I wasn't sure how I felt about this book at first impression, so I'd put it off for awhile, but I was quickly lured in by the author's mesmerizing, spare writing style and the whole book was just so perfectly creepy. The perfect read for Halloween week.

Jake meets elegant Mariko at an airport by coincidence, where he learns that her brother died in the same mysterious manner that his childhood friend Lena did, with their organs reversed after a strange encounter with a middle-aged Eastern European photographer who had mastered seduction and illusion. He tells himself he needs closure of the girl he'd protected through her alcoholism and loved like a sister, but the search for truth turns into an obsession with revenge that spans continents and decades.

The story is told in a series of interviews with the loved ones of the victims of the Tyrant, the mysterious entity that the woman serves. Each encounter leaves the survivors irrevocably changed and haunted. Artists and dreamers who give up on their potential, tragedies rippling through time.

This book won't be for everyone because the narrative style was nontraditional but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I am only giving it 4 instead of 5 stars because I had hoped for a little reprieve in the unrelenting dread, but in the end I just felt pity for the woman and that would have horrified her so I suppose that's hope enough. A wonderfully dark and dreary queer horror with globe-spanning ambitions.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Two strangers both miss their flights in an airport, forced to spend another night in Osaka. They run into each other that evening and learn that they’ve each lost someone close to them… in the same strange way. One of the strangers learns of others who have died in eerily similar ways and starts tracking down the culprit.
Really an interesting plot line. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Found it both well written and unique. Excited to read more by the author.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for access to this ARC.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book. I could not get into the writing style and I was just thrown off from the very beginning.

An engaging and entrancing read that was just the right amount of creepy and mysterious for a fan of slightly unnerving stories. The multiple POVs kept me hooked, and the plot unfolded at a great pace. I wasn’t always sure where it was going, and I had to reread earlier sections over again to get the full picture, but it was still very well done. Another aspect that added to the strangeness of the story is the author does not use quotation marks for dialogue, so it reads different than the classic novel. The premise honestly reminded me a little of messed-up, evil version of Addie LaRue - and I mean that in the best way. I recommend this to fans of thrillers and suspense who usually guess the plot twists of stories (but definitely won’t in this one).

Susan Bakers writing drew me in and had me hooked from the first few pages!

This story really dives deep into literary horror with a protagonist that makes the hairs stand up on your arms, chapters stack on top of each other with rotating points of view and different pieces to this masterful puzzle for and ending that left me speechless!

What an odd read, but in a good way. I wasn't in love with the ending, but the book held my interest the whole way through. We will be purchasing for the collection. Thanks!

Picture this: two strangers, Jake and Mariko, miss a flight in Osaka, and in the way only serendipity can, they find themselves bonding over a haunting coincidence. Both have lost loved ones in brutal, mysterious circumstances, all somehow connected to one elusive, beguiling woman. And that’s just the beginning!

Jake’s journey is nothing short of a globe-trotting scavenger hunt, except instead of souvenirs, he’s collecting spine-tingling tales from others who have crossed paths with this woman, whose presence seems to unravel lives wherever she goes. This book dives into a rich blend of horror, western, and thriller, with a dash of existential dread thrown in for good measure.

The pacing keeps you hooked, and the genre mix-up is a wild ride that works. The suspense builds with each country Jake visits, and every character he meets adds a new layer of intrigue (and goosebumps). The eerie atmosphere and the unsettling concept of a “chain of human devastation” will stick with you long after you close the book. Perfect for those craving a thought-provoking thriller with a supernatural twist.

Old Soul revolves around an immortal Satanist-type woman as she makes sacrifices to prolong her life. The story is a dual POV: one follows the testimonies of the people who’s loved ones have been killed by the woman, and the other POV is present day where the woman is preying upon her next victim.
This story was more compelling to me in the last 2/3 than the first. Once you get a grasp of how the woman kills and start looking at the connections between each testimony, you begin to grow more attached to the story. I do think that focusing more on the “main protagonist” (not really a protagonist as we rarely follow his personal story, but he is the person who is trying to investigate the woman) would have made the story feel more emotional. I was interested in each of the individual stories, and thought they were good character studies, but I also didn’t really care about what happened to them. The ending wasn’t my favorite, but I understand it.
This is categorized as literary horror, emphasis on the literary. I wouldn’t even really classify it as horror, but there are spooky elements. If you’re going into it looking to be scared, it probably won’t do it for you. But if you like character studies and a short story type of format with a prevailing narrative, then I would give it a try. My favorite part of the book was honestly the names the author gives the characters; they were all unique and quite pretty.
Thank you to Net Galley for sending me an ARC of this novel.

If there is a word to describe this book, it would be strange.

By calling it strange, I don't mean it in a bad way.

I requested the book because the genre was horror, but you should not expect a typical horror story with scary ghosts or jumpscares. Instead, the book will tell stories (or rather, testimonies) from different people who have come across this one strange woman who had changed their lives, and these stories are some of the creepiest things I have read in horror books. It is haunting without the usual things that usually make the story haunting.

"The woman" is also a very interesting character, a villain that will make you wonder if you would do the same in her position. I wish the author would reconsider writing another book from her point of view - I know some chapters are in the woman's point of view, but I want to see more.

While I loved the plot and idea, I have to say the lack of punctuation in the dialogues might turn off some other readers as it can be confusing. The writing also has some depth in it that I truly admire, but I can see how it might not be the easiest to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Addie LaRue… but make it horror.

I mean, kind of. My personal opinion is that The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was the superior story.

Old Soul starts off in such an intriguing way. It’s a shame it couldn’t maintain that. As the story goes on, we get “testimonies” from people who knew someone whose life came to an unsettling end after encountering the same woman, although she never goes by the same name. It’s the same thing over and over again. It’s reframed, of course, but never especially new or enlightening. We always know what the general outcome will be. So, aside from the description of the first deadly encounter, it fails to even horrify. (At least not until the end.) The author tried to keep it interesting, bringing us back to the present day every so often, allowing us to witness the slow burn of a carefully built disaster between the woman and her latest victim. It allowed for a sense of unease, and it did help build suspense, but it didn’t really eliminate the overall dullness.

Had the payout been phenomenal, perhaps I would have given this 3 stars, but it was the type of ending I hate, made all the more disappointing by the drab scenery throughout my journey toward it. I think the ending is probably right for horror, so it may satisfy other readers. I’m just a bit persnickety about good versus evil. I don’t need a conclusion that leaves me feeling settled, but if I’m not at ease with it, I’d at least like it to be meaningful. This wasn’t, and I’m only left feeling like I wasted my time.

I am immensely grateful to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! It was much darker than I expected from the synopsis. Very imaginative. I felt a very strong sense of dread for the whole book. Will seek out other Susan Barker work in the future!

Such a good book! It was creepy and eerie with the horror aspect, but never went too far to make me not enjoy the book. It was so cool how the book twisted all these peoples lives all together and how unseemingly similar they were. I thought it was very unique!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Dark and unsettling, Old Soul is ultimately a story about the cost of immortality and serving a hungry god. For me, the novel gets severely undercut by the structural problem of not having a central protagonist, as well as the aggravating stylistic choice of not using quotation marks.

Cutting back and forth between various survivor testimonials and the antagonist "Eva," the POV is muddied – Jake is driving the investigation, if it can be called that, getting all these testimonials, and would seem to be the protagonist, yet he isn't at all fleshed out. Theo, when she arrives late in the novel, is such an interesting character, I only wish we got more of her. I loved the blind, chess-playing cousin. All to say that Susan Barker is a compelling world-builder and crafts unique inhabitants. I kept reading in hopes the book would finally fully pit Jake or Theo or someone (a hero!) against "Eva" and her god, but was left unsatisfied. The title "Old Soul" hints at who the author is most interested in, but by shifting the POV so frequently, I feel like we, as readers, are made to sit on the fence, at a distant remove from these characters and their motivations, particularly the one who wishes to go on living forever. This is not a good versus evil story, hero versus villain, but maybe I was hoping it would get there.

I don’t even know what to write about this.

When I first started reading - I had no idea what was going on but kept at it, and I’m glad I did because Old Soul was compellingly written. The writing kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page.

The story is a slow building burn that is both unsettling and creepy; I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

This was my first time reading the author; it won’t be the last.

Recommended!



Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the DRC

I really enjoyed this one, and I was resentful of time I had to spend away from it, reading other books for obligations.
Thank you very much to Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC!

I am having the hardest time rating this and writing up a review.

Old Soul was such an intense, all-consuming read that had me hooked from the very beginning. I really loved the eerie premise and how the individual stories all connect, and also just how absolutely horrifying the reality is behind "the monster."

It's been awhile since I was made quite so uneasy like this, and I think due to this and the unique formating, Old Soul is likely going to be one of those divisive "love it or hate it" books. Personally, I enjoyed the beginning, the overall concept, and some of the events within (specifically Theo's POV), but I was very much not a fan of the ending. I found the fates of some characters confusing--both in the manner that the writing itself physically lost me, but also in certain deaths being gratuitous or unnecessary. I understand it's horror, I've read quite a bit of it, but it just felt...intentionally shocking.

I will say though, Barker does a superb job of building this malignant energy the further you read. Truly horrific.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish this one. I couldn’t relate to the writing style or the characters. It was slow-paced. I tried to keep going to see if anything picked up or changed, but it was a struggle. Thank you for the opportunity to read! Someone else may enjoy this very much; it just wasn’t my type of book.

Creepy, atmospheric literary horror featuring a surprise supernatural tragic lesbian romance. Compelling concept brought to life with subtly horrifying prose. Features some interesting and well-developed settings and a vivid cast of characters, but I was disappointed by the relative lack of development for our girl, "the woman." Thanks Net Galley for the ARC!

"Old Soul" is a fascinating concept that, in my opinion, is not done justice. While I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding the woman and The Tyrant, I was extremely disappointed by the slow pace of the novel's narrative and the lack of substance to every character. There was no emotionality to the book whatsoever, and this made it difficult to continue reading. The only thing that kept me going was discovering what exactly the woman was, her motivations, and her process. However, even this was disappointing; as a reader, the main antagonist's reasoning for choosing this life over and over again are just as devoid of emotion and substance than any of the other characters' choices. I couldn't connect with this book at all.

Pretty relentlessly depressing. Case study after case study of loved ones turning evil and dying. Couldn’t finish this one.