this was a really interesting and different book surrounding folk lore and legends in jamaica and a young boy struggling with grief trying to protect his friends and family. i found this really well written, the setting was great, and i really felt for tyrese

Tyrese Walker has been dragged away on a vacation he does not want to be a part of. Following the sudden death of his father, Ty’s school counselor has suggested that Ty and his mother visit his father’s family back in Jamaica and so that’s where he’s stuck, out in the middle of nowhere at his Grammy’s house with his exuberant cousin Marvin. For the whole summer. All Ty wants is to be back in his bedroom in Manchester, not dealing with his cousin talking a mile a minute at him in Patois (a language he doesn’t even know how to speak) trying to keep his anxiety and emotions at bay, and putting up with Grammy’s constant talk of duppies and other supernatural beings.

Doing his best to make the most of the situation, Ty begins to explore the countryside with Marvin and Ellie – a Texan girl their age also stuck in Jamaica while her emotionally distant father builds a tourist resort nearby. However, Ty is starting to see things. His father’s jacket hangs in a wardrobe despite being buried with him, his room catches on fire but no one else sees the smoke, and large black centipedes crawl out from the shadows. Ty and his new friends soon learn the legend of the Shadow Man, a local legend who takes away teenagers, and soon they realize that this particular legend is very real and he has chosen Ty to be his next victim. With the adults around them not able to help, Ty, Marvin, and Ellie must embark upon a race against time to find out the origins of the Shadow Man and prevent Ty from becoming the next name on a long list of missing teens.

Despite having one of the worst covers I’ve seen in a long time, I absolutely loved The Haunting of Tyrese Walker. The book did an amazing job of capturing the sensation of feeling lost and unmoored by extreme grief, and this is compounded by the confusion Ty and his friends feel at having to come to terms with the supernatural becoming real. Initially, Ty is unsure whether the things he sees are actually real, of supernatural origins, or simply hallucinations caused by his own grief. This adds to his distress, making him even more emotional and cutting him off from those around him.

The book introduces a whole world of Caribbean folklore from duppies (ghosts/spirits), to soucouyants (blood-sucking hags that appear as old ladies by day) and La Diablesse (a woman who sold her soul to the devil and became in demon in exchange for eternal youth and beauty). These are seamlessly mixed with the legend of the Shadow Man to the point that I had to look up which parts were real folklore and which were made up for the book. There are some genuinely scary moments here, although nothing got under my skin quite the way Ty’s memories of learning about his father’s death did.

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker is a brilliant book to read this Halloween season, especially for those looking to expand away from typical Western horror and explore the myths and legends of the Caribbean.

Now, that was a complete surprise.
When a book has the word Haunting in the title, you don’t expect to cry, and yet, I did!

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker is both skin-crawlingly creepy and beautiful. It magnificently and powerfully links supernatural activity & grief together, so much so I was mesmerised.

Key aspects I loved ~

*Short chapters. 1 - for the obvious reason, and 2 - because J P has also managed to fill each chapter with tension, suspense, fear, uncertainty, and so much more that it’s damn near impossible to put down. You will literally say, “Just one more chapter.”

*The descriptions. You go from the sinisterly atmospheric to the most tender words possible. And then you have the descriptions of the insects, infection and the surrounding evil. It truly is terrifying and gross.

*Tyrese. Of course, I loved the main character. He was perfectly written. And a great representation of being lost to the darkness of one’s grief. My heart truly ached for him.
I also have to mention the beautiful dedication at the beginning of the book. Although not relevant to the story, it gives a lovely insight into the author.

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker is a powerful and beautiful metaphor for grief and a fantastic read for horror/paranormal fans.

Thank you, Andersen Press & NetGalley, for the eArc in return for an honest review.

I was chilled to the bone, this was so fantastically creepy.

Grieving the loss of his father, Tyrese Walker goes on a trip to visit his family in Jamaica where everything starts to get a bit eerie. He starts to hear voices and see things and it might not just be his mind playing tricks on him.

I absolutely adore Tyrese’s story and all the characters. This story oozes Jamaican folklore and I cannot get enough of it. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a spooky read to cosy up with by the fire. It has ignited a spark within me to look more into the history of Jamaican folklore. I have always been intrigued by the Shadow Man and this read was right up my street. This was such a thrilling yet touching read and I will definitely be carrying a pocketful of rice from now on.

Tyrese Walker has already endured a traumatic year with the death of his father, when is mother takes him to Jamacia to visit his grandmother. She believes this is the trip that will help him to open up about his father’s death and begin grieving. But when Tyrese stumbles upon a hidden grave in the mountain his broken heart becomes appealing to the Shadow man. Will Tyrese succumb to the song of the missing?

