“In Osaka, two strangers, Jake and Mariko, miss a flight, and over dinner, discover they've both brutally lost loved ones whose paths crossed with the same beguiling woman no one has seen since.” With this gripping premise, the novel sets the stage for a dark and captivating mystery that spans decades and continents. What begins as a chance encounter between Jake and Mariko quickly spirals into a complex and chilling investigation as Jake becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth about the enigmatic woman who has left a trail of devastation in her wake.

The novel skillfully weaves together the personal tragedies of Jake and Mariko, creating a shared sense of loss that drives the narrative forward. Jake’s determination to find out who—or what—this woman is takes readers on a globetrotting journey as he pieces together haunting testimonies from others who have encountered her. Each story adds another layer to the mystery, deepening the tension and adding a pervasive sense of unease. The author does an excellent job of building suspense as Jake’s quest becomes more desperate and the answers seem more elusive.

Overall, this beautifully crafted, atmospheric novel blends suspense, mystery, and emotional depth. Readers who enjoy literary mysteries with complex characters and an unsettling, otherworldly edge will find this an unforgettable read.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This very mysterious story features two adults who meet after they miss a flight in Japan. Mairko and Jake are quite different but find after the missed flight and ensuing dinner that they have something strange in common - both lost a loved one after the person interacted with a mysterious woman. Jake is hot on the trail of this mysterious Marion and the chapter alternate as he reveals stories from others who also met Marion and then met with a disaster.

Quite gripping and twisted, well written and lite horror, this is a story for those who love well written books and maybe a side of scare!
#penguin #oldsoul #susanbarker

If David Mitchell and Stephen King had a book baby, this might be it.

This beautifully written novel does really defy genre. I’ll call it speculative literary horror. It is beautiful and horrifying. Not really scary but truly creepy.

In it we follow Jake, an Englishman on a mission to find out who or what caused the mysterious death of his dear friend Lena. Jake investigates an international trail of similar deaths, finally reaching a horrifying conclusion.

There is a lot to love in this novel: the incredibly vivid, lyrical writing, fantastic sense of place (and time), character development, and the horrific dis-ease that underlies it all. The mystery kept me turning pages. Jake’s investigation leads him to many clues from several people and this is where the pacing has problems. Perhaps all the backstories slowed down the momentum in the second half. I felt myself getting frustrated with the details (albeit gorgeously written details) when all I wanted was to get to the end and find out what was going to happen!

This is horror for smart people. I’m not sure if I’m smart enough. There are so many themes to this multilayered book, and I didn’t quite connect all the dots all the time. Part of me wants to give this 5 stars but the confused part of me 3, so I will agree on 4 stars for this unique metaphysical and truly horrifying novel.

Old Soul was a captivating read that delved into the complexities of memory, identity, and the search for belonging. Barker's writing is both lyrical and thought-provoking, painting vivid pictures with lines like, "Memory is a treacherous thing, a shifting landscape of half-truths and forgotten dreams."

I was immediately drawn into mc's extraordinary journey as she navigates the challenges and revelations that come with her unique gift. The exploration of reincarnation and the interconnectedness of past and present lives was both fascinating and emotionally resonant. The characters were well-developed, and I found myself invested in their individual stories and struggles.

However, the narrative occasionally felt a bit slow-paced, and some of the philosophical musings could be a bit dense at times. Overall, Old Soul is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel that explores the depths of human experience and the enduring power of memory.

This was a perfect literary horror novel. I’m not surprised all of the publishers were fighting over it. Its episodic structure—a monster stalks a girl through the New Mexican desert; alternating with “testimony” chapters narrated by the monster’s victims’ loved ones—will also make for an easy TV adaptation. Held my interest all the way through and never felt silly.

This book was... unsettling.

I don't mean that in a bad way; horror books that unsettle me are my favourite kind, so this is definitely a good thing.

I enjoyed this story a lot. I enjoyed the writing, the characters, the plot. The testimonials could have felt like the same story over and over, but somehow the author put just enough differences in there that I was hooked every time. I could have kept reading them, to be honest.

The main antagonist in this book is a delightful creature. SHE is unsettling. I loved her plot with Sculptor a lot, too; it was nice to see that even she could be gotten to, on some level or another.

The ending, of course, broke my heart, but it was exactly what it needed to be.

