3 stars
A delightfully eerie concept. After hitting rock bottom, Evelyn McKinnon takes a job as a radio host in her childhood hometown. Seems simple enough. But she soon learns there is more to 104.6 FM than she originally thought. Along with her cohost Daniel, she must navigate the mysterious forest, warn the town of impending fog, and put up with the creepy bird who hangs out outside the window – all while trying to keep her sanity in tact.
This book started off so good. I was really hooked by the narrative. Evelyn never really grew on me as a narrator, but the events were intriguing. Some cool body horror moments. Intrigued by the setting and the overall mysterious circumstances of the town.
Unfortunately, the book just never really built. It doesn’t quite work in a novel format. It’s more like little episodes put together (like an amalgamate actually), which become repetitive after a while. Because of this, tension doesn’t really have a chance to build, leaving the horror moments a bit flat. It has some truly great moments but they don’t pack the same punch in the longer format.
Didn’t particularly like the characters. Daniel was okay, but no one really had a district character or voice beyond being snarky.
Deals with some really heavy topics like trauma, substance abuse, and suicide attempts without really delving into them. They’re really just plot devices in the story.
Still, it had some really interesting bits in it. It definitely needed some tightening but it was a really cool concept. Interested enough that I will probably read the second book at some point.