Cedar Mills by Dylan James Review

Seeking to understand the recent deaths and disappearances in their town, a disgraced homicide detective and a group of grieving high schoolers unwittingly join forces. But what this ragtag bunch of answer-seekers find will not only force them into a fight to save themselves and their town, but all of humanity as we know it... Welcome to Cedar Mills.

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by the author and Savage Realms Press in exchange for an honest review.

A derelict grist mill off the beaten path, a string of grisly deaths with no known perpetrator, and an earth-shattering roar in the night. High school senior Jake and his fellow school newspaper club friends find themselves caught in the middle of a dangerous predicament following a local tragedy that has eerie similarities to a familiar scene of mass carnage twenty-five years ago. When their paths cross with a disheveled personal investigator, the tension and mystery of what’s out in the forest only grows as suspicious outside agents soon show up in town in full force. Dylan James’ novel Cedar Mills is an engaging suspenseful horror story that feels like a modernized take and ode to classic monster in the night horror tales. Featuring a diverse cast of characters with interwoven backstories, creative ideas mixed together in refreshing ways, and sharply pitched action scenes (pun fully intended), Cedar Mills is fast-paced and fun read akin to a Friday night stay-at-home horror movie marathon.

With a strong opening chapter and a perfectly pitched introduction to the unknown out in the Midwest forests, from the get-go Cedar Mills has a great sense of pace that balances its action vs ambiance, elements crucial to making a horror story like this work. While not only serving as a great title, the town of Cedar Mills and the focal grift mill are strong visual draws throughout the book that feel lived-in and detailed. The “who dunnit/what’s out there” vibe is also compelling, particularly when it’s unclear what the perpetrator is, whether it be a person, a beast, nobody knows. While character movements and high-energy scenes capture the reader’s attention, it’s the slow foreboding scenes that are my favorite that draw out the suspense well.

In addition to having good action, Cedar Mills also feels quick and easy to read courtesy of its short and concise chapters. The novel is written in the third person omniscient point of view, rapidly shifting between character perspectives and locations which helps a lot to keep the story engaging. While Jake and his friends don’t do quite as much investigating themselves as expected, it is instead the reader that has the opportunity to investigate through the eyes of at least ten different characters. The sheer number of characters that range in backgrounds, ages, and affiliations also keeps things refreshing while also providing a wide variety of narrative flavors, hence my comparison of the book to a movie marathon. As the novel progresses, so too does the scope of the story; what starts off as a simple slasher in the night becomes far more involved fast. Cedar Mills’s premise is ambitious and regardless of where one thinks the story is going, it will nonetheless still be surprising due to Jame’s creative fusion of different horror tropes and elements.

Though highly entertaining, I occasionally felt like the story was casting a bit too wide of a net that led to certain narrative elements feeling disconnected. While James’s take on the familiar horror trope is different, the reveal of the Cedar Mills threat felt a bit like it came out of left field for me. There are a few clues alluding to the origin of the mill and its surrounding mysteries, but I would’ve liked additional foreshadowing hinting toward the nature of the threat earlier for the reveal to have its full dramatic impact; the reveal was more confusing and eyebrow-raising than surprising, which likely isn’t the desired reaction. The novel also felt like it was spreading itself a bit too thin across its huge cast of characters with some of the flashbacks or backstory tangents feeling off-topic or meandering. While the variety and narrative flavor was nice, I would’ve preferred it if the story focused on only a few characters in more detail to connect to them more, especially as characters start violently dying. The book covers a lot of different characters and perspectives but apart from the pseudo main characters Jake and Tom, none of the rest feel like they have the time and attention to be developed beyond rough character tropes. The third person omniscient presentation also often hindered the overall suspense when the reader is given all the characters’ thoughts and intentions leaving little to the imagination, particularly in confrontational scenes between Jake and opposing groups (some of the adult agent characters’ dialogue also seemed a bit casual or unprofessional given their role).

With its snappy pacing and compelling premise, Cedar Mills is an easy novel to get into, and marathon read. A nice balance of horror, suspense and mystery, the story is entertaining without being overly convoluted or dense. While a bit uneven in content, Cedar Mills is great popcorn entertainment that’s well-written, effectively presented, and a fun read! (or as fun as getting mauled to death can be…)