I’ve been an avid reader of Rio Youers for years, and while Westlake Soul will always be my favorite for a number of reasons, Halcyon quickly became a favorite of mine. Expertly written, this book explores themes of trauma, domestic terrorism, psychosis, and the supernatural all while creating a bond between the reader and the Lovegrove family that makes it hard to put down. And I truly mean that—I mostly listened to this book during my work commute throughout the week, and I found myself taking the long way home multiple days just so I could spend more time inside this world.
Something that I found especially effective here is that this book takes its time getting inside of you: it burrows, festers, and gnaws at your heart strings, works to confuse you, rewire your brain. And I mean that as an absolute compliment because this approach isn’t much different from the method Mother Moon uses on those who visit her community in hopes of reaching Glam Moon. There were times when I was screaming at Martin and other times I found myself wanting to believe alongside him just as hard. The human mind is a terrifying thing, and the truth of the matter is that in this world, we all just want to feel safe, valued.
And sometimes we do horrible things to achieve that.
Other times, we’re naive, too hopeful.
Either way, we pay a price…and sometimes others do, too.
Halcyon is a must read for thriller fans, and hell, if you’re interested in True Crime, I’d recommend it to you, too (although this is not true crime, but for the sake of spoilers, just trust me on this one). It’s a book that broke me twice, and much like his other work, in the end, it all comes back to love, which is a topic that I think he writes about with just absolute aplomb and beauty.
Definitely pick this one up.
I give this book 5/5 animal masks.