me. That being said, I did feel that this book dragged on in some areas and took longer to get to the more juicy parts. That sense of impending doom was there though, which helped. Worth the read!

Thank you Net Galley, Kristopher Triana & Cemetry Dance Publication for this arc of That night in the woods.

This reads like a 1980s horror film, and was such a fun read. The story alternates between current day, and “that night in the woods” in 1995. I particularly enjoyed that component, and could feel some parallels with IT and The Ritual.

It would spooky and suspenseful, great atmosphere.

While I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, I didn’t really feel connected to any of the characters. I would also say that the constant changing perspectives was a bit jarring.

There were a couple of moments that seemed to throw me right out of the story altogether.
I doubt that Traci would was thinking “Reading men was like flipping through a pamphlet - simple and easy to understand. But reading a woman was like picking up a copy of War and Peace that had half its pages glued together”

Side note:
You can’t “save your eggs” that’s not how that works.

I think if you were to attempt to sum up this book in one word it would have to be: Intense. It felt like there was a twist at every turn and I found myself holding on to the edge of my seat to see what it would be.

This is one of those books that would be a fantastic movie. I could picture the scenes in my head as I read and found that terrifying so I can only imagine what it would be like in movie form.

I believe I would’ve rated this higher if the ending didn’t happen the way it did. I felt like it ruined the story for me as it felt predictable.

That Night In The Woods was a fast paced, tense and thrilling read and I’m excited to see what is next from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cemetery Dance Publications for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Great horror story, read very much like an old cinematic movie. I was invested from the first page to the last!

This read like an old-school horror story. Very cinematic in its descriptions and settings. The characters are well differentiated from one another. It builds nicely, even if you as the reader doesn't know what's really going on. What's in the woods and more. It reads little like a Stephen King novel. And I mean that in a good way. I was invested to see what was going to happen. I will say the ending took a little off my final rating for the book.
3 and a half stars

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Cemetery Dance Publications for this digital arc for my unbiased review.

Triana has done it again! This book gave me a deep sense of dread from start to finish. He is a master of the creeping kind of dread, that curls in the pit of your stomach and slowly leaches out into your veins. Set in a sleepy suburban town, a group of childhood friends who haven’t seen each other since high school are brought back together after the passing of one of their old gang. This is so much more than just a memorial for their old friend though, they are going to dig up the past and venture back into it.

I hesitated to give this book 3 stars because the writing is wonderful. I quite enjoy the way Triana weaves his story. Unfortunately , what started out as a fun ride went off the rails at the end and really wasn’t my cup of tea. The characters were well developed and even though flawed they were likable and made me root for them. The scenes were fleshed out completely and I could picture them so clearly in my head. The author is gifted and talented, I just don’t think his books are for me.

I was super into this read for the first half. It had fantastic tension, it was leaning supernatural horror and I was legitimately feeling uneasy about these woods! I became less invested by the last 40% when the story turned and the truth came out, I was vibing with the beginning themes too much. I think that pivot of plot was what didn’t work for me personally.

Overall I enjoyed this read, I found the characters to be well fleshed out, and the atmosphere at the beginning to be really creepy. I found the ending to be a bit predictable and the way it turned I feel like it reads more thriller than horror.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the eARC opportunity! I’m a big Triana fan and I’ll be anticipating what he has coming out next!

Suicide woods... that is the tone of the story. It is the centre of the mystery the pain and unites the main characters on this journey into their past. When Jenifer is invited back to this place, where it all happened, she relives her childhood memories, five friends unite at her childhood home to mourn the death of another and they experience more than they expected. Dark and menacing, the past comes back to bite them in a revelation of deepest trauma.

Thank you Kristopher Triana, Cemetery Dance Publications, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of That Night in the Woods.


Synopsis: When each member of a childhood group of friends gets a call from Scott Dwyer inviting them back to their hometown for a weekend, they don’t think twice. Instead, the gang comes back together at his house, supposedly to honor the last wishes of their recently deceased friend Steven. But when Scott suddenly brings up THAT NIGHT from decades ago, they all begin to question whether coming was the right choice. Especially when he convinces them to go back into the Suicide Woods. Will any of them make it out alive?


