Stay Buried by Jennifer McMahon
Horror/Supernatural
August 11, 2026 by Gallery Books
ARC

Review by Angela

If you’ve read any of Jennifer McMahon’s backlist, then you know that this author tells her dark supernatural stories through alternating timelines and revolving POVs. Stay Buried is no different, we have two timelines- March 1919 and October 2016, but there are three narrators- Frankie in 1919 and Mini and Ashley in 2016. I promise it’s not as confusing as it sounds.

This is the tale of Boone’s Ferry, a small, isolated village in Vermont and the Knackerman, who quickly becomes their boogeyman. The story begins in March of 1919, when Frankie O’Massey, and her uncle, Dr. Thomas Endicott, are called to a local farm where the horses appear sick with a mysterious illness. Those horses have to be put down, and the Knackerman is called to take them away. It’s not long before he shows back up in town, sickly himself and is taken to the good doctor’s home where he appears to pass away. Then his body disappears and resurfaces back in town when he attacks a woman and infects her with whatever is causing his zombielike symptoms. As more attacks happen and the villagers all begin to grow ill, a dark chaos infects the remaining citizens and it’s not long before a darkness spreads through Boone’s Ferry.

The timeline shifts to 2016 and follows Ashley, who has dropped out of medical school and is currently living with her grandmother. She is still grieving the death of her mother and hallucinating visions of her at random times and places, warning her only to “listen”. She’s convinced that her mother’s trip to Boone’s Ferry to investigate their heritage has something to do with her death, and the story that it’s a suicide can’t be true. Her brother Malcolm, who is a get-rich-quick schemer, has no such reservations. But after their grandmother’s death, they inherit a house in Boone’s Ferry, and the siblings decide to take a trip and see this mysterious house. Ashley to find out what happened to their mother, and Malcolm with visions of bed and breakfasts and financial freedom.

The Boone’s Ferry of 2016 is just as creepy as the Boone’s Ferry of 1919. The knackerman is a part of their everyday lives, and they leave him gifts every full moon. The tale of 1919 and the “flu” that struck the town is lore that has been passed down through generation after generation. Everyone knows when the spirit of the knackerman comes at night to leave your offerings, stay in your house and follow the rules. Mini is a friendly, curious young girl who wants to see the knackerman and find out if he is real. Her curiosity is what gets her in trouble and in the knackerman’s crosshairs. The mark on her front door lets the town know that she is soon to face the consequences.

Oh, I forgot, there is also Sad Willy, who is the town drunkard whose wife died two years prior, he plays an integral part of the ongoing story.

The timeline and POV jumps begin to connect when Ashley and Malcom arrive in town and realize the town has secrets and begin to ask questions about the past and their heritage. The events of both timelines are intense, and there is a sense of growing darkness and doom that permeates the narrative. Frankie’s situation is even more dire, as she is an orphan, an outsider, queer, and in a secret relationship with Pearl, who is the daughter of a prominent resident. You want her and Pearl to make it out of the town and live happily ever after, but this is not that type of story, and my head knew that probably wouldn’t happen. I will say the ending was satisfying.

A perfect horror-filled, creepy read. Jennifer McMahon delivers once again.

Grade- B+