Title: The Night of the Mannequins
Author: Stephen Graham Jones
Publisher: TOR
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Pages: 100
Book Source: Netgalley
“Award-winning author Stephen Graham Jones returns with Night of the Mannequins, a contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both?” – Amazon
Kim’s Review
Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones is a twisted little gem. I had read and enjoyed, The Only Good Indians, so when I saw this novella I was excited to see what he could do in a shorter story, and Jones does not disappoint. There is a level of creepiness throughout, first with the supernatural element and then with the total craziness of what is actually happening…. And I didn’t even think of it as an option to the death and destruction until it was revealed.
As with many horror short stories or novellas, the reader is often dropped right into the action without a lot of background. Jones does give us some background throughout the story and there is just one mention as to why this may be happening (at least that I caught). It is a brief sentence and isn’t brought up again, but for me at least, this added to the trepidation. I really enjoyed that Jones didn’t dwell on the why and just gave us the horror filled action.
Jones has a lot of other books published, which is great for those who want to read more of his books. A few that look good to me are; The Last Final Girl, Zombie Bake-Off, and The Least of My Scars. If you have a favorite by Jones, I would love to hear about it.
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