An edge of your seat read. I was not sure what this book was about but it gripped me from the beginning. I loved Christopher Golden's book All Hallows so I was excited to read this ARC. Ruby is at home one night and hears something in her backyard. She sees it's a woman holding an infant. The woman claims to be her estranged sister's girlfriend and the baby is Ruby's nephew. She then tells Ruby's her sister was murdered and that they need to run to save the baby from her sister's killers.

Ruby takes them all to seek out her former lover Charlie Book. Book is a scientist studying an old freighter called the Christabel that has been shipwrecked so long that a floating forest trees have taken residence through it. Due to an oncoming storm that has began the four of them seek refuge aboard the ship. However only one of them knows what is to come upon. An ancient evil has arrived and is willing to take down anyone that stands in the way of it getting that baby.

Christopher Golden has become an autoread author for me. The books are always so well developed and researched. This one is no different. Just enough reality to make it even more unsettling. Will purchase for home library and be recommending. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Night Birds. Christopher Golden is a master storyteller when it comes to the horror genre. I have read all his novels and each one is so different and chilling.
In his new book he takes you to the sea. A group of scientists are working on an old sunken ship and their goals are to find out how the ship will survive in nature among other things.
Charlie Book leads his team in the research. Book and his team are on a short recess when a big storm hits. Book stays on the ship as usual to wait it out.
Ruby is a woman with a past that includes Book. But that is history and now she is alone.
One night a woman shows up at Rubys doorstep and she has a baby in tow. The woman used to be her sister’s lover. Her sister is dead according to this woman.
Her name is Mae and she’s in trouble.
Ruby takes her and the child to Book. They need help but they don’t tell him why. They tell him they need him to hide them for a few Few days.
Book is troubled but agrees and that is the beginning of a nightmare because what follows them is not human and has one goal in mind. The child. And Ruby is terrified she will lose her nephew.
But what follows has plans of their own. And they also will do everything to achieve that goal.
Very good. Very scary. 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for ARC of this book.
Set on a half sunk 19th century freighter in Galveston during a storm, Ruby has approached her former boyfriend for protection for her nephew, her sister’s girlfriend , as well as herself from a supernatural threat. Despite his disbelief, Book agrees to shelter them.
I felt the background for the characters was vague. I would have liked to have seen some more character development for the main characters. Otherwise, the book delivered a strong split that moved along at a brisk pace

The Night Birds is a supernatural thriller set in a raging storm on a half-sunken 19th-century freighter. Top that for atmosphere!

Ruby is home alone when a strange woman carrying a baby practically bursts through her door with an incredible story and a plea for help. She finds it all beyond belief until she is confronted with the terrifying proof.

Charlie is preparing to ride out the storm alone when Ruby shows up. He has not seen or spoken to her since their painful break-up, but even though she won't answer his questions he doesn't turn her away when she needs a place to hide. Hide from what, you ask? The coven that wants to sacrifice the baby so that the Ur-witch (the original witch who is the reason stories of witchcraft are told) can be permanently resurrected.

I love folklore and folk horror so resurrecting some old world legends in the modern day was a hit with me. True love, fractured family bonds, partial revelations and broken hearts ratcheted up the tension in between the terror and kept me engaged with the characters.

I was trying to think of the last time I read a scary witch story and...it's been a bit. Maybe Hex?

Most witches these days tend to be either the leather clad urban fantasy ones or the kitchen witch type. These? They're just pure evil.

Aside from our scary witches, we also have an amazing setting. I could see, hear and smell this place - it was so vivid.

I loved our characters, my heart broke more than once, and I want nothing to do with our witchy ones.

A great read!

If you have read Christopher Golden's other books, you know that he loves to set a scene. I loved the unique setting of a half submerged sunken ship. I did like the setting more than the characters but I enjoyed it all around. It is less supernatural horror and more what are they driven to do horror. I think this was such a great one.

I was really excited for this one as it’s set in Galveston, Texas, and I was visiting Galveston when I started reading it. The book is very atmospheric, and the writing is claustrophobic and tense which I loved. Unfortunately, I just didn’t connect so much with the characters or the plot. It was an entertaining horror read, but I am sorry to say it wasn't a favorite.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow. Where do I even begin? Christopher Golden is absolutely one of my favorite authors. His ability to craft a world of magical realism is without compare. You learn so much about his characters that you feel as though you could know them. You understand who they are and how they are moving along the path of discovering the unbelievable. And, in most cases, the horror there within. The worlds, lives and stories are so well created that it all feels real. And then he will rip your heart out. What can I say? Have you read any of his books? Then you know. I loved this book as much as all the others I have read I absolutely recommend it to anyone who is curious about reading it. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and wonderful.

The setting is interesting and a bit spooky but not particularly atmospheric. The horror primarily shines through the physical violence rather than the vibes. So something to keep in mind depending on what kind of horror you're into. Golden really weaves a nice, tightly wound, tale. I’m looking forward to what else he has to offer.

