Review by Booklist Review
This is rural noir with a supernatural twist. A young couple, Harry and Sasha, have given up the corporate grind for rural Idaho. They think they know what they're in for, but things don't turn out quite as they planned. Harry is a former marine, which is a source of conflict between the couple, balanced in a narrative told in alternating points of view. Soon, it becomes the least of their problems as neighbors try to warn them about a malevolent spirit. Unfortunately, this invokes the harmful and tired trope of the Native American burial ground, which the authors try to mediate with one of the characters. The strength of the narrative lies more with the false sense of security that drapes itself over the couple, until a visceral game of cat and mouse ensues. Readers will constantly question who is telling the truth and who will survive as the story explodes into a gore-soaked crescendo. With its shades of Joe R. Lansdale and Hank Early, those who love vengeful ghost stories will get a kick out of Old Country.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The Query brothers debut with a propulsive horror novel based on Matt Query's viral short story, "My Wife & I Bought a Ranch," which sees a family encountering ghosts from within and without after they drop their urban lives to move into an Idaho ranch. War-traumatized Harry, his wife, Sasha, and their faithful golden retriever, Dash, move to the Teton Valley to fulfill their long-held homesteading ambitions--but they quickly realize there's something off with their new home: with the changing of each season comes a fresh set of horrors that emerge from the valley. The couple must defend against these threats or risk losing themselves to the ghosts of the Teton Valley. The Querys nicely work the worldbuilding into the action, and though the genre conventions are trod to the point of cliché, when the horror elements hit, they hit hard. There's a late twist that won't work for everyone, but the Querys stick the landing with an ending that feels earned and satisfying. Fans of Joe Hill and Paul Tremblay will want to check this out. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In their debut novel, brothers Matt and Harrison Query offer a slight variation of the haunted house story by adding a generous pinch of folk horror. The property just purchased by former U.S. Marine Harry and his wife Sasha is not haunted by a traditional ghost, but by a mountain spirit that presents itself differently with each season. The couple soon learn the specific rituals that appease this spirit and keep them safe, but the ghost's manifestations become even more dangerous and disturbing as the seasons change. What was to be Harry and Sasha's dream home, a place to be a family, becomes an inescapable nightmare. The story itself begins as a slow, uphill climb, but the terror gets turned up later, especially as the story nears its climax. Alternating between Harry's and Sasha's points of view, narrators Kiff VandenHuevel and Juliette Goglia lay bare Harry's struggles with PTSD and Sasha's inner strength. VERDICT This is basically a by-the-book ghost story set in rural Idaho, but VandenHuevel's and Goglia's depictions of Harry and Sasha are empathetic enough that listeners will be wholly invested in their story.--James Gardner
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In their debut novel, brothers Matt and Harrison Query explore the ultimate in buyer's remorse: What if the home of your dreams wants you dead? Longing to abandon their busy city lives for a quieter and more fulfilling wilderness existence, Harry and Sasha Blakemore gamble big on a remote Idaho property, sight unseen. Former Marine rifleman Harry hopes bonding with nature and his golden retriever will ease his combat trauma from Afghanistan, and Sasha wants to exchange corporate walls for wide-open spaces. With the snowcapped Tetons looming in the distance, their new homestead is everything they dreamed it would be and delivers even more than they bargained for. The couple's blissful homecoming is interrupted when their nearest neighbors tell them there's a powerful spirit living in their valley and give them a guide to the strict rituals they must observe to survive its trials. Each season of the year presents a more deadly and challenging supernatural threat. The couple embraces their new life even as their skepticism about the paranormal wanes in the face of incontrovertible proof that it exists. Their choice to endure becomes less a matter of passion than persistence as they uncover more closely guarded and dangerous secrets. They may never leave the valley again. The authors combine their talent for action-packed horror scenes with picturesque descriptions of mountain living, creating refreshing lulls to contrast with the intense moments of terror. Though all the backstory that's loaded into the beginning of the book slows the pace of the early chapters--narrated alternately by Harry and Sasha--little goes to waste. The payoff is an emotional and psychological journey that deepens the layers of this entertaining horror story. Don't forget to bring a four-legged ally; you'll need all the help you can get. Fans of Stephen King and Paul Tremblay will find this a satisfying escape into the woods. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
