Book Review - Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Title: Echo
Author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Published: 2019

Description: Nick Grevers and his climbing partner Augustin are drawn to the Maudit, a remote mountain in the Swiss Alps. Documentation about the mountain is scarce, it is unusually quiet there, and as they enter the valley, they are overcome by the ominous feeling that they are not alone. Not long after, Augustin is dead and Nick awakens from a coma. He is maimed and his face is damaged. A difficult rehabilitation awaits, but Nick soon realizes that it is not just the trauma of the accident that haunts him. Something has been awakened within him…

Review: Following the international success of “Hex”, expectations for “Echo” were sky-high. With this book Thomas Olde Heuvelt proves again that he is a master at creating a suffocating, eerie atmosphere.
 
Nick Grevers wakes up mutilated and in a coma after a mysterious climbing accident in the Swiss Alps, his partner Sam is overjoyed that he is still alive. However, Nick has not returned from Mount Maudit alone. A dark, ancient presence lurks within him, slowly terrorizing those around him.
 
The way the Maudit is portrayed as a living, malevolent character is brilliant. The icy atmosphere and isolation get under you skin. The book has psychological depth. The story is largely told from the perspective of Sam. His struggle between his love for Nick and the sheer terror of what Nick has become is painfully palpable. Olde Heuvelt also manages to blend classic folk horror with modern elements, resulting in some terrifying scenes.
 
At over 600 pages, the book is simple too long. Some diary excerpt and repetitions completely slow down the pace of the story. And it takes a while for the story to really get going. This is not a fast-paced action story, you need a lot more patience.
 
“Echo” is a fascinating, literary horror novel that perfectly illustrates how trauma and possession go hand in hand. It’s psychologically more powerful than “Hex”, but lacks the same taut sense of suspense. For fans of slow-burn, atmospheric horror, this is definitely a must-read. Just keep in mind the substantial length. I never had the ambition to go mountain climbing, and because of this book I definitely never doing it.
 
Rating: 3,5/ 5

 

Book Review - Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Title: Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn
Author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Genre: Horror/ Fiction
Published: 2025
 
Description: Jamie Gunn loves stories. His hero is his father, the best storyteller in the world. But then his father dies, and Jamie goes on a quest from strangers, to give meaning to his father’s death. He meets Sheila Higginbottom, a remarkable recluse who tells him the beginning of a life-threatening story. If you hear the end, you will die…
 
At a young age, Jamie breaks through as a bestselling author. His book is chilling, and spreads in unpredictable and unforeseen ways. When the disastrous effects of the book on its readings come to light, Jamie fears that the story is not yet done with him. Can he save them and himself from the end?
 
Whatever you do, don’t read the last page.
 
Review: Thomas Olde Heuvelt is a Dutch author, who became known for horror books like  “Hex” and “November” (recently released in English under the title “Darker Days”). “Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn” (translated: The Last Story of Jamie Gunn) is his newest book, which hasn’t been released in English yet. I was already a fan of his work, but this book made me an even bigger fan. This is my favorite of his so far.
 
In “Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn” we meet Jamie, who loves stories. His father is the best storyteller and that’s where het gets his love for stories from. When his dad passes away, Jamie needs to find a way to give his father’s death meaning. He goes to strangers and makes them tell him stories. When he meets Sheila Highbottom, she starts telling him the story that he cannot know the ending of. When Jamie grows up, he becomes a bestselling author. For his newest book he warns his readers; whatever you do, don’t read the last page. And the people who read it start seeing an entity, one that he is all to familiar with.
 
“Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn” reads like you’re watching a film. It’s a brilliant, personal, and chilling book. It’s confusing, gruesome and ingenious. This story has so many layers and has many references to horror classics. It really challenges the reader. I found it very hard to put down. This book had me in its grip from start to finish, because of the suspenseful build-up and cliffhangers.  
 
The complex structure of the story, with layers, overlap and blur the lines between fiction and reality. You don’t always know what’s real and what’s not. Just like Jamie is experiencing. I like being challenged with my books, and this book did just that. With that, the story feels very personal. Especially after meeting Thomas Olde Heuvelt on his book tour. Because of that, I really empathized with Jamie on a deeper level.
 
