All Hallows

Christopher Golden

Horror

With the 80’s nostalgia of Stranger Things, this horror drama from NYT bestselling author Christopher Golden follows neighborhood families and a mysterious, lurking evil on one Halloween day.

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?

New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author Christopher Golden is best known for his supernatural thrillers set in deadly, distant locales…but in this suburban Halloween drama, Golden brings the horror home.

All Hallows. The one night when everything is a mask…

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

3.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5) 1984 Halloween night. One neighborhood is simultaneously falling apart and enthusiastically celebrating Halloween.

From multiple POV, we see families falling apart, racial discrimination, and more. Add in that it’s the night of Halloween and it’s the perfect mixture for chaos.

“Nothing could stay perfect, but if you were lucky and diligent, you could steal a few perfect moments in your life.”

This definitely had a Stranger Things vibe due to the time period but also the characters. We get to know quite a few, which was a lot to keep track of. However, once I started taking notes I found myself connecting them all and remembering their stories. One part I loved was the multiple POV. Multiple POV can be difficult! The characters were introduced well, presenting a great connection to the story. But I really loved that the POV added in the opposing view. Not only did we hear from the kids and parents, but the “villains” also. That is what I’m here for!

Sadly, this one did not instill fear. I kept waiting for the creepy feeling (that’s why we read horror, right?) but never did feel it. Bodies were piling up, children were being taken, families were being torn apart and I still felt nothing. I believe this is due to changing the POV so often. I didn’t get enough into each side of the story before it changed again. Once again, I loved the multiple POV, but I wonder if that was the downfall for my lack of fear. So while it fell short in the scary factor, it was still a fun read.

General content summary: F words= 65, language, previous parental death (cancer, no details), talk of doing drugs (previous references), a woman gets pregnant with an engaged man’s baby, alcohol (multiple, alcoholism, teens), young woman is gay (some details of wanting acceptance, flirting, kissing), cigarettes (underage, adult addicted), previous swingers sex club, racism, previous infidelity (no details, multiple), a married couple shove and punch and slap each other, a father walking out on his family (how the kids and wife feel), aggression toward teen from father (shoving and falling), rumors of adults hurting and violating children, sexual harassment (man to young woman, multiple), child possibly kidnapped, a young man puts a young woman’s hand on his own crotch (previous), physical violence (fists, breaking bones, blood, killing, choking, breaking necks, some gore, multiple), creature/entity attacks (injuries, death, multiple, sounds of death and injuries, eating a heart), reference to child abuse (sexual? No details), suicide contemplation, self harm (scars), derogatory racial slur, someone is pushed down the stairs and injured (blood, injuries), possession, corpses (some details, multiple), seizure, multiple deaths (2 teens plus adults, some details).

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

The book releases January 24, 2023.

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

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