This was such a strange book. It was so creepy but took forever to get entertaining. I wish this was a series.

Loved this! This is the first book by the author that I’ve read, and I’ll definitely be looking for more! This was such an adrenaline fueled nightmarish ride of terror! Read it in one sitting!

Tricksters follows multiple groups of people, all telling the same story but from different angles. Caleb and his group of shape-shifting family and friends terrorize non-locals who pass through their little Texas town. Ash and her friends are travelling and decide to stop in a little town and set up camp for the night. Ash and her friends meet Caleb and his, and the night takes a terrifying turn. Ash's brother hasn't heard from her in awhile, which is abnormal so he, along with friends, go in a trip to track Ash down. They show up in the little town and are unfortunate enough to meet the tricksters.

I liked this book. I loved the beginning and the middle had my heart pounding at times. It put me on edge and I loved the supernatural aspect. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the ending at all.

I'd like to read more from this author as the writing style was great.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a chance to read this story for free. This was my honest review.

Tricksters
N.L. Laughlin

4.5 / 5

Immediately we're thrust right into the epicenter of the action.
This is a fast paced thrill ride that I breezed through in an evening.
Well written, interesting plot, complex characters ...
And the environment that the book takes place within is a character in itself. It feels ... dark and dangerous and vast ... creating a helpless and exposing feeling that permeates the pages.
I, too, felt exposed ... unsafe ... nervous; but in the very best of ways ... that only carefully crafted

It had me flipping through it's pages with pure exhilaration. I was thrilled and completely engrossed each time the pack gathered to hunt. 🐺

This, my friends, is a perfect lil read for spooky season (which is 24/7-365 for me).

Tricksters was a treat ... One that I greedily gobbled up.

I highly suggest adding it to your autumnal TBR goodie bag.
It's just a good time for horror lovers
(Certain elements reminded me of Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones ... but more accessible.

Thank you Netgalley, Black Rose and N.L. Laughlin for the opportunity to read this ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review.

The first chapter was brutally compelling - a little much in fact. But it did encourage me to read more and see where the story went.

We followed a group of Shapeshifters terrorising and killing people. Unfortunately I didn’t connect to th a characters and wasn’t a fan of the ending. Great idea but I didn’t enjoy the execution.

Tricksters is a fast paced Horror-Thriller.
I could not put it down once I began.
Easiest 5 Stars I’ve ever given!

I love a good monster and this book served the monsters up well... Who doesn't love a good shapeshifter. It was action packed and gory and did I mention action packed? I thought I had the final girl pegged but I was definitely wrong. Let's talk the ending.... at first, I wasn't a fan. I felt all sad inside but before I could bemoan the author's choice, the ending was redeemed and was oh so satisfying.

Ash and her friends are on a road trip they make the terrible mistake of stopping in a small town Sierra Diablo where they meet a strange group of locals who show them a place they can camp. Later that night a frightened girl stumbles into camp begging for help. What follows is a night of terror as Ash and her friends have to fight for their lives against a pack of shapeshifters.

This book was so good. I went into this blind I had no idea what to expect and I was not disappointed! This had it all isolated setting, gore a bit of supernatural and so many tense scenes. Would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, Black Rose Writing and N L McLaughlin for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ash and her friends, Hannah, Jasmine, and Ben, are enjoying a road trip together. Looking for a place to stay the night, they decide to stop in Sierra Diablo and see what they could find in the small town for caping. After meeting a man named Caleb who offered to buy them drinks at a bar, Ash and her friends set up camp in a spot that the man suggested to them. Although Ash has express her doubt, her friends brushed it off. Why is Ash doubtful about the camping site? Later that night, a terrified young girl approached them and begged for help. Later that night Ash and her friends ended up fighting for their lives against a pack of bloodthirsty coyote shapeshifters. Meanwhile, Ash’s older brother, Matt, is anxious after she fails to come home or contact him. He decides to head out to Sierra Diablo to investigate further but what he discovers in that town is worse than anything he anticipated. What did he discover?

The author has written a thriller with action. I admire Ash as she was brave and quick to decide what to do. When Ash’s brother comes to find her, I looked forward to what would happen. Will Ash and her brother escape the coyote shapeshifters? I liked the ending of the book even though I didn’t expect it to end the way it did.

I found this novel to be well written and a fast-paced novel dealing with a shape shifting family, Tricksters, who live in an isolated town in Texas. A group of young tourists fall into their lair and meet an untimely demise. A couple of weeks later, family and Texas rangers try to find them.

There is quite a bit of violence and gore. There is a small twist at the end that ended the story perfectly.

DNF at 25%

I really enjoyed the idea of the tricksters and the setup for this story but unfortunately the main friend group were just so irritating I really didn't want to continue reading, every little thing they were saying started grating on me

Official rating is 2.75 stars.

Overall the story had good potential but the pacing and unlikeable characters made this hard to really get in to. I felt like I wasn't getting the tension needed to fully convey the dread of the tricksters. The first chapter felt completely pointless. And the ending was very anticlimactic. I still really liked the idea of the tricksters but the execution just didn't work for me. With that being said, there are a lot of people who did love this so I always recommend you read it for yourself.

