Cody | CodysBookshelf's Reviews > The Saturday Night Ghost Club

I was skeptical when going into this book. Despite the excellent reviews it has gotten, it had two strikes against it, for me: Craig Davidson is the author behind the Nick Cutter name, and I am not a Cutter fan. As well, I am more than burned out on the ‘80s nostalgia trope that is so big in horror right now.

And to this book’s credit, the ‘voice’ sounds nothing like Cutter — and the ‘80s setting is perfectly written without coming across as cloying or overdone. This doesn’t feel like an attempt to cash in on Stranger Things hype. This relatively short work (my hardcover comes in at 245 pages) is just . . . lovely. Everything is done well, and there’s something on display for all readers: supernatural, hints of creepiness, well written prose, likable characters, surprising twists. The Saturday Night Ghost Club is an efficient, well-made book that hits all the marks it should.

What knocked down my rating from five stars to four is this book does mirror McCammon’s Boy’s Life just a little too closely at times . . . Peter Straub’s Shadowland, too. But unlike those weighty novels, this story is downright breezy, able to be read in a few sittings. So for it’s few faults, at least it does its job and gets out of the way.

This is an excellent autumnal read and it deserves all the praise it is getting. I don’t know when it will be available in the States, or the UK, but it is available from Canada. Check it out!