Title: Scratch Moss

Author: David Barnett

Release date: September 1st, 2026

*Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this one!*

I’ll admit, this one wasn’t on my ‘absolutely need to read list,’ even after seeing Kealan Patrick Burke raving about it on one of his social media pages. As you probably know, I LOVE folklore and all that comes with it, but the description of this one, with the multiple timelines had me on the fence about reading it. That changed after I was messaging with All Star reviewer, Tony Jones, who told me I’d love it. I popped on Netgalley, saw it was still available and requested it. Amazingly, I was approved and hopped onto it shortly after.

Going in, I was really excited to feel the atmosphere this one suggested and was elated to find that it had exactly that and so much more.

What I liked: The story follows down-on-his-luck author Joe, who is returning to his childhood home in Scratch Moss, to attend his father’s funeral. Though his father is viewed as a hero to many, Joe’s memories of those early years are shrouded in trauma blocking and he doesn’t remember much of Scratch Moss, or why his father spent most of Joe’s life in prison.

Soon after arriving, his mother begins to act strangely and when Joe catches up with one of his first boyhood crushes, the past begins to return to him.

From here, Barnett gives us a descending timeline all the way back to 1905, then re-ascends back to present day, sharing how the events from over a century ago played out to the townsfolk over the years and even the town itself.

There’s a lot of connecting-the-dots that take place as the story reveals itself, and learning the history of Scratch Moss was a lot of fun – though obviously dark and twisted.

As we re-ascend to present day, the reality of what needs to happen is showcased front and center and I appreciated that Barnett didn’t find a way to weasel the story out of confronting things head on. The ending – though briefly described – still works to answer a lot of those burning questions you’ll have.

What I didn’t like: Though I really liked the book, I still wasn’t super onboard with the descending/ascending timeline layout of the book. I found by the time I got back to the present day at the end, I had to remind myself about what was happening as it’d been a bit since we’d been there. I think that would read differently if you’re able to sit and read this straight through in one or two sittings, but with my current reading, I wasn’t able to do that.

Secondly, there’s an epilogue of sorts that ties this book into Barnett’s other books and because I’d not read those, the big reveal moment of tying them together had no impact with me. So, for new readers who’ve not read any of his other stuff, Barnett does describe it a bit in the afterword, but I found it unnecessary after how solid the ending was.

Why you should buy this: If you love atmospherically dark folklore with tons of timeline building and following something causing chaos over the course of a hundred years, look no further. This was like wrapping a Kealan Patrick Burke novel into an A.M. Shine novel and then having Adam Nevill rewrite the whole thing.

Bleak, haunting and absolutely captivating.