Overall, I just... really, really enjoyed this unique, eerie book. I devoured the entire thing in one sitting because I couldn't bring myself to go to bed without knowing how it ended.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a sense of dread and for a really unsettling mystery.

In this beautifully written tale, a chance encounter between two strangers traveling abroad reveals a shared, devastating experience: the loss of a loved one in a seemingly medically impossible way. A mysterious woman connects their stories, prompting Jake to embark on a quest to uncover her identity and the truth behind his friend's death.

Through poignant testimonials from those left behind, a chilling pattern emerges: encounters with this woman who defies the natural order of life and death. The author's skill shines in crafting these testimonials, portraying the raw emotions and complexities of real human relationships with remarkable authenticity.

If you enjoy a thought-provoking mystery intertwined with a touch of the supernatural and a deep exploration of human connection, this book is likely to resonate with you.

One sitting read interesting
Characters and plot keep me gripped
Enjoyed this read as well as the cover just a soood book!

🪞Book review: Old Soul by Susan Barker🪞

For fans of Stephen King’s The Outsider, but make it…

Haunting
Ethereal
Beguiling

•SYNOPSIS•
When a missed flight connects two grieving strangers, they discover they share more than a disrupted destination. As they swap stories of losing their loved ones under bizarre circumstances, they find disturbing parallels, like their loved ones’ strange encounters just before their deaths. Both had met a mysterious woman with black eyes who took their photo and maybe their lives…

Who is this mystery woman?
Is her camera the kiss of death or a mere coincidence?
And, most importantly, can they stop her before it happens again?

•THOUGHTS•
A tale of morality, greed, and sacrifice, Old Soul is supernatural, literary horror that’s fast-paced and fun (in a morbid way 😈). Barker brilliantly bobs between narrators and timelines, weaving a deliciously demonic web for readers to untangle.

Shout-out to @shannonkirk_books for getting this on my radar 🖤 I was hooked from the first page, savoring the rush of this free-fall into hell.

Thanks @netgalley and @putnambooks for the ARC. Old Soul hits shelves in January ✨

#oldsoul #netgalley

I will start by saying I would absolutely read another book by this author in the future. I was rapt right away when I began this book. But I quickly grew bored. The format of the storytelling: each incidence where our evil protagonist/antagonist takes another soul for the Tyrant. I didn't feel like I learned anything new with each telling. I was just a slightly different version of the same story: Find someone vulnerable, engage, entice, photograph, show photo to subject, let the Tyrant in to ruin the life within a few weeks, the main character (Eva, Marion, etc) carries on. There was no resolution in the end, which I might be okay with, but the entire book felt unfulfilling.

Brilliant and haunting--a mix of literary horror, thriller and Western I didn't know I needed in my life! I genuinely didn't want to put this book down which has been tough to achieve lately. Fantastic usage of multiple POVs by way of testimonials connecting each one to a single individual. Idk guys, this just did it for me...frightening, eerie, tragic, upsetting, yet beautiful and poetic all at once. The horror element is certainly not your typical horror, yet it is still ABSOLUTELY horror; I don't know how to explain it.

One of my favorite books I've read this year!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Old Soul.

Whenever a book is categorized as literary horror, I know its means two things:

1. It's going to be really well-written

2. The story is going to be really boring

And I was right with Old Soul.

This is more of a character driven story, revolving around Jake and Mariko's serendipitous meeting, which leads Jake on a dangerous pursuit of a mysterious person who has left a trail of broken bodies and shattered families behind.

The backstories are well-written but wordy and long. You get to meet many different kinds of people from all walks of life but, as a result, you don't really bond or relate to anyone.

I'm all for exposition and world building, but as a result, the narrative sacrifices suspense and excitement as readers are pulled into each testimonial after another.

At the same time, this mysterious person is on the hunt for another soul and soon she and Jake will collide.

This is not horror, but it does have supernatural elements, which I love and wished the author had spent time on.

Some scenes are creepy and unsettling, but me being me, I wanted to know more about this mysterious person.

Where does she go when she's not hunting a soul? What does she do, how does she spend her time?

Is her life nothing more than hunting innocent people for their essence?

How has centuries of seeking prey warped her mind and 'soul?' And does she have one after all these decades?

Who or what is the Tyrant? Is it Satan? A demon? An entity of unknown and even older origins?

I didn't like or sympathize with Jake or anyone else; I actually felt Jake's characterization was off-putting, I can't quite put my finger on why.

