Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

Rattlesnake Island by Jennifer Vaughn follows Grady Whitmore, the sole survivor of a horrific event on Rattlesnake Island in 1987, where a group of juvenile delinquents and camp staff were brutally attacked. Now living in isolation, Grady is approached decades later by Marley Kassell, a determined investigative journalist. As Marley interviews him at his secluded home, Grady, physically calm but emotionally scarred, begins to recount the events that led to the tragedy. Through a mix of cautious conversation and vivid flashbacks, Marley pieces together the harrowing ordeal Grady endured as a teenager: from his troubled childhood to his arrival at the camp, and finally to the horrifying events that unfolded on the island. Grady’s guarded demeanor, cryptic remarks, and connection to the island slowly draw Marley deeper into a dark past, as she works to uncover what really happened on Rattlesnake Island—and why no one has ever talked about it.

Rattlesnake Island by Jennifer Vaughn is an absolutely fantastic, visceral plunge into psychological and physical horror that is presented through cleverly inserted flashbacks as Grady reveals his trauma to Marley. Vaughn’s writing is taut and immersive, and we get a true feeling of the claustrophobic stress of isolation and the raw fear of facing something beyond comprehension. What makes this novel especially great is not merely its terrifying premise, but how convincingly it delivers Grady's emotional unraveling through the incremental parceling out of events. The dialogue is natural, the pacing remains at full throttle, and the atmosphere is deeply unsettling. Vaughn skillfully works up an escalating sense of dread, beginning with a lightning flash that Grady views as an omen, then allowing the rest of the horror to creep up organically. Readers looking for horror that dares to be both intelligent and merciless won’t be disappointed. Very highly recommended.