You Better Watch Out
James S Murray; Darren Wearmouth
Narrator Barrie Kreinik
Macmillan Audio

If you think Karma is a bitch, you better not go to Olde Forge!

Let’s pretend that Saw and a locked room challenge had a baby in a snow globe then you would have You Better Watch Out. This is a graphic holiday horror thriller to not miss!

This book was full of flawed characters that, in a normal setting you would hate, but by the end of the book you will cheer them on. The action is relentless and almost suffocating (in a good way). I leave you with this - if anyone says spoiler alert - skip that review. You want to go into this blind

I only have one complaint that takes it from a 5 to a 4 - Right in the ding dang heart of action Eric has a flash back. Ugh. I mean the story redeems itself so don’t worry. - I will not be posting my complaint on my IG page - just giving my honest feedback on here.

I LOVED this book! It takes place at Christmas time, so I guess it will be considered a Christmas horror story (kind of like how Die Hard is considered to some a Christmas movie: And IT IS as I watch it every year! My ex-husband introduced me to Die Hard, but I will keep the tradition of watching it on Christmas Eve/ Christmas as it has become MY yearly enjoyable tradition!)

You Better Watch Out will not be for everyone: It is very gory and as the book continues the deaths one up each other by becoming more intense, gruesome, and dare I say…inventive?

We first meet Eddie who I considered the main character despite the book description seemingly focusing on Jessica as the main character. We have several strangers who all wake up after being drugged, kidnapped and in the middle of nowhere. This is a shorter novel that is very fast paced from the beginning. It’s a race for survival if anyone is going to make it. And you really don’t know if any of our characters will make it to the end. We have what I thought was a great twist and I am asking the authors: Can we PLEASE have a second book?!?!?!

The narrator is Barrie Kreinik who was perfect! Her narration really helped to bring this disturbing story to life for me!

If you want a different kind of Christmas novel, (which would also be perfect to read now at Halloween!) that’s not all cheery “Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!” Just remember it’s on the gruesome side, so be ready.

MANY THANK YOUs to the publisher Macmillian Audio for granting me an advanced listening copy. As you can tell, I LOVED it!

Definitely not my typical read. I am not a fan of gore but if you are… you’ll love this short Christmastime horror 🤢

Eddie is a thief - an elderly couple in his sights to rob.. when all of a sudden he wakes up in an unknown place with other criminals and they’re all trying to escape. One by one people are being killed off and the rest are desperately trying to escape.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio + NetGalley for my ALC

#MacAudio2024

Thanks to NetGalley, James S. Murray, Darren Wearmouth, and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an advanced audio recording of the book You Better Watch Out in the return of an honest review. I received an advanced copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The theme here is similar to the movies Escape Room and the Saw franchise. It is super fast paced and attention grabbing from the start. The narrator did a great job making it feel spooky and mysterious. I could not wait to find out what would happen next. It also has a great twist at the end. I think it would make for a great slasher film.

Title:: You Better Watch Out ( A Thriller)
Arthur(s): James S. Murray & Darren Wearmouth
Publishing Co.: Macmillian Audio
Narrator: Barrie Kreinik
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
Length:
Rating: 4.5 stars
TW’s:
* Murder
*Grotesque death(s)
* Kidnapping
* Addiction

Tropes:
*Thriller/Murder Mystery
*Locked-Room

Ho, Ho, HO-ly Christmas serial killer thriller!! Who knew that Murr (from practical jokers) was an author? Not this girl! I absolutely loved this fast-paced thriller! Six strangers are drugged, kidnapped, and dropped in a nowhere town just 48 hours before Christmas and are picked off one by one as they try to work together to escape back to civilization.

The characters, their development, plot, and plot twist *Chef's Kiss*

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of You Better Watch Out in exchang for an honest review.

This was a good, quick book. It kept me interested the whole time. There were a couple things that happened that didn’t make sense and the ending left me feeling like something was unfinished. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it.

Wow. What did I just read?! I did not know Murr wrote horror and I certainly didn't know what to expect going into this.
This is kind of a Christmas book. Not in a hallmark way obviously. It would be a good one to read between Halloween and Christmas. It also kind of reminds me of the Saw movies. I did NOT see the twist coming, but the ending itself was predictable.
I think this creepy book is going to stay with me for awhile.
Thank you MacMillan Audio for the ALC!

