Phipps & Suttkus Do It Again (Buck Yes)
5 out of 5 stars
A Nightmare on Elk Street, based on the title alone is awesome. But digging into the soul of the book – shows that Phipps and Suttkus not only know how to create magnificent worlds – but know how to keep them alive and thriving. I say this with a little bit of irony because in these worlds things seem to always be going wrong, but how is that any different than our world today? Nightmare is the third book in the Bright Falls Mysteries Series and the… probably tenth (a guess) book in the overall world that Phipps created (especially with the mention of an alternate reality that Jane visited (Supervillainy Saga), New Detroit is mentioned (Straight Outta Fangton), along with many others of the same world.
As with every book in, honestly every series I’ve read from Phipps – there are lots of pop culture references. In Nightmare, there was a particular focus on horror movies, especially B-Horror movies. Jane knowing most, if not all of them from her time working at a video store. As someone who worked at a video store, I can definitely confirm that’s exactly what we did, especially during slow hours. We’d throw on movies we loved or movies we wanted to see and have them playing while we were at work. So getting an encyclopedic knowledge of movies (especially certain genres) is 100% a fact.
This story was interesting because it seemed to focus on the creation of this movie (or movies) but it’s obviously so much more than that. Some of the stories focus is on Jane and just her becoming more of a woman. I say that not physically, but just in the choices she makes and has to make for herself and those around her. They aren’t kids’ decisions anymore and I thought Phipps and Suttkus did a great job in allowing her to grow as she gets older. I especially liked the scene later in the story when she’s talking with someone about how they hurt her and made her feel. That type of scene (not mentioning more because of spoilers) is really mature for Jane and I really enjoyed it.
Overall, as with all other books that I’ve LOVED from Phipps – this one is up there too. The pop culture and nerd references, mixed with the number of puns that Jane and company throw out there really make these books amazingly fun to read. But the stories back them up and they’re not just fun “fluff” novels either. Phipps and Suttkus are able to really write big wide-open worlds and throw these characters into almost anything. It’s a blast to read and I can’t wait to read more.
Given certain things that happened near the end – I’m not sure if there will be more Bright Falls Mysteries books, but I’m sure that we’ll see/hear from Jane in the other books set in this universe in the near future.
Book Description:
From the Best-Selling Author of The Rules of Supervillainy:
Jane Doe has settled into her new role as the Shaman of Bright Falls but that doesn’t pay the bills. With her boyfriend off chasing his evil father, Jane has decided to take up a job as security on the set of horror movies being filmed in her hometown. Unfortunately, the crew have been threatened by an ominous force that quickly sets its sights on Jane herself.
Complicating matters is that Jane’s past sins are coming back to haunt her with her vengeful cousins still blaming her for the death of their sister. Her complicated relationships with Alex and Lucien are also about to come to a head. Enjoy the final installment of the Bright Falls Mysteries! It’s deerlightful!
Set in the same universe as Straight Outta Fangton, The Morgan Detective Agency, Red Room Trilogy, and Psycho Killers in Love.
A Nightmare on Elk Street by CT Phipps, Michael Suttkus
Narrator: Arielle DeLisle
Series: Bright Falls Mysteries #3
Published by Crossroad Press on July 2nd 2021
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Audiobook
Buy from Audible
Also by this author: Cthulhu Armageddon, Agent G: Infiltrator, The Tower of Zhaal, Lucifer's Star, I Was a Teenage Weredeer, An American Weredeer in Michigan, Lucifer's Nebula
Also in this series: I Was a Teenage Weredeer, An American Weredeer in Michigan, The Bright Falls Mysteries Saga
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