What a spooktacular book.

I really liked the idea of exploring modern-day urban legend and horror concepts, and so coming across this book, I was immediately intrigued.

You follow several different characters who are all tied to a horrible event in one way or another and their paths to dealing with what they know and what they've experienced.

While it is fiction, there were times when it felt too far out of the realm of reality, which left me annoyed with some characters.

The horror elements are set sparingly but are horrifying enough to leave you shocked, and more than a little nervous about venturing onto the world wide web without ample caution.


The narrative is a little messy, and often has long drawn out over descriptions that feel almost like they were placed there to beef up the word count, but the events are fast paced and your always left waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Overall, I liked this book. I feel it could have benefitted from more time to cook, to flesh out characters and trim down filler, but I still found myself wanting to finish the story. A solid 3.5 out 5 spookies 👻

The Red Room is riveting. I couldn't put it down. Tracking down murders done for "entertainment" on the Dark Web is a rich ground for suspense and horror. Fabulous, well-written book.

This is only the 2nd thriller I have read all the way through and I really did enjoy it! I have tried over many years to get into thrillers but it has never meant to be... Until now. This book is my first Dark Web Thriller. The cover first struck my interest which, obviously, lead me to read the description, and I decided to give it a go, and I am so happy I did!
There was one moment I could really REALLY picture it (due to seeing horror movies when I was younger), and it made me CRINGE... Job well done!
I gelled well with the characters, and found that it was action packed and kept me thinking about what might be happen next and who the killer is. I really did have a hard time putting this down!
I recommend this book if you can stomach it.
#theredroom #netgalley

This is my first NetGalley ARC - shoutout to them and Mr Hughes for letting me read this for an honest review.

This novel follows a series of murders streamed live to many depraved characters who enjoy watching 'The Red Room' on the dark web. Eventually, this video is seen by amateur sleuth Kayla, who enlists the help of others as she begins her journey to seek justice for the victims and put an end to the snuff films.

I liked the concept of this book and I really wanted to love it. But this novel was devoid of personality and the narration was not dissimilar to an audio description narrator on a dull TV show. It was all so matter-of-fact with drawn out and laborious descriptions of irrelevant points. For most of this novel, I couldn't help but think of much more stylish and subtle ways to convey a point - as much of this writing was clunky and shallow. There are so many pages and chapters where the same phrases are used and reused and repeatedly reused again... it was just really basic writing and that's putting it politely.

The plot is generally good and it did interest me enough to push through despite really disliking the writing style. However, you do really need to suspend your disbelief as it's all very far-fetched from the start.
Do I believe 'red rooms' really exist in the dark corners of the internet? Yes. But it seems all the characters act so foolishly - I just can't believe that anyone in their situation would be as cliché as that.
And Kayla's involvement in this case (and Marty's) is just ridiculous and laughable that this is supposed to be realistic. Even the way the amateur sleuths respond to the events is so unrealistic and the whole time I just felt bewildered that this was actually a novel ready to be published and not just a draft copy.

I'm really trying to be kind but there isn't much to compliment here. I'm disappointed as I expected better.
The countless iterations of:
Kayla: ".......", then she said "........."
Marty: "..........." a pause, then Christina said: "......."
Christina then said: "........." to Kayla, who replied and said: "........."
This is just an example but interactions like these happen all throughout the book. Like come on, are you writing a script?! It's just so tedious to read and devoid of any tension or atmosphere.

The ending was pretty predictable and probably the most far-fetched part of the book. I wouldn't say it was satisfying as I feel the level of unbelievable really reached its peak by the end. Becker is described as 'an intelligent police officer', even though he basically had nothing to do with solving the case.

Overall, the concept is really good but the execution was poor. I actually would have liked to see more scenes from the Red Room, as I didn't find this novel particularly dark or gritty which is what I'd expected and hoped for when I chose it.
Sadly, I wouldn't recommend this.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review, thank you!
The focus of the story is to uncover the location and operators of the Red Room. In the first part, we meet a brave woman, Tess, thanks to whom the investigation will be able to start. At first I thought she and her husband would be the main characters. Well, no... :')
In the second part, Kayla and Marty start investigating the Red Room after she accidentally stumbles upon the "killer" video. It's exciting how they manage to find out more than the small town detectives.
And just when I thought they were going to be the only main characters, there is a twist and the main roles are given to the parents (Sam and Amanda) of two missing girls. I really liked Kayla's character, but Amanda is a real badass mom :D The solution at the end of the story was awesome. It wasn't too lemonade!
This thriller provides pleasant entertainment, which tries to draw attention to a lesser-known but presumably real problem. Who knows what goes on in the dark recesses of the dark web...
Thanks again for the opportunity! I couldn't put it down, and it can rightly be mentioned alongside the books of the bigger thriller authors. I hope to read more from Brandon Hughes! 🙂

There’s a lot to say about this book, so stay with me!

