A uniquely fun take on the slasher trope!

This novella is set on Halloween in a small town with a dark past and a potential supernatural serial killer on the loose. It has strong 80's horror vibes- making it the perfect choice for spooky season.

The characters are a lot of fun and the setting was perfectly spooky. The town has a whole "Jaws" thing going with the monster obsessed officer and the Mayor that refuses to do anything for fear of losing tourist revenue. The kill scenes are gory fun and entertaining, the story is easy to get sucked into and the book is difficult to put down.

I did have a few issues with this book. There were a few character descriptions that rubbed me the wrong way, and this book has quite a few grammar issues as well as several instances where the author used the the wrong word all together. (Escalator instead of accelerator- wondering if they use voice dictation when writing)

Those things aside, I had a lot of fun reading this book- my third by this author and look forward to reading more. I loved The Pumpkin Man as the antagonist and enjoyed that he "bleeds" pumpkin guts and seeds. This book is creepy and gross and I cannot wait to get to read his origin story- I have so many questions.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It was an interesting story. I would have loved more information about the main scary character (the Pumpkin Man). As far as the horror, it was pretty good with descriptions and tone.

Thank you Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the advanced copy.

3,75 stars.

A fun and spooky story that happens at Halloween in Birch Hollow, a town whose Halloween day is both an attraction and a massacre. This year, Birch Hollow inhabitants feel safe, as the previous year the Pumpkin Man, the terrifying serial killer responsible for the yearly killings, has been arrested... or that's what many people think.

It's short and well worth the read and you can tell this is supposed to be within an universe of these stories. The Pumpkin Man is interesting in concept and personality and very much a killer. but like. from a slasher with some goofiness as he murders people?

The language is simple and to the point - I personally prefer a bit more flowery - with descriptions that could be a bit more varied but hey. They can be bloody!

The story takes place on Halloween in a town that is overly enthusiastic about the Halloween season. Tourists from everywhere come to this town to experience all the Halloween festivities but what the town is also famous for are the very creepy and frightening stories about the serial killer "Pumpkin 🎃 Man". Whether they are true or just fiction, you my dear friends will just have to find out for yourself and hope beyond hope that if they are true that you better be on guard this year if you dare go out on Halloween Night!


This book was just the best type of horror reading for the Halloween season. It had a little bit of everything that horror lovers look for in a spooky book. Clever writing and storytelling with a lot of dark humor but the horror was all there as well with plenty of graphic nasties along the way. All the characters were nicely flawed and fun so this would make a great Halloween movie as well. It was definitely creepy sick, and filled with bloody gore yet it was still written in the spirit of Halloween. I had so much fun reading this book and I look forward to more being written about the "Pumpkin 🎃 Man" in the future. The book was the perfect length, not too long or not too short but oh, just so right.

I highly recommend this book if one is looking for the perfect Halloween read!


I want to thank the publisher "ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op" for the opportunity to read this little horror gem and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating if 4 🎃🎃🎃🎃 DELICIOUSLY HORRIFIC 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

This was the first Penny Moonz book I have read and I look forward to reading more. This book had me from beginning to end!! I had a lot of fun reading this book. If you want a good read for spooky season then this is your book!! This book definitely has gore but it also has dark humor. I highly recommended this read.

Thank you NetGalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

The book is very slow and poorly written. As an English teacher, the simple sentences were too much. I teach 13 year old's whom can construct better material.

The premise and the actual nature of the Pumpkin Man I considered very creative and enticing. Ditto the conclusion, which has me wishing for an extension to learn "why" and "how" this particular situation came to be. The Horror is close to implacable in this story, and be advised, there's human Horror too, not just Monstrous. I'd like to see this in novel-length, filling in backstory and extending into the near future. I'd also like to see protagonist Jane again: will she battle more monsters?

Despite my praise, I gave it 3 stars because of the lack of proofreading, sometimes misplacing character names, etc.

Caution: gore (heavy), violence (heavy), Horror involving children and adolescents, fatalities (multiple), obscenity, T-PTSD.