“True Detective” meets H.P. Lovecraft in this chilling novel of murder, mystery, and slow-mounting dread from acclaimed author Mary SanGiovanni . . . It begins with a freak snowstorm in May. Hit hardest is the rural town of Colby, Connecticut. Schools and businesses are closed, powerlines are down, and police detective Jack Glazier has found a body in the snow. It appears to be the victim of a … be the victim of a bizarre ritual murder. It won’t be the last. As the snow piles up, so do the sacrifices. Cut off from the rest of the world, Glazier teams up with an occult crime specialist to uncover a secret society hiding in their midst.
The gods they worship are unthinkable. The powers they summon are unstoppable. And the things they will do to the good people of Colby are utterly, horribly unspeakable…
Praise for the novels of Mary SanGiovanni
“A feast of both visceral and existential horror.”—F. Paul Wilson on Thrall
“Filled to the brim with mounting terror.”—Gary A. Braunbeck on The Hollower
“Nightmarish and vivid.”—FearZone on The Hollower
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I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a slump with my horror reads of late, with the last few titles being more misses than hits, the bad outweighing the good. Chills is a title that I’ve been looking forward to, ever since it was previously released as a signed, limited edition hardcover from Thunderstorm under the title The Blue People. I secured a copy of that edition earlier this year, but opted to keep it pristine and instead read an advanced copy of the Kensington Books edition on Kindle.
I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a slump with my horror reads of late, with the last few titles being more misses than hits, the bad outweighing the good. Chills is a title that I’ve been looking forward to, ever since it was previously released as a signed, limited edition hardcover from Thunderstorm under the title The Blue People. I secured a copy of that edition earlier this year, but opted to keep it pristine and instead read an advanced copy of the Kensington Books edition on Kindle.
I’ve openly admitted in the past to being a sucker for winter-based horror thrills, and am always on the lookout for titles in this niche. Many thanks to John Carpenter and The Thing for this particular affectation. There’s something about blood-stained snow and monsters running wild that just really does it for me.
All of this is to say that I had certain hopes and expectations for Chills – it needed to satisfy some particular sweet spots I have for this corner of the horror genre, but it also needed to get me over that hump of disappointment I’ve been feeling lately after a couple less-than-stellar readings.
Well, Mary SanGiovanni delivered in spades. I flat-out loved Chills, and it grabbed me in a way that the last few horror books I’ve read failed to do. I did not want to put this book down, and I looked forward to my time with Colby, CT police detectives Jack Glazier, Reece Teagan, and occultist Kathy Ryan. Ryan in particular was an easy favorite in SanGiovanni’s cast of characters, and I’m hoping we get more of her in the future.
Set in a small, isolated town blanketed in a furious storm of snow and ice, unearthly monsters lurk and strike out with surprising viciousness, and a handful of dead bodies turning up around town are branded with strange, occult markings. Suffice to say, there’s a lot of bad stuff going on in Colby, and SanGiovanni not only crafts a wicked little creature feature, but one heck of a sharp cosmic horror thriller to boot. The Lovecraftian elements in Chills are very well rendered and help give a nice epic feel to this story of small-town terror. This is the type of stuff I good and truly dig.
Chills was my first title from SanGiovanni, and it most definitely will not be the last. I caught reference throughout the work to some of her other titles, most notably The Hollower, which has made its way onto my must-purchase list come payday.
Chills by Mary SanGiovanni is an intense tale about a freak snowstorm in May where the residents of a town don’t just need to worry about the amount of snow piling up, but the dangerous things that are alive in the snow as well… and that’s not even the worst of it.
I highly recommend checking this one out if you enjoy stories centered around amazing characters that is also filled with intense violence, a very chilling atmosphere, and super terrifying creatures!
Whew, I am so glad that I read this on a hot June day! The title of this one is so perfect, as I totally had chills while reading this!
This book is down right creepy, especially if it is snowing where you are. The book takes place in Colby, Connecticut during a freak snowstorm in May. Detective Jack Glazier has found a body in the snow. Unfortunately this will be just one of many. The murder seems to be occult related so Kathy Ryan, an occult specialist is called in.
