Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio (she/her)
Genre: gothic, horror, dark academia, new adult, novella
Rating: 3.25
ARC and ALC review

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for my advance reader copies!

Graveyard Shift is a book to be read or listened to in the dead of the night. Between those witch hour and dawn when the rest of the world is asleep. While this novel is a dark academia story with a brilliant idea and an even better author, it fell flat. The prose of M.L. Rio feels rushed, nothing like her debut,If We Were Villains, which is a five star read and one of my favorite books ever written. One could argue that I went into this novella with too great expectations, that being the reason for my disappointment. However, the longer I sit with this story and its characters, the more I disconnect and dislike it.

Graveyard Shift is a short thing, coming in at only 144 pages. Not only does this story resolve anything within those pages, it also fails to connect me to any of the characters. I will not go into the premise too much, as not to spoil anything, but here is the blurb:

"Every night, in the college’s ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.

One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn’t there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?

Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realize he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks—and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought."

First things first, this blurb tells me more in three paragraphs than the entire novella did. The story never once goes in depth of who these people are or what their occupations are besides the bartender's. Compared to Rio's earlier work in If We Were Villains, the characters feel paper-thin. I never got a description of anyone, no personalities were shown (besides a rushed journalist's temper), and i was left grasping for nothing. The story throws random things and then never mentions them again. Character's actions are never explained. This is a very open-ended book--something I normally enjoy immensely--but was just done so poorly. The blurb also mentions how atmospheric the novella is, and I cannot help but disagree. The book opens with a graveyard covered in darkness, and then.......nothing. The rest of the book is left to the reader to add descriptions. The audiobook was fine. I don't have anything to really say about it besides that.

I do think M.L. Rio is a genius author, her prose and characters of If We Were Villains haunt me to this day. That being said, I think this was a rushed manuscript to keep up the BookTok buzz during spooky season, written by an author who was going through a lot. In novel's acknowledgements it mentions she broke her leg, finished her PhD, moved, etc. While I cannot fault her for publishing this book, I do think the editor and publisher should have not published such an unfinished work. I am glad that I was able to read more of Rio's work, but I am still conflicted on how I feel.

Thank you for reading this long rant and thank you once more to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for my copies of this book!

I'm still mulling over this one and it may something that I have to read multiple times. But my overall impression is that I did really enjoy this.

It's nice to have M. L. Rio back, and with a good read to start the 'ber months with. This was one was good, spooky, a little icky, and enjoyable. I wish it had been longer, but I enjoyed how much we got in so few pages.

I audibly gasped when I got to the end of this, which never happens, so make of that what you will.

This was a weird, spooky, kind of gross little story (the rat incident will haunt me) that’s perfect for the start of fall/Halloween season.

For only being ~150 pages, each of the five characters whose points of view we got were incredibly fleshed out.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

This story felt like a Scooby Doo episode in the best way possible. Obviously our characters were more than just their stereotypes, and the crime itself was much more sinister and borderline gory, but the "we must solve the mystery" element was definitely there. I enjoyed hopping around multiple characters POV's throughout the course of the night, I felt like it made the story more expansive. I was also pleasantly content with a bit of a cliffhanger ending. Will always read anything Rio writes!

I loved this author’s “If We Were Villains,” and this one did not disappoint! I absolutely loved it. It captured my attention right off the bat, and kept me hooked the entire time.

M. L. Rio has such a gift for dialogue that is both realistic and snappy.

Graveyard Shift is a quick read but a loaded one.

I enjoyed the natural development of the mystery alongside the character information reveals. It's Multi POV does not have a perspective that feels lacking, they are all delivering on the same level of intrigue for the reader.

The story kind of mystified me but the characters are crystal clear interpretations I could easily envision. At first I wasn't able to appreciate it, but it grew on me and I came to like it. Eerie!
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected digital galley from Flatiron Books via NetGalley.

Title: Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
Publication Date- 09/24/24
Publisher- Flatiron Books
Overall Rating- 4 out of 5 stars

Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Graveyard Shift is a very interesting novella that takes place over the course of 24 hours. Before, or after, whichever you prefer, I would highly recommend reading the author's note. M.L. Rio talks about what led to her writing this story and the place Graveyard Shift originated in the author should be heard.

As a whole I really enjoyed this. It’s dark and atmospheric, mysterious and engaging. We get to know several characters who are fully flushed out in a short period of time. Because it’s a novella, of course at the end of the story I wanted more and also, the plot did fit well for a novella. Hopefully that made sense. The characters being so different and interesting, kept me invested in the story. The major plot device is not my favorite but I truly enjoyed the various characters that I was a bit more interested in the main topic of the plot (you’ll see).

Like in the authors previous work, the writing is top notch and flows well. I think you will find yourself easily engrossed looking forward to finding out how it ends. All in all, I enjoyed my time with this novella. I think I had slightly higher hopes that were not met but I’m not mad I read it. My only real compliant is because I loved the characters and not the plot as much I just wish that aspect was slightly different. That’s a hard thing to put in a review because I am not the author and nor could I ever be.

I enjoyed Rio’s IF WE WERE VILLIANS so I was looking forward to this. I didn’t realize it was a novella until I started reading, but, hey, that’s fine. It had a great set up with a somewhat disappointing pay off, in my opinion, but some people are going to like it just fine.

The entire book is set from midnight to ten a.m. the following morning and involves a group of late night workers/insomniacs who regularly smoke together at the Church of Saint Anthony of the Anchorite on the site of a closed, condemned church which can’t be torn down because it’s a historic site. It abuts a large university campus.

