For fans of the last season of Stranger Things and I Know What You Did Last Summer…

Imagine you’re out on a fishing boat, pulling up crab traps, and in one of those traps is a human head. Arguably a head plus a little bit, but a head without a body, at any rate. What if that head wasn’t dead?!? What if it could read your mind and telepathically communicate, and what if that head wanted—neigh, commanded you—to do terrible things, or else?

Well, then you’d be hauling around a duffel bag with part of a missing girl, Oksana, whose death defies natural law and who is set on revenge. A former Ukrainian boarding school student, her backstory is a complicate mess of lies and betrayals set among a group of former friends in the 90’s.

I’m a 90s teen myself, so this story hit on a note of nostalgia that transported me back to my younger years with pagers and Hot Topic, pay phones and the Blockbuster rental heyday. A time when I was just old enough to be aware of Cold War issues and of world events, like one, in particular, that I won’t include in this review so as not to inadvertently spoil the mystery.

Andrew Van Wey does a commendable job revealing just enough details in each chapter to make this book an absolute page turner.

What happened to Oksana? What about Megan and the group of high school friends now plagued by unusual dreams and memories of things better left forgotten? How in the heck is this head alive? And how is she slowly regaining autonomy? Gasp!

You might not believe me when I tell you this, but the reveal is actually like, “Huh, okay. That might happen (kind-of, not really).” The history is plausible in the way Twilight Zone or Twin Peaks makes you question the existence of alternate realities. Talk about world building!

Head Like a Hole is my first foray into reading body horror, and my first read by Andrew Van Wey, who sets a high bar for the subgenre as a whole. Hole. Hee hee. Part mystery and certainly gross, this book straddles two of my favorite genres (horror/mystery) perfectly. Highly recommended as one of my favorite recent reads. I look forward to seeing what this author cooks up next. ( )

When Louis Harding finds a woman's head in his crab pot, he has no idea the hell he is about to unleash. Until she opens her eyes and he is bewitched.
Megan and her prep school friends are about the have their dark past come to the surface.

Not a bad story, but not overly exciting either. The end was like a Twilight Zone ending.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read. ( )

“𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥? 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦?”

Whoa. This book was unexpectedly revolting and twisted in all of the best ways. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it read like a mix of Stranger Things and American Horror Story. It is gruesome, descriptive, bizarre, otherworldly, and creative. Honestly, as repulsive and strange as this book was, I absolutely loved it.

This is a beautifully sick and disturbed story that includes multiple POVs and bounces back between the past and present. The majority of the story takes place in the mid-90s in New England. The author includes tons of nostalgic references, which worked well for me as a reader born in the late 80s. I enjoyed the time hopping and multiple perspectives. It was easy to follow, but you cannot ever trust the narrator. Or can you? I still don’t know.

It is a story of five friends with too many secrets to count. There is murder, fire, memory loss, art, unexplainable creatures, and an investigation.

I truly believe it is best to go in blind like I did, but please, please DM or check the content warnings. Because there are many. Not for the faint of heart (or stomach).

👏🏼👏🏼𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙 to those who enjoy horror with sci-fi components.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre🎭: Horror
Pace🏃🏼‍♀️: Fast
Reminds me of: Stranger Things + American Horror Story
⚠️CW⚠️: 𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐒 – please DM or check with author

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. ( )

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence my thoughts in any way.

Head Like A Hole by Andrew Van Wey is a delightfully creepy, fast paced horror novel that really pushed my 90’s nostalgia button, hard. I’m not sure how to review this book without spoiling any of the twisty surprises. I’ll just say that an unfortunate fisherman pulls something out of the water that would be better left there. Bad stuff happens. I really enjoyed this story and I look forward to reading more by this author. ( )

**LibraryThing Early Reviewers Win**

I love horror and this was a good addition to my growing collection. The story kept me going page after page. This is my first book by this author and I was glad to get a copy.

There's a mysterious dead woman dredged up in a net and some teens who are caught up in the terror ensuing. This is set in a New England town in the '90s (the best time ever!) and the setting was nostalgic as it was creepy. There were several scenes that some readers may find a bit too graphic/grossed out but keep going. The suspense was well laid out.

**All thoughts and opinions are my own.** ( )