Adults returning to their home town to face a tortured past is a favourite premise of mine so it was easy to say yes to That Night In The Woods. The synopsis hooked me in but the story is so much more than what you'd initially expect from it.

Told from the perspective of the living characters, Jenny, Scott, Mark, Corey and Traci we're sufficiently introduced to each character in present day before reuniting them and switching between past and present timelines to discuss and relive what happened that night.

When a group of teens decide to spend Halloween in local 'Suicide Woods' the terror unfolds at a rapid pace. Triana leans into the unreliable narrator, who can be sure what's real on a cocktail of acid, weed and alcohol? Not everybody who enters these woods will leave, and those who do will not be the same.

As adults their lives are all falling apart, every one tainted by what happened, each holding onto their own secret.
There isn't a lot of development for the five main characters and aside from Corey I didnt particularly like any of them. They are all pitiable and at times a bit pathetic, with little to no real care for eachother.
This didn't detract from the fun I had reading, That Night In The Woods is a plot driven novel and quickly picks up pace. When the death of Steven calls the old friends home OF COURSE they venture back in. It's time to find the truth of Suicide Woods.

I do suggest you go into this expecting a little silliness. Characters who forge on no matter how much blood they've lost, adults who think about nothing but sex and popularity. TNITW isn't far removed from a YA goosebumps style story, you wont find any deep reflections.
Violence, gore, body horror and shrieks from the darkness between trees kept me transfixed and I finished the book in two sittings. A great read for Halloween season. I look forward to reading more from Triana.

Incredibly eerie and perfect for a spooky fall read. I loved all the twists and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Thank you so much for the chance to read this!

I ended up not finishing this book. I have enjoyed this authors previous books, but I ended up not wanting to finish this one.

That Night in the Woods, follows five former friends—Scott, Jennifer, Corey, Traci, and Mark—who reunite in their hometown to honor the memory of their late friend, Steven. The only reason they agreed to meet is because they all owe a debt to Steven for something that happened on Halloween night. But it doesn’t take them long to realize they should have left the past behind.

The synopsis of the story and the cover of the book really drew me in. I liked getting to know the characters in the beginning and looked forward to the friends reuniting so I could figure out what the mystery was. You know? To actually find out what happened that night in the woods! But I was hugely disappointed when I got to that part. I wasn’t sure if I was reading an adult horror novel or Goosebumps by R.L. Stine.

None of these forty something year old adults acted their age. Maybe it’s just me but I wouldn’t have went and if I did, once things got a little too uncomfortable I’d have left. Hooking up with past loves wouldn’t have been on my mind, and I damn sure wouldn’t have went back in the woods for anyone or anything. The host was pretty creepy and I don’t know why none of the friends were picking up on that.

What really irked my nerves was the indestructibleness of a certain character. Just absolutely unbelievable that a person could move about the way that they did with all their injuries. And the ending made absolutely no sense. There’s no way that character would have gave in like that.

Honestly I was pretty bored reading this and had to force myself to so I could give it a review. I’ve read that this author has other great books so I’ll check them out but this one wasn’t for me.

“When we forget old friends, it is a sign we have forgotten ourselves.”
– William Hazlitt

I’m so sad to say that this book just did not pique my interest more. It sounds amazing, but I was constantly checking the page count as I was reading, thankful to see it diminishing as I reached the end.

It’s a slow start, molasses slow, and the characters all feel superficial for the majority of the story. A group of friends gather in their old hometown for the memorial of a deceased friend (let’s bang y’all instead of actually mourning). The have a jointly shared trauma from their pasts; a night of horror spent in the Suicide Woods nearby. We get flashbacks to the night Halloween of 1995 and those are definitely creepy, but also kind of puzzling. The friends in present day, despite all their fears and misgivings, decide to GO BACK into those same woods. Obviously, things aren’t chill there, shit goes down and crazy stuff happens!

The ending- ummm what was that??? The only character that seemed to express raw emotion just decides to give up and accept their fate? No no no!! This just ruined the entire story for me and left me feeling so disappointed.