The Red Room is a haunting rendering of the dark web and it’s secrets. The first few chapters follow Tess as she revisits her family’s old cabin that had been recently sold. She was unprepared for what she found…

The next part of the book follows who I would consider the main character, Kayla, a college student who stumbles upon a video that she wasn’t meant to see. This chance encounter unlocks Pandora’s box and suddenly her life is all consumed with understanding everything about the Red Room. Her attempts to investigate end with a target on her back and under the watchful eyes of this dangerous group.

Lastly, you have Amanda, the mother of a potential victim, who’s hoping her daughter is still alive.

There are many things I want to say about this book, so let’s start with some positives. The author has “two decades of experience in the criminal justice system”, and as I was reading, I felt some of that expertise come through. Nothing specific, not as easy as saying “nailed the police talk/banter”, or “that’s absolutely the protocols for an investigation”. The author seemed to have a believable understanding of how the dark web works and it was evident throughout the story.

Second, I thought the storyline played out nicely, for the most part. I wasn’t left guessing key parts about each narrator or character. I didn’t feel like the author was overly specific or got hung up on details either. The flirting between characters felt genuine- if not a little prudish. And the ending answers all the questions left to ask.

As for my list of cons regarding this book:

My biggest gripe was the use of thesaurus words. Especially in the beginning, a lot of the narration used words that are not only uncommon, but required me to look up the meaning because the context wasn’t there. Conversely, toward the end of the book, the same phrase was used twice within a chapter and felt repetitive, or the use of parenthesis to hint at something was almost comical.

I also felt lost in time. One chapter ends on Dec 23rd, but the next chapter is back to Thanksgiving break, only to return to Dec 23rd later. I was lost on dates and never really felt like I was in the right time frame for what was happening- but it didn’t ruin the book for me.

Overall, his was a good read for what it was. The thrill was there, the suspense, the questions of “what’s next?”. Grammar aside, it was a little fantastical in regards to Kayla’s role, but I enjoyed it none the less.
This book got 4 stars from me because it was a good, suspenseful thriller that kept me wanting more. I finished it in one day and didn’t want to put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

While the subject matter is very dark and might not be for everyone, I was pulled into this book immediately and didn’t want to put it down because I was so eager to find out what was going to happen next. A big part of what made this tale so scary, and exciting, is the idea that things like this could possibly be happening out there. I’m really hoping that it’s all made up but the author makes it all sound so plausible. I’m already looking forward to reading more books by Brandon Hughes. Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this thrilling story.

I was very excited to read this as it was very intense right away, however there were moments through the book where i lost interest. Overall I enjoyed it but would have preferred to be captivated the whole way through.

I found that when reading this book it was very thrilling and it kept me on my toes. However, I do feel there was too much extra things in this book that just wasn’t needed and felt like filler. I also felt that the story itself could have been told better.

The Red Room was one of those books you read, where you enjoyed it, because you know things like that do happen in real life. What a brilliant book it was. I loved Kaylas character so much. I would totally be like Kayla trying to solve the case because of all the crime shows I watch. Perfect twisted thriller that will have you wanting more.
Thank you, Netgalley, and the publisher for a copy of this book.

This book is not for the faint of heart. You are immediately hooked in as the first red room video is accidentally seen. You are just as invested in these characters as they are in trying to help however they can. It’s an emotional roller coaster until the very end! You will be unable to put this down as pieces start to come together. You will need to know what’s next but also be equally afraid of what if….. it’s captivating until the end. This will be recommended. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

Great story but way too much filler. It took away from the story. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Definitely thrilling and kept you on your toes. I do feel like there was just too much extra stuff that wasn’t needed and felt like filler.
The story could’ve been told better.

the two stars instead of one is because it did make me feel a bit nervous reading some parts but I don’t think this book is for me. I did not like any of the characters for many reasons. It mostly seemed like the only reason anything happened in this book was because of how stupid the characters and didn’t make realistic enough decisions for any of this to make sense. Sorry

The story and plot was fabulous and had real potential, Brandon's writing had me hooked from the start, and this book definitely felt thriller like. I think the only thing I couldn't get past was the fact that it felt like there were a lot of filler words. Things that didn't contribute to the story. I feel like I knew how everyone was dressed at all times for no reason, and the word "which" was a bit overused, but this doesn't take away from how good this story was. It was certainly gripping and I think I'd read more of Brandon's books in the future.

Tess makes a simple trip to her family’s former cabin and stumbles into a nightmare. This was a fast paced story that is told through multiple points of view. Without giving too much away, it is violent towards women and revolves around the dark web. If you’re someone who is squeamish with real-life brutality it may not be for you. But, if you’re looking for a decent thriller, grab this one. Thank you for the opportunity to read!

I found The Red Room to be a fast paced suspenseful thriller that I was excited to read through. It isn't my typical style of preferred writing but I was intrigued and found the premise to be very interesting, enough to keep me hooked through most of the book.