The Moor by Sam Haysom is something else. If I could insert fire emojis* into this post, I totally would.

For me, this book ticks all the boxes. It’s got the thrills, the chapters that make your skin crawl, and is so wonderfully written. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. No. Joke.

The synopsis of The Moor: 

It begins with a ghost story around a campfire. Teenagers out on a walking trip, trying to act brave in front of each other. But as the walk gets underway and the boys begin to fall out, odd things start to happen.

Noises in the night. A severed rabbit’s foot outside someone’s tent. Soon, the boys begin to disappear.

As panic sets in and a storm approaches, those who remain must band together to face a darkness not even the local ghost stories could help them predict…

Honestly guys, the first part of this book creeped me out BIG TIME. I even burrito’ed myself in bed when reading this to make sure no limbs were outside the covers so as to not be grabbed by anything.

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. No. Joke.

The first half of this book is creepy; like don’t-stick-your-leg-out-of-the-covers-in-case-of-a-demon-creepy. The second half was just straight up thrills. I honestly wished this book had 200+ more pages; not because questions needed answers, but because I just didn’t want it to end. (Well a part of me did because it was creepy but you get my point).

The twist is about mid-way through, which can lead to a mundane second half, but The Moor just got better and better. On my second read, I genuinely found myself purposefully trying to find mistakes (to no avail) so this post wouldn’t be soooooo positive. C’est la vie.

I always find that if a book includes newspaper clippings, the author has generally struggled to make it like a news article, but Haysom has nailed it. And as a few of you may know, I HATE when a new chapter is a different person or time period, but it’s pulled together so well, I cannot imagine it being written another way.

This would also make for an amazing film, so I’m going to start petitioning for that.

I genuinely even considered ordering like a thousand copies of The Moor to just give away to you guys, but realised my bank overdraft definitely wouldn’t allow that.

Bookmark That BIG stamp of approval. I am beyond impressed and I urge any thriller/horror/mystery fans to pick up this book.

*For those that don’t know, I use the fire emojis as a sign of something being ‘lit’ or basically super awesome.

The Moor, Sam Haysom, RRP £10.99 (paperback); Book Depository