Despite the well written but monotonous backstories, the globe trotting and diversity of characters, the narrative lacked substance and depth.

Old Soul is one of those books that just pulls you in right away. The story kicks off with Jake and Mariko, two strangers who meet by chance, both dealing with their own deep losses. What’s wild is how their pasts are connected by this mysterious woman who seems to be behind it all. The way the book unfolds, with twists that take you across different times and places, keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s haunting, but in the best way—like you can’t stop thinking about it even after you finish. If you’re into horror stories that mix emotion with a bit of a chilling mystery, you’ll really enjoy this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This a well written book for sure, but it didn't grab me the same way as others. I went a little over the half way mark not understanding the point and the chapters before didn't hold my interest enough to find out. I'm sure this will be well regarded, just didn't work for me.

I did appreciate the Criterion reference.

"The shimmering limbs, chubby and delectable in the heat".

Another excellent take (#bloodlikemine is another for 2024) on what I originally thought was going to be the vampire trope, but it's not. Not quite. What Barker has created here is something altogether different, actually. And I was fascinated. #OLDSOUL is a compelling read, so well written and packing plenty of scary and eerie moments. I appreciated the various "testimonies" that Jake endures to find out what happened to his friend Lena. My ONLY quibble is I would've liked a little more backstory, but still, not knowing doesn't take anything away. I hope Ms. Barker doesn't mind me comparing her story to the first few books by Stephen King.

It's SOOOOO good. REALLY good. Read it, y'all.

P.S. Thanks very much to #netgalley for the ARC.

This was a very interesting book. It hooked me right from the start and when I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be. The story alternates between The Woman's current story and testimonies about others that have crossed her path, all coming together in the end quarter of the book.

It starts with two people missing their plane and figuring out that they both lost loved ones in a similar way. One of those people is Jake and he ends up doing all this digging into this mysterious woman. He meets with the ones left behind in her wake, that's the testimony chapters. You don't know too much about him but he's more just the carrier of the story. The Woman chapters are focused on her newest victim. She's lived for a very long time and you learn how she's doing that fairly quickly. The story has supernatural elements but more demonic or old God than ghosts or jump scares.

The last quarter to third of the book is focused on one person and how she came to meet The Woman. I liked that there was so much back story with alternating perspectives that led into what almost feels like the main story. But then it ended. There was a big scene, sure, but it felt very abrupt. There wasn't much closure, like the story just kept going but not in a sequel coming kinda way. Until the ending, this would've easily been a five star book, but now it just feels unfinished. I would still recommend it, if you love a good story and are okay with a blah ending. There are still so many good points in the book and I'd read more stories of the people The Woman has encountered. So I'll give this 3.5 stars but rounded down because I need an ending.

While this book is characterized as horror, I felt it was a bit light on the horror. I wasn't mad at it though. This book is a bit reminiscent of Addie LaRue and the Age of Adeline. Phenomenal! The writing style is unique from anything else I have read, and I enjoyed it. Definitely a unique story and the ending was...wow! I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to dip into horror.

I have been sitting on this review for quite a while. I absolutely took my time reading this book. There was so much going on, but I loved every minute of it. I cannot even compare it to any other book that I have read, in relation its style and how Susan Barker writes.
It’s not horror but it was scary in parts. It's creepy. The story is told in many timelines, in the past and present and all the tales involve interactions with the same entity, preying on them. The entity never seems to die just takes from others to subsist.
There were such interesting characters that on their own seem like they’d never fall for such trickery but what do you know, they all do.
I’m definitely reading again.

Listed as horror, this book is more suspenseful than horror, and add in the psychological aspects and this is a literary fiction masterpiece that brings new elements to literature. The author blends together literary genres and elements that give Old Soul a truly unique premise and writing style. As the story unfolds between two different time frames, each section pulls the reader deeper into the unraveling of a character who is terrifying to read.

Readers will not be disappointed in this one, and the best part of this book is the ending, which is one I promise that you will never forget!

What a unique take on horror. It was definitely heavy on the literary fiction, with lots of unsettling and creepy moments thrown in. The writing style was really, really different from anything else I've read, and I feel like it helped contribute to the atmosphere a lot. It was interesting that this book didn't have a main character. I enjoyed the plot and characters a lot. This is definitely a horror novel with deeper themes, such as love and humanity, to explore. Now I'm going to stare at my hands every morning to make sure they haven't switched…

Thank you to Penguin Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC.