The audiobook version of **Mask of Flies** is an enthralling listen, weaving mystery and horror into a captivating tale. The narrator's performance is exceptional, bringing each character to life with distinct and memorable voices. The plot is gripping, keeping listeners hooked as secrets unravel in the eerie small town setting. The pacing is well-executed, maintaining suspense throughout while providing necessary moments of reflection. Some parts might feel a bit predictable, but the overall storytelling remains strong and engaging. The sound quality and production add to the immersive experience. A solid 4/5 stars for its compelling narrative and standout narration.

"A Mask of Flies" by Matthew Lyons is a gripping horror novel that masterfully blends elements of crime, supernatural horror, and psychological suspense. The audiobook, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, delivers a compelling performance that enhances the novel's intense atmosphere.

The story follows Anne Heller, a woman with a troubled past, who becomes entangled in a botched bank robbery. Seeking refuge in her family's secluded cabin in Colorado's San Luis Valley, Anne confronts not only the law but also dark, supernatural forces linked to her family's history. The narrative is rich with tension, unexpected twists, and vivid character development.

Critics have lauded the novel for its relentless pace and intricate plot. Grimdark Magazine describes it as "an epic journey not for the faint-hearted," highlighting its "unabated tension and bone-crunching twists."

🪰A MASK OF FLIES🪰 by @cannibalghosts is about as twisty as it gets and even though there was a lot going on here causing me some confusion at times, overall I ended up enjoying the ride! Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publishers, @tornightfire and @macmillanaudio for the e and audio-ARCs.

🟢🟢🟢

At first I felt like this book didn't know what it really wanted to be. It starts hot and heavy with a heist and taking a cop hostage but that storyline eventually fizzles out. I felt a little let down by that even though it was really just the appetizer to a larger story. I liked the "second story" even more but won't give details so as to not spoil it for ya. Let's just say it takes a supernatural turn.

The landscape descriptions were vivid and captivating but the character development and dialogue were a bit lacking for me. I would give this book a solid 3 stars.

Huge shout out to the audio narrator @saskiaaudio - her voice and cadence kept me in the story even when I was not fully engaged!

Crime horror, indeed. A wild ride from start to finish. This book packed many punches that had me cringing and surprised. I enjoyed that, plus the setting. Let me tell you, as a Native Coloradan and having family from the Valley, this book captured the isolation, the small towns, the eeriness that just exists there. I loved that! Truly, the downfall was the amount of plot lines and people in constant motion intertwined. I was struggle to follow sometimes.

The audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld is wonderful! Her tone of voice was perfect for this story. She was also easily understood at faster speeds.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, Macmillan Audio and author Matthew Lyons for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one didn’t work for me and I didn’t finish it. I found the main character a bit one dimensional and I couldn’t bring myself to care about her. I also found the horror/thriller genre mix kind of weird. I did like the narrator though.

Horror readers, this one’s for you! Full of action, this one kept me focused and unsure of what would happen next! Listening to Saskia Maarleveld is always a treat and she narrates this one flawlessly. The buzzing flies, multiple character voices, and and tense scenes dripped with terror and I loved every second!

Read this one if you love:

- Culty vibes
- Trust no one
- Character and plot driven stories
- Truly creepy horror
- Paranormal monsters
- Heists
- Criminals on the run
- Strong female MCs

A Mask of Flies by Matthew Lyons

This book was hella WEIRD!!!

Someone sold them out. The heist went terribly wrong and Anne barely escapes with Jessup bleeding so badly that the only place she can stop is the place where she lost her mother. He doesn’t survive his gunshot but apparently doesn't know how to stay dead either…

The supernatural themes in this one were really exciting!! Anne is a criminal and remembers virtually nothing from her childhood. She remembers what happened to her mother but no one believed her. She was on the verge of being annoying but she always starts to redeem herself so it was hard to hate her but she was such a hot head. Quick to anger and that really was irritating.

She ends up going back to the cabin where her mother was killed and in doing so lets something loose. She can’t outrun it and on her journeys she learns about why she doesn’t remember anything from her childhood. It's eerie and dark and really entertaining.

For the most part it was well paced but there was a lot I person think should have been cut out and then it would have been one hell of a book.

4 stars

Be warned. Mask of Flies was a very disturbing read. Horror lovers will love this book. You won’t regret it!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was....different. I really thought i'd like this more than i did, it was a lot different than what i expected lol would reread in the future though

Matthew Lyons kills it with a crime/horror mashup in which each aspect is equally important to the story..

This book is serving up folk horror meets crime fiction. There is so much to unpack and a lot of plot that could be mentioned in a spoiler-y way, that I want to limit my review to pros and cons versus a full breakdown.

PROS:
🪰 The botched bank heist/career criminal vibes.
🪰 Anne – she has such an interesting backstory and is a total badass.
🪰 The setting – rural and secluded for the best atmospheric qualities.
🪰 Cult vibes!
🪰 There’s a cat!

CONS:
🪰 Repetitive – there is a lot that I think could have been paired down in this story to make it sleeker and faster paced.
🪰 Confusing at times – I won’t lie, I got a bit lost at points with this one, which I think is because I zoned out.

I received a copy of "Mask of Flies" by Matthew Lyons. Unfortunately, I found this book challenging to get through, mainly because it felt overly long for its content. However, since I generally enjoy spooky books, I'm definitely interested in exploring more of Lyons' work to get a better sense of his style and other narratives.

A Mask of Flies by Matthew Lyons is the first book I've read by this author so I went into it not knowing what to expect. This was a pretty alright book overall but I did struggle with feeling bored and losing interest several times. The language was overly descriptive and I think it made the story too long and slow. That aside, there were several things I did enjoy too. I honestly chose this book because it had a creepy cover. And it definitely delivered the creepy vibes I was craving. It was dark and gory in the best of ways. The audiobook's narration was done really well. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing the story to life. The concept was great but something about the execution just didn't work for me. But I do think I'll try something else by this author soon.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the audio ARC! Saskia Maarleveld did a great job and brought the story to life, giving the character voice kind of a Poker Face, Natasha Lyonne vibe.

After a traumatic experience as a child, in which she and her mother were forced to flee their little cabin, Anne turned to a life of crime to make ends meet. Always the professional, Anne had so far gotten away scot-free, only agreeing to one final score. However, after a bank robbery gone wrong, she may be forced back into things she’d been running from all her life.

This was a really unique blend of crime and supernatural. It really does feel like bits of It Follows, The Evil Dead, and even Smile meshed together with a criminal on the run. As Anne dodged police and public recognition, there is something eerie and slithering following her all throughout the background.

With an almost whiplash pacing, I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns in this one, only wondering how things would pan out when the climax seemed to happen too soon (it doesn’t). And of course with such a pace, it does go a bit too fast for the eerie suspense to build up, however the scenes the entity appears in were incredibly creepy, particularly the police station scene.

The only thing that stuck out for me was the police officer as a side character. Anne specifically shoots his partner in the knee, injuring him, but stating several times she did not kill him. But then the kidnapped officer says that no one will believe him that he wasn’t involved and therefore he decides to help her? It just seemed odd to me a kind of a really weak reason for him to be there. Although I did enjoy Anne being multilayered and pulling almost everyone that meets her into her orbit because she wasn’t wholly bad.

Overall, this is a very good one!

This is the story of Anne, a criminal with anger issues. When she and her fellow criminals rob a bank and it goes terribly wrong Anne has more to worry about than the police. Anne seeks refuge in her family’s abandoned cabin —she takes her wounded friend and a cop that she kidnapped from the scene of the crime with her. She is immediately forced to confront her past which includes a supernatural entity that wants Anne and will devour and tear apart anyone standing in its way.

