Review: All Hallows by Christopher Golden

       

Print Length: 336 pages

Publisher:  St.Martin's Press (January 24, 2023)

From Goodreads.com: It’s Halloween night, 1984, in Coventry, Massachusetts, and two families are unraveling. Up and down the street, horrifying secrets are being revealed, and all the while, mixed in with the trick-or-treaters of all ages, four children who do not belong are walking door to door, merging with the kids of Parmenter Road. Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man. There’s a small clearing in the woods now that was never there before, and a blackthorn tree that doesn’t belong at all. These odd children claim that The Cunning Man is coming for them...and they want the local kids to protect them. But with families falling apart and the neighborhood splintered by bitterness, who will save the children of Parmenter Road?

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My Rating: 1 star out of 5

I have read other stories from this author and enjoyed them immensely, but (in my opinion), there were just too many problems with this one. To start, there were just too many characters and too many points of view that it was incredibly hard to keep up with who was supposed to be narrating what part. There were also some characters that stood out for all the wrong reasons (purposely acting a certain way and then being surprised when people judged them for it, or characterizing nearly every man in the book as a pervert). 

In my opinion, I would have liked to have seen more of the supernatural plot. Tell me more about these children (and really, did no one even care about them because it seem like they would show up and be seen, and people would then just go on about their day)? 

Tell me more about the urban legends surrounding the town. Do something that makes it interesting other than have more family drama than an episode of Jerry Springer. 

On the whole, I think with another round of editing (which, as I received an ARC of this book, there might have been), I think this story could still be salvaged. There just needed to be less drama and more horror for it to really live up to what it promised. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                                 All Hallows is available on Amazon.com