Marla by Jonathan Janz

I do one movie review and now we are back to books. I am going to start the week with a strong read so pull up a stool and I’ll pour you a drink. This is only the second book I have read by Jonathan Janz and I have to admit, I’m a fan. When I saw this pop up on NetGalley for an ARC review I thought this one looked familiar but knew I hadn’t read it. I was approved very quickly for this and I have to thank Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to give this a read.

As I mentioned, this book looked familiar like I had seen this before so I was a little confused that it has a publication date of August 18, 2026. A little online sleuthing found this was first released as a limited release (500 copies) hardback from Earthling Publications as part of their Earthling Halloween series in October of 2022. Now the rest of the world will get the chance to read this story.

What’s this book about? I went into this knowing absolutely nothing, just that it was a new release by Janz. I like not having any expectations and everything is a surprise. If you are like me then jump to the end for the rating. Other wise…

King’s Branch is a small town with secrets like every small town. One of those secrets, or I guess this is more of an unknown, is Marla. Marla is a recluse living with her mother in the creepy gothic house away from town. The book starts out with a series of unexplainable deaths and Detective Carl Lancaster has not only caught the case with his partner R.J. But Carl has also seen Marla staring at him from her window each time one of the deaths has happened. The book follows 2 other characters, Annie Frost, a social worker who is drawn to Marla but she doesn’t know why, and Dylan Ellison, a college student who is becoming infatuated with Marla and can barely think of anything else. Marla is about to put our characters and the town through an unusual hell leading to one surprising ending.

As this is only my second book by Janz I can only compare the two, the other being Veil, and say that Janz’s style is a slow burn. As excited as I was to get a new book by Janz, I got this at what became a rough patch. I got so busy with work, kids, and things that needed to be done around the house that I had hardly anytime to read. The downside to ARCs is having to have the time to sit and read them. If i could have gotten an audio ARC I would have flown through this. With everything going on I have to admit that I struggled to get into this one at first. So many factors in my life contributed to this so I will not blame the book. I was just not mentally ready for a slow burn. I say this so if you are not prepared for slow burn or not a fan to give this book time to get going. It’s worth it.

Since the book focuses around 3 main characters and Marla, my favorite parts where the ones that involved Carl and Annie. Carl’s story arch shows us he is a widower who lost his wife and daughter and is just trying to figure out what the hell is going on in his town while dealing with his own demons. Annie is a mother of two teenagers and is obsessed with her job helping kids in their less than ideal situations. Being a social worker and focused on improving the lives of other children is causing her own relationship with her kids to suffer. I think I kind of bonded with Annie over that. I work much less than I used to but my kids are teenagers and they want very little to do with me, so I do feel at times that I worked through the best times with my kiddos. As the book builds Janz does an amazing job of weaving these character’s stories together in a very satisfying reveal at the end.

There is so much I want to talk about with this but I don’t want to ruin any of the surprise. I highly recommend this book which has total ghost/witch vibes throughout. Releasing in August is perfect timing for your spooky season reads. Please make sure you support your local indie bookstores but if you would like to help support my favorite indie bookstore. I get no benefit from this other than they remain open with stocked shelves. You can preorder a copy of Marla in various formats HERE and stick it to Prime Days. This is a solid 🥃🥃🥃🥃 read and as Joe Bob Briggs would say, “Check it out”.