Review: I would rate That Night in the Woods by Kristopher Triana 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed the perspective shifts between characters, as well as the time jumps. There were times when this was done a little too frequently, however, and slightly took away from the tension of the moment. I also thought the combination of demonic and human threats was creative, and feel that the progression of the monsters really added to the horror of the book. I really did not enjoy the ending, but the rest of the book was super spooky and would make a great read going into the Halloween season.

If you were a fan of It, The Ritual, or any other supernatural horrors, you should check out this book. It releases October 7, 2023.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been craving something spooky, so this ARC came at the perfect time. The beginning of this book is creepy and atmospheric. It had great Halloween vibes. I love the trope of old friends coming back together later in life to solve a mystery or spill a secret.

I do feel like this book could have used some editing. It felt a bit long/repetitive at times, but overall everything was going great for me until a twist about 70% in. I was meh about it, but still along for the ride…but the ending!? As in like the last paragraph? Not a fan. I felt like it didn’t make sense at all after the character development throughout the story. I am curious to see what others think.

Overall, an alright book. Check it out if you enjoy slasher/Halloweeny reads.

My first by Kristopher Triana and won’t be my last. A slow burn that quickly built up characters and ramped up suspense with every page turned. The friend group has all the elements to make it real and the spooky atmosphere creeps you out right from the start. Overall, a great read reminiscent of 80s horror at its finest.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

That Night in the Woods tells the story of childhood friends coming together when one of "the group" has unfortunately passed away. Most of the friends moved away shortly after high school ended, each going their separate ways with little to no contact with each other but one message from Scott brings them all back together. What drove them apart? The events that took place one Halloween night when they were in high school. Some attend this "reunion" in hopes of rekindling romance, some want to pay respects to their fallen friend, and some to discover what really happened that Halloween night. One Halloween night when they were teens the group decided to spend the night in the forest that backs onto a few of their houses when recently numerous teen suicides have occurred. Unfortunately, not all of them made it out alive and they now want answers as to what really happened and why.

This book was amazing! I loved the scenery that was depicted. As someone whose property backs onto a forest I was spooked from the beginning of the book. I loved how the book tells the tale in present time and then goes back in time to "that night" so we can read exactly what happened and why everyone was freaked out. It then goes back to the present time where secrets come out and we can see that things aren't really what they seem. This book gave me creepy vibes from the start and kept going. The only thing I wasn't a HUGE fan of was the ending. I re-read the last few chapters just to be sure I didn't miss something. However, the rest of the book was great and I'd LOVE to read more from this author. I would definitely recommend this book.

I was lucky enough to read this book for free and this is my honest review.

My first book by Kristopher Triana! Six friends come together after the death of their friend only to find out there is much more in store for them than what was expected. None of them really ever got over "that night in the woods" so many years ago. The story takes you from present time, back to that night as the truth about what happened unfolds. This was a disturbing book from the beginning! Scary in a supernatural & "real world" way all at the same time. A slow burn with lots of character & plot development. It's a well written book that I would recommend & I will be sure to read more of Kristopher Triana!

Thanks to NetGalley, Kristopher Triana and the publisher I received a free advance review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

DNF'd. Although the premise was interesting, the writing was not my cup of tea hence I left it after reading two to three chapters.

I’ve been dying to get my grubby little hands on a Triana book. I really, really enjoyed this book. The set-up was brilliantly executed and I felt properly introduced to the cast of characters, allowing me to be truly invested in their outcome. None of the characters were entirely likable but I had enough backstory to find them individually fascinating, which allows makes their inevitable demise in the horror genre a treat! The twists were fantastically done and it had my favorite type of setting! If you love the horror trope of a group of friends returning to their small town to face some evil like It by King or Black Mouth by Malfi, look no further than this! It captured everything I love about coming of age horror and delivered a truly unique story with creepy moments that made me want to keep the lights on. Highly recommend to all horror fans and this is going to be the perfect read this spooky season.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were well developed and the story was engaging. I recommend that others try this book as well. Well done!