Veil

Veil by Jonathan Janz is a fast-paced sci-fi, horror action novel about family, what makes a family, and the expectations they have of us and we have of ourselves for them - oh, and about invisible somethings taking people right off the street or out of the park or even right out of their own freakin’ backyard to who knows where for who knows what purpose? 

Veil lures us in with a quiet family moment, a father, science teacher John Calhoun, and his teenage son, Sam, disagreeing about John’s level of strictness and how it’s more fun at mom’s house, a common tactic for children of divorce. In this conversation, we learn that a few people have disappeared recently from their small city, creating a post-sunset curfew, one basis of the argument - and foreshadowing for us as moments later Sam rounds a corner ahead of John and disappears, as quickly and mysteriously as the others. 

The disappearances quickly increase to hundreds and thousands, with people vanishing right in front of others’ eyes, instituting a global lockdown and the emergence of a new world order for those left behind which ultimately leads John to a group of others whose families have been taken and who are are desperate to get them back as he is. 

Janz has created characters who feel authentic and flawed but well-meaning and dropped them into a world of challenges both mundane and fantastical then given us a story that is heartbreaking and heart pounding - all of which made this a thrilling read that I couldn’t wait to finish - but hate that it’s over. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advance copy for my honest review. 

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