The warning to not read the last page obviously triggers you, just like all the readers in the book. I still haven’t read all of his books, but of the three I have read, this is Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s best to date. And hoping for all the horror readers outside The Netherlands, that it will be translated to English very soon.
 
Rating: 5/ 5

Book Review - November by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Title: November
Author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Genre: Horror
Published: 2022
 
Description: Welcome to Lock haven, Washington, home to the happiest street in the world. A walk down Bird Street won’t feel unusual, except that all the residents are doing well. There are large houses, with beautiful cars. If you were to meet the residents, you would notice that they are all genuinely happy. They have successful careers or are doing exactly what they always wanted to do. They are all healthy, physicialy, mentally and spiritually. They are thoughtful, energetic, educated and generous. And their children? They are perfect. Each of them talented.
 
Until November comes. Luana and Ralph know it, and so do their children Kayla and Django. They live in the most modest of the five houses. Every year, November is the moment when their luck turns and they are struck by misfortune. There are the aches and pains, accidents, the financial setback. Periods of illness, mental confusion, and depression. Usually nothing insurmountable, but they better sit out November every year. After about four weeks, it passes and ultimate happiness returns… but only at a price. And every year, Luana and Ralph wonder if that price isn’t too high.
 
Review: Thomas Olde Heuvelt is a Dutch author, of whom I read “Hex” last year. That was a great, very scary book. “November” is a book about the happiest street in the U.S. The residents in this street live the perfect, flawless lives. At least, until November, because in that month things turn for the worse. In order to get the happiness back, they have pay a price.
 
The story is told from the perspectice of the four  members of the Lewis da Silva family: father Ralph, mother Luana, 15-year-old daughter Kayla and 10-year-old son Django. The chapters alternate between their POV’s. Through them you also learn more about the other residents od the street and their relationships with each other.
 
Olde Heuvelt has a very descriptive, very reminiscent of Stephen King. It’s very easy to picture Lock Haven. Trigger warnings for themes such as euthanasia, bipolar disorder, suicide, self-harm and death. The story is somewhat long-winded, but there is underlying tension. The weight that hangs over this street becomes heavier and heavier. And the feelings and actions of Bird Street become increasingly darker. The story drags on here and there, and the story is a bit too long for my taste. But it has an amazing twist at the end, that I did not see coming. I really like this author.
 
Rating: 3,5/ 5

Book Review - Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Title: Hex
Series: Robert Grim # 1
Author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
 
Description: Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay ‘til death. Whoever settles, never leaves.
 
Welcome to Beek, the seemingly picturesque Dutch town haunted by the Wyler witch , a seventeenth century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children’s bed for nights on end. everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear.
 
The elders of Beek have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town’s teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past.
 
Review: Thomas Olde Heuvelt wrote the book back in 2013, but experienced a big breakthrough in America by releasing it in English.
 
The small town of Beek seems to outsiders a very quiet town, but appearance can be deceiving. Ever since the seventeenth century, a very special inhabitant has lived among the towns people and everything is done to hide her from outsiders. The Wyler witch, as this woman is called, has the entire village in her power. The people fear for their lives when they rebel against her, and to limit her powers, her eyes and mouth are sewn shut. All the villagers know that it is in everyone’s interest that these should never be opened. When one day a group of young people decide to make the witch known on the internet, it has great consequences for everyone who lives in Beek.
 
“Hex” is a mix of thriller, mystery and fantasy and contains elements from both the seventeenth and twenty-first century. This makes the book very original. The setting of a small town always works in a book like this. “Hex” is a genuinely creepy and scary book, that gave me a few sleepless nights.
 
The book is structured in two parts. In part one, we get to know the village and its inhabitant better. In the second part, the consequences of the actions of the teenage villagers become clear.  
 
The ending left me speechless, I loved the ending. It’s not a happy one, which fit this story perfectly. Stephen King has a love for this book and I totally understand why. It has some slower moments, which made it that I couldn’t give the book a perfect score, but it’s a book I would recommend to horror fans.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5