Review – The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

Posted August 11, 2021 by Carole in Reviews / 12 Comments

Review – The Book of Accidents by Chuck WendigThe Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Published by Random House Publishing Group on July 20, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Horror, Supernatural, Thrillers
Pages: 544
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher
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four-stars

A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers.

Long ago, Nathan Graves lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened in that house.

Long ago, Maddie Graves was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.

Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.

Now Nate and Maddie are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.

And now what happened long ago is happening again…and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own, and a taste for dark magic.

This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this fight: their love for each other.

What a book! I decided to read this book after hearing some good things about it. It had been a while since I last read horror so I was more than ready to dive into this story. The story started out tame enough but before long things become very intense and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I am so glad that I decided to give this book a read.

When Nate’s dying father offers to sell him his childhood home for a single dollar, he is hesitant but his wife, Maddie, and son, Oliver, convince him that it is the right move. It doesn’t take long before the family starts to see some strange things but they like their new neighbor, Jed, and Oliver has made friends, including an older boy named Jake. Before long, the family is in grave danger, and deciding who they can trust proves to be difficult.

This book was full of surprises. I quickly found that anything was possible and it became impossible to guess what might happen next so I just buckled up and enjoyed the ride. I loved that the book kept me guessing and I enjoyed the fact that there was plenty of action to keep the story moving forward. This was a big story with a lot of layers and I enjoyed seeing everything start to come together as I worked my way through the book. I really liked Nate, Maddie, and Oliver so it was easy to want to see things work out for them.

I would recommend this book to others. This was a really well-done story where almost anything could and sometimes did happen. I should mention that there is a fair amount of violence that may not work for all readers. I definitely plan to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley.

12 responses to “Review – The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

  1. I’ve seen that others really enjoyed this one, too, but you have me wishing that I could handle horror the way you describe that anything and everything could happen in this one. Loved the review, Carole!

  2. Great review you have here of this one here Carole. A book that is full of surprises is what is so much fun. Glad it worked out so well for you.

    Happy Reading.

  3. I can’t wait to get to this one. I have heard a lot of good things about this book. Glad to see you enjoyed it as well.

  4. I’ve seen several reviews for this book that were good. I haven’t tried this author, but have always wanted to. I think I’m going to make this my first one. 🙂 Wonderful review.

  5. Oh this is intriguing though I’m not much of a horror reader! I think I’m going to keep an eye out for this one though.