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They Are All Monsters (Monsters #1)

J. Boote

Start date: June 23, 2025

Finish date: June 29, 2025

Discussion: Buddy Reads

Why we're reading this: Buddy read scheduled for June 23-29 (2025).
[close] Buddy read scheduled for June 23-29 (2025).

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Jun 26, 2025 Pisces51 rated it liked it

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THEY ARE ALL MONSTERS [2023] By J. Boote
My Review 3.5 Stars

This novel was a Buddy Read on Splatterpunk Horror Book Club, and it was also the first work I had read by J. Boote (“the alter-ego of Justin Boote, author of horror and dark fiction”). The distinction appears to be that the more extreme horror is tagged simply J. Boote. This novel was also the first installment in what would be a 6-book series. Boote is an English author penning books in the horror genre and dark fiction genre. However, ...more

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Jun 04, 2024 Cherise Isabella rated it liked it

If there's one thing, I strongly dislike in the splatterpunk/ extreme horror sub-genre, is when authors rely on shock value to carry the story. Let's get into this review shall we.

Belton is a little village in England that is rocked by a series of macabre murders. The victims, young boys and girls of no specific age range, ethnicity or background. The killings are gory, violent, brutal and meant to inflict immense pain and suffering on the unfortunate victims. Add an even more sick, twisted and If there's one thing, I strongly dislike in the splatterpunk/ extreme horror sub-genre, is when authors rely on shock value to carry the story. Let's get into this review shall we.

Belton is a little village in England that is rocked by a series of macabre murders. The victims, young boys and girls of no specific age range, ethnicity or background. The killings are gory, violent, brutal and meant to inflict immense pain and suffering on the unfortunate victims. Add an even more sick, twisted and demented copycat into the mix and, you have yourself one graphic story.

This book opens up with the killer and copycat coming face to face, immediately thrusting readers into a world of chaos and carnage. The first murder scene was grisly and really set the tone for what was to come in this book. From page one, the book is steady on delivering on shock value and never once let up. This quickly became a problem but, we're not there yet.

The first 50% of this book was good, I was really enjoying the storyline; it had lots of suspense as tensions were increasing in the village and, more bodies were turning up. Add disgruntled residents who are becoming increasingly frustrated by local police and their lack of progress and you have a world of anxiety and terror. I also liked the inclusion of the villains POV; I always love when books include that as we get a look into the minds of very sinister characters.

The author also does a great job in evoking a level of understanding when it comes to the background of the copycat. I wouldn't go as far as to say sympathy but let's just say I can understand why he turned out the way that he did. The scenes of torture were well depicted and honestly made me shudder with revulsion. The desire to survive truly surpasses all levels of pain. I think this is the first book where I actually felt a level of sorrow for victims of extreme torture. I actually wished they'd die quicker just to be put out of their misery.

This book however, started getting a little too repetitive for me. It was getting to the point, as mentioned above, where the author was relying on shock value to carry the story. It wasn't needed at all. Some of these scenes could've been cut short and I would still have enjoyed the book. I also thought we needed more backstory on the real killer. At the end of the day, they were two killers and I wanted to know more about them both, not just one. If I had gotten that instead of repetitive scenes and dialogue, I would have surely given this a higher rating.

The ending was also a huge let down for me. This though was just due to personal preference as I like vindication in books like these. I do understand that this is the first book in the series, but I still felt disappointed at that.

Overall, it was an okay read and extremely dark and disturbing but I wanted more from it. I may still explore more in the series. ...more

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Feb 14, 2023 David John rated it it was amazing

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Sep 07, 2023 The Yeti Reads and Reviews rated it it was amazing

A quaint village is rocked by a serial killer targeting kids; to make matters worse, another killer has emerged. Is this a copycat killer or something much worse? Two detectives try to find answers before there are more victims. It was an absolutely fantastic read. Dark, gritty, and violent. Superb characters and story. Definitely check it out!

5 severed fingers oit of 5

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