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My Friend Nick
Emily Westman, seven years old, and her family have just moved to the small town of Dalton.
Only a few days after their move, her father must leave on a business trip, one intended to continue his own father's legacy and secure his family's new future.
Emily's mother, Debbie, is left to take care of her daughter alone, while struggling to overcome her traumatic past. Together, she and Emily try to adjust to their new surroundings.
But their situation becomes perilous when Emily meets a local boy who is more sinister than anyone she's ever encountered. Slowly, she starts to fear for her family's safety.
Emily begins to if some people are born good, what does that mean for those who are not?
Only a few days after their move, her father must leave on a business trip, one intended to continue his own father's legacy and secure his family's new future.
Emily's mother, Debbie, is left to take care of her daughter alone, while struggling to overcome her traumatic past. Together, she and Emily try to adjust to their new surroundings.
But their situation becomes perilous when Emily meets a local boy who is more sinister than anyone she's ever encountered. Slowly, she starts to fear for her family's safety.
Emily begins to if some people are born good, what does that mean for those who are not?
- GenresHorror
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 25, 2019
5 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Hood
3 books28 followersJoseph Hood was born in India, but raised in the United States. He has lived in Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, and Connecticut. He attended the University of Utah where he studied Anthropology and Psychology.
Aside from writing scary stories, he enjoys spending time outdoors, playing the guitar, reading, playing video games, and watching movies. He enjoys both fiction and non-fiction, ranging from the works of Stephen King and Cormac McCarthy to Deborah Blum and Jared Diamond.
His 2020 suspense-thriller novel "The Bride of Warren" is now available on Amazon Kindle and Paperback. As well as his debut horror novel "My Friend Nick."
Link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LC29Z7B
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1700994204
Follow Hood on Instagram for updates on upcoming projects, original artwork, and more!
https://www.instagram.com/jhood.author/
Aside from writing scary stories, he enjoys spending time outdoors, playing the guitar, reading, playing video games, and watching movies. He enjoys both fiction and non-fiction, ranging from the works of Stephen King and Cormac McCarthy to Deborah Blum and Jared Diamond.
His 2020 suspense-thriller novel "The Bride of Warren" is now available on Amazon Kindle and Paperback. As well as his debut horror novel "My Friend Nick."
Link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LC29Z7B
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1700994204
Follow Hood on Instagram for updates on upcoming projects, original artwork, and more!
https://www.instagram.com/jhood.author/
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 13, 2020
My Friend Nick's strength lies in it's familiarity and setting. It is a strong psychological portrait of not just a broken family but also of the nature of manipulative and dangerous sociopaths. Hood goes into very strong and vivid detail of the psychological and emotional aspects of the characters. At no point do they feel fake or phony, but believable people. This also plays into the strength of relatability--these are situations that regularly occur. I also appreciated the novel's setting not in the present, in a rural area of America. It harkens back to a time when American culture was much more trusting and naive of the people around them--a time when people like John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy thrived--putting on a friendly face and hiding their true nature in their crawlspaces. It is violent, but there are touches of black humor seen throughout, which makes it more accessible to people who are prone to being put off by gore.
A strong debut. Looking forward to another book from this author.
A strong debut. Looking forward to another book from this author.
June 8, 2021
In My Friend Nick, we join the Westmans in their move to the rural town of Dalton — where the surface calm doesn’t at first reflect the depths of the town’s dark backwater.
“The yellow glow of the sun clung to the top of the giant field that surrounded their property. As it was reflected back, it cast thin threads of golden light In all directions, distorting the rows of crops and leaving only the likeness of an electric wave in a ever-stirring, endless ocean.”
A relatable tribe of three, John, Debbie and daughter Emily compose a family you want to learn more about right off the bat. Their scenario — an uprooted family attempting life elsewhere — and the setting — sprawling privacy courtesy of cornfields — offers a scenic, inviting getaway for most Readers.
“Emily had never seen anything like it. Nothing so boundless and alive. Unlike the peaceful waves of the ocean. It danced and swayed in curious and suspicious ways in the wind. The tall stalks were abstract, silent, prickly, and stood as relentless as undead soldiers.”
Immediately after the move, father John is summoned for work out of town, leaving alone mother Debbie in a foreign place to care for seven-year-old Emily, who is having her own tough time adjusting to her family’s transplant . . . if not now dealing with new fears brought about by her brand new environment . . . if not caused by a hair-raising new neighbor by the name of Nick.
“It was standing in between the tall skinny shapes, a small black figure hiding among the fading green and tan hues surrounding it. Emily gasped and stood up in her chair, knocking it over. Suddenly she knelt down behind the desk for several seconds and held her breath, turning away from the window.”
