I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Graveyard Shift by Maria Lewis Published by Datura on September 12 2023
Genres: Adult, Horror, slasher horror
Pages: 328
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Being a radio DJ is a killer job in this lively, bloody and humorous take on slasher movies.
This might be the first horror story I’ve read that revolves around a radio show, and I thought Maria Lewis did a great job of taking the slasher trope and making it fresh and new. And I loved a lot of elements in The Graveyard Shift, but unfortunately some elements fell flat, hence my lower rating. This book was a solid four star read for me until I reached the last couple of chapters, where the story took an unexpected turn that didn’t work for me at all.
Tinsel Munroe works at Melbourne radio station 102.8 HitsFM, and her nighttime radio show The Graveyard Shift has developed a loyal following despite it’s 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. time slot. Tinsel’s show pays homage to the horror genre, as she plays both popular and obscure songs from horror movies as well as horror-centric tunes like Monster Mash. On the Halloween night that we first meet Tinsel, she’s running a contest on her show for tickets to the premier of the much anticipated horror movie Band Candy (a Buffy reference, perhaps?) Mera Brant calls in to try to answer Tinsel’s trivia question, but while on the phone Mera is murdered in her apartment. Tinsel thinks Mera’s screams are nothing more than a Halloween prank, but later when the police arrive to get a statement from her, she learns that Mera was actually stabbed to death while on the air.
Tinsel is shattered by this horrible event, but she’s determined to keep her show going, especially when the ratings for The Graveyard Shift take off, a macabre side effect of the on-air murder. A young, handsome detective named Vic James is assigned to the case, and when Tinsel is targeted by the killer, Vic insists on protecting her. And the killer isn’t finished. More dead bodies turn up, all of them seemingly linked to the film business, although the victims don’t seem to fit any particular demographic. As Tinsel and Vic get closer, the danger ramps up, until it gets a little too close to home.
Lewis sets up the tension right out of the gate in an unusual but effective way. The first chapter is from Mera Brandt’s point of view, as she’s in her apartment listening to Tinsel’s show. We see her murder first hand, and then the next chapter jumps to Tinsel in the studio where we “hear” the murder from a completely different point of view. I quite liked this approach, and I thought starting out with a murder was the perfect way to launch this story.
I also loved the radio station setting, and I learned a lot of behind the scenes information about how a radio station is run, with social media being a big part of Tinsel’s job. She’s actually responsible for monitoring the HitsFM twitter account as she’s performing her DJ duties, as well as checking the station’s text messages. (Note: Lewis obviously wrote her story before Twitter changed to X, so it was a bit nostalgic in that respect!) I’ve been a big fan of radio since my pre-teen days, so it was a treat to get a peek inside.
The author fills her story with music references, which isn’t surprising since Tinsel is a radio DJ, but we also get plenty of horror movie trivia. Readers who are familiar with slashers in particular will have fun with all the name dropping, and if you’re Australian, you’ll most likely get a lot of the music references, since the author includes Aussie bands and singers in her story.
Besides Tinsel and Vic, one of the main characters is Tinsel’s sister Pandora, a successful true crime podcaster who proves to be very good at solving crimes. I loved the name of her podcast—Pandora’s Box—and I especially loved the relationship between the two sisters. Both are adopted, and although Tinsel is single and Pandora is married with children, the two share a very close bond.
For the most part, this is a fast-paced, lively and tension-filled story, but the pacing does lag in places. There is a heavy romance element that I wasn’t expecting, so there are several chapters that focus on Tinsel and Vic’s relationship, and this is where the story started to lose me. Honestly, I could have done without the romance, since I was quite happy with the serial killer mystery, although when you get to the end there’s a good reason for the author to include their relationship. Overall, The Graveyard Shift skewed toward the younger side of things. I believe Tinsel is in her mid twenties, and she’s heavily into social media, dating and clubbing, all perfectly normal activities for someone her age, but not all readers are going to connect with her lifestyle.
The biggest negative for me, though, was the ending. Endings can make or break the story for me, and I just didn’t like the ending of The Graveyard Shift. Two things happen at the end that sort of made me mad, and I was left wondering why the author made those choices. This is a mostly upbeat, humorous story, aside from the murders of course, and simply put, the ending was a big downer and didn’t fit the tone of the rest of the story.
Still, there’s a lot to like here, and based all the four and five star reviews on Goodreads, I would give it a shot if you’re a fan of horror movies, popular music and cozy sibling relationships.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Such a shame when you’ve enjoyed something and then the ending lets it down.
Don’t think I’ve ever come across radio station based horror before either so this sounds unique for that alone 😀
I loved the radio show parts especially, it was a nice “peek behind the curtain.”
I was curious to know your thoughts on this one! It sounded like an interesting book but since I am not an horror fan and since it is more YA (or NA) than adult I wasn’t so convinced. But knowing what to expect could help. I am still on the fence but thanks to you my ideas are clearer! And I am sorry that the ending didn’t work out for you!!
Thanks Susy! I enjoyed most of the book:-)
I’m kinda curious about the ending now since before it the book was a 4 star read (not that 3.5 is a bad rating at all). I love that Tinsel’s sister is a true crime podcaster and the fact that her name is Pandora is even greater. Thanks for sharing, Tammy!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: Ticket Out by Michelle Diener
The sister relationship was awesome:-)
Well, I have to admit that the combination of horror with the serial killer theme sounds very intriguing to me: pity that the ending seems to have spoiled everything, but that just piqued my curiosity further. I’m damaged that way… 😀 😀
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…9 DRAGONS (Harry Bosch #14), by Michael Connelly
Ha ha I’m the same. Sometimes I read reviews with negatives and it makes me want to read them more:-)
Hmmm, too bad the ending didn’t work out! Sounds like it could have been much better than it was.
The ending came out of nowhere for me, but I did enjoy the rest:-)
I’m super curious and just hauled this. I NEED to know the ending now so I better bump it up. Sounds like something I might like but I definitely understand how endings can make or break a book – I’m looking at you Stephen Kind (especially with Under the Dome).
LOL I hope you read it, I’d love to compare notes!
This is a fun premise, I like the radio show aspect. Bummer that the ending didn’t work out, it’s always so frustrating when it’s pretty solid until something messes it up like that. I’ll have to keep my eye out for this one!
It’s definitely worth reading. The ending might work for you!
Damn you are really going full on horror Tammy LOL
It seems that way, lol. Don’t worry, I have fantasy and SF coming up:-)
Oh I hate it when the end lowers my rating! Sounds interesting though!
Stormi recently posted…Week in Review #52
The story was so interesting and fun! But yep, the ending definitely lowered my rating.
I hate when you’re enjoying a book only to have the ending ruin it. Especially when the author’s choices don’t make sense. It’s too bad about this one, because the rest of it sounds really good…and a perfect horror story for this time of year.
Lark recently posted…Trail of the Lost by Andrea Lankford
I think a lot of readers didn’t mind the ending, based on the ratings I’ve seen, so it may be a “me” thing.
I loved your description of it as “a mostly upbeat, humorous story, aside from the murders of course.” Made me laugh. 🙂
Ha ha, well it felt sort of “horror light” over all, so I stand by that description:-)
What a shame, it seemed to have such promise – but sometimes an ending can really knock you off.
Lynn 😀
The rest was really good, but yep, the ending sort of went off the rails.