This was crazy!! It was non stop action from the beginning to the end. This is not for the squeamish. It is loaded with violence and gore. I thought it was great!! I loved the atmosphere and the story. The characters were flawed, dark and broken. This was a horror novel but written with great detail and had great character development.

The narration for the audiobook was done really well and added to the story!!

5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review .

Heyyyy spooky season is coming up and if anyone out there is looking for a new crime horror to add to there reading list next month, this is the one for you with an actual criminal protagonist. Or would it be antagonist then, who knows? Following a criminal and the cop she’s taken hostage as they must find their way to safety- perused by threats both human and supernatural. One of the big selling points for me is it mentions the story having a pinch of evil dead which I can now say with certainty is true. Definitely a lot more gore and suspense then I expected!

This book made me feel squeamish and feverish but in a good way. The body horror was excellent. If you’re not a fan of winged insects and that annoying buzzing sound you’ll have fun with this one.

The story was almost 2 stories in one. A bank heist gone terribly wrong, with a police shoot out and holing up in a remote cabin; and a cult body horror story with religious fervor, human monsters and one big shape shifter.

Narration was great. All the characters sounded unique.

This book starts off with a bank robbery that goes wrong in every single way so it seemed promising throw in some supernatural elements and you get a supernatural thriller/horror. I think the plot sounded interesting but it felt like this book could have been cut down a bit. I just think maybe this one wasn’t for me. The narrator was fantastic and sounded like what I’d expect Anna to sound like but the story itself didn’t hold my attention like I had hoped.

Anne Heller is on the run after a bank robbery gone wrong and on her heels is a pile of don’t ask. In this supernatural crime novel, you’ll catch yourself holding your breath more than once as Anne’s life goes from bad to worse.
This book has so much creep and gore going for it. It’s extremely violent. I was full on cringing towards the end! The writing is exceptional. The way the author wove the supernatural into an almost Wild West like bank heist was fantastic.
I didn’t give it 5 stars for one reason only. I would have liked more explanation as to what it was all about. At the end I was still asking what that was and what caused it.
I received this in audiobook format. The narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, did a fantastic job! I’ve had other books from this narrator before and she is top notch. One of my favorites.
Thank you to McMillan Audio and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I was also accepted for a Storygram Tour for this book.

🦷"The Past Has Teeth"🦷

🥀Another day, another great book tour/review. Today's book tour is for A Mask of Flies by Matthew Lyons. Buckle up and get ready for a bank robbery turned gore infused joyride from Hell!

🪰SYNOPSIS🪰

THE PAST HAS TEETH

In the grisly aftermath of a botched bank heist, career criminal Anne Heller has no choice but to return to her family’s cabin – a secluded shack in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, and the site of her mother’s untimely death.

Along for the ride are Jessup, Anne’s badly wounded partner, and Dutch, the police officer she’s taken hostage. As they wait for help, Anne discovers strange relics from her mother’s past and begins to unfold the mystery of her childhood at the cabin.
Then Jessup goes missing, only to turn up dead. Anne and Dutch bury her friend, but that night, he comes back and knocks at the cabin door.

Not a dream, not a hallucination, but not exactly Jessup, either. Something else. Something wearing her friend’s face. Something hungry...

🧠My Thoughts🧠

I did not expect this book to turn into some weird cult thing, but alas, here we are. I do not usually enjoy cult books, nor do I enjoy heist situations, and this book had both... and I didn't hate it. I probably should have read the synopsis more thoroughly, but in my defense, the cover distracted me. This will probably sound weird, but I think if you liked Stolen Tongues, then you might enjoy this one.

⛧A huge thank you to @tornightfire and @cannibalghosts for sending this book my way! And thank you to @storygramtours for hosting! Even though the book was gifted, all thoughts are my own.

Check my comment below for a link to buy the book!

💬ⓆⓄⓉⒹ: How do you feel about cults/cult books?

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