Mr. Hood has an extremely acute eye in his observations of the simplest human behaviors. All of his scenes, from the climactic to the most mundane of character interactions, are incredibly well-realized. This being a character-driven story only amplifies the impact potential of these moments, and they are plentiful throughout the tale.
“‘Emily. Your dad is not going to be home until next week. I’m afraid that there’s nothing I can do about that. I wish I could but life,’ Debbie paused, trying to decide if now was the time for simple explanations of life lessons, ‘life just goes that way sometimes.’ She sat up firmly, wondering why she’d settled for something so unmemorable, life just goes that way sometimes. It wasn’t something you’d put on a poster or cheer at a parade, or a good name for a book on parenting.”
In boxing, the style makes the fighter. Whereas in fiction, the style makes the Writer. And it is the psychological style of writing that makes this book very enjoyable. When the action is light, the interactions are realized just right. Many lines in the prose are laced with subtle humor that is bound to cause laughing fits for any parent, if not any Reader who enjoys a timely chuckle.
Contrasting the comedic relief quite well, however, is a sound understanding on the Author’s part of when it’s time to get serious. In fact, you can feel the tension tightening when the humor slowly and subtly begins to fade as the narrative bottlenecks toward its climax. Furthermore, the Author knows how the human psyche works when up against adversity, and this cerebral approach intensifies virtually all aspects explored.
Stephen King’s greatest storytelling strength in my estimation is his ability to create characters that we recognize. Whether or not we can relate to them, or even like them, is not the point — the character recognition is the point, if not a many-barbed hook that snares us and reels us in with ease almost every time. I would argue strongly in a court of law that Mr. Hood’s greatest strength in the case of My Friend Nick is his ability to create characters that we not only recognize, but characters whose fates we care about because of the layered depth bestowed upon them.
This novel deals deftly with addiction, death, loss of loved ones, and the psychological toll such losses can take, and how they can manifest in later trials of everyday life — but perhaps most importantly, this book is about how we choose to respond to tragic hands of fate dealt to us after already dealing with plenty of reasons to consider self-destruction.
Looking back on the tale in its totality, in hindsight seeing the devastation wrought upon this family from backstory to end-of-book, I can’t help but wish the Westmans might’ve consulted specialists like Ed and Lorraine Warren — if not professionals of their spirit-seeking ilk, to investigate whether darker forces were at work against the Westmans. I mean, really, their collective hands of fate before we ever even meet them are simply heartbreaking.
On the surface, My Friend Nick is a mind-creeper of a story that crawls in the Reader’s psyche with well-observed character behaviors and interactions. While at its core, the book is a sobering reminder that even when we think that things can’t get worse, unexpected tragedy might only be a neighbor’s reach away.
“The yellow glow of the sun clung to the top of the giant field that surrounded their property. As it was reflected back, it cast thin threads of golden light In all directions, distorting the rows of crops and leaving only the likeness of an electric wave in a ever-stirring, endless ocean.”
A relatable tribe of three, John, Debbie and daughter Emily compose a family you want to learn more about right off the bat. Their scenario — an uprooted family attempting life elsewhere — and the setting — sprawling privacy courtesy of cornfields — offers a scenic, inviting getaway for most Readers.
“Emily had never seen anything like it. Nothing so boundless and alive. Unlike the peaceful waves of the ocean. It danced and swayed in curious and suspicious ways in the wind. The tall stalks were abstract, silent, prickly, and stood as relentless as undead soldiers.”
Immediately after the move, father John is summoned for work out of town, leaving alone mother Debbie in a foreign place to care for seven-year-old Emily, who is having her own tough time adjusting to her family’s transplant . . . if not now dealing with new fears brought about by her brand new environment . . . if not caused by a hair-raising new neighbor by the name of Nick.
“It was standing in between the tall skinny shapes, a small black figure hiding among the fading green and tan hues surrounding it. Emily gasped and stood up in her chair, knocking it over. Suddenly she knelt down behind the desk for several seconds and held her breath, turning away from the window.”
Mr. Hood has an extremely acute eye in his observations of the simplest human behaviors. All of his scenes, from the climactic to the most mundane of character interactions, are incredibly well-realized. This being a character-driven story only amplifies the impact potential of these moments, and they are plentiful throughout the tale.
“‘Emily. Your dad is not going to be home until next week. I’m afraid that there’s nothing I can do about that. I wish I could but life,’ Debbie paused, trying to decide if now was the time for simple explanations of life lessons, ‘life just goes that way sometimes.’ She sat up firmly, wondering why she’d settled for something so unmemorable, life just goes that way sometimes. It wasn’t something you’d put on a poster or cheer at a parade, or a good name for a book on parenting.”