We follow Tyrese, Marvin and Ellie as they try to save themselves from the duppies and daemons of Jamacia. What does the shadow man want with Tyrese? They dig up stories of grief from the past as they try to figure out who the shadow man is and how they can stop him, We also follow Tyrese on his journey of grief and you see his character go through all the stages of denial, anger and finally acceptance – it was beautiful to read.

This was a 3-star rating for me. The generally hauntings where spine chillingly just enough, with some chapters (mainly involving the old man or insect descriptions) leaving me generally creeped out! I felt that the narrative should have stayed with this creepy vibe. It lost its eeriness for me when the narrative went all Frankenstein’s monster. I was really rooting for an ending that linked the loss of his dad more with the shadow man- I was expecting it to come to fruition that all the hallucinations, blackouts and spirits were in his mind. Though I did love that Tyreses coming to terms with his grief was his saving light in the end.
I would definitely try other books from this author especially if they have the same eerie vibes.

I ended up really enjoying The Haunting Of Tyrese Walker by JP Rose.
The book was really spooky and it was really well written.
I couldn't put it down and I finished it in a day!
In the end this was a great YA Horror read and I highly recommend it!
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I just read The Haunting of Tyrese Walker on #NetGalley & was properly chilled...cannot look at a centipede again 😱 @jprosewriter

I could not put this down!

My students are crying out for horror and creepy books that are age appropriate and this ticks ALL the right boxes!

It paints a picture of an island full of mysterious and uncanny events - at times the hairs on the back of my neck stood bolt upright! However - it is also a story of grief, and loss, and processing death with support from those around us.

I would definitely read this in class and will be stocking multiple copies in the school library!

I really enjoyed this book, dealing with an difficult topic, the loss of a parent, JP Rose did a brilliant job of portraying Tyrese’s pain and difficulty of expressing himself to his family along with the supernatural element with the candy man style demon he encounters. I loved all the characters and will definitely look for more books from this author.

A tale of grief, family and a menacing legend come to life.

Thank you to Netgalley & Anderson Press for providing this ARC for review.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was greatly impressed by JP Rose’s The Haunting of Tyrese Walker which uses grief, loss and mental health as a convincing basis to build an excellent horror story which could be read by both Middle Grade and YA audiences. It was creepy and unsettling rather than outright scary and because it was not particularly gory or violent it should attract a wider audience and such was its quality it deserves to. It was a compelling read and I sped through it in a few sittings, I also adored the use of the Jamaican folklore, which had me reaching for Google to find out what the supernatural references of ‘Duppy’ and ‘Soucouyant’ meant. The story was also beautifully paced, had a clever way of eliminating adults from the adventure and had three terrific main characters. It was also refreshing to read a novel with a boy as the main character, as these types of books are virtually always dominated by female narratives. Equally so, I enjoyed the fact that the author did not feel the need to throw in a developing romance, as the story really did not need it and the importance was how Tyrese Walker overcame his own personal, painful and complex inner demons which were portrayed incredibly sensitively.

The story opens with Tyrese arriving in Jamaica with his mother to stay with his grandmother and cousin Marvin for the summer. The boy has struggled to recover from the death of his father some months earlier and is overcome with grief with his mother hoping the change of scenery will do some good. However, rom the first night, strange things start happening: impossible visions, blackouts, swarms of insects, and the discovery of a grave hidden deep in the forest… Tyrese can’t explain what’s going on and he’s scared that he’s losing his grip on reality. However, friendship develops with his cousin and a girl called Ellie who is visiting the island with her developer father. This leads to a mystery which takes in Jamaican folklore and the possibility that he is being hunted by a boogieman type character called the ‘Shadow Man’ and together they uncover a rash of unexplained disappearances and uncover the Shadow Man’s sinister history. The supernatural mystery element, which included some great possession scenes and freaky scenes of people with hooves were great, but the portrayal of Tyrese and how he deals with his grief stole the show. The book carefully shows the reader how grief can change you, but that the power of friendship can trump than. This was a terrific read and is highly recommended. AGE RANGE 11-14

A slow burning suspenseful YA horror that builds in suspense and tension as the pacing of the plot increases. It was dark and creepy Nand I loved it. A real page turner that I read in one sitting.

After his father’s death, Tyrese Walker refuses to mourn and shuts down at the mere mention of his father. In an effort to help him, his mother travels with him to Jamaica to visit his Grammy and cousin Marvin, in the hopes that being home will help Ty come to terms with what has happened. When Ty sees a mysterious figure in the mountains near his Grammy's house, he quickly finds out that he has been targeted by the 'Shadow Man', a paranormal figure in West Indian folklore. Strange things begin happening to Ty and with the help of his cousin and their new friend Ellie, the three children take off on a journey to save Ty from the duppies and paranormal entities haunting his every move.

