Stephen Graham Jones, a Blackfoot Native American author, has made a career out of producing tales that infuse the Indigenous lifestyle in the U.S. with supernatural elements that dig deeply into both the traditions of that culture and general fears that would scare anyone.

DON’T FEAR THE REAPER is a direct follow-up to MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW, the middle entry in what Jones refers to as the Indian Lake Trilogy. When we last saw Jade Daniels, she was experiencing a rough senior year that found her caught up in murder and mayhem around her hometown of Proofrock, Idaho. She was sent to prison for her involvement but eventually had the conviction overturned.

"I knew immediately that I would enjoy DON’T FEAR THE REAPER, especially since Jones named the book after Blue Öyster Cult’s classic rock song (which happens to be the same tune that Stephen King chose to open THE STAND)."

Reading this sequel is like dipping into a compendium of modern horror; in fact, most of the chapters begin with the title of either a popular scary film or novel. Jade has returned to her old stomping grounds, and things are much worse now than they were when she left for her incarceration. This is primarily due to the presence of the brutal, hook-handed serial killer known as Dark Mill South.

Dark Mill South is a villain of mythical power. He is seeking revenge in the name of 38 Dakota men who he feels were wrongly hanged in 1862. The scar-faced, freakishly tall killer escapes from police custody during his trial and heads off into a blizzard. His killing spree begins on December 12, 2019 and will end 36 hours later on Friday the 13th, with 20 bodies left in his wake.

Jade is well aware of Dark Mill South and his horrifying legacy, and she feels that she was released from prison specifically to stop him. When friends and colleagues of hers begin turning up as his victims, she really takes her mission personally. The suspense is peppered with references that will please all horror fans (I especially appreciated the comparison of Clive Barker to Halloween director John Carpenter.)

As the novel progresses, we learn more about Proofrock and its history of violence. We are led to believe that the terror happening now was inevitable and is perhaps even unstoppable. Dark Mill South, living up to his immortal claim, has been purported to have existed long in the past and at one point was credited with rising from his own grave to kill again. How in the world can Jade stand a chance against such evil?

I knew immediately that I would enjoy DON’T FEAR THE REAPER, especially since Jones named the book after Blue Öyster Cult’s classic rock song (which happens to be the same tune that Stephen King chose to open THE STAND). In the Acknowledgements, Jones attributes much of the background for his novel to Halloween, once again paying tribute to the path that paved the way for his eerie fiction.