Christopher Golden’s The Night Birds hit a few particular sweet spots for me. I’m a sucker for sea-based horror, so to have the setting be the hundred-year-old, rusting hulk of the Christabel, marooned off the coast of Galveston, TX, immediately make me perk up. To sweeten things even further, the Christabel isn’t just a marooned ship, but one that has become reclaimed by nature and turned into a floating forest as mangrove trees have taken root and grown through the ship’s decks. It’s a marvelous visual that I think the book’s cover has only partially managed to capture, as Golden’s writing makes it clear — or maybe it’s just my imagination — that the ship has become positively wooly with wild vegetation. Whatever the case, the Christabel makes for one hell of a striking locale. To top it all off, the story takes place during a seriously, wickedly violent tropical storm. Well, gang, I love me a good storm setting, too, and between the monsoon Golden conjures up here and the crashing waves breaking against the hull of the Christabel, I’m kind of surprised The Night Birds pages aren’t soaked all the way through and dripping everywhere.

The Galveston storm, however, isn’t the only thing wreaking havoc and bringing on a long night full of violence aboard the Christabel. One other aspect really drew me into The Night Birds, and that’s the subject of the horrors at play here. Witches. Witches galore. A whole nasty coven, with one single, solitary demand — the life of a newborn baby recently hidden away in the ship’s cabin.

Ruby and Mae have been on the run with this child, having only just fled a black magic-fueled assault that has led them to Charlie Book’s dock slip. Book is a researcher for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the floating forest of the Christabel has become both the focus of his work and his de facto home. Ruby is his ex-lover, and when she turns up in desperate need for help, with a child that is not her own, he cannot possibly turn her away. They need shelter from the storm and a place where nobody would think to look for them, and Book knows just the right place to ride out the evening. But then the birds begin to circle overhead with predatory intent, and the witches that Ruby and Mae have been fleeing are much closer than expected.

The Night Birds is Christopher Golden at the absolute top of his game. I freaking loved this book, but even just saying that feels like I’m selling it short. The story is masterfully executed, its pacing both precise and exciting. Details are crisply delivered, and rather than ever feeling like a barrage of an infodump these moments serve the story perfectly and help to ratchet up the tension. In a way, it’s like watching an expert artisan watchmaker. Springs are deliberately, carefully coiled to deliver a high level of torque to turn the gears, while keeping everything perfectly balanced. One gears turns another, and another, to keep the hands moving. It looks simple and deliberate enough from the outside, but underneath, there’s so much machinery and moving parts, all so carefully crafted to make it all work. (I am, obviously, not a watchmaker, expert or otherwise, but hopefully this analogy works well enough to get my point across, imprecise though it may be. My apologies to watchmakers everywhere.)

Golden works hard, too, at building characters to care about. Book and Ruby’s relationship is underscored by tragedy and bitterness, and while they’re forced together into tight quarters under less than ideal circumstances, I found myself rooting for them. Even the secondary characters are nicely developed, and I found myself growing quickly attached to Otis, who runs the boatyard and wants nothing more than to be left alone to read his mystery novels and listen to the waves crashing against the docks. I get Otis. I understand Otis. But what really sold me was Golden’s exploration of witch lore and the utter monstrosities he has concocted here. Golden’s no stranger to witches, given his work with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Mike Mignola’s Hellboy and Baltimore comics, not to mention co-editing the anthology Hex-Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery with Rachel Autumn Deering, but his take on witchy gals in The Night Birds casts this coven in a unique candlelight. These ladies are unapologetically vicious, and I dug the hell out of them for that.

Bottom line: The Night Birds is horror craftsmanship at its best, and one of my first no doubt about it, hands-down favorite reads of 2025 thus far. Golden’s latest is tense and exciting, full of wonderful little surprises along the way, and by the time the violent climax rolls around it becomes impossible to step away from.

I'm a huge fan of Christopher Golden and was ecstatic to get the ARC of this novel. I wasn't disappointed!. It's well written, as expected from this author, and I felt like I was dropped right into the story. The multiple POVs are easy to follow as the characters are well developed. Even the ship Christabel had a fascinating personality, with her unique forest of trees. I loved the supernatural elements, as that is my favorite type of horror. It was a nice weekend escape!

3 stars

Charlie Book works for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and as a perk (if you want to consider it that) of his job he lives aboard the “Christobel,” a half sunken 19th century freighter off the coast of Galveston that he and his co-workers are working to restore with an eye toward making it a state park. A forest of mangroves is growing through the deck. And, as the action is going to take place on this vessel, hang on to your hats my friends, because this is going to shock and amaze you….a storm is a’comin.

He heads to the boat one night and finds his former paramour, Ruby Cahill, waiting on the dock, along with another woman and a baby. Ruby says a coven of witches is after them and they need to hide. Book agrees. Calamity follows.

Here’s some free advice: if a man named Charlie Book ever approaches you run far, far away. Knowing him is a recipe for disaster. Sure, he seems all nice, like someone you could count on, but count on this…you’re gonna die. Doesn’t seem like such a great guy now, does he?

This was decent, nothing bad, nothing great. I liked it fine.

