I’ll be honest at first glance the big draw to Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert was the fantastic cover art and title design, but after the first few pages of this horror novel we were in for the long haul.
Father Silence once terrorized the rural town of Twisted Tree, disguising himself as a priest to prey on the most vulnerable members of society. When the police finally found his “House of Horrors,” they uncovered nineteen bodies and one survivor–a boy now locked away in a hospital for the criminally insane.
Nearly two decades later, Father Silence is finally put to death, but by the next morning, the detective who made the original arrest is found dead. A new serial killer is taking credit for the murder and calling himself the Outcast.
The detective’s daughter, Tess Claibourne, is a detective herself, haunted by childhood trauma and horrified by the death of her father and the resurgence of Father Silence’s legacy. When Tess’s daughter is kidnapped by the Outcast, Tess is forced to face her worst fears and long-buried memories. With no leads to follow, she travels back to Twisted Tree to visit the boy who survived and see what secrets might be buried in the tangled web of his broken mind.
Aside for the wonderful artwork, as I delved into the pages, I was immediately drawn in by the dark and complex framework of the human psyche that J.H. Markert expertly weaves throughout the narrative. Throughout my reading experience, there was a perpetual sense of anticipation surrounding how the book would unfold. While some of the twists were predictable, it’s really hard to write a novel nowadays and not have at least a few predictable twists, the bulk of the twists and turns were unpredictable, keeping us on edge as we raced through towards the end.
Sleep Tight was not only a super suspenseful novel, but one with depth and complexity in character development. The characters all felt real and flawed, making them relatable despite the dark circumstances of the novel. Tess Claibourne’s journey from detective to determined mother seeking answers was both heartbreaking and empowering.
Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert is a gripping, thrilling and intense horror novel with some pretty stellar twists, complex and well-developed characters, and a pretty atmospheric and dark setting. Sleep Tight is a horror novel that delivers on all fronts. While we loved the cover art, the story was just as good.
Sleep Tight lands at bookstores everywhere on September 10, 2024 from Crooked Lane Books.
