Oliver is an important business man. We know, because he is waiting on a ‘ call‘ about the ‘ deal‘. While out dancing at a nightclub, he has to take a call. The next day he has to be at the office early, and then comes home late. In another, better film, Oliver would be having an affair. Here, it’s just bad characterisation. His wife is no better.

Night Shoot is wildly entertaining. If you’re not laughing, you’re scared out of your mind. A final girl story people will be talking about for a long time.” Reader, I wasn’t prepared. The Haar contains everything we love from Sodergren’s body of work with a beautifully portrayed main character, an unexpected romance, and a fun little plot somewhat inspired by Donald Trump’s attempts at building a golf course in Scotland. The story had a good premise. After all, who isn't a wee bit afraid of a fog bank and what may lurk therein... Night Shoot was my first experience with David Sodergren. And you know what? It was a good one! In his afterword, Sodergren gushes over his love of slasher films, and explains that he set out to try to filter that appreciation into this book by “embracing the trashiness”. Well, I’m here to say he accomplished his mission. And I mean that as a compliment.So many points I could raise, but in short it’s just like a very cheesy 80’s action film, full of cliche and hammy writing. Parts were just so clunky. But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost… until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland.

His employees buy or force people to give up their property. Most of them do exactly this. But not Muriel McAuley. Her counteroffer is simple and elegant. “Double the offer and then shove it up your arse.” Muriel is a resilient and resourceful octogenarian deeply connected to the land. Her husband, Billy, has disappeared at sea and she misses him every day. Despite her age, she refuses to submit to the greedy and rich. Her unwavering determination is respectable and proves you can’t get everything by throwing money at it (although the cynic in me whispers that this is another fairy-tale element of the story). Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, and she intends to die there.The characters are 3-dimensional people-the dialog is authentic and compelling-serving to develop their personas but also give life to the scene. I found myself laughing out loud a few times reading, NIGHT SHOOT and I remember having a similar experience with his previous novel. Anyone who knows me could easily point out that when I find something I thoroughly enjoy be it books, movies, podcasts, songs, food, you name it, I become hyperfixated on it. This usually results in me eating poke bowls for three months straight and then not being able to look at fish and rice for a whole five months after, just to name a very topical example. A similar, but also kind of not similar, thing happened when I discovered horror author David Sodergren. In a collaboration article titled Spooky Book Recommendations for Halloween, I stated that David Sodergren is a horror fanatic’s author, and that will never not be true. When I found The Forgotten Island it opened my eyes to what horror fiction novels could be, and because of David, I went from owning four books to a collection that is now at least 200 horror novels strong. When I read The Forgotten Island I became hyperfixated with horror novels, and, unlike poke bowls, I did not tire of them for one second. It's set in a small Scottish seaside fishing village that's under threat of a billionare land developer. He's throwing crazy money at the residents to buy them out but eighty-four year old Muriel ain't budging. No amount he offers could entice her to give up her home, the one that her 12 years gone husband built just for her, where all her best memories reside. I didn’t like it. According to the Afterword, the author set out to write a slasher. In that respect, he definitely failed. If Night Shoot were a horror movie it would be a modern day Hammer movie with a student film crew trying to liven up hoary gothic house plots, not a slasher. Which goes to show that you can have the best instructions and the finest legos but still make a pile of crap! There are only 47 residents in the small Scottish town of Auchenmullan, where there is nothing to do, nothing to see, but a solitary grave near the top of a mountain. The faded inscription reads “Maggie Wall buried here as a witch”, but sometimes, the dead don’t stay buried...

But with the coming of the haar (coastal fog) comes a strange monster/alien that changes her life forever. It gives me Basketcase meets the old couple from The Notebook vibes (that makes zero sense, probably, but just trust me it works). Trust me when I say that you really can't wait to meet this creature. And you really should find out how a single book that made me cry has a one-eyed blobby alien creature that can change forms/shapes and also involves some (much deserved) penile mutilation. While there are some sweet moments in this book in terms of senior love and marriage, this is STILL a Sodergren novel and you can expect all the gore and blood and death.Night Shoot blends together elements of popular horror subgenres to create a narrative that felt classic, yet fresh. Crossing a haunted house story with a slasher narrative, this novel has something for just about every kind of horror reader. Sodergren’s many hours watching movies continues to pay off and he framed the scenes fantastic and injected a bit of humour at a few key spots, which upped the emotional attachments to the various characters. Every new Sodergren is my NEW favourite, as he somehow continually outdoes himself with each subsequent book. Maggie’s Grave has all of his qualities that I’ve come to know and love, such as strong yet flawed female protagonists, a real sense of place and, of course, balls to the wall, no holds-barred HORROR. And plenty of WTF moments! Just when I think Sodergren can’t possibly go any further, can’t go any darker, he does. And I love him for it.

The Haar starts as a story about a greedy American arsehole who is trying to destroy the small coastal fishing town of Witchhaven, Scotland, and slowly turns into a story about love, self-preservation, and the human condition.This plethora of Sodergren’s work made me believe that I was prepared for The Haar. After all, surely I understand what to expect from the man now? In classic horror trope fashion, NIGHT SHOOT has the perfect set up for everything to go horribly wrong. Some amateur film students go on location to film a movie at an abandoned mansion. MAGGIE'S GRAVE is the story of a small town in Scotland where everyone knows each other in a very ingrown sort of