Book Review: Dream Woods

Dream Woods by Patrick Lacey is an excellent horror novel. It starts with Vince seeing a sign for Dream Woods, an amusement park that he loved as a kid. The park closed down almost 30 years ago, amid rumors of murders and demonic activity, but it appears to have recently reopened. Vince decides that a trip to the park is exactly what his family needs, although his estranged wife, Audra, and their twin sons, Andrew and Tim, are not so sure. Upon arrival, everyone but Vince immediately senses something off about the park and its workers. Vince is too caught up in nostalgia to notice, at least until all hell breaks loose. Turns out the rumors about the park were true, except the reality is much worse.

Lacey sucks you into the plot and the action quickly, making for a fairly unputdownable read. I finished the 300+ page book in one day. The gore is plentiful and wonderfully bloody and icky. The candy monster that attacks Tim was particularly gross, and I've definitely been put off sweets for a while after reading about it.

The thing that got to me most, however, were the characters. They're not always entirely likable, but they ring true in a way that many authors never achieve. Audra in particular resonated with me. I felt for her, the way her life hasn't turned out like she wanted, the way she feels trapped, like she'd been tricked into a far different fate than she had planned. As a woman who doesn't want children, I felt every bit of her claustrophobia, the burden of the responsibilities that she never planned on shouldering. In a lesser author's hands, Audra's rebellion against her circumstances could have made her come across cold and callous. Instead, Lacey has created a troubled but incredibly empathetic character, who despite everything, obviously loves her family very much. I identified with Audra in that respect as well. As a woman who just crossed over to the other side of 30, I understand very much how Audra is torn between the life she thought she'd be living and the love for the people who make up the life she has. When shit starts to go down, she risks her life to save her family. Audra is an incredibly complex character, but Lacey absolutely nails writing her, in all her intricacies.

I also felt for Vince, his desperate love for his wife, his desire to keep his family together, his nostalgia for the Dream Woods he remembers, a Dream Woods that was, unfortunately, never real. That hopeful/hopeless love and want is palpable in all of his actions and dialogue. You feel for the guy, even though you know from the get go that he's getting in over his head going back to Dream Woods, leading his entire family into danger.

Regina, an author who had escaped Dream Woods' clutches years before was also an intriguing character. She was incredibly brave coming back to the theme park all these years later to face down her demons, and the sections of the book where her backstory unfolded were really interesting, although they felt a little rushed. I'd love for a little more depth to these parts of the story. For instance, her mother does nothing to stop Regina's kidnapping by the park's agents, but we're never given enough information as to why, which makes this part a little confusing. This problem was relatively minor in regards to its impact on the overall story, but I still would have liked Regina's history to be a little more in depth.

Dream Woods is an overall excellent book that I recommend to any and all horror lovers. I will definitely be picking up more by Patrick Lacey. I already have his most recent, A Voice So Soft, sitting on my shelf and 2018's Bone Saw on my to-buy list next time I order books.