It Watches in the Dark by Jeff Strand is a middle grade horror about twins lost in a truly bizarre village that is looked over by a giant scarecrow. I have read Strand’s work as an adult horror writer where he’s known for his comedy and going to the extreme. As a fan of his work, I wanted to check it out. It Watches in the Dark has some bizarre characters, some dark humor, and a good final twist, and where this story doesn’t go to the extreme it goes to places other children’s books will not. The story took a little while to get going for me the twins took a while to like, but I eventually got there. The scares include being trapped, getting held against your will, getting eaten by ants (I loved this scene), being thrown on roofs, Being eaten by multiple big creatures, and a being entering your mind making you harm others. The ending is wild and I loved every minute of it. There’s a twist that I should have seen coming but I did not that is totally great and very in the horror/Twilight Zone vein. The scene made me laugh out loud in a good way because of what was happening. I really liked the ending but had some issues with the character’s actions and I really wanted a history of the scarecrow which we did not get. I thought the story could have added more humor there’s some but I wanted more. The story felt like it was a cross between Goosebumps and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. I read this Advanced Reader’s Copy thanks to Netgalley and Source Books Young Readers for the free book. It Watches in the Dark by Jeff Strand is published on April 2, 2024.
Plot Summary: Two twins Oliver and Trisha celebrate their 12th Birthday with their dad with a 5 day canoe trip down the river in Missouri. An accident happens on the trip that knocks out the father, and the kids look for help the go down the river until they find an old dock. The kids only see a forest after the dock, but don’t see anywhere else and follow a trail that leads to a small town. Who can help their dad? The kids aren’t allowed in the hospital and have to spend a day in the weird town that has a giant Scarecrow in the center that they feel is creepy and watching them. Everybody in town is very thankful for the scarecrow and doesn’t think it is creepy at all. The kids get yelled at and told they are ungrateful when they don’t finish a huge ice cream sundae, the mayor makes a deal with the kids to see their dad, they have to sit in front of the scarecrow for one hour, which they do but are horrified when they hear a voice asking them do violence to each other. When they finally get to see their dad he has an outrageous amount of wires hanging out of him. The kids are told they have to stay the night but plan to escape with their dad as Trisha steals the key to the hospital. when they do escape the house they were staying the night, they notice something the scarecrow is not where it was, and is actively moving around looking for them.
What I Liked: The dark humor about the mayor, the owner of the diner, and various townspeople who see the world as one way, and these kids are rude. The kids and the fire ants scene is great. How vicious the scarecrow is when he throws them and goes through buildings to find them. The twist with all the wires in the dad was a good one. The final twist in the story was amazing and made me so happy as a horror fan. I liked the conversations with the mayor, he was so odd and easily offended to have all this power. The case scenes with the scarecrow.
What I Disliked: The action took a long time to start the scarecrow doesn’t move until after 50%. Trisha felt older than 12. The actions of Belinda made no sense at all. The scarecrow is inconsistent as well, he had so many chances to kill the kids through the townspeople but does not say anything.
Recommendation: This story has a great twist that makes it worth it. The pace was a little slow for a Jeff Strand novel that usually has a rapid pace. I will barely recommend this story. I have read a lot of Goosebumps books and I would say this book is better than half of them. the novel brings the scares when things get going.
Rating: I rated It Watches in the Dark 3.4 out of 5 stars. My Favorite Jeff Strand novel is Wolf Hunt, and A Bad Day for Voodoo is a very entertaining book books are not for children.
Reading with My Eyes 