Like a freaky bad guy, a family curse, and a story that takes you half way across the world? Then this is the book for you.

Mark was eleven when they moved house, and things started to go wrong. But it wasn't just bullying in a new neighbourhood or the loss of friends, but a demonic curse that starts to haunt his bloodline. It starts with the Chicken Man, who came to the house and seemed to hold a strange power over his Father and Brother. And the mention of his missing Sister. Then strange things start to happen: rooms disappear, and then their father vanishes. Mark's brother goes looking for him, leading Mark to look for them both. After a terrible storm, Mark is found, but something terrible has happened. As an adult, Mark has put much of that behind him until a strange phone call to his girlfriend prompts him to head back home. Things go from bad to worse as Mark's life starts to unravel around him, as he feels the breath of a demonic force on the back of his neck.

A wonderfully dark and twisted story that takes you on a journey across the world, and with the heat of a demonic force throughout.

Holy Crap. Just every now and again on Netgalley you get an ARC approval that reminds you why you are in this game.
I confess I thought at first that Kentucky Dragon was going to be a kinda weird niche genre novel that would be a good quick throwaway read BOY WAS I WRONG. This book is definitely a genre novel, and is even pretty darn gory at times, but this is really powerful work, my only problem is knowing where to start with the compliments:
The Horror
First of all, I love the horror genre, but recognize its hard to pull off sometimes. A lot of written works seems to try and imitate film horror conventions which don’t always work on the page (e.g. jump scares). Kentucky Dragon I would say is the opposite, its scary and gruesome in a way that feels extremely vivid and in the moment and could easily translate into a damn good film, but using literary techniques.
In terms of the gore this is possibly the most bloody book I’ve read for some time, and usually I’m not a fan of overdone blood-and-guts, just to reassure thought the story is balanced, so that when the horrific stuff does happen its suitably shocking and high impact without derailing the more emotive and character driven elements.
The Story
Another element that often horror stories struggle with is having a solid story beneath the scary/horror stuff. Often any attempt to have a story is undermined or overshadowed by the horror elements (it’s hard to have a compelling story alongside a Freddy Gruger type trying to kill everyone) and you often end up the story just being an awkward mystery or coming of age drama with scary moments. Kentucky Dragon is kinda both (not awkward) somehow capturing real life moments alongside solving the mystery haunting the MC.
While some of the individual scenes can be a bit tropey they are well incorporated so I never felt my eyes roll or deep sighs through the story.
And finally there is an air of mystery to this book, not every mythology is fully explained (what is the game!?!) – I’m not sure if the author is planning a sequel or shared universe books to explain more but I would be happy either way.