The snowstorm has the whole town cut off. Businesses and schools are all closed. Power and phone lines are down. As the snow rises so does the body count. The detectives and Kathy Ryan discover that the snow and the murders are related to a secret society and a ritual they are creating to bring in their powerful Gods to take over. The snow takes form as people and creatures that are capable of killing, but how do you kill snow. Kathy finds a way to do a ritual of her own in order to close the door that the Occult is opening. If she can stay alive long enough.
This story had me biting my nails at times. It is a toss up if that was from the story Mary Sangiovanni has written or if Chris Abell’s narration caused it. The story was awesome and Chris Abell has done a great job of bringing it to life in the audiobook.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I suppose I should start this review by confessing that I’m not a huge fan of cosmic horror. So why then did I go ahead and read a cosmic horror novel? I think two reasons. First, I had recently read Stephen King’s short story “N.” and liked it. I knew this would be different, but I was feeling lucky. Second, I like SanGiovanni’s writing. I’m not always a fan of the horror she presents but her writing and development and storytelling are all good. I want to like her more but just cannot quite get pulled into the story as much as I want or hope.
In CHILLS, the town of Colby, Connecticut is hit be a freak snowstorm in May. Schools and businesses are closing due to the storm but Detective Jack Glazier has a murder that needs to be investigated. A murder with ritualistic aspects. This means bringing in Kathy Ryan, a paranormal detective/investigator. In short order, the snowstorm is revealed to have monsters hiding within the snow flurries. Kathy, Jack, and the rest of Jack’s team amazingly take it in stride as they hunt to determine the cause before things get worse.
This book is the first of at least four Kathy Ryan books. I’m not sure if she has appeared elsewhere in SanGiovanni’s mythos but enough history was revealed about the character that she could have. There were numerous references to previous cases and monsters that she faced down. More than enough to establish her as a well-developed character. The four main characters are all well-developed. The problem for me was that no one else in the book seemed to be. Well, I will add Kathy Ryan’s brother but that’s it. As the creatures went around town killing people, there was no real scare for me. The victims were introduced with the purpose of being killed. The main characters were too well-developed to be killed. The suspense of who lives and who dies was missing. I did enjoy the magical elements mixed into a cosmic horror story. It was a nice way of adding some control into a situation where unknown horrors released through dimensional portals generally means no controls. While I enjoyed the story, I don’t think I’m going to be hunting down the next few books about Kathy Ryan any time soon. As I mentioned above, I’m not a huge cosmic horror fan. I keep trying it to see if I can find one I like or if my tastes have changed. Instead, I find that the novel was a good book, well-written, just not really for me. I know that I’ll try again at some point but until then, I’ll stick with other types of horror.
The main theme in this disquieting exploit, involves a small town that is forced to face unspeakable horrors from another dimension. The author brings a relentless tone of mystery shrouded in terror that begins and ends with a head on collision with the unknown. This Mary SanGiovanni novel administers a creepy occult experience providing shades of Lovecraftian tones that the reader is sure to enjoy.
An excellent but terrifyingly scary good read!
I really enjoyed the book. It leaves you on the edge of your seat.
CHILLS is the perfect title for this story … because you will have the chills all the way through.
Book just wasn’t for me
I would give it -1 star if I could.
It read like a SyFy Movie of the Week. Best in audiobook.
Great scenes, and story line. Enjoyed very much.
Nice and Creepy. Sort of reminded me of ‘The Mist’ by Stephen King due to the monster factor.
Didn’t finish as I am not a Sci-Fi fan. Really got too far out there for my taste.
This book the little I read about it, was horrible and I don’t think it should be out there.
Too predictanle, trite, and silly. I mean, really, the devil writes a spell code in ancient celtic, and the detective on the case just happens to be fluent in ancient celtic. The book is full of stuff like this.
A good quick read of monsters, old gods, and a helpless town