Title: The Black Cabin

Author: Wayne Fenlon

Release date: March 8th, 2023

Look at this! Wayne Fenlon’s debut novel! Wayne has long been one of my most vocal supporters, so when he previously announced his drabble collection, I was all over that. With this one, I was really excited and intrigued. Sadly, I was unable to get to it ASAP when it was released due to my ridiculously overflowing TBR at the moment, but there was no way I wasn’t going to squeeze this in for release month! So, apologies to you, Wayne, but here we are and what a great ride this was!

What I liked: The story opens with a delicate scene of a man finishing up repairs to a cabin. It then transforms into a raging inferno of a narrative as we follow a few different POV’s as multiple characters all converge into a dramatic finale.

Throughout, Fenlon crafts a story that is powerful and moving. We connect with the characters – even the despicable ones – and root for the ones we want to see succeed. Intertwined within this is the duality of vengeance and revenge. It comes from both aspects, the good side and the bad side and this worked really well to have us on the edge of our seats. It’ll have you screaming at the book to “not trust him!” or “don’t go there!” over and over.

Wayne weaved the story masterfully, with all trails lining up and a really fantastic, thrilling climatic scene. The reality of what was happening and how it all came together was great.

What I didn’t like: I do struggle when chapters jump back and forth between characters. Just something I’ve always found when reading books. And while the end scene was chilling and great, I do wish there had been a little bit more there, as things seemed to go from 100 mph to 1,000,000 mph which made for a jarring pace change.

Why you should buy this: This was a really well-done debut novel, one that had multiple layers of emotions and gave us truly wonderful characters that will stay with the reader long after you’re done reading.

It’s great to know this is only the beginning for Wayne. Can’t wait to see what he gives us next!

4/5