You better watch out

Several people wake up in what appears as a deserted town. Eddie, who was about to mug an elderly couple before blacking out. Trinity, who had an obvious head wound upon arrival. Jess, who also appears with a concussion. Each person was kidnapped through means of violence, injections and chloroform.

Others arrive with similar experiences and injuries. They find themselves in a creepy fenced in town with others who also share their recent memory loss and have no idea why they are where they are. There is a snowstorm in the town to make matters worse. Oh yea… and people are dying in this town full of traps.

They have to work together, but can they trust each other?

This quick read was definitely thrilling and had me at the edge of my seat from the very beginning!

Narrator did a nice job with various character voices and expressive emotion.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for honest review. Out on 10/15!

What would you do if you woke up in a place that you had no memory of going to with people you don't know? And there's someone hunting you all down, punishing you for past misdeeds? Can you rely on each other to plan an escape? Where would you escape to? Will your tauntaun freeze before you reach the first marker? It's Christmas Eve and there's traps waiting everywhere for you. Worst Christmas EVER.

This was an interesting plot with an unexpected ending, with a definite possibility of a sequel teased at the end. An very cool read with well sketched characters, some you love, some you hate, and some a bit of both. Worth reading if you like a kitschy slasher!

I received a free audiobook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This book was a fast-paced listen that captivated me right from the start! I found myself constantly anticipating when the next character would meet their fate, and the conclusion left me completely astonished! I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for a quick Christmas thriller!

You Better Watch Out is an action-packed slasher book that follows strangers who are trapped in an unknown deserted town two days before Christmas. They all have similar backgrounds in crime or addiction.

First, I'd like to shout out the length of the audiobook because it was short and sweet and so easy to listen to even on 2.5x speed. I loved the twists and turns in the book. The ending had me yelling "PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! DON'T TAKE HIM BACKKKKK" in the words of Sabrina Carpenter. The book was super gory, so if you don't like that, I do not recommend it. But, this book was a refreshing change from the all the fantasy and romance I've been reading and is perfect for spooky season.

Thank you, NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, James S. Murray, and Darren Wearmouth for the advanced listener copy of You Better Watch Out. All opinions shared are my own.

You Better Watch Out written by James S Murray and Darren Wearmouth. I listen to the audiobook and the Ebook. The book is about Eddie Parker, he’s on his way home for Christmas when he stops in a small town called Old Forge to get some snacks. This is when he sees an elderly couple who look like they’re wealthy and decides to rob them. At least when he wakes up that is the last thing he remembers. It seems he has woken up in a past version of old Forge, Not because he time traveled because he got kidnapped by the elderly couple. As he tries to get the lay of the land he hears a scream in the back room of the old saloon this is when he meets Trinity who is just woke up and Jesse who has yet too. Together they will try to navigate this strange place with Christmas decorations old Timey stores and you better watch out playing on the speakers throughout the little town and though yes the whole time trying to dodge a killer. They soon learn they all have something in common and that is all of them except Jesse has a police record but Jesse thinks she is there due to her addiction. The main three will find others and to learn it’s not just the person haunting them they need to watch out for. I’m going to stop the review here because there is so much to this book and it was so good. Some of these murders are so inventive and original I was amazed. I do want to say the part of the book where everything is revealed I felt a little letdown but once it got to the epalogue and it seems there may possibly be a second book I was so excited. This is a great isolated location mystery that I think most people will find hard to figure out. I want to say the narrator Barry Kreinik did an awesome job narrating the book setting the tone and had great character distinction. I have never read a book narrated by him but would definitely listen to another. This is a book any Thriller/Mystery/Horror fan will love, I know I certainly did! #NetGalley, #McMillanAudio,#JamesSMurray, #DarrenWearmouth,#BarryKreinik,#YouBetterWatchOut,

You Better Watch Out is a different kind of Christmas book than I am used to. My Christmas books are typically romantic comedies but You Better Watch Out is a gory thriller filled with a lot of suspense and death.

You Better Watch Out is basically a copy of one of the Saw movies. A group of people wake up in an abandoned town without knowing how they got there. They all have some kind of dark secret They realize that the town is riddled with deadly traps with someone pulling the strings trying to get them all killed.

