The Festering Ones kicks off with a bang, following our main character Faith as a child who's just been forced to sit helplessly by and watch her father get dragged off by some ungodly creature in the woods. Years pass, nobody believes Faith, and she grows up to try her best to forget what she saw — until her mother passes away, and her mother's belongings include documents that stir up old memories and questions for Faith. Naturally, she's always wondered what happened to her dad, so she sets off on a mission to discover the truth.

I love cult-themed stories, and this story in particular had some interesting twists surrounding the cult that I really enjoyed. The descriptions of the creatures are a lot of fun, and I was certainly kept in suspense a lot of the time. That said, the characters felt a bit flat to me (though I did love Sasha, who I kept picturing as Cybil Bennett from the Silent Hill movie) and I found myself a little frustrated with how many questions I was left with in the end. If there's ever a sequel, I'll be first in line to pick it up because I would LOVE more answers, but as it stands, the ending felt unreasonably abrupt.

Despite the loose ends left untied, I definitely recommend The Festering Ones for a quick, fun read, especially if you like cult horror, and I can't wait to read more from S.H. Cooper!