The Anchorites are Edie, editor in chief of the campus newspaper, Tuck, who has something to do with the church, Theo, a bartender, Hannah, a rideshare driver and Tamar, a librarian/hotel front desk worker. One night they discover a freshly dug hole in the church’s abandoned graveyard. Who dug it? Why is it there?

I was struck by the author’s note at the beginning of the story, as I have insomnia, or something like it. It started not too long ago, but my sleep patterns are a mess; it may be due to a chronic illness, but I’ve had the illness for years and this is new. I usually sleep just a few hours each night, I then wake up around 2 a.m. and that is it for me….I’m writing this review at 5:30 and I’ve been up since 2:30 a.m. The author suffers from the same affliction. Maybe we can become best friends, because this is killer.

So, as I said, really liked the characters and the set up, but didn’t love the resolution. Overall enjoyed the story, though.

Overall this novella felt a little like scooby doo without scooby! It was a pretty good story overall and definitely had some good moments. I would go more towards 3.5-3.75 stars. It's a solid novella and a good read.

First book by M.L. Rio, I have heard great things about If We Were Villains for years. I loved the premise, perfect for spooky season. Will definitely be recommending this one to fellow spooky readers, and to patrons in reader's advisory conversations.

This novella packs so much into just a few chapters. Here, we meet a myriad of characters — and we rotate through their perspectives. The friends discover a strange hole in the cemetery where they usually meet. From here, a mystery unravels as they attempt to get to the bottom of why the hole was dug, who dug it, and what their ultimate goal is.

Right off the bat, we are plunged into the atmospheric prose of Rio’s newest novella. Set in a spooky college town, the friends use their skills to piece together why there was someone burying loads of dead rats into a hole in a historic cemetery. Admittedly, I found myself getting confused with the characters and what their roles were, but that’s to be expected in a novella. I’m sure that if I was able to spend more time getting to know the characters, I’d have a better handle on who they are and what motivates them. The inclusion of science and fungi and the likes was compelling and it even reminded me of some of T. Kingfisher’s work!

Overall, the story itself was quite engaging, as was the mystery. Though Rio had only a small amount of time and space to write the story of these friends, the language she uses certainly encapsulates the dark academia vibe. Rio’s other work If We Were Villains is on my TBR and, after reading Graveyard Shift, Rio’s novel will be moved towards the top of the queue. I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes dark academia, mysteries, and science.

Graveyard Shift is an immersive, creepy, and delightful little novella that I finished during a short flight.

The various characters who gather to smoke during their night shift find that a hole has appeared on the ground.

Through subterfuge and good old fashioned detective work, they begin to uncover the conspiracy that is taking place, and which has very personal ramifications.

This was fun, and proof that a talented author can do so very much with less than 100 pages.

*Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Y'all right as I was super invested, it ENDED!?!?!? Freaking criminal.

But I'm glad to be reading M.L. Rio again. Between the characters whose heads we briefly inhabited to the graveyard's mystery, it had her signature atmospheric slow burn. It felt like we were tiptoeing closer and closer to a cliff and ended right before we went over it. Pretty dang artful, but I also want more.

3.5 stars. I liked the premise and the characters, but I think the novella could’ve been a novel with how many questions are left unanswered.

When you work the night shift and need a smoke, you end up at the local graveyard because it's the closest place off campus to sneak a cig. You meet other nicotine addicted, sleepless, late night weirdos there too and develop a kind of unspoken insomniac club. All's cool until the night you all notice a freshly dug hole in the ground and let Occam's razor take care of the rest.

This fungal thriller is a really quick read that flows fast off the page but with all loose ends and no resolution?! Are you being serious right now? That's how this book is going to end?!

I think my digital review copy is missing a couple chapters because there is no possible way it just hangs there like that. Send it back to the author. They have more work to do. They failed to understand the assignment.

Arrrrrgh!

Solid follow-up Rio’s “If We Were Villains.” Set over the course of a single night, Rio impressively manages to tell a story tinged with science and horror from 5 distinct points of view. Full review posted on Instagram.

In the midst of the town college's ancient cemetery, an unlikely group of night workers congregate each night to pass the lonely hours of the graveyard shift . One October night, they uncover something amiss in the cemetery; an open grave that leaves more questions than answers, and a gravedigger who drifts in an out of the churchyard like smoke. "Graveyard Shift" takes place over a single night, and as it unfolds, will take readers through an atmospheric mystery that's meant to be read during the dark hours of autumn.

The trouble with dark academia as a genre is that once it becomes too aware of itself, it instantly loses the fragile (but masterful, when done properly) foreboding, mysterious qualities that make it what it is. In "Graveyard Shift" despite it being a wildly different story from "If We Were Villains," it's immediately clear that M.L. Rio wanted to forcefully establish it as dark academia. And with that forceful declaration came details that felt contrived and expected: a dark October night, a graveyard, eerie happenings throughout a college town...a mystery to solve.

By the end of this novella, I felt like I'd read the first draft of a Scooby Doo for adults that lacked the sophisticated buildup I know M.L. Rio is more than capable of. If you're looking for something to scratch the "If We Were Villains" itch, this is regrettably not your next read.

Insomniacs. Graveyard. Rats. Science. Maybe this went over my head? Loved If We Were Villains... but this missed the mark for me. While this wasn't the great intro to spooky season reads I hoped it to be, it was a quick read and the narration was on point. Thank you to both NetGalley and Libro.fm for an ARC/ALC of this novella.