We were a team of professional insomniacs. Once you know there are monsters under the bed, closing your eyes becomes a foolhardy act. So, we paced. We stared into the dark. We listened for the creak of the opening door. This is a story about a group of strangers, all from different walks of life, who have been brought together for a group therapy session. They are all trauma survivors but each of them carries scars caused by the stuff that haunts dreams and fuels horror films. None of them are fine. Not even close. The horrors unravel very slowly and the reader is forced to piece together each reveal and attempt to make sense of it. It took me awhile to figure out what was going on with each character because there is no big info. dump spew. Not that I’m complaining. Things unravel just as I assume they would in a real life therapy group. Because of the trauma (or simply because they are human) only one guy jumps in and spills his entire history but not in a coherent manner. The rest are wary of each other. And for good reasons. This was an intriguing novella filled with frightening ideas but I truly wish it had been a wee bit longer and that I could’ve learned more about the characters than I did. Their backstories were fascinating and horrifying but there was much left unsaid. Perhaps a sequel is on the horizon? *I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review.
This is my first Daryl Gregory book and I can't wait to pick up another! So deeply impressed!!
