Wow, this was fantastic! I almost expected it to be more extreme than the first book and wondered how Witherow would pull that off, but he went in a totally different direction and, while this is still what I'd consider extreme horror, the gore and grossness was spaced out a lot more to make room for lore and backstory that was really fascinating and enjoyable.

While the violence isn't as extreme or frequent as it was in The Black Farm, the stakes are somehow even higher. After all, Nick's return isn't about himself, it's about protecting Jess and their new baby Theo, so things are tense from the beginning, but they quickly ratchet up even further when Nick takes in a little girl he finds on the farm. I was shocked by the existence of this kid even being at the farm in the first place, but it quickly sets the stage for angry, vitriolic commentary on God—whether it only extends to the "God" in this book series, or is meant to be taken outside of the book's walls, is more or less left up to the reader, but as someone who has left the church and carries a solid amount of religious trauma of my own, I definitely found some catharsis in Nick's rage.

I can't say much more because I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone planning to pick up a copy, but I will say it was a shocking, incredible, gut-wrenching journey from start to finish and I enjoyed it immensely. I also thought the author's writing skills had improved since The Black Farm (which was still very good, but this was even better). The first book in this series made me curious to read more of Elias Witherow's stories, but this second book solidified him as an author I absolutely need to read more books from as soon as possible, because he's got an incredible talent for fucked up, heart-tugging horror.