I’m a sucker for an interesting sounding horror book, and that’s exactly what Mister Lullaby by J.H. Market was. It helped that its cover art caught my eye, but the synopsis is what really drew me to request a review copy of this one. It’s also part of the reason as to why I held off reading it until the time was right. The other parts had to do with a great review I’d read, and an online post about how it was someone’s favourite book of 2023.
I wish I’d liked it as much as those people, and am disappointed that I didn’t.
Mister Lullaby had the potential to be an epic horror book the likes of something by Stephen King. I went in expecting a small town versus evil kind of thing, and mostly got that, but not in the way I expected. This wasn’t as psychological a book as I’d hoped, and it was different from any preconceived notion I had about it.
Set in the small town of Harrod’s Reach, Nebraska, this novel features multiple points of view and jumps between a couple of different timelines. I can’t say a whole lot about the story, though, because this is one of those stories where saying much will risk spoiling things. Here are the basics, though:
Harrod’s Reach is a troubled town, and was the location of a train derailment accident that took many lives many years ago. Since then, its railway tunnel — which went through a mountain — has been cursed. Kids have played games, where they’ve dared each other to run from one end to the other, bodies have been found nearby, and some have become stuck inside of this strange tunnel. Furthermore, there are those who’ve come out of it acting differently, while saying that they were possessed by a creature from dark mythology.
Within this town lays a boy named Sully, who’s been in a coma for some time. His much older brother, Gideon, was blamed for the accident that made him that way, and went off to war to try to get away from it all. At the start of this narrative, Gideon returns from war, and pulls a pistol out during the beginning of a surprise party in his honour. This is quickly forgotten about, which I found shocking.
In Mister Lullaby, there’s also somebody hunting what they called Dead-Heads, but are actually comatose folks. This man — named Teddy — has been receiving instructions from a blue seashell, which talks to him any time he’s open to listing. During his travels throughout the country, Teddy encounters others who like to kill.
Meanwhile, there’s talk about a place called LalaLand, where those who are comatose may be. It’s said that there’s some sort of battle going on over there, but the book doesn’t do a good enough job of fleshing it all out, which is one of my biggest issues with it.
Told from multiple viewpoints, including those of Gideon, his cop friend Beth and Teddy, this is a bit of a jumbled narrative. If the storytelling were more concise, and had more depth, it would be a much better book. After all, there’s tons of potential within this story. The execution stumbles, though, and holds it back, as does the lack of real depth to the talk of another world.
Another issue I had with this book was that it ended abruptly, and something that happened during the ending made no sense based on how the character had been thinking and acting. It bothered me.
The writing also feels a bit juvenile at times, like it’s some sort of fan fiction. I respect the effort, though, because I don’t think I could ever write a book. It just all failed to truly hook me like I had hoped, and perhaps I went into this thing with too high of expectations. It was quite hyped, or so they say.
There are also a lot of characters, so be warned about that. I’ve read reviews saying people had trouble keeping track, and I’ll admit that I forgot about a couple of secondary characters, then remembered them when they were mentioned again. I didn’t have much trouble though.
At the end of the day, Mister Lullaby by J.H. Market is a decent attempt at a horror epic. Its premise has a ton of potential, but the execution keeps it from reaching it. Still, there’s a pretty solid book here that is worth checking out if it intrigues you. Just don’t expect the best book of 2023.
This review is based on a copy of the book that we were provided, by NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. Receiving a free copy did not sway our opinion or affect our review.