In boxing, the style makes the fighter. Whereas in fiction, the style makes the Writer. And it is the psychological style of writing that makes this book very enjoyable. When the action is light, the interactions are realized just right. Many lines in the prose are laced with subtle humor that is bound to cause laughing fits for any parent, if not any Reader who enjoys a timely chuckle.
Contrasting the comedic relief quite well, however, is a sound understanding on the Author’s part of when it’s time to get serious. In fact, you can feel the tension tightening when the humor slowly and subtly begins to fade as the narrative bottlenecks toward its climax. Furthermore, the Author knows how the human psyche works when up against adversity, and this cerebral approach intensifies virtually all aspects explored.
Stephen King’s greatest storytelling strength in my estimation is his ability to create characters that we recognize. Whether or not we can relate to them, or even like them, is not the point — the character recognition is the point, if not a many-barbed hook that snares us and reels us in with ease almost every time. I would argue strongly in a court of law that Mr. Hood’s greatest strength in the case of My Friend Nick is his ability to create characters that we not only recognize, but characters whose fates we care about because of the layered depth bestowed upon them.
This novel deals deftly with addiction, death, loss of loved ones, and the psychological toll such losses can take, and how they can manifest in later trials of everyday life — but perhaps most importantly, this book is about how we choose to respond to tragic hands of fate dealt to us after already dealing with plenty of reasons to consider self-destruction.
Looking back on the tale in its totality, in hindsight seeing the devastation wrought upon this family from backstory to end-of-book, I can’t help but wish the Westmans might’ve consulted specialists like Ed and Lorraine Warren — if not professionals of their spirit-seeking ilk, to investigate whether darker forces were at work against the Westmans. I mean, really, their collective hands of fate before we ever even meet them are simply heartbreaking.
On the surface, My Friend Nick is a mind-creeper of a story that crawls in the Reader’s psyche with well-observed character behaviors and interactions. While at its core, the book is a sobering reminder that even when we think that things can’t get worse, unexpected tragedy might only be a neighbor’s reach away.
October 23, 2021
My Friend Nick is not your typical novel - it is a slow burn book that takes its time weaving through the lives of a handful of characters, focusing mostly on Debbie and her young daughter, Emily. Debbie has had a rocky past, and has moved into a new home away from the big city, but is left alone while her husband, John, has to wrap up some work out of town.
We see the divide between Debbie and Emily quite clearly - the two do not connect, and Emily's resistance to Debbie is shown very realistically. It allows readers to understand why Emily distances herself, and why Debbie ends up making the choices that she does.
I felt a slight disconnect between this story, though. I wasn't sure what the angle was, and so I didn't feel truly connected to the story or the characters.
The ending was really well done, though, and I think it wrapped up the book very nicely.
3.5 Rounded Up
We see the divide between Debbie and Emily quite clearly - the two do not connect, and Emily's resistance to Debbie is shown very realistically. It allows readers to understand why Emily distances herself, and why Debbie ends up making the choices that she does.
I felt a slight disconnect between this story, though. I wasn't sure what the angle was, and so I didn't feel truly connected to the story or the characters.
The ending was really well done, though, and I think it wrapped up the book very nicely.
3.5 Rounded Up
February 7, 2020
All I could do at first was give this 5 stars.
For a week after finishing this book all I could do was sit back, close my eyes and think to my self. What the fuck just happened?
The author does not believe in the supernatural. The author believes in real life, bad people, and bad luck.
Do not read this book if you enjoy comfort.
For a week after finishing this book all I could do was sit back, close my eyes and think to my self. What the fuck just happened?
The author does not believe in the supernatural. The author believes in real life, bad people, and bad luck.
Do not read this book if you enjoy comfort.
January 17, 2020
As a person who enjoys character-driven stories, I found this novel to be a goldmine with unique quirks and personalities from each character. Even the family cat, Birdie, seemed to have a personality of her own that made her lovable.
Nick Benson, the character whom the book is named after, is never quite fully explained, which I think helps add to the narrative's unsettling, suspenseful ambiance. Fair warning to animal lovers like myself: he enjoys tormenting and killing animals, but it's fortunately never described in a graphic way. Even so, you might want to gloss over those bits if you're bothered by that sort of thing!
Overall, this is a character-driven, unsettling novel, and if you love a good horror story, you should check it out! The ending will surely stick with you for a while. I'm certainly still processing everything!
