Review by Booklist Review
When Shanna gets a job at the local movie theater, her group of close friends starts to sneak into movies without paying and to play pranks on Shanna and her boss. When they were kids, they found a mannequin, and they use it to set up an elaborate trick in the theater--but as moviegoers leave the theater, so does the mannequin. Sawyer, an outlier in the group, is convinced that Manny the mannequin is alive, a theory fueled by the fact that something is stealing the neighborhood's fertilizer. After Shanna and her family are killed in a freak accident, Sawyer is convinced that Manny is out to kill all of his friends, and that he is the only one who can save them. Jones' latest (after The Only Good Indians, 2020) is a fever dream of a horror novella, where the reader is never quite sure what is happening or whom to trust. It is suspenseful from beginning to end as Sawyer narrates the story in an approachable and engaging way, luring the reader in even as Manny comes out of the shadows.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Jones (The Only Good Indians) tiptoes the border between supernatural and psychological horror in this weird and wild novella. Sawyer Grimes is one of five bored teens who decide to pose a discarded store mannequin as though it's a real patron in a movie theater in a suburb of Dallas, Tex. They all think it's a funny prank--until Sawyer sees the mannequin walk out of the theater at the movie's end. When one of the friends is killed, along with her entire family, in a freak accident shortly thereafter, Sawyer becomes convinced that the mannequin's to blame. Believing "Manny" has morphed into a Frankenstein-style monster bent on offing its creators with no regard for who else gets hurt in the process, Sawyer decides that it's his responsibility to kill his fellow pranksters before Manny can get to them, and thus lessen the collateral damage for their families. Jones expertly expresses Sawyer's teenage attitudes and anxieties while skillfully tipping readers off to the chilling understanding that Sawyer is not the most reliable of narrators. Balancing horror and humor, this novella puts a clever modern twist on a classic monster story. Agent: BJ Robbins, BJ Robbins Literary. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
A teenage prank involving a mannequin turns deadly when the inanimate figure comes to life and goes on a killing spree. Thankfully, teenager Sawyer has a plan: In order to prevent more murders, he must kill each of his friends involved in the joke. This is an unsettling tale told entirely through Sawyer's unreliable narration, in a stream of consciousness confession as he plans and executes each murder, constantly looking over his shoulder for signs of the real monster. Readers will be simultaneously drawn to and repulsed by Sawyer, and entertained by the pervasive dark sense of humor. Award-winning author Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians) creates a suspenseful, fast-paced novella that keeps readers hooked. VERDICT A hotter voice in horror would be hard to find these days, and Graham Jones does not disappoint, delivering another masterpiece. Give to fans of slasher or serial killer tales, and those who enjoyed James Tynion's graphic novel series "Something Is Killing the Children" or Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister the Serial Killer.
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