The summary of the book talks about the character Jessica but we start off following another victim, Eddie. We also got a POV from the killer and at times the switching POVs got a little confusing with the way it was done.

This book was brutal and very gory, the violence at times was over the top and gratuitous and I loved it. In my opinion, I felt the ending was predictable but I still liked it even if I saw it coming the whole time.

The ending sets up a sequel and I'm definitely here for it. If you're looking for a different kind of Christmas book then definitely check out You Better Watch Out.

I absolutely LOVED this! This to me somewhat felt like the book-version of the SAW movies (I’ve never seen them so that could be completely off, but the game-like nature, danger, death and destruction part of this book are what made my mind relate this to SAW).

This surrounds a group of fairly despicable people that begin to get picked off one by one by an invisible killer. The revelation was much better than I expected it to be (I audibly went “No f—ing way!” when it happened; I loved it honestly). Slasher fans will enjoy this I think.

This might be one of the few times where u found myself rooting for the bad guy to win, you might too.

3.5 rounded to 4.

I was a little thrown off to have the story open on Eddie when the description focused on Jessica, but Eddie made for a great character to open with and follow. Eddie finds himself in a mysterious town with a bunch of other characters that are, unfortunately, forgettable (except Jessica). Someone in the town has set up booby traps that start killing everyone one by one. I enjoyed the slasher/gore theme, especially the merry-go-round scene, and the twist near the end was one I did NOT see coming.

There were some disappointing aspects of the book. I mentioned most of the characters being forgettable (besides Eddie and Jessica, I can only remember Trinity), but I think the most unforgivable disappointment is the lack of Christmas. I love Christmas books, and the cover got me with the knife wrapped in paper. It felt like the authors forgot this was based around Christmas and just peppered little things here and there after they finished writing; the occasional Christmas song was playing, there was snow on the ground, and then some little holiday decorations and lines, but I was honestly waiting for a killer Santa, more Christmas themed weapons, etc.

Overall, this book was a decent thriller/gore/slasher read for any season. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio/St. Martin's Press for the audio book in exchange for an honest review!

Very quick thriller that gave me “final destination” vibes lol! I’d say this was a 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ Great for Halloween/spooky season!

Thank you to the publishers and author for this early access.

Two days before Christmas, six strangers wake up in a deserted town unsure of how to get there or how to get out. Then, one by one, they start to get murdered. They’ve fallen into the hands of a sinister person who has meticulously planned their deaths. Can they get out alive, or will this be their last Christmas?

Trigger Warnings
Graphic Depiction of Murder

Why Kirsten loves it
I’ve never read a Christmas story like this one! It was terrifying and gruesome and so clever – and that ending! My mouth was on the floor!

A thrilling slasher that moves quickly and is packed with suspense, clever twists, bloodshed, and intrigue. I can genuinely say I was completely absorbed the whole time, listening to the characters as they tried to figure out their location and the reasons behind it. The narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life. I'm a bit conflicted about the ending, which is why I gave it a 3.5 out of 5, but overall, I really enjoyed

Title: You Better Watch Out by James S. Murray, Darren Wearmouth
Publication Date- 10/15/24
Publisher- MacMillan Audio
Overall Rating- New Favorite

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

Audio Review: Highly recommend the audio, voice and tone fit well with the story.

Review: OMG this was so good. This is such a unique and creative take on the survival horror/ thriller genre. If you like the SAW franchise I think you would enjoy this, though it is much less gorey. Speaking of which, the kills in this book are interesting and creative (I know such a crazy thing to say). Because this book takes place right before Christmas, the town that the group is stranded in has Christmas decorations up and let me tell yall, that really added the creep factor.

In You Better Watch Out, we get to know a cast of characters that have all done something wrong, shameful, or an action to cause guilt. I found fascination in each character and enjoyed hearing their stories while watching them survive this f’d up game.

The pacing is on point. It moves quickly but not too fast such that you don’t get to know and understand the characters. I literally don’t have a complaint about this book. I was going to give it 5 stars until the ending made me gasp out loud, not joking. Please go read this book, it’s so fucking good.

Rating: 3 stars!

SAW horrow movies meets deranged Serial killer. Oh and its set in an "abandoned" Christmas Village. I wanted to love this so much! All the pieces were there for a banger of a book. The ending just fell short for me..

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.