2024 the best of the bad men review

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(as of Dec 22, 2024 15:59:06 UTC - Details)

Reddit horror sensation Dathan Auerbach delivers a devilishly dark novel about a young boy who goes missing, and the brother who won't stop looking for him.

Eric disappeared when he was three years old. Ben looked away for only a second at the grocery store, but that was all it took. His brother was gone. Vanished right into the sticky air of the Florida Panhandle. They say you've got only a couple days to find a missing person. Forty-eight hours to conduct searches, knock on doors, and talk to witnesses. Two days to tear the world apart if there's any chance of putting yours back together. That's your window.

That window closed five years ago, leaving Ben's life in ruins. He still looks for his brother. Still searches while his stepmother sits and waits and whispers for Eric, refusing to leave the house that Ben's father can no longer afford. Now 20 and desperate for work, Ben takes a night stock job at the only place that will have him: the store that blinked Eric out of existence.

Ben can feel that there's something wrong there. With the people. With his boss. With the graffitied baler that shudders and moans and beckons. There's something wrong with the air itself. He knows he's in the right place now. That the store has much to tell him. So, he keeps searching. Keeps looking for his baby brother while missing the most important message of all. That he should have stopped looking.

Reviewer: S
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A worthy follow up that chills to the bone
Review: ** spoiler alert **If Penpal were any indication, I knew I would fall for the next book Auerbach wrote.It's been a long time since I've been so engrossed with a story. I really think he excels at dialogue and the characters are so well fleshed out. I really was unsure if Marty was a good guy or not. Auerbach mentions in the epilogue that the setting is based around his experiences working at a grocery store in college, so that feeling of authenticity was tangible.I loved the mysterious things that were happening around the store. I never thought they were paranormal like the place having an evil of its own, and I really wanted them to be the markings of the real "bad man" but they weren't. I'm kind of glad for that but it also leaves me with so many questions!What is Palmer's real involvement with Beverly?How could the man really go unpunished after so many incidents in his store?What happened with Frank and why did he blow off Ben like that?How did the blond kid get into Ben's house and steal Stampie? How did he know how to get Marty's lighter from the treasure box?What is on that roll of film that Marty needed to pick up at the end? I feel like that could've been a creepy thing where the photos could be of Ben searching or his time in the store. But the lack of resolution is ultimately the best choice because I can imagine what's on the film.I think Auerbach really planned everything well, especially with Beverly. She somehow kidnapped Eric, or the blond boy did, changed all the phone numbers on the flyers without the police or anyone taking notice, showed signs of mental illness but played everything off so well at all times like the cake and getting fired, and her whole ending arc in the house and her history of Blackwater and brainwashing the kids. Even mentioning the phone in that upstairs room with the ringer being turned on. Really well planned.Was it Beverly who wrote, "Hi Ben"? I also thought for sure Palmer would catch him during that incident because of how rushed Ben had to be in cleaning up.The book was so suspenseful and infused with excellent guy-talk that it kept me glued throughout my reading sessions.I really got sick of Deidre and I thought the birthday party was one of the best, most messed up, confrontations in recent years. She was a great character to sympathize with but then ultimately come to despise because of her unwavering blame thrown at Ben.Jacob was really a big hero because he had a physical poster that Beverly couldn't alter the phone number for, so when he called, he reached someone other that "Joyce" at the "Missing Persons hotline" and instead found Deidre. Because of him, Ben was able to really hold out more hope, but he definitely messed up in accusing Marty once again. And then he can find his brother.I was really hoping for a happy ending and that Eric would come around and they could be a family again, but good stories like this don't have nice endings. Still, I think in a parallel universe, Ben and Eric are catching up on their five years apart and hopefully never playing hide and seek again.It's hard to find any flaws in this book to rate it less than five stars. For me, it's something I never felt like it was a chore to read. I was fully engrossed and while I expected many cliches to be fulfilled, not a single one happened. I tried to guess who did what and who was who, but I couldn't figure out whodunit and the mysteries, dialogue, and story beats put me on the edge fo my seat for Auerbach's next book.

