Title: Veil

Author: Jonathan Janz

Release Date: September 16^th, 2025

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Veil-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B0D13HZPQW/

Summary

“The voice in Veil is as present, strong, charming, singular, and desperate as any I’ve read. The story of a family man who will stop at nothing to protect those he loves. Even if those threats are beyond sanity, reason, and a once agreed upon reality. Janz has written another absolute gem of the genre.” —Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box

From beloved horror author Jonathan Janz, Veil is a heart-stopping story of one father who will stop at nothing to save his family.

It begins at night. People vanish from parks and city streets. Then in broad daylight, they’re dragged screaming into the woods, into the water, into the sky. People take refuge in their homes, but still the invisible creatures come, ripping people away from their horrorstruck loved ones. Spouses. Parents. Children. Nowhere is safe and no defense can stop them. Because nothing can save you from what you can’t see.

High school teacher John Calhoun loses his son the first night. A day later, they take his wife. For two months, he and his thirteen-year-old daughter manage to survive, but in the end, she is abducted too. In John’s darkest moment, he meets a motley group of survivors who have a secret: a near-fatal car accident has given one of them the ability to detect what normal human eyesight cannot.

The survivors believe they can replicate the brain injury that will enable them to see the creatures. To discover how they’re invading our world. To fight them. Desperate to save his family, John volunteers. And after the veil of invisibility is lifted, he and his new friends will risk everything to achieve the impossible: enter an alien world and bring their loved ones back.

My Review

5/5 Stars

I have a habit of picking books without reading the blurb first so they’re always a surprise. Veil by Jonathan Janz caught my eye not only because of the absolutely gorgeous cover, but because of all the hype I’ve seen from other readers online. Sci-fi horror will always have a special place in my heart so you can imagine how much I loved this book.

When John loses his son, it’s a family’s worst nightmare. Then other people start to disappear first by the hundreds then the thousands. At first, it only happens outside but then people start to disappear from their homes too. Nowhere seems to be safe. In a desperate act to put a stop to the attacks, John teams up with a band of survivors to break the veil and get his family back.

There are so many things I loved about this book. The characters were witty and well-written. They felt real and relatable and that made the last third of the book so hard to read because I had the feeling not all of the characters would make it out alive. That was the only thing I guessed correctly.

Everything else was a mystery. The plot went ways I never imagined, and it made it so hard to put it down. Several times while reading, I had to fight myself to set it down so I could get other things done.

I loved the eerie sense of dread woven through the story. It’s not an easy thing to maintain such a suspenseful atmosphere, and I applaude Janz for pulling it off. When the suspense finally starts to ease, that’s when the tears come in for the last few chapters.

If I had to choose a theme, I’d say family. How much would you do to save them? Without giving away any spoilers, I want to say that’s what made the end of the book both satisfying and difficult.

All in all, this was a wildly-imaginative tale. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves strong characters, scary creatures, apocalyptic vibes, and emotional rollercoasters.

A huge thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!