It’s time to review another TBR Jar pick! A Mask Of Flies By Matthew Lyons was my pick for July and let’s just say — based on the publish date of this post — it took a little longer than that to finish. But even if it did, this supernatural horror thriller novel set in the remote Colorado San Luis Valley was totally and completely worth it. This book, published in August 2024, has the vibes of “The Hitch-Hiker” episode of The Twilight Zone and Pet Sematary, and has all the tension necessary to make it a great cabin-in-the-woods or at-home-alone read. Seriously consider putting A Mask Of Flies and its cat-and-mouse plot at the top of your Halloween spooky reads list.
A Mask of Flies By Matthew Lyons
One of the best parts of a paranormal or psychological thriller/horror story is the ongoing sense of dread. The idea that whatever danger is out to get you, whatever supernatural creature is on the hunt, it could always be right around the corner and you can’t stop it once you’re marked for death. Lyons’ novel does just that:
A pulse-pounding crime horror epic about a criminal on the run, the deadly family secrets she unearths along the way, and the sinister monster from her past that has gotten a taste for her blood – and won’t sleep until she’s dead.
In the grisly aftermath of a botched bank heist, career criminal Anne Heller has no choice but to return to her family’s cabin – a secluded shack in the San Luis Valley, and the site of her mother’s untimely death.
Along for the ride are Jessup, Anne’s badly wounded partner, and Dutch, the police officer she’s taken hostage. As they wait for help, Anne discovers strange relics of her mother and begins to unfold the mystery of her childhood at the cabin.
Then Jessup goes missing, only to turn up dead. Anne and Dutch bury her friend, but that night, he comes back and knocks at the cabin door.
Not a dream, not a hallucination, but not exactly Jessup, either. Something else. Something wearing her friend’s face. Something hungry . . .
A Mask of Flies. Matthew Lyons. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195790742-a-mask-of-flies.
Readers of the infamous Monkey’s Paw story by W.W. Jacobs will instantly recognize this feeling: hearing an ominous knock on the door in the middle of the night; a not-quite-human voice calling out from behind the thin slab of wood; telling yourself it can’t be the one you just buried in a shallow grave. That is just the start of the horror in this book. You as the reader are already feeling the adrenaline of the botched bank heist, watching Anne try to save Jessup’s life and patch up his gunshot wounds while running away from the cops, only to be hit with the ominous, looming danger of being forced to retreat to the old cabin.
Mix that with a constant cat-and-mouse chase — from cops, double-crossed former criminal partners, and something supernatural out to get our main character — throw in some classic Old West shootouts, and that’s what A Mask of Flies is. Set in present day but taking place in the vast nothingness and empty land of Southwestern Colorado, it feels like you’re right there with Anne and her companions the entire time; constantly on the run and trying to make it out alive.
The main overarching plot of this book has to do with Anne being confronted with long-lost, long-dead memories of her tragic past, coming to terms with her mother’s death, a strange mountain town religious cult, and a blurry home video VHS tape reaching far beyond the fabric of reality. It’s actually one of the more horror-centric and frankly gruesome thriller books I’ve read, with frequent mentions of blood, dead bodies, gunshot wounds, and other elements of body horror; the closest I’ve come to something of this nature was Rest Stop By Nat Cassidy. Given how dark and bloody the story is, Lyons is an author who is not afraid to kill characters and let stuff happen to them.
But outside of that, A Mask of Flies also heavily features creepy religious and cult leader commentary — likening The Passage Of Divinity to Jonestown — even going as far as Anne sniffing for the telltale bitter almond scent of cyanide. Seeing how far people (namely cult leaders) will go in the name of seeking salvation, in the name of crossing over to the divine, and in the name of their God — seeing how it’s depicted in this book is fascinating. But no matter how far Anne runs, from Durango to Alamosa, all the way to New Mexico — it’s not enough to outrun the past.
This book has everything: supernatural horror, chases, escapes, gunfights, mystery and suspense, murder, dread, revenge, and really vivid descriptions in the climax that just suck you in. Lyons’ book absolutely needs to be on your list for October reads; whether you read it with other people around or at night or when you’re home alone, this book will make you question everyone around you. If you’re a fan of wilderness thrillers, paranormal horror, dangerous murderous cults, and overall a constant feeling of being chased and like you’re always looking over your shoulder — check it out. I highly recommend it!
My Hot Takes (Spoiler Warning)
- Jessup’s voice, when he knocks on the cabin door, speaks to Anne in such a creepy AF in the audiobook. 10/10 storytelling and scare.
- The cat is OK! Just know throughout the whole book — the cat is OK!
- There is some commentary in the book that seems very forced and out-of-place. Gemma/Jemma is asked why she doesn’t trust cops and says that it’s because of her race (she is not Caucasian); this is where the author has commentary on police brutality against black people and the 2020-2021 George Floyd protests. I understand this discussion is important for the relationship between these two characters, since they don’t really trust each other and one is a former cop, but it seems a little forced and not needed given the rest of the plot elements. It makes way more sense for Gemma to be wary about cops in general due to her past and criminal actions, not necessarily her race or fear of police brutality.
- Win is, for real, the perfect depiction of a cult leader. He comes across as a nice old man, but he’s also crazy and will commit mass murder serial killer style for his own dark and misguided purposes.
- Anne suffers so much bodily harm in this book, like fuck man.
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
