Published March 24, 2023 by Wicked House Publishing
When Ryne Burdette inherits his family's old hunting cabin deep in the Yukon wilderness, he wants to say no. Nothing much is left in that place except for unpleasant memories and the smoke of old burns. But after a tragic year, he sees a weekend trip to the cabin with his best friends as a way to recuperate and begin again.
But there is something strange about these woods. As a winter storm moves in, the animals begin acting strangely, and the natural laws of the wilderness seem to fall apart. Then, the soft voices start whispering through the trees. Something is watching them.
As the storm gets worse and the woods get darker, the three friends must dive into the darkest waters of the Burdette family lineage. Because the horrible truth is deep, resting in the shadowed places no one wants to look.
The setting: An old hunting lodge in the woods with a freak blizzard bearing down on the area. The characters: Best friends, all carrying some form of trauma. The takeaway: The Broken Places is isolation folk horror done right.
It begins with one of the three, Ryne, recalling an odd occurrence from his childhood when he, his father, and his uncle made a trip to the cabin. Then, adult Ryne and two of his childhood friends, Shawn and Noah, are on the road heading toward that same isolated cabin from Ryne's past. The trip is full of memories, both good and bad, family history, and the bond of brotherhood. Sounds great, right? While initially a slow-burn horror, once the scare wheel starts turning, it's all speed ahead.
The Broken Places' main strength is its character development. The three friends all have some type of trauma that they are carrying with them into this place. While Ryne's is the main focus, Noah and Shawn have their own emotional backstories, but their tight bond of friendship is strong and has kept them together across the years. Rather than only getting one viewpoint throughout the occurrences, you get to step into the lives of each of them in turn. The varying perspective could confuse and delay the story but, in this case, only adds more poignancy to what's occurring.
This debut novel by Blaine Daigle couldn't get into my head fast enough. This is not just a horror story; It's a tale about loss, grief, and depression. A perfectly atmospheric folk terror to haunt you long after you've finished the last page.