Tricksters was a pulse pounding quick read that will have you second guessing that road trip you were planning!

Matt’s sister went missing more than 2 weeks ago, and he KNOWS something isn’t right. With his fellow law enforcement members writing it off as, just a girl wanting to go out on her own, it’s clear to him that he has to take matters into his own hands. When he and a group of friends get to the last known location of his sister, a small, isolated, all but deserted town in rural Texas, his worst fears are confirmed.

With shape shifting coyotes who are blood thirsty and primal, this book is full of blood and gore. The Tricksters are an incredibly strong, nearly indestructible family of shape shifting coyotes who are frenzied, brutal and absolutely terrifying. They make a sport out of each meal preferring to toy with their prey for maximum flavor.

With multiple POVS, pages packed with action and gore, and a shocking twist that you won’t see coming, this unique take on a horror is something that will keep you up at night!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this Arc!

I really enjoyed the premise of the book as it’s fast paced, gory, and a brutal storyline but unfortunately felt it wasn’t a book for me. I do think people who love paranormal, shape shifting serial killers would love this as it’s got a lot of blood and takes a ‘hills have eyes esque horror to a new level!

Yikes! This was absolutely horrible, in the best of ways! The author’s writing style suited me perfectly, she made the story interesting, and the large cast kept my attention throughout. The book has very strong B-movie vibes all over, with several cringey moments between the action, many instances of over-the-top gore, and a lot of situations in which both the evil characters and the hunted heroes act a bit unconvincingly - but the story works! I was worried at the start (a pack of were-coyotes? seriously?!), but the horror was visceral, the suspense palpable, and I was drawn in despite my initial reservations. In sum, this is a fast-paced read, with characters some of which will grow on you whether you like them or not, and, most importantly, you will be entertained!

Thanks you Black Rose Writing and Netgalley for the chance of an early read! All opinions are my own.

Shape-shifting, blood-thirsty coyotes who prey on incoming travelers and tourists to their small, isolated town.. count me in! The premise of this book is a very good one and seemed promising for a great book, but unfortunately, the execution didn't do it for me. I usually love multiple POVs, however, each chapter switched to another character's POV from the same scene, so a lot of the book felt repetitive. There were also several characters - the travelers were a group of 4, the tricksters were another group of 4-5, and the last group with Matt had another 4. There were a lot of characters to keep up with, especially when they're retelling the scenes from their POV.
I did love how the author was not afraid to get brutal and kill characters off! The violent parts were quite vivid, adding to the terror of it all. The atmosphere was also perfect - an isolated, eerie town where everything happens in the wilderness at night. It was dark and I enjoyed it!
Overall, I felt this book could have been better constructed and executed. 3 stars

Thank you NetGalley, Black Rose Writing, and N.L. Mclaughlin for this ARC!

Ash and her friends aon a road trip in Texas meet Caleb in a bar thing go downhill from there. They are hunted by a pack of were-coyotes. A fast paced read with plenty of gore that you can read in one sitting. Thanks to Black Rose Writing and Netgalley for this review ARC.

3.5 stars

**Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Basics
Authors: she/her, USA
Genre: supernatural horror, thriller
Setting: west Texas desert & mountains
Themes: survival, revenge, family
Mood: impending doom, vengeful

Pros
+ a friend group (3 girls, 1 boy) travelling through the desert meets locals at a bar and takes them up on their offer for a local campground
+ coyote shifter pack who likes to hunt their prey (Caleb: leader, older brother, Pax: younger brother, newly turned, Jewel: little sister, runaway, currently turning, & Caleb's friends)
+ high-octane chase & survival scenes
+ the town that preys together stays together
+ At the 50% mark, the first band of characters (friend group) switches to another cast (missing girl's older brother and his military friends). Keen to see what's going to go down with an older, wiser, more weapon-savvy group of non-shifters.
+ Recommend for readers who like fast-pace thrillers, gore, horror, and supernatural creature features.

Neutral
/ So many POVs (at least 6+) but it works in this story, jumping to whoever is in the middle of the action.

Cons
- Some of the writing is very on-the-nose. For example, the pack can't help but say stuff like "fresh meat and "fresh blood" and "hunt tourists" over and over. I get it. They're mocking their future prey as a sick in-joke, but also, it's repetitive and a bit cringe.
- Unless the 2 coyote brothers also have latent succubus skills, the attraction felt toward them by others is over the top.
- During scenes where characters should be scared and running for their literal lives, they have time to pause, inspect small injuries, and make jokes. Seemed tonally off to me. If I was running for my life after my friend was torn apart to death I'd be running til my lungs gave out and not wasting a single breath on talking.
- The end fell apart. Plan? What plan?
- The final resolution was deus ex machina style. Sigh.

TW: death of adults and children (off-page), blood, gore, murder, drugging, murder of an unborn child, torture

The prologue gives readers a pretty clear idea what the tricksters are and what's going to happen once we meet Ash and her friends. After that, it's a pretty straight forward battle for survival without any real surprises. It's basic horror movie stuff with plenty of blood.

Tricksters is a decent horror read with an immersive atmosphere and setting. However, I found it tough to connect to the characters in this story. People who enjoy monster horror should find this to be a fun read. Thank you for providing an eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.