Nick Benson, the character whom the book is named after, is never quite fully explained, which I think helps add to the narrative's unsettling, suspenseful ambiance. Fair warning to animal lovers like myself: he enjoys tormenting and killing animals, but it's fortunately never described in a graphic way. Even so, you might want to gloss over those bits if you're bothered by that sort of thing!
Overall, this is a character-driven, unsettling novel, and if you love a good horror story, you should check it out! The ending will surely stick with you for a while. I'm certainly still processing everything!
January 5, 2020
Amazing
It makes you wonder, right from the Beginning what’s going to happen. I felt connected to the characters. Laughed, cried, grieved, loved. Loved the whole thing beginning to end!
It makes you wonder, right from the Beginning what’s going to happen. I felt connected to the characters. Laughed, cried, grieved, loved. Loved the whole thing beginning to end!
February 11, 2020
This is a very impressive debut novel that does triple duty. It's a family drama, it's a suspense/thriller, it's a character study of a mother and daughter relationship, and, added to all that, it is an interesting portrait of a town. Reviewing this is hampered by my desire not to spoil any of the delicate threads that hold it together. I'm more enthusiastic about My Friend Nick than what follows might indicate for that reason.
The family at the center of this drama is in a serious state of entropy. The mother, left alone to cope with her rebellious daughter, is coming apart at the seams. The father, away on business, is unaware--because the wife is keeping secrets--of how bad things are. The young girl, restless, resentful, and missing her father, is clearly going to be a centrifical problem from page one. One of the interesting plot devices concerning the daughter is that expectations are built in the reader that the little girl has enough spunk to cope with whatever bad thing is around the next corner; that idea is completely upended by the author when the little girl's excessive spunk turns out to be a major causative factor in the chain of problems that follow.
This is not a book where a lot happens until the slope up to the final act, but make no mistake, there is not a dull moment. The pace of the story is a great advantage when so much of the interesting detail is invested in the traumatic past of the mother and the father. In other words, a lot has already happened previously. Clearly, knowing so much about the backstory, this is a family to which victimization is no stranger. Genetically, the daughter is primed to take on any monster hiding in the neighboring cornfield. This she does, with unexpected results. Here's where I have to hold back on detail and allow the book to do its own talking.
The measured pace allows the author to display his talent at character and scene development. The town seems very real and the populace is enjoyably quirky. The little girl's adventures beyond her allowed perimeter are very nicely and realistically done. The antagonist is very creepy and very believable. One of the great things the author adds to the pot is that the history of the central family is troubled, the history of the town is troubled, and the history of the creepy, evil antagonist's family is troubled. This is a scenario where things are going to take a dark turn because that's the only outcome possible with such histories in constellation.
I am not going to tell you more than the following, which are logical conclusions any reader might come to: the mother's psychological problems are bound to increase in the absence of her husband, the girl's rebelliousness is bound to increase in the absence of her father, and the antagonist's socio/psychopathic behavior is bound to escalate in the absence of anyone to stop it.
If you like studies of small-town good/evil (recalling some aspects of In Cold Blood) this is a good place to get an unsettling read. Recommended for excellence in this genre.
The family at the center of this drama is in a serious state of entropy. The mother, left alone to cope with her rebellious daughter, is coming apart at the seams. The father, away on business, is unaware--because the wife is keeping secrets--of how bad things are. The young girl, restless, resentful, and missing her father, is clearly going to be a centrifical problem from page one. One of the interesting plot devices concerning the daughter is that expectations are built in the reader that the little girl has enough spunk to cope with whatever bad thing is around the next corner; that idea is completely upended by the author when the little girl's excessive spunk turns out to be a major causative factor in the chain of problems that follow.
This is not a book where a lot happens until the slope up to the final act, but make no mistake, there is not a dull moment. The pace of the story is a great advantage when so much of the interesting detail is invested in the traumatic past of the mother and the father. In other words, a lot has already happened previously. Clearly, knowing so much about the backstory, this is a family to which victimization is no stranger. Genetically, the daughter is primed to take on any monster hiding in the neighboring cornfield. This she does, with unexpected results. Here's where I have to hold back on detail and allow the book to do its own talking.
The measured pace allows the author to display his talent at character and scene development. The town seems very real and the populace is enjoyably quirky. The little girl's adventures beyond her allowed perimeter are very nicely and realistically done. The antagonist is very creepy and very believable. One of the great things the author adds to the pot is that the history of the central family is troubled, the history of the town is troubled, and the history of the creepy, evil antagonist's family is troubled. This is a scenario where things are going to take a dark turn because that's the only outcome possible with such histories in constellation.
