I struggled with 3 or 4 stars but settled on 3.5. This is a totally character and psychology driven novel. It’s in some ways a typical “we’re trapped in here and the psycho/threat is outside” trope with little plot but the writing is just so good. About 2/3 of the way through I was starting to get a little, “okay, let’s get on with it,” when Grant takes a left turn that puts the whole thing on a new track.

The ending, while above cliche, still left me with a ho hum feeling - I mean, I get it, but I don’t get it. You have to be there.

Still, turn the lights out on a cold snowy night and you’ll race through this as the body count mounts and you try to figure out who’s next on The Raven’s menu. If you are a fan of Grant’s quiet horror, you won’t be disappointed. ( )

A group of people at a small restaurant/bar in the middle of nowhere, in the 1980s. In a snowstorm. Late at night. The phone lines are down and no one has been driving down the instate... not even the county sander. No one.

And out in the woods is a man in black, with a black hat and a familiar, but unknown, face. And a shotgun. He's already killed the first man who attempted to leave. Shooting him (or did you miss? Every time?) has no effect. He just appears, raises panic, then disappears-- without leaving prints in the fresh snow.

Then there's the Raven. Big, Black. Too big. And ravens don't fly around at night. And why does the raven never appear when the man in black does? And what do either of them WANT?

They want death. And more death.

A quintessential horror story of man being isolated with man. And what happens when their humanity starts to fall apart. ( )