But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has.
Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, they understand one another better than anyone has since.
After all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap?
Because magic never forgets the taste of your friendship... (Pub Date: Aug 08 2023)
This is a mix of thriller and horror. I'd say it still falls under the thriller/mystery category, but I think many readers will appreciate the elements of horror. That's also what's left the bigger impression on me, by the way.
3.5 rounded up to 4.
The book is about a kids show in the 90's (but that seems to have been long-lasting until it suddenly stopped being broadcast). For a podcast organizing the reunion of the kids that were in the cast, five of them are found, including Val, who has no recollection of her life before her father isolated her in a rural area where no one would be able to find her. It's coincidentally (or not so much) when the show was dropped, after all, without her, the circle of friends was broken and magic could not be invited again.
Wanting to find out more from her past now her father is dead, Val joins them and go to a house in the middle of nowhere, where they say their parents used to live. The house was actually what first clued me in this would be scary. More than amnesia, the circle of friends thing, the 'no one knows anything about the show because anything is immediately deleted from the internet' thing. It's a very weird house.
I found a part of the dynamic among the "friends" a little boring. I know it's intentional that we shouldn't fully trust them, that we should find Jenny a pain in the neck, etc. But well, feeling all that isn't a good feeling. Again, it's fully intentional, so I decided to bear with it. I'm not even sure what I so wanted to know as I turned the pages at this part, I just had to know more. Eventually, Val learns enough for us to see that yes, there are questions we need the answers. So, I turned the pages even quicker.
It's not the perfect read though. To be honest, the explanation felt lacking. It did explain everything, but in a manner that made me raise my eyebrows and say, "Is that so?" The ending wasn't exactly bad, but for what it was, it got too long. I'd prefer something shorter if you're not going to be more creative about it; I can imagine the rest. And again, the relationship among the main characters, it was awkward, and the author wasn't able to go past how she needed each of them to be and develop better, more swiftly, the bonds that she wanted to.
About the TV show, let's say her description of it and the way she showed it, it made me think back to all the shows I've watched as a kid to try to find if there could be any as weird as this one.
This is a read I'll be recommending to anyone who enjoys a thriller mixed with horror. It might not amaze you, but I'm sure I'll be haunted by it.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment