Coming in at #6 is a novella that hooks you from the start and doesn’t let you go until the very last word. It is Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio.

What is it about? At a small university, a group of insomniac adults meet in the graveyard of an abandoned church to smoke, talk, and pass away the evening hours. They hardly know each other, and yet share a bond that no one else can explain. They are haunted by their inability to sleep and find some solace in each other, even if they barely know anything deep about the person standing next to them. They work the graveyard shift, and that shift is about to become horrifying. When they come across a freshly dug grave, the group finds themselves in the middle of a terrifying experiment that they work to prove to the world before the night is over.

Why did I love it? It can be argued that novellas are harder to write than full length novels. Yes, one does not have to write as much but the writer must be able to create a compelling story at the right pace, create realistic characters, and wrap up the entire story in a neat little bow in under 200 pages (give or take). It can be a daunting task but one that Ms. Rio was able to pull off with expertise. While I did admit in my review of this thriller (see link: https://rachelrheil.com/blog/2024/11/graveyard-shift-by-m-l-rio-review/) that I wish the story had been longer, there can be no denying that Ms. Rio took the task of writing a novella and greatly excelled at it. The story takes off right away, yet somehow doesn’t feel rushed, and created numerous characters that felt real and authentic, even if each one of them is only given one or two chapters to focus on them and their motivations. It was an impossible story to put down and very worthy to be on anyone’s TBR list.