Having met and outsmarted the smiling man in Dead Voices but fearful of when he’ll come again, Ollie, Brian, and Coco are anxiously searching for a way to defeat him once and for all. By staying together and avoiding remote places, they’ve steered clear of him so far but their constant worry and stress is taking a toll on their lives and friendship. So when Ollie’s dad and Coco’s mom plan a “fun” boat trip on Lake Champlain, the three are apprehensive to say the least. They haven’t had the best of luck on their recent trips and even worse their frenemy Phil is on the boat as well. But when a lake monster destroys their boat, they end up shipwrecked on a deserted island. This isn’t just any island though. It’s hidden from the outside world in a fog and unless everyone works together to find a way to escape, they won’t survive long.

After loving the first two books in this series I was really excited to get to this one and unfortunately didn’t love it as much as the previous two books. I still really enjoyed the continuing story and the way things unfolded but did feel like the ending was rushed and didn’t love all the actions different characters took throughout the story. This story definitely felt like it’s a bridge between Dead Voices and the last book, so to me it felt a little rushed and incomplete. I did really enjoy the unfolding story and lore that went along with this story, as I have liked the storytelling in the last two books and that’s part of what keeps me reading. Keep in mind there are trigger warnings in this one for potential loss of a parent and if you have an issue with snakes you should probably know going in that this book features one. I definitely can’t wait until the last book comes out and can’t wait to see what happens to our favorite group of friends and the Smiling Man.

Happy reading!