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 Chain House by J.H. Markert Published by Crooked Lane Books on October 6 2026
Genres: Adult, Horror, Thriller
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Multilayered and full of shocking twists, J.H. Markert tackles the cult subgenre in his latest, an intricately plotted thriller with plenty of surprises.
Once again, I’ve been blown away by a new-to-me author, and this time it’s J.H. Markert and his new book The Chain House. This has everything I love in a thriller: a fast paced story with short, punchy chapters that alternate among several points of view, fantastic character development, an awesome story hook, and carefully developed backstories brimming with emotion. This is the serial killer/cult/kidnapping story you didn’t know you needed in your life, and even better, it revolves around publishing.
Markert’s rather complex story alternates among several main POV characters. Sal Batise has been on death row for the past twenty years, the mastermind behind a deadly cult called The Collective. Twenty years ago, he was involved in a massacre at the Kentucky governor’s house where nine people ended up dead or missing, including the governor’s sister Emily. Sal has escaped death four times during his years in prison by making deals to reveal critical information about the locations of missing bodies, but he’s out of options this time, and his death by lethal injection is imminent.
Sam Harper is a twenty-six year old filmmaker who is working on a documentary about Sal Batise, and to everyone’s surprise, he’s been chosen to interview Sal on his last day alive. He’s accompanied by a mysterious woman named Jennifer who claims to know Sam’s father Trevor.
Trevor Harper doesn’t want Sam to interview Sal (his reasons become clear later), but Sam knows it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. Trevor has kept his past a secret from his son, but those secrets are about to come out. The day of the interview, Trevor intervenes during an altercation involving his next door neighbor Lizzie and her husband, and Trevor and Lizzie find themselves on the run.
Finally, we follow Beth Hawthorne, the governor’s wife, who nearly died in the attacks at her home twenty years ago. Despite having a bodyguard 24/7, Beth is kidnapped the day before Sal’s execution and wakes up in an unfamiliar place, chained to the ground. Where is she, and does her abduction have anything to do with Sal Batise?
Tying all these characters together is a man known as Justice Meeks, who hides his real identity behind a Guy Fawkes mask. As the clock counts down to Sal’s scheduled death, shocking secrets are revealed—including a jaw dropping confession by Sal.
There are a lot of players in The Chain House as well as a host of side characters I haven’t mentioned, but Markert deftly incorporates them into a horrifyingly good story that’s impossible to put down once you’ve started reading. The author uses the “countdown clock” idea to keep things moving, and the whole story unfolds over the course of twenty-four hours. We also get occasional flashbacks that take place on Freedom Ranch, the secluded location of Sal Batise’s cult. In these chapters, we see events leading up to the Hawthorne murders and get to know various cult members and how they relate to our main characters. I loved these glimpses into the past, where some surprising things are revealed.
Sal is a perfectly evil, charismatic cult leader, and the scenes where Sam is interviewing him show how smart he is. As you read, you start to realize how many unexpected connections there are between the characters, and it was fun watching the clues drop and connecting all the many puzzle pieces. I loved how Sal channeled Charles Manson in everything he did on the ranch, which is terrifying if you know anything about Manson and his followers (I was a kid during the Manson murders, so I was fascinated by Sal’s obsession with him).
There’s an interesting dynamic between Sal and Minks, two despicable humans who seem to be competing with each other. I ended up loving Trevor’s and Lizzie’s chapters in particular, especially since they both have trauma in their pasts which has toughened them up for what they’re about to face in the present. Jennifer was another favorite character of mine, and I enjoyed the way she and Sam worked together during the interview with Sal. Beth’s kidnapping was so stressful, and what happens to her in what’s called the “house of chains” is diabolical! (but also very creative, as a horror lover I thought the idea was brilliant).
And last but certainly not least, the story involves a popular series of books by a writer named Mallard Malone whose eight book series is a worldwide phenomenon. Malone’s real identity isn’t known, and the last book in the series is set to be published soon. The series is unusual because the books have been published in reverse order (book #8 first, etc.), and the way the author and the books are tied to the rest of the story is mind blowing. Markert adds lots of cool literary references that relate to Minks and how he perceives his identity, and all these little tidbits throughout the story were so much fun.
There is so much more I want to talk about—but I won’t! If you’re a horror/thriller lover, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of The Chain House immediately. This is one book I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
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