A gory, supernaturally good time. I’ve never read anything of Christopher Golden’s before (although I see he’s on my TBR!), and after reading The Night Birds, I couldn’t be more excited to get to some of his other novels.

Charlie Book lives and works on a grounded freighter off the coast of Galveston. One stormy night, his ex, Ruby, shows up at his doorstep. Ruby’s sister, Bella, has been murdered and someone is after her new baby nephew, Aiden, and Bella’s ex Mae. Ruby asks Book to give them shelter for the night, promising that they’ll be gone in the morning. Things don't go exactly to plan.

There’s no gradual building to the horror here. Golden drops us right into the center of the action. The entire novel is fast-paced; I finished it in only a couple of days. Golden has a way of writing that propels the narrative forward at break-necked speed. This is a great novel for someone that wants a quick read and isn’t afraid of some blood and mutilation (or a lot of blood, really).

When it comes to magic, I know that there’s some people who want really clearly defined parameters for the magic rules. I will say, The Night Birds doesn’t have that. The focus is a lot less on the magic, how it’s possible, and how it works, and much more focused on the characters rolling with the punches and just trying to stay alive. This didn’t bother me at all, I actually preferred it this way. Instead of bogging down the narrative with exposition or backstory, we leaned as the characters did (and didn’t learn more). I’m completely here for that close-kept point-of-view.

That said, there are some rules that are given to us, and the narrative doesn't deviate from them which I can appreciate. There’s the trope of two estranged characters coming back together, falling back in love throughout the narrative, and then standing together, the only survivors on the hill as the sun rises. I feel like that’s in everything anymore, especially horror. I really appreciated Golden flipping that script. The characters were constantly making difficult choices, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t always know what choices they were going to make, especially out of Mae.

At it's heart, this is a horror novel, and The Night Birds doesn't shy away from reminding the reader of this fact. The novel is full of gore and violence and death. As an avid horror reader, it didn't find any of it particularly shocking. The setting is interesting and a bit spooky but not particularly atmospheric. The horror primarily shines through the physical violence rather than the vibes. So something to keep in mind depending on what kind of horror you're into.

Golden really weaves a nice, tightly wound, tale. I’m looking forward to what else he has to offer.

I couldn't put this book down! The captivating reunion between Charlie and Ruby had me hooked from the start. I loved how their history added depth and tension to the story, making their unexpected encounter on the Christabel even more compelling. The description of the Floating Forest was so vivid that I could almost see the mangrove trees growing through the deck of the ship—what a beautiful and eerie setting! I was genuinely surprised when Ruby showed up with Mae and her infant child, seeking refuge from a coven of witches. The mix of magic, mystery, and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. The dynamic between Book and Ruby was filled with unspoken pain and unresolved feelings, which made their interactions both heart-wrenching and heartwarming. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The blend of romance, mystery, and supernatural elements made for a truly engaging read.

If you're looking for a story that will keep you entertained and invested in the characters, this book is a must-read!

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: May 06, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

Christopher Golden never fails to put out a book that has everything and I have read them all! This has well developed characters, multiple POV and such description and dimension the writing has that gives the world a realistic feel as we walking through. I love how you get that pit in your gut feeling through a lot of this and your not sure what coming next as you tip toe through parts of this book and then all of a sudden you’re full speed ahead twisting through the storylines holding on and bracing for the next page. I love how Golden gave the perfect Thriller/Horror read and as always was so marvelous with the world building, character building and that final page had me. Bring on more Christopher! A autobuy author for me.

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well St. Martins Press

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Fast paced, Twisty, Dark, Multiple POV, Horror, Thriller, Witchcraft, Magic, Storms, Survival

I love Christopher Golden and this book was no exception
Fantastic read

Thank you to netgalley for the chance to read and review this book

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Birds is the newest horror from Christopher Golden, following Book, Ruby and Mae as they fight to protect an infant child from a coven of not-witches dead set on killing him. Set in a deteriorated, half-sunken freighter ship that has it's own forest growing out of it, this book is filled with eerie atmospheric writing. The tension in this book is off the charts, and manages to climb the entire story. I started reading it during the day and was about 60% in when I found myself alone, at night, reading this, and decided to take a break to finish it during day time.

If you're already a Christopher Golden fan, dive right in, the water (wink wink) is warm and the girls are terrifying.

I do think if you've read previous Golden books, this one isn't as scary. It's much more thriller than horror compared to, say, Ararat or The House of Last Resort, but its still a lot of fun, as his books usually are.

Release May 6 2025

THE NIGHT BIRDS by Christopher Golden is extraordinary! I loved it every bit as much as I loved Mr. Golden's earlier ALL HALLOWS (which is to note, exceptionally!). No suspension of disbelief was necessary; I fell headlong steaight into the depths of the story, its magic and witchcraft and Ancient Evils; its unique and powerful setting; the manipulation of Nature by both humans and entity; the power of unnatural Storm, the power of Ancient Witchcraft; the power of love and of compassion and protection of the defenseless and vulnerable. I could readily spin through this novel again right away. So very thankful I read it.

Good story and characters. Solid story but nothing memorable. I enjoyed reading it but wouldn't want to read again. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book