Overall, there are a few chilling moments, but it feels like the characters need work (a certain blue eyed character with morals their whole life suddenly dgaf about their friends?! Howwwww?!?*trying to keep this spoiler free*), things with the continuity of the plot seem off at times (ex: how did Corey see Robin at the river acting bizarrely when she was still with Steven in the forest elsewhere?).

Yesss, I will still keep reading books by this author, but this was a doozy for sure.

I am thankful to NetGalley, the author, and Cemetery Dance Publications for a copy.

Five childhood friends are brought back together in their old hometown after the death of one of their number. 25yrs ago a Halloween night in the local woods where several teens at taken their own lives, ended badly and they have not spoken of it since, until now.

An old school horror with the friendship group feel of It. The woods are creepy, the tension mounts as the POV splits from past to present to tell the story. This is a slowly building creepfest and was a quick fun read.

However, I found the sexual dynamics irritating, not in the teens but in them as adults, they revert back to how they were as teenagers and it made them seem a little pathetic, maybe that was the point and the ending was meh!

Nevertheless it was a pleasing creepy tale and the scenes in the woods were atmospheric and chilling. It felt nostalgic and 75% of the story was a great spooky read.

That Night in the Woods is the perfect Halloween read. From the first couple of sentences I was absolutely hooked. There's something about Triana's writing that immediately captivates you.
We're following a group of high school friends who reunite over a friend's death. We learn about their traumatic night in the woods through present and past timelines and follow them as they try to survive.
All of the characters in the friend group felt real and they each had their own redeeming qualities which made you want to root for them.
There were quite a few scary scenes that had me questioning why I was reading this at night.
If you're a fan of body horror, slashers and cults, this is the book for you .

Great read with an old-school horror vibe. This is the first novel I have read by this author but I will definitely check out his other titles.

This had roots in old school horror and kristopher shows hes not just a talented extreme horror author but can deliver the slow burn spooky just as well as the gory, taking well known tropes and giving them the *triana treatment* I enjoy small town horror (did you know?? ARE YOU NEW HERE?) and pair that with creepy woods and a friendship group? Ya girl is home ☺️ I enjoyed the characters and think they take center stage in this, for me the ending was slightly disappointing but I think this would make a fun read for October, a read that will make you nostalgic for those 80s halloween vibes!

That Night in the Woods is a wild ride of a horror story that screams Halloween. The story follows a group of old friends coming together 25 years after a Halloween night that went terribly wrong. The first half of the book follows two timelines and takes its time fleshing out all of the main cast of the characters. It’s a steady build-up to what happened on that Halloween with a pace that felt like climbing the first hill on a rollercoaster. I enjoyed the amount of detail that went into each character and liked each one, particularly Jennifer and her extreme thirst for her former beau. There’s something mysterious about the woods and the mild hints that all was not right in the town were genuinely creepy.

The first half of this book gave me horror blockbuster vibes with Don’t Fear the Reaper blaring, it was a great set-up. Once the story of what happened in the woods was finished, that middle transition trying to set up the last half of the book slowed to a crawl and the book started to drag a little bit. While I like complex group dynamics filled with past love and betrayal, everyone was just so horny. It was amusing at first but all the lamentations about wanting to sleep with other characters eventually became repetitive.

I was glad when the second half finally picked up and it was pretty action-packed, dipping into extreme horror slasher territory which I loved. The reveals are surprising but also mildly disappointing, I would have liked a little more payoff from the build-up and I felt the story was a little too shaky with it’s reasoning. The ending completely lost me and strangely felt anti-climactic. A shame after such a strong start, so it left me feeling pretty middle of the road with this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Cemetery Dance Publications for the ARC of That Night in the Woods by Kristopher Triana. This book definetly has a creep factor and a good one to read with Halloween coming up. Old high school friends get together after many years apart to remember one of their friends who passed away. The last night they were all together was horrific, as they were lost in Suicide Woods on Halloween and all had experiences with some scary demons.
3.5 stars

Nobody does horror the way Kristopher Triana does horror. Another gloriously gory, gut splitting, nightmare of hellish proportions! This is a perfect spooky season read, it even has jack o'lanterns in one of the creepiest settings. Demons, mayhem, murder cults...what's not to love? As always Triana brought us a terrifying hell ride that sends us 100mph into darkness without ever touching the brakes!