I am not going to tell you more than the following, which are logical conclusions any reader might come to: the mother's psychological problems are bound to increase in the absence of her husband, the girl's rebelliousness is bound to increase in the absence of her father, and the antagonist's socio/psychopathic behavior is bound to escalate in the absence of anyone to stop it.
If you like studies of small-town good/evil (recalling some aspects of In Cold Blood) this is a good place to get an unsettling read. Recommended for excellence in this genre.
October 2, 2021
A DylanTheDreamer Book Review
"My Friend Nick" by Joseph Hood ⬇️
I enjoyed the author's ability to make me feel whatever he wanted me to feel. If a character was likable or even a breath of fresh air... I genuinely liked them. But when another character was being creepy, annoying, scary, or pretty often in this novel... not understanding of someone's boundaries, I felt as I should have. I found myself annoyed by the pushy neighbors and their church activities. Weird ass small town.
The style of Hood's writing could be comparable to Stephen King's signature style of descriptive writing. Everything can be visualized, felt, and understood. What I'm trying to say is this; Joseph Hood was in COMPLETE CONTROL as an author with "My Friend Nick". Love or hate this novel, one has to respect the author's ability to have their vision executed. The writing was intelligent!
If I had critiques, I'd imagine they would be things the author was aware of before the book was written. I can tell this was an intentional vision executed! I saw it as a slow burn, I didn't always like the little girl the story was centered around, and as Stephen King famously does, it's a lot of describing everything felt and occurring. More of that than actual dialogue. But when there was dialogue, it was PERFECTLY EXECUTED!
The ending was VERY SURPRISING and it was above and beyond what I hoped to read in horror. He went there, Joseph Hood really went there! I reflect on this and it was real, everything about it. "The Bride Of Warren" is another book from this author and I felt that was absolutely incredible! Since it comes after this novel, I feel he would take this as a compliment... I enjoyed that novel a little bit more than this one. That's improvement from an already well executed writing talent! Check that out too!
"My Friend Nick" by Joseph Hood ⬇️
I enjoyed the author's ability to make me feel whatever he wanted me to feel. If a character was likable or even a breath of fresh air... I genuinely liked them. But when another character was being creepy, annoying, scary, or pretty often in this novel... not understanding of someone's boundaries, I felt as I should have. I found myself annoyed by the pushy neighbors and their church activities. Weird ass small town.
The style of Hood's writing could be comparable to Stephen King's signature style of descriptive writing. Everything can be visualized, felt, and understood. What I'm trying to say is this; Joseph Hood was in COMPLETE CONTROL as an author with "My Friend Nick". Love or hate this novel, one has to respect the author's ability to have their vision executed. The writing was intelligent!
If I had critiques, I'd imagine they would be things the author was aware of before the book was written. I can tell this was an intentional vision executed! I saw it as a slow burn, I didn't always like the little girl the story was centered around, and as Stephen King famously does, it's a lot of describing everything felt and occurring. More of that than actual dialogue. But when there was dialogue, it was PERFECTLY EXECUTED!
The ending was VERY SURPRISING and it was above and beyond what I hoped to read in horror. He went there, Joseph Hood really went there! I reflect on this and it was real, everything about it. "The Bride Of Warren" is another book from this author and I felt that was absolutely incredible! Since it comes after this novel, I feel he would take this as a compliment... I enjoyed that novel a little bit more than this one. That's improvement from an already well executed writing talent! Check that out too!
May 27, 2020
This book was a great read that thankfully got the tension going early. In horror stories they have breaks from the mundane that begin the fear and thankfully for me that started early in the book, though the non horror elements of this horror story were also very good. But that early break from the mundane served to hook me into the story, which was not too overt mind you though that was to its benefit. The personal struggle of one of the characters helped set a tone for the story which the ending most certainly was in keeping with. One of the things I think it did well was how it made me question whether it was a supernatural story or not, though I have to admit that I general am inclined towards believing the occult option in stories. But the story certainly kept me intrigued for the whole story. I would also just like to praise the layout, the chapters were divided by date with it then being broken up further and that is what I want to praise, simply the fact that it was split up in such a manner as to make that clear which goes back to showing how professionally this horror story was written. But of all horror novels this one is certainly worth your time.
June 22, 2021
PAGE TURNER ALERT !!!
My Friend Nick is tragic and twisted tale just how I like my horror novels to read. The story is set in the year 1988 of a family The Weston’s which moved to the small town of Dalton, shortly after their move the father was sent off on a business trip leaving mom and daughter to explore and adjust to their new neighborhood. There daughter Emily was relatable to me in many of the scenarios right from the very beginning (especially when it came to being picky about her food). The mother Debbie a recovering alcoholic facing some demons and the loss of her mother. The character buildups were so good! I won't give too much away since you need to read this one but the ending through me for a loop and I didn’t expect the outcome at all! I like that from books not what you always expect as an ending. Get your hands on this one! I saw in many reviews Joseph Hood compared to the great Stephen King and I couldn’t agree more with this statement his writing was phenomenal and I can’t wait to read his second book: The Bride of Warren.
