The Handyman Method: A Story of Terror

I think I probably should just accept that I don't particularly vibe with Cutter's style.

I really liked the idea behind this one but the execution just fell kinda flat for me. The whole thing with the video characters becoming more and more unhinged would have worked better if there had been only one of them or if we hadn't known pretty much all along that the wife was part of the problem. Never really managed to get invested in any of the characters either, except maybe the poor turtle.

It's been ages since I've read Nick Cutter, and I especially loved The Troop. So I was looking forward to some grotty, gooey, gore. There is some of that. TW: There is a turtle in peril, which is upsetting.

Basically, Trent and Rita–along with their small son Milo and his aforementioned turtle Morty–move to a new housing development. It's so new, there's only, like, one house, and there is no lawn. Trent is annoyed at this. There is also a giant crack in his bedroom closet. So he does what any man with something to prove to himself does–he looks it up on Youtube, buys his supplies, and follows the instructions of Handyman Hank.

Naturally (supernaturally), strange things start to occur. Trent finds weird baubles and pink worms. Milo starts building weird creations from junk around the house. There are weird convex nests on the property, and weird voices coming from Milo's weird creations. Milo also seems to have his own Handyman Hank helping him create his little inventions. Meanwhile, Rita doesn't necessarily explicitly experience too many of the incidences, unless she's with her son. But she knows something is lurking there, something dark and awful, something that makes her fear for her son.

Cuz, let's face it. There's some backstory here, and Trent and Rita don't have the greatest relationship. And the house is making it worse and worse.

There was definitely some good grue. You can rely on our authors for that. There were a few things I didn't expect, which made me very happy also. This is easily a bit of a critique on toxic masculinity. A solid, fun read.

Thank you to the authors and publisher for giving me an ARC in a giveaway on line for an honest review.