Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Night Film follows Scott McGrath, a once successful journalist that tarnished his career by chasing a story about the reclusive cult horror movie director, Stanislas Cordova. McGrath received an anonymous phone call telling him that Cordova 'does something to children' and when McