Dear Grave Yard Shift,
For a novella, you packed one heck of a punch! Rio's careful writing style and strong characters really shone through. Each person has such a distinct and clear character and voice and it came through from page one. Each chapter added a new layer to your story and I was so intrigued to know about the grave and the incidents that kept happening around campus. My favorite character was Helen, because she embraced being completely unhinged.

Creepy and mysterious, this novella of sleeplessness and revenge is an amusing little bite of horror from Rio. Lots of atmospheric tension and well drawn characters add to the jarring but interesting plot. I think you’ll enjoy this tantalizing story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

I actually didn’t realize this was a short story, but I really loved it! It was perfectly spooky and captivating, in true style for this author.

This was a great quick creepy read to kick off spooky season!! I really love ML Rio’s writing style and thought this novella stood up on its own, although I would have gladly read a full length book with this premise. The atmosphere was stellar!

This book has the grunge horror aspect I didn’t know I needed. A group of night shift workers gather in an ancient cemetery where they discover a freshly-dug open grave. They begin to unravel the mystery of the grave and the gravedigger. Written (and narrated) from 5 different perspectives, M.L. Rio manages to give an abundance of depth to her characters in such a short time. Being a novella, I was worried the characters would be two-dimensional and flat. But I was pleasantly surprised with how much of an impact each character had on me after finishing this novella. An amazing dark-academia mystery that kept me on my toes.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Thank you to M.L. Rio for writing such a thrilling novella.

TW/CW: Language, cancer, classism, animal death (rats), depression, smoking, divorce, gory scenes, blood, toxic relationships, drinking

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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.
Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Genre: Horror
Pages: 144
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Audiobook has a full cast
2. Love the cover
3. Book starting off with authors note (very Stephen King)
4. Quick read
5. Playlist at the end 🔥🔥🔥
6. Enjoyed the writing style

What I Didn't Like:
1. Plot holes
2. Too many questions left unanswered
3. Don't really know who these characters are
4. Too short to give satisfactory answers

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

Misery loved company, and made strange bedfellows.

Love that all these characters meet up in a graveyard to smoke.

We met 5 characters in the graveyard on a dark October night while having their smokes.

Edie - is a editor-in-chief and she has found a lump in her armpit. Feel like her personality kind of lacks.

Tuck - is living in the graveyard since not being able to pay his student loans and dropping out of college. (side note: they won't report your loans until you're out of school so I don't understand how he had to drop out of school because he didn't pay his loans). He's trying to loose Edie who is following him around the graveyard when he's just trying to return back to where he's staying. This brought another question to mind as to;
• Why would he leave this area to meet up with a group of people to smoke?
• Why would he lead Edie back to where he's been staying if he didn't want her know this about him?
They notice a bunch of dead rats and a gravedigger burying all of them.

Theo - is a bartender that sleeps with his co-workers. Found it odd that Edie had his number when she described her relationship with this people as random and not personal. Almost as they just bump into each other at same location/time. Theo manages to stop the gravedigger and persuade him to come in for a drink.

Tamar - hotel receptionist that thinks she suffers from mental illnesses and loves to give everyone a diagnosis of their own illnesses. She is good at figuring out that there is something wrong with the rats.

Hannah - drives a Toyota for the last 10 years suffers from extreme insomnia so badly that nothing helps. She is a rideshare driver. She lights up in her car because she doesn't care if she does. She mentions that she continues to go back to the graveyard to smoke because she wants to hang out with the group, but I didn't even understand how she met this group if there was no reason for her to go there to smoke, since she smokes in her car. I don't know one smoker who would choose to stand outside in the cold rather than sit in their warm car.

Hope we come back and it lets us know why they wanted to bury instead of incelerate them.

We actually find out that Hannah was part of this sleep study from a doctor who called herself Heather. And a few weeks ago they cut off the study because rats were dying. Hannah is desperate to find out if she's going to be one of the people but also dies. Extreme Rage and blindness are common side effects of this.

So they do tell us why the rats were buried instead of being burned and it feels like a very generic answer. The variance that are in the rat will just go back into the Earth because it's like this weird natural thing that reacts to animals and people. I just don't think that makes any sense because when you change how it's going into the body wouldn't that change its effects when it breaks down in the soil and affect everything else? I'm not a scientist so I don't really know. I also can't believe that this lab doesn't have its own incelerator so they wouldn't have to send it out.

Everything was just so easy to figure that it only took the one night to know what was going. And they all just know the sciences behind everything.

Tamer and Hannah are in a sexual relationship much to Hannah's chagrin. It's after staying the morning at Tamer's house that Hannah is showing signs of blindness and a sign that she's nearing death.

Final Thoughts:
Some parts of this book didn't make sense.
Why people who had no reason to be in the graveyard at all would either;
• Return to the graveyard
• There in the first place
Some of them had no reason to be there because their job didn't make them go there. It's never really explained how they all meet each other it's just implied that they all met that way. Like I said it didn't make sense for Hannah to have met these people or to return to hanging out with them. Why would Tuck leave where he's staying at to go meet these people to have a cigarette? Why would Theo need to go to the cemetery to have a cigarette when he works at a bar and you can just smoke outside it. Tons of smokers go outside to smoke plus I can't imagine this location wouldn't have a smoking area outside it.

So.... Does Edie have cancer? The lump is mentioned many times and goes no where.

Playlist mentions so many great bands/songs. Seriously dude had Concrete Blonde's "Bloodletting" which is a fangtastic song! She even brings it back to Elastica. Ohh and The Cure.


I do wish that all the characters would have been together as that's kind of what the synopsis hinted at but they're never really in a group as a whole together.

IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for this advanced ebook. Thanks to Macmillan Audio for this advanced audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My job is not glamorous, but it does allow me to plug in and disappear into stories! @macmillan.audio through @netgalley has provided me with M.L. Rio's novella, 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕪𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕗𝕥, narrated by a cast.

Dark Academia, Insomnia, an Open Grave in a Defunct Churchyard.

Adding in a sprinkle of mycology and rats, as the cover suggests, and we have a very eerie mystery of strange happenings in the wee hours of night.

I really liked how the chapters changed POV's and with a cast, this made the audio version of this easy to disappear into. The sinister undercurrent of the story kept its edge as the pieces of the puzzle emerged. I think that as a novella, it was a fun spooky story. I also feel left wanting a bit more...but maybe that is how it should be? I do wish it had lasted longer, going deeper into these night shift worker's lives and this mystery.

Fans of the author will no doubt be happy, but like me, anxiously awaiting a fully drawn out story.
3.5 stars

My first book by this author. Did not read the previous book, If We Were Villains. Graveyard Shift is a gothic horror type. I found it a bit disturbing. Not exactly what I was expecting. I prefer more of a suspense/thriller.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Graveyard Shift is a dark academia novella that’s been released just in time for spooky season!
The premise of this book is quite simple. A group of late shift workers frequently congregate at the only place on campus they’re allowed to smoke–at the old cemetery. They’ve gotten to know each other over the years, just from these brief visits. A news reporter, a bartender, a hotel receptionist… But one night, they notice a fresh grave has been dug. Who would dig a grave in the middle of the night? And what will happen when they come back?
This is a short book with a fairly simple premise. It’s written in several characters’ points of view, and there are possibly too many characters for this to truly work as a novella. Another hundred pages was necessary to make me truly care for any of the characters. Adding length to the book could have also added a little more depth to the storyline itself. That said, the setting is delectably dreary, with the old cemetery and ominous church. The twists and turns in the plot were compelling. I also want to add that one of the characters studied library and information science, and it was refreshing to read an accurate take on the degree.
All in all, this is an atmospheric and quick read to consume one chilly night this autumn.

ML Rio's If We Were Villains was one of my absolute favourites when it came out, so I was eagerly anticipating this book! It's bite sized and spooky, and seemed perfect for the season. However this really didn't connect with me. It may have been because I listened to it in such stops and starts, but I found the plot strangely paced and the resolution underwhelming. It felt like the first quarter of a really promising book, but wrapped up too fast and with too many questions for me.

I enjoyed the concept of strangers bound together by insomnia, and that the whole thing takes place over one night, but my expectations were really high and the book didn't quite meet them. However I'd be intrigued to look at the physical book and maybe reread to see if it was just the audio that wasn't my favourite.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-arc!

I loved the beginning of this book and was instantly hooked. Unfortunately, it del flat and ended up being a miss for me. It might work better as a full on novel. There wasn’t enough time to get into all of the characters. I liked that it took place over one night but it was missing the build up of tension I would expect in a novella.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a wild ride for such a short novella. I highly recommend this quick spooky read if you’re fans of The Last of Us and mysteries.
IT MUSHROOM RAT GIRL FALL!!

M.L. Rio does it again; this book is just so dang good. And so…digestible!

Graveyard Shift really packs a punch into a relatively short book. The main characters, all of whom struggle with insomnia and are up at all hours, are unique, vibrant, and enjoyable. At the beginning of the book I was questioning where the story was going and who was who, but as the book progresses, everything becomes clear and riveting.

I wasn’t sure if this story was going in the direction of something fantastical being the reason for the opening scene at a gravesite, and I was intrigued, but it turned out not as I was expecting and I’m glad for it. The potency and meaning within the story becomes solidified when the true depravity comes to light. And although it isn’t as spooky, it sure does feel accurate of human nature.

Overall, this was a wonderfully enjoyable audiobook listen! The full cast narration makes the novella come alive and greatly aids in keeping the cast of characters identifiable throughout the story.

As always, a huge thank you goes out to NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for allowing me the privilege of listening to the ARC if this audiobook.

Graveyard Shift, by M.L. Rio, was published on September 24, 2024. Enjoy!

This book ended up being quite average for me. A lot of characters were introduced quite quickly so it made it a little bit harder to follow because half the time I couldn’t remember who was who. And maybe I wasn’t quite the right audience or it wasn’t the right vibe. But if you’re looking for a quick read for spooky season this one is probably for you!

This novella unfolds over one long, sleepless night in an ancient college cemetery where a group of night shift workers regularly meet for a midnight smoke. On this particular October evening, however, the group discovers a freshly dug hole full of dead rats. Who dug the grave? Who is it for? Before the group goes their separate ways, they spot the gravedigger and decide to trail him throughout the night.

This short form horror/dark academia was a nice change of pace from my usual reads and the eerie, atmospheric writing felt perfect for spooky season lovers. However, if you’re squeamish when it comes to earthy elements and animals, take heed.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this arc.

M.L. Rio's "Graveyard Shift" is an eerie, atmospheric listen that transports you into a dark world full of intrigue and suspense. The audiobook is particularly effective in capturing the novel's overall tone. Each character's voice is distinct, and the narration skillfully conveys the growing tension and unease as the story progresses. The ensemble cast brings a rich depth to the characters, making their personalities feel authentic. Overall, "Graveyard Shift" is a must-listen for those who want a quick mysterious read. The audiobook format enhances the novel’s unsettling tone and atmospheric depth, making it perfect for listeners looking for a chilling and captivating ride.

I enjoyed this more or less, the story was interesting enough, and I liked the ensemble cast and pacing over the course of one night. My main problems were that there wasn't a lot of tension for this being a thriller, and I didn't feel like I understood the relationships between the main characters. Finally, my biggest problem was with the audiobook narrators. I can be a little picky when it comes to narrators, but I've never had quite so many issues with so many in such a short book. This has a full cast narration, so five different narrators, and I really did not like <i>four of them<i> for varying reasons: a lot were doing voices that felt very forced, one was super breathy and another was using uptalk for non-questions which kept throwing me off. I don't like to judge people's voices, but these issues really affected my experience and enjoyment of the book so I felt I needed to mention it. If you are similarly sensitive-- beware.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this earc!

The premise of this novella immediately drew me in, but unfortunately it was a miss for me. I feel like had this been a longer novel, my rating would be a lot higher!

There were a lot of things that just seemed to go unexplained and unexplored. The characters lacked depth, and by the end I was left wanting a lot more. I’m unsure if this was intentional or simply due to the length of the novella.

I wish so badly this were a longer book! I really think I would have loved it. The writing style was beautiful, and the author does an amazing job of setting a scene that really drew me in. I also felt this audiobook was excellently narrated! I highly recommend this in audiobook format, and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Big thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the gifted ALC!

An interesting assortment of characters, drawn together by circumstance to solve a mystery in their town. Too many characters to make it a very deep novella, but I still enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review.

i liked the creepy, atmospheric beginning of this book, but very soon it got bogged down in what turned out to be a fairly mundane mystery. i wish this book was longer or shorter!