I did not finish this book. I DNF'd after around 50 pages because I could not get into the writing at all.

The plot had sounded interesting to me but the actual writing was cringey. The characters are all suppose to be middle aged but the writing makes them sound like they are barely in high school. I have never had any conversations where someone that age has spoken like that. It just was just so uncomfortable to read.

If the characters maybe had been younger, I could maybe have forgiven the weird language. They didn't even need to be middle age for the sake of the book so I don't get why he made them so old but wrote as if they were 16. I do not recommend.

This was a good, solid spooky story that would be perfect for spooky season. It definitely slowed down in several parts and lacked some of the plot development I was hoping for.

The cover for this book is absolutely stunning and the core of the story had so much promise which is why I’m sad to say this just wasn’t for me. Having been a fan of Kristopher Triana I really expected more of a creepier plotline. It was kind of hard to get into, but I think that may have been due to the pacing. I like fast paced books and enjoy them as they drag me straight in, but this is slower, and I found myself getting bored. I felt the characters weren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be, overall if you like easy horror movies where you can kind of guess what happens next, I would recommend this book.

Pssttt…

Over here

I have a secret to share with you.

I found a book that will break the internet right here.

That Night In the Woods

And it’s straight up horrifying..

Oh yeah, one of those

It’s been awhile since I read a book that left me shook but gosh dang it, I can’t stop thinking about this one! That Night In the Woods, was everything I never knew I needed packed up in just under 400 pages.

That Night in the Woods, will be released just in time for “spooky season” and will be well loved by thriller book lovers🖤

Teaser:

When Jennifer receives a message from Scott Dwyer after twenty years without contact, her first reaction is one of excitement. Scott was her first love. Now in her forties and in the middle of a divorce, nostalgia for her youth gets the better of her.



Scott invites Jennifer to his house in Redford, the town she grew up in. It's a place she's tried to put behind her, for not all childhood memories are sunny. When she accepts Scott's invite, she struggles with mixed feelings, especially when she learns of the death of Steven Winters, one of her childhood friends.



Scott invites three people from their past to honor Steven's memory-Corey, Traci, and Mark. But the group is more than old friends. They share a dark secret that has troubled them for decades. Now it's time to face their traumatic pasts. Together, they must unravel the mystery of what happened in the patch of forest behind Scott's house, a place once known as Suicide Woods.



From the author of Gone to See the River Man comes a chilling novel that reminds us that old ghosts are the ones that haunt us most.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Reading the preview of this book it felt like it had so much potential. Fast forward to actually reading, and finishing, this book and well… not my number 1 book of the year. I don’t regret reading it, and at times it kept me wanting more. However, I wasn’t left feeling accomplished and the ending was… odd. I won’t be recommending this book to others.

Another brilliant read! I expected nothing less from him, of course. Ive read about 90% of the books he has written and have loved every one of them, some more than others.. It has It vibes. I hate to say that but it really is hard to miss during the introductions. Nothing after that is similar to It though. This book didn’t have me hooked thinking “oh my god I can’t put this down” like some of his other books did. That is not to say that it is a badly written book or anything, only that it is different and not as brutal and not as much action as his previous works. I definitely recommend this one to people who are new to his books and want to ease into them with a less graphic tale.

I tried to add my review to amazon but since it is a preorder it wont allow me to do so, just wanted to let you know :)

I didn't like the characters, neither in the past timeline, nor in the present. The dynamics felt weird and the characters were all misogynistic, so why should I have cared for them? Since we get introduced to the characters as adults, we already know that they didn't die in the woods as teenagers, so over 50% of the book was extremely boring. And the reveal at the end didn't have enough explanation for certain characters actions to make sense.

this was sadly a huge disappointment as a fan of Triana’s work. I definitely prefer him in the extreme horror genre as opposed to this more commercial type of horror. it felt like an amalgamation of other popular horror books and tropes i’ve read a thousand times before