Overnight Shenanigans

Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

Pages: 144 Genre: horror

Rating: 4 Star

Kindle Notes & Highlights

Every night, five people working the late shift gather together in the college's ancient graveyard for a smoke break. One night, they discover a hole that wasn't there before. It's an open grave, but the cemetery hasn't had new bodies in years. So, who dug the hole, and why? Before they separate for the night, the gravedigger shows up. And as they trail him, they realize that this story may be bigger than any of them expected.

I've discovered that I really enjoy M.L. Rio as an author. I really enjoyed this novella. I thought it was well-done as a short-er story (rather than a full length novel), but honestly? I would've loved this as a full-length novel. It was well-contained for what it was, but it could've easily been expanded upon.

The characters were very engaging. I liked their dynamics between each other, and I thought they all had a solid motivation for getting involved. Packing in five whole people into this short of a story — with unique traumas and circumstances — is difficult to balance, but it was done really well. Arguably, that was the highlight of the story for me.

That's not to say I didn't like the story, because I did. It was a little over my head at times, but it was interesting. I was intrigued and wanted to see how it would develop. Because of the length, though, there was no room to build things out. Everything was exactly as it was said to be. Which is fine, if not just a little underwhelming.

I just wanted the story to keep going. I know it's not fair to judge a book for what it is not, or for what it was never meant to be, but that's how I feel. I want to stay with the characters and see how they move forward from the events of this night. It's a compliment, I promise ... even if it's not a fair criticism.

If there's one thing I think M.L. Rio does well, it's create an atmosphere for a story. I was right there in this scary graveyard while I was reading. It was remarkably well-written, although I don't know that it was particularly frightening. Suspenseful and full of dread, certainly. Either way, I really enjoyed it.