Book Review - Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones

Title: Night of the Mannequins
Series: -
Author: Stephen Graham Jones
 
Description: A contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both?
 
Review: The idea than an inanimate but human-looking object could come to life and kill you really scared me. The synopsis for Stephen Graham Jones’ “Night of the Mannequins” really got me excited, even though the description is still a bit vague. The idea of a mannequin coming to life and killing teenagers.
 
WARNING! THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW
 
Our main character and first person narrator is Sawyer, a teenager in a group of friends who like to play pranks on each other. Sawyer and his friends found a mannequin and they name him Manny. They think of the perfect prank: dress him up and set him in the movie theater one of his friend works at. But the prank goes wrong, when Sawyer sees Manny get up an walk away.
 
What follows is a story that reads like a slasher film, with lots of weirdly deranged action, a very funny narrative voice, and lots of ambiguity about what exactly is happening to Sawyer and his friends, and whether ot not a mannequin has come to life. A warped perception of what’s real and what’s not. Sawyer is an unreliable narrator, so you never really know whether it’s really happening, it’s in his head or it even is him doing it.
 
“Night of the Mannequins” is a strange book, but it’s definitely worth picking up if you enjoy strange horror themes. It’s a quick read and a good way to discover Stephen Graham Jones’ writing.
 
Rating: 3,5/ 5