My Friend Nick is tragic and twisted tale just how I like my horror novels to read. The story is set in the year 1988 of a family The Weston’s which moved to the small town of Dalton, shortly after their move the father was sent off on a business trip leaving mom and daughter to explore and adjust to their new neighborhood. There daughter Emily was relatable to me in many of the scenarios right from the very beginning (especially when it came to being picky about her food). The mother Debbie a recovering alcoholic facing some demons and the loss of her mother. The character buildups were so good! I won't give too much away since you need to read this one but the ending through me for a loop and I didn’t expect the outcome at all! I like that from books not what you always expect as an ending. Get your hands on this one! I saw in many reviews Joseph Hood compared to the great Stephen King and I couldn’t agree more with this statement his writing was phenomenal and I can’t wait to read his second book: The Bride of Warren.
April 26, 2021
This was a read that pulled me in from the start. Set in 1988, the Westman family has moved to remote Dalton. But before they can settle, loving husband and father, John, has to go on a business trip, related to the reason for the move. Then it is made apparent that, Debora is fighting demons, leaving mother and daughter, Emily counting the days until John's return.
This is when the you-know-what-hits-the-fan and Emily is thrown into a scary and foreign landscape with little to no regard from her mother.
I ROOTED for this family, bookstagram friends. It felt reminiscent to a Stephen King novel, where you can find yourself siding with the characters that have edges, for who in real life is smooth and without flaws? I wanted the best and the turbulence was cranked up. You will have to read for yourself to see the resolution here! Also I was thrilled to know that The Bride of Warren, is set in the same universe!
This is when the you-know-what-hits-the-fan and Emily is thrown into a scary and foreign landscape with little to no regard from her mother.
I ROOTED for this family, bookstagram friends. It felt reminiscent to a Stephen King novel, where you can find yourself siding with the characters that have edges, for who in real life is smooth and without flaws? I wanted the best and the turbulence was cranked up. You will have to read for yourself to see the resolution here! Also I was thrilled to know that The Bride of Warren, is set in the same universe!
September 23, 2021
This is a slow burn psychological thriller about addiction, death, abuse and the loss of loved ones. It's about struggles, real struggles, that we face every day and how we choose to deal with those. It's about the real monsters.
This character driven story is well-written with eerie descriptions that kept me turning those pages. I love that the characters feel real and that they are recognizable. Nick is a great character. He is never explained which helps with the unsettling feeling. The switching between characters is done really good and I had no problem keeping up with who's POV it was.
If you love realistic horror you should check this tragic and unsettling story out. Keep reading until the very end because the ending will punch you in the guts.
This character driven story is well-written with eerie descriptions that kept me turning those pages. I love that the characters feel real and that they are recognizable. Nick is a great character. He is never explained which helps with the unsettling feeling. The switching between characters is done really good and I had no problem keeping up with who's POV it was.
If you love realistic horror you should check this tragic and unsettling story out. Keep reading until the very end because the ending will punch you in the guts.
October 10, 2020
5 stars (wish I could give more) for this debut novel by Joseph Hood. This book nicely depicts a believable small southern town in 1980’s USA, with its quirky characters, each so distinctly set apart from one another; the eerily detailed descriptions of the landscape foreshadowing what is to come; the thrilling scenes that are written so well they left me shocked and reeling from it all by the end. I would recommend reading this book if you like thrillers - comparable to Stephen King - and if you’re okay with gory content, this book is for you!
November 18, 2020
A slow burn psychological thriller, Hood’s debut novel, “My Friend Nick”, is as ambitious as it is polarizing. Hood prioritizes characterization early, introducing the main characters and their individual torments across the novels first half before unraveling the troubled past of the small town of Dalton. Tension and atmosphere are adequately utilized. The psychological well being of the Westman family offers substance, exploring themes such as substance abuse, parental loss and mental illness.
June 18, 2021
What a ride!
We follow the Westmans as they try to adjust to their new life in a small town. John has to leave for work, leaving Debbie and Emily to fend for themselves in this new world.
Debbie fights and struggles with her sobriety.
Emily meets a strange local child. The more she gets to know him the more concern she grows about her family!
The author does a great job Keeping you wanting to read more and more.
And that ending! Whew!
