Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong

Rating: 2/5
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Review Style: Spoiler Free
Anticipated Release: October 2026

This was... different.

To be fair, this isn't really my genre these days. I love a good thriller, but horror and paranormal stories don't usually pull me in the way they once did. I will say this is a pretty quick read, which helped keep me going.

Some of the concept, particularly the way certain people die, felt like something I've seen before. I'm going to leave that right there because we're keeping this spoiler free.

My bigger issue was how easily everyone seemed to accept some pretty unbelievable things. You tell a complete stranger you just witnessed something absolutely impossible and they immediately believe you?

Nah.

Maybe someone who has known you for years would eventually hear you out, but a stranger? I'm going to need at least a few follow-up questions before we're all accepting the paranormal explanation and moving on. 😂

I did keep reading because I genuinely wanted to know how everything would be wrapped up. Unfortunately, once I got there, I wanted a little more. I especially would have liked more insight into what life looked like for the survivors after everything they experienced.

Overall, it was a fast read with an interesting enough concept, but between the paranormal elements, some familiar ideas, and the amount of disbelief I had to suspend, this one just wasn't for me.

2 stars.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The anticipated publication date is October 2026.