
The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek
Rhett McLaughlin
2019 · 327 pages · Horror
How it reads
The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek is horror (small-town supernatural horror, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in a small town setting, in the recent past, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are friendship, coming of age and secrets. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 327 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something eerie
- you want a complete story in one book
- you want to be sure it ends well
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy or heartwarming
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- horror
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- early career
- Setting: place
- small town
- Setting: time
- recent past
- Mood / feeling
- eerie
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- third person, several viewpoints
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Themes
- friendship, coming of age, secrets
- Ending style
- resolved and happy
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
Games for Dead GirlsJen WilliamsShares: horror, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying VampiresGrady HendrixShares: horror, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace- Small FavorsErin A. CraigShares: horror, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
- Kill CreekScott ThomasShares: horror, eerie mood, balanced tone, set in small town
BlackwaterJeannette ArroyoShares: horror, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace- The Lighthouse WitchesC.J. CookeShares: horror, eerie mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
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