“As long as an entity is sincerely believed in, it can continue to exist.”

This Way Lies Madness by J.A.C. Beardmore

Why This Rating?

I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review

This is the 3rd installment in the THUMBverse and I have to say it is probably my favorite of them so far! Yes, slasher movies and horror films are a blast to read about. And finding Sasquatch and other Nightmares in the mountains is freaking awesome. However, there is something in my heart (maybe my inner child) that is just excited to see and meet all of the imaginary, belief-based, mythological creatures and people I grew up with. To make it even better, we get to participate in another assignment with Sarah! Each time I get to read one of these, I fall more and more for the sassy Special Agent. Hell, I’m still chuckling at the “That bitch was so cold you could freeze gas in her ass” comment and that was only one of many!

I really enjoyed the writing from Beardmore in this book. We get a great collection of beautiful scenery and thought-out characters that it was very enjoyable to read. The conversations were smooth and witty! Don’t worry, when the moment calls for seriousness, our agents are able to focus up. We still get – what I am calling Beardmore’s signature writing – the other POVs between chapters. These are such a creative way to show the readers things that are happening away from our agents. While my heart hurt for all the pain Malcolm goes through at such a young age, I felt like it had the most impact on the overall story. Syril needs a Lucky Coin, my goodness! But when you go around saying aliens are here and are a tin foil hat believer, it’s going to be an interesting ride when THUMB is nearby. My favorite part of the writing was the various languages that were scattered in the pages. Latin, German, Swedish, old, new, accents from all around the globe! How freaking fun is that!?

Loved how unique each of our characters are from their original forms! Not just that but how well they stood on their own. Slenderman is no longer walking the woods but just trying to perfect his veal brisket before the food festival. The Boogeyman is not this terrifying person who hides under your bed, he is actually a horny, sleazebag who wants nothing more than to take the next pair of legs to bed. Mepho Stopolus is not a soul snatching demon ready to make a deal, but an innkeeper who has a staff of spring pooping Imps. He is easily my favorite character out of the entire book, by the way. Stays toe to toe with everything Agent Sarah dishes but tosses her curve balls that are hilarious – pink bike and all! Shows up when you least expect him and is always ready with a good quip. And Santa? Well, let’s just say that he and Krampus might have swapped personalities. Not to mention the new partner! Pikeman is SO formal (but you learn a TON of new words with him. Keep a dictionary!) and is a bit resistant to warm up to the laid-back actions of Agent Mitchell. There were so many more in the story! Let me know who you like or were the most surprised by!

I really enjoyed this one! Beardmore’s writing is a ton of fun. The characters were great! I love the fact that you really don’t need to read any of the others from the series to understand what is happening. Beardmore doesn’t leave anyone behind with his writings! I do wish we found out more about The Company from book 2, seems like this little part was left behind in this latest book. Maybe in the future we will see who they are and why they know so much? Heads up! This one ends on a wild turn and a crazy cliffhanger. It is still worth reading even if we are left wondering how Special Agent Sarag is going to get of this newest situation. I’m excited to see what else is incoming for the THUMBverse!

Time to get lost in the next story!