I very much enjoyed this book, I devoured this in one sitting as I simply could not put this one down. However, I didn't realise until a little under halfway through that the book leans more to the middle-grade/younger side of the YA spectrum. However, the descriptions of the various duppies and the haunting scenes got under my skin far more than some more 'adult' YA horrors that I've read ever have.

The main theme present in this book is grief, and how grief can change a person. Ty, as a character, I didn't like, which I think may be an unpopular opinion given the previous reviews I've read. He let grief consume him and make him a rather spiteful and hurtful character, and it was only as I reached the halfway point and realised he's not an 18 year old and is likely no older than 13/14, that I realised he's a child and cannot fully comprehend and process his grief, and therefore, the way he spoke to his elders, his peers, was probably a rather accurate portrayal. I do think this hindered my experience of reading his character's development, as I just found him unlikeable from the get-go and therefore, it was harder to shake these feelings. If I knew he was a child going into this book then I think his journey and acceptance of what happened to his father would have been more profound to me, especially the scene when he finally listens to his father's voicemail and subsequently defeats the 'Shadow Man'.

I really enjoyed the mystery surrounding Levi Campbell and his son, and I was so eager to find out more about the 'Shadow Man', the missing, the duppies and other paranormal entities, and what happened all those years ago.

Overall, this is a very solid YA/teen paranormal horror, steeped in Jamaican and West Indies folklore and tradition, which only added to my curiosity. I found myself googling practically everything for a little more background, and to me that's the sign of a well-written plot. The descriptions in this book were as beautiful as they were creepy, and I did very much enjoy J.P. Rose's writing style. I'd definitely read more from this author!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of "The Haunting Of Tyrese Walker" by JP Rose.

At first, I was so excited because the concept and the cover hooked me into this book. However, the writing style of "creepy repetition" just made me feel bored instead of fascinated. The writing style connected with some scenes just didn't do it for me.

There is a positive to this book. That positive is Tyrese Walker himself. I absolutely loved him as a main character and honestly, I continued reading just for him and I think that in itself is a bonus.

This book for me was a case of a great plot, great setting, and great characters but not well executed. I did not like the writing at all and sometimes I felt myself skimming the words as I couldn't immerse myself into the book which is a shame as it had so much potential but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker is a resonant, chilling work of YA horror.

It follows Tyrese Walker who is in Jamaica with family, and struggling with his grief & guilt.

He commits 2 ‘sins’. Firstly, he fails to take superstition seriously—beware The Shadow Man; and secondly, he fails to let love & hope in.

This sets off a chain of unsettling events. And it’s now up to him, his cousin, and a newfound friend to undertake a journey that will force him to reckons with his ‘sins’.

Two questions take hold of the narrative:

Will Tyrese uncover the truth of The Shadow Man?

Will Tyrese let love and hope in?

These two questions underpin the second half of J.P. Rose’s story and she delicately unpacks them masterfully. In ways that burrow under your skin.

I confess I don’t read much horror, but I am struck by the thought that this is what horror ought to provide: visceral reflections of deeply human experiences.

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker slowly builds suspense by revelling in the anguish of Tyrese before satisfying the reader’s patience with an epic, spin-tingling journey!

I dipped into this arc, thinking I'd only read a few pages as I had other things planned, but I ended up reading throughout the night. I have always thought the term, couldn't put it down to be rather a silly phrase, but that was my experience with this book. I feel rather emotionally drained by the extraordinary journey I was taken on. The writing was superb. Mesmerising. The highest of standards. Poetic but without slowing the narrative. The descriptions of Tyrese's mental health issues which are triggered by grief and the black outs, have been beautifully and cleverly crafted by JP Rose. The horror elements truly frightening. As a librarian for many years, I read a huge amount and I have never been particularly drawn to the horror genre and as this book is a Teen-Ya read, I would normally only read for suitability for the library/book club/ordering, but with this book, there is something unique and powerful about the story and the writing. It feels very special. I haven't felt so moved and haunted by words and the journey of the protagonists, as if I was actually there, since I read books such as, A secret history, The Kite runner, which shows the sheer brilliance and uniqueness of the story. It is an extraordinary read which both teen-YA and adult readers will be thrilled and moved by. I hope it is read far and wide, and I doubt I shall read a better book for a very long time. Thank you to Andersen for this arc for an honest review.