Uploaded April 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Synopsis
A small-town librarian witnesses a murder at his local deli, and what had been routine sleep paralysis begins to transform into something far more disturbing. The trauma of holding a dying girl in his arms drives him out of his own body. The town he knows so well is suddenly revealed to him from a whole new perspective. Secrets are everywhere and demons fester behind closed doors.

Worst of all, he discovers a serial killer who has been preying on the area for over a century, one capable of traveling with him through his dreams.

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Review:
I finished the last page with tears welled in my eyes and goosebumps on my arms. Can a solid ending save a bad novella? No, probably not, but luckily that isn't the case here. Can a good second half save a slow first half? Yes. Yes it can. 

This was the first story of Jeffrey Ford's that I've read and I have read a lot of great things about this writer. Someone wrote he's a literary genius. So naturally I had unfairly high expectations going into this story. 

Genre
This novella could fall under the following categories:
- Paranormal Mystery (Is that a category? Well, it is now.)
- Urban Fantasy
- Horror 

Pacing
The first chapter is exciting, and definitely makes a promise, after that the entire first half of this novella, up until chapter 10 is slow, but you can tell it was a lot of setup. I wanted to dnf it, but I noticed the author putting all these set pieces in place and I wanted to see where it went. 

Here's a bad analogy, it's like if you're hungry and you go to this chef to make you a meal. You're really hungry, and you see this chef take his time and pull out all of the ingredients and start cooking, which is great, but you're hungry now. You ask for appetizer and the chef says no. You could leave and get something that's ready now, but you've already waited a while and the food is almost ready so you stick around because if you've waited this long and you might as well enjoy the meal. This novella is like that. If you wait patiently through the setup, you'll get to enjoy the meal and it's a satisfying meal. It's not that long of a wait anyways because this is a novella.  

Is the main character easy to root for?
Yes. Owen the librarian is just a good dude. The man has a good heart. He's a loner who's passionate about books so he's relatable. 

Is there a worthy Antagonist?
Yes. The antagonist is strong and significantly more violent than Owen. You're definitely concerned for Owen here.

Does it stick the landing?
Yes. All the set pieces come together in a neatly made meal.

Reasons to pick up this novella.
- If you're looking for a short paranormal mystery or horror novella. 
- If you have a fascination with stories that have to do with sleep paralysis.
- If you're into small towns with dark secrets (Who isn't?).

Reasons not to pick up this novella.
- The entire first half (Excluding the first chapter). If you're an impatient reader, you might give up on the first half. 
- If you're averse to blood and gore, there's a little, very little, but present amount of that here. 

Rating
The first half was 2.5 stars, the second half was 4.5 stars, so overall, I'd have to give this book 3.5 stars.

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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:58 Genre
02:12 Pacing
03:59 Is the protagonist easy to root for?
04:21 Is there a worthy antagonist?
04:44 Does it stick the landing?
05:25 Reasons to read this novella:
06:11 Reasons not to read this novella:
07:07 Rating