Book Review: What Doesn’t Kill You by Ken Brosky
Title: What Doesn’t Kill You
Author: Ken Brosky
Release date: September 5, 2023
Huge thanks to Ken for sending me an Advanced Copy of this one!
From the get go, this synopsis had me intrigued. An imminent blizzard. A small town under siege. Something wandered within the snow.
Literally, sign me up for every creature-feature ever, set in a small town and a blizzard.
Diving in, I wanted to see what personal spin Brosky was going to add to this, what his own unique take would be and I was pleasantly surprised to find the layers he’d created had me in his clutches from the first page.
What I liked: The story takes place in the small town of Seven Sisters. Val and Danny have lived their entire lives in the small town. Everything is going ok. There’s some drama, but nothing they can’t handle. That is, until a former resident returns, a snow storm arrives and all hell breaks loose.
Brosky does a great job of intertwining the main narrative with the subplots, of showing the small town ‘Butterfly Effect,’ where when one thing happens, the ripple effect of other occurrences takes place. We see how the discovery of one body throws everyone into panic mode and how everyone is suddenly on edge and a suspect.
As the night goes on and more carnage ensues, we see the survival aspect of some kick in, even as what’s been brought to town begins to take over and change those affected.
The ending was a blast, tons of ripping and shredding and tied up things really well.
What I didn’t like: For whatever reason, I simply didn’t connect with a single character. Don’t get me wrong, none of them felt flat or un-developed or anything, I simply just didn’t connect and didn’t care about any of them throughout. This made for no emotional impact of any deaths on my end. The usual beats that should’ve made for the highs and lows just weren’t there, and honestly, I have no idea why.
Why you should buy this: If you’re looking for a fast-paced, snow-bound, creature-feature where total chaos is the main item on the chef’s menu, look no further. Brosky really created a fun, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, one I think a lot of readers will really enjoy!
3.5/5