Reviewer: Helene Stephens
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Intriguing. Strange Story - a Bit Too Long
Review: I am a fan of dark and genuinely frightening books. Last year, I read Penpal by this author, and I couldn't believe how original, unique, remarkable and scary/creepy it was. And so well-written! In my mind, the author had created a kind of masterpiece, one of the best novels of the fright-type. So I couldn't wait for the author's next book, and I preordered Bad Man. I just finished reading it, and to its credit, I read it through. (This only happens when I am truly appreciating the book.) The characters were exceptionally well done. Their dialog was spot-on. And - The beginning of the story was intriguing with a clear hint of menace as the brothers play a game of hide-and-seek. At the supermarket, menace stalks the two boys. (I kept thinking: "Get OUT of that supermarket!) And oh-no - the bathroom scene - so unnerving. I found that the beginning of the story generated fear and chills: I experienced feelings of terror-to-come .... feelings that were also so strong in Penpal. A fine beginning.As the book went forward, I enjoyed the monstrous workings of the store--almost gothic in its importance to the story. The back "innards" of the supermarket (with the carnivorous potential of the awful bale machine) was giving me goosebumps. The manager, as an evil character who was "in charge" --worked extremely well. (Who hasn't--at one point or another--been under the thumb of a truly nasty boss?)Reading along, I realized that this author knows how to finely manipulate his readers. Tons of talent and a wonderfully dark and creative imagination. (Wow. OK - He is sooooo good.) Still, the story did slow for me as the plot seemed to be padded; the tale seemed to be overly-prolonged and lost some of its impact. I think if the book had been "tightened" and there had been a bit less of some of the scenes and character-chats, I would have enjoyed it much more. As it was, I found myself skimming some of the more familiar conversations, such as Ben and the police detective.When the book ended, I was not sure if I entirely understood what had happened, but usually, that doesn't matter to me so much. (I like open-ended books and don't mind loose-ends at all.) Yet, here, where I had invested in such a long read, I was hoping for a bit more ....Still a good read. And I will again pre-order when the author's next book comes out.

Reviewer: wdwmkr
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: not quite a worthy follow up
Review: there are some interesting ideas on display here, but the writing is pretty amateurish, and far too many subplots / details remain underdeveloped. it's an overlong novel, that tends to spend a bit too much time dragging out the mundane and banal, rather than exploring the above mentioned teased ideas.there's enough to like to keep your attention throughout, and a mostly satisfying ending, but overall in its entirety it just doesn't quite connect as a whole. i found the authors previous work far more effective and resonant, even again with some of the same shortcomings laid out here; hopefully there's potential to further develop the skills to execute something that fires on all cylinders on the next go round. overall, i'd say it's a casual recommend and worth the read, but don't expect shakespeare.

Reviewer: Billy Grim
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Absolutely could not put it down!
Review: Read "Penpal" on my son's recommendation. Loved it, though it destroyed me. Glutton for punishment, I immediately downloaded "Bad Man." Holy crap. Pulls you in and doesn't let go. Keeps you guessing, and you learn even after you know it all, you're wrong. Great character development and environment-building. I sure hope there are more books in this author's future. I'll be first in line for a copy.

Reviewer: J T-F
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I read this book in basically one day - I didn't want to put it down. There are slow parts, but I think they're almost necessary to ground you when Ben is seemingly trying to discern between fact and the grief and guilt that clouds his thoughts and invades his dreams.I have to admit that the ending made me re-evaluate our protagonist, and how he deals with events in certain ways that might not be the best. I think that's meant to be the case because Ben can be hot-headed and still be a completely sympathetic character.I will say that there's a couple of red herrings/unfulfilled story beats that you get allusions to rather than outright answers. I did have to re-read a couple of pages to make sure I hadn't skipped over something in a few parts but as you get lead down the garden path you may come to realise why some things are set out that way.Overall really enjoyed it. There's a little too much meandering and you are left with some questions at the end but I think that's kind of the point.

Reviewer: PIYALI
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: If you have read Penpal before then you would be expecting great things from this book..unfortunately this is very loose book. There is an intriguing plot of a boy going missing from a store to begin with but the story keeps losing pace & wanders into areas from which nothing is salvaged in the end. It's a longish book but with little tautness. All that length does not develop the plot or suspense sufficiently and the end also equally underwhelms. This seems skippable if you have already read Penpal.

Reviewer: ILEANE
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: El contenido podrá estar bueno, pero al recibirlo tuve la sensación de estar comprando un libro pirata elaborado con foto copias y papel de bajo presupuesto. Espero que no sea así...... y que de ser original, aclaren esto, porque sí me siento algo incómodo de pensar que esto favoreciendo a la piratería ilegal.

Reviewer: Cassie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I read his first book Penpal a few years ago and the book kept me on the edge of my seat and I was hoping for the same for this book. It isn't quite as fast paced or short as Penpal, but it is just as good with several twists and turns and you're constantly guessing who the kidnapper is until the last few chapters when everything comes together. It has also encouraged me to take more time looking at missing persons posters because no one ever does.

Reviewer: Bertrand
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Livre écrit en anglais.....