We follow the Westmans as they try to adjust to their new life in a small town. John has to leave for work, leaving Debbie and Emily to fend for themselves in this new world.
Debbie fights and struggles with her sobriety.
Emily meets a strange local child. The more she gets to know him the more concern she grows about her family!
The author does a great job Keeping you wanting to read more and more.
And that ending! Whew!
October 16, 2021
A good horror novel
Nick isn't the kind of friend you want to spend time with. Pets go missing, strange accidents happen, and sometimes you might find your bedroom full of snakes. As bad as Nick is, though, the most horrifying element of My Friend Nick is how one character spirals out of control when they should be protecting their family from the creep kid who lives on the other side of the cornfield.
Nick isn't the kind of friend you want to spend time with. Pets go missing, strange accidents happen, and sometimes you might find your bedroom full of snakes. As bad as Nick is, though, the most horrifying element of My Friend Nick is how one character spirals out of control when they should be protecting their family from the creep kid who lives on the other side of the cornfield.
March 1, 2020
Poor Debbie
Great story, but the ending of this book made me so mad!
My Friend Nick is a great page turner that does a good job in making you sympathize with the characters. I really felt for Debbie. Things go from okay to steadily worse for the characters, and then the ending hits you in the gut! Definitely recommend.
Great story, but the ending of this book made me so mad!
My Friend Nick is a great page turner that does a good job in making you sympathize with the characters. I really felt for Debbie. Things go from okay to steadily worse for the characters, and then the ending hits you in the gut! Definitely recommend.
November 11, 2020
I read this book in one sitting. It was refreshingly different from the usual books I read and the author managed to infuse a creepy sensation throughout, no matter what was happening on the page.
November 22, 2020
This book was intense. I’m not sure what I was thinking going in but I was not expecting this. It was set in the 80’s ( one of my favorite time periods for horror reads ) and is about a young family who has left the chaos of the city to live in the country. Sounds like the start to a peaceful story right, wrong soooo wrong. A slow decent into madness, seriously CREEPY kids, a story so relatable It’s horrid. The little girl Emily she was written so well you would almost believe she was written word for word from another 7 year old and Debbie the Mom, I swear I know this woman (or maybe it’s a projection of my own mother 🤔) I went from genuinely empathizing with her to pulling my hair out. This book is insane, if I even see a kid that reminds me any of Nick I’m running so far in the opposite direction. Kudos to the author Joseph Hood for bringing a classic horror feel to newer work. For my fellow horror readers keep your eye out for this guy.
January 5, 2021
Horror that haunts! Great read!
This is a well written story of what births corruption, evil, and malevolence.
Not what monsters are, but who they are and the realization of how close they live to each of us.
The emotional struggles of the characters strike upon the heart and makes a reader find the similarities between what's written and reality.
This is a well written story of what births corruption, evil, and malevolence.
Not what monsters are, but who they are and the realization of how close they live to each of us.
The emotional struggles of the characters strike upon the heart and makes a reader find the similarities between what's written and reality.
November 28, 2021
Realistic Horror that Haunts
My Friend Nick is a vivid definition of slow-burn psychological thriller. Joseph Hood created a chilling and familiar simulation of what a broken family looks like. The relationship between Debbie and her daughter, Emily, was almost too recognisable which rattled me to the bone. I also appreciated the strength behind Hood’s depiction of the nuances behind sinister and manipulative sociopaths. I believe what gripped me most with this horror was the reality behind the monsters. Evil can be found behind the most charming of masks and they can literally be living just down the road.
Hood wrote an extremely well-rounded novel. I highly recommend picking this book up and giving it a read.
My Friend Nick is a vivid definition of slow-burn psychological thriller. Joseph Hood created a chilling and familiar simulation of what a broken family looks like. The relationship between Debbie and her daughter, Emily, was almost too recognisable which rattled me to the bone. I also appreciated the strength behind Hood’s depiction of the nuances behind sinister and manipulative sociopaths. I believe what gripped me most with this horror was the reality behind the monsters. Evil can be found behind the most charming of masks and they can literally be living just down the road.
Hood wrote an extremely well-rounded novel. I highly recommend picking this book up and giving it a read.
June 16, 2020
This debut novel was a five star read for me 🙌🏻
Hood managed to keep me engaged and freaked out the entire time. It was a continuous loop of needing to keep reading just one more chapter to find out what happens next.
One of the reasons why I loved it so much was because it was like a mashup of all my favorite suspense and horror classics combined. Think combination of children of the corn, John Grisham, and Stephen King 💀
Fair warning - the ending gutted me. I get why he did what he did, but it gutted me 😭😭😭 without giving away spoilers, you’ll want to read this one through to the end.
