I like when a horror book can freak me out and pull on the heartstrings at the same time. The kind of book where the scary parts are scary but the narrative is about much more than just the terror. This book balances those things perfectly.

John and George are brothers, five years apart in age, when tragedy struck their family. The death of their mother devastated them and their father. John was ten at the time, George was fifteen, but the sibling rivalry was apparent and began deteriorating after their mother passed. A trip to the local aquarium one day provided even more trauma for both. John wound up with a busted skull and the hospital.

That's when John started seeing monsters. The tall man, the milkman, and especially something he called the blue boy. Very real to him while everyone else thought it was in his mind. When he left, he never looked back. Now, twenty years later, the death of his father brings the two brothers together after two decades of no contact. And things are going to take several horrifying turns as these monsters of John ramp up tormenting him while George thinks he just needs to take his meds.

One big question which lingers in the book is whether these monsters are real or the result of John's head trauma from years ago. The reader is left wondering, swaying both ways throughout. Eventually, the truth will come out but not before secrets, forgotten memories, and displaced events come to light. While cleaning out their old home, John comes upon a comic book series he drew when he was young. A series called Sentry. The monsters from his real life are in these comic books and may provide some answers. Or maybe only more nightmares.

The monsters in here are the stuff of bad dreams, each one terrifying to think about. It gives the story an atmospheric dread because they come out of nowhere in John's waking life. The arc of these two brothers is done with a deft touch. Strained and awkward at first, the author resolves certain issues little by little until we can see the love they have for one another later.

Between the past and the present, answers will come to light and they could be much more horrific than we first imagined. There's a twist at the end which is shocking and absolutely memorable. I highly recommend it.