My only wish is that this book had a sequel to it 🙌🏻
Hood managed to keep me engaged and freaked out the entire time. It was a continuous loop of needing to keep reading just one more chapter to find out what happens next.
One of the reasons why I loved it so much was because it was like a mashup of all my favorite suspense and horror classics combined. Think combination of children of the corn, John Grisham, and Stephen King 💀
Fair warning - the ending gutted me. I get why he did what he did, but it gutted me 😭😭😭 without giving away spoilers, you’ll want to read this one through to the end.
My only wish is that this book had a sequel to it 🙌🏻
November 18, 2020
This is a whole lot of what the heck!? There are parts you don't understand. Parts that make you want to scream. Parts that scare you to death and parts that make you want to smack some of the characters.
Want to find out if Nick is a good friend? Check this book out! This book is like Children Of The Corn on crack.
Want to find out if Nick is a good friend? Check this book out! This book is like Children Of The Corn on crack.
August 30, 2024
A Tale of Dramatic Twists
What starts out as a family’s move to a new town turns into a story out of your worst nightmare. For a good majority of this novel, the reader is presented with more of a well-written drama than a horror story. Debbie and Emily have to figure out how to exist in this new life, but demons from the past are knocking on the door. We are not introduced to Nick until well into the second act. But once he appears, you can immediately tell something is off. Soon, we see the pure evil within this child (it reminded me of the movie The Good Son) and the intensity grows as we wonder what horrific thing he is going to do next. But again, the reader sees more of the mother and daughter and their struggles than anything else. By the final act, we do see what the boy is capable of, but unfortunately the ending felt a little rushed, and we’re left not really knowing what has happened to several of the characters.
What starts out as a family’s move to a new town turns into a story out of your worst nightmare. For a good majority of this novel, the reader is presented with more of a well-written drama than a horror story. Debbie and Emily have to figure out how to exist in this new life, but demons from the past are knocking on the door. We are not introduced to Nick until well into the second act. But once he appears, you can immediately tell something is off. Soon, we see the pure evil within this child (it reminded me of the movie The Good Son) and the intensity grows as we wonder what horrific thing he is going to do next. But again, the reader sees more of the mother and daughter and their struggles than anything else. By the final act, we do see what the boy is capable of, but unfortunately the ending felt a little rushed, and we’re left not really knowing what has happened to several of the characters.
November 9, 2020
First off, this book was shocking, twisted, and tragic, and very well written. Going into the story the blurb on the back of the cover didn't give you much, but that made it more intriguing as you entered the world that Mr. Hood created; you got to know the Westman family and the their new surroundings gradually. By the end of the book, I was so emotionally invested that I literally gasped and clapped my hand over my mouth a few times. Mr. Hood has created a complex for his debut novel that I don't think will disappoint. His style, for me anyway, is reminiscent of Stephen King's, in the way he describes the people, the places, and the things, his storytelling, and how he is sometimes raw about what's going on for the characters.
I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading his follow up, The Bride of Warren.
I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading his follow up, The Bride of Warren.
January 30, 2024
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
This book is not quite what I expected. Despite a slow pace, there's a lot to like with Joseph Hood's first novel, My Friend Nick.
The true terror of the story isn't so much from the eponymous character but rather the decline of a family moving to a small town set in the late 1980s. The highlights of the story are the interaction between the mother and her young daughter, which grows increasingly frayed over a period of time. It is a psychological thriller that explores how each member of the family experiences a decline in their sanity, and that makes it even more scary than the main antagonist whose backstory is revealed later in the book.
Hood's strengths is going into detail about the characters, and making you care about them as the story goes along. The character development makes the suspense and horror more apparent and when the big shock happens, it is effective!
I recommend My Friend Nick. If you enjoy stories by Stephen King with elements of questioning reality, then this book is worth checking out.
This book is not quite what I expected. Despite a slow pace, there's a lot to like with Joseph Hood's first novel, My Friend Nick.
The true terror of the story isn't so much from the eponymous character but rather the decline of a family moving to a small town set in the late 1980s. The highlights of the story are the interaction between the mother and her young daughter, which grows increasingly frayed over a period of time. It is a psychological thriller that explores how each member of the family experiences a decline in their sanity, and that makes it even more scary than the main antagonist whose backstory is revealed later in the book.
Hood's strengths is going into detail about the characters, and making you care about them as the story goes along. The character development makes the suspense and horror more apparent and when the big shock happens, it is effective!
I recommend My Friend Nick. If you enjoy stories by Stephen King with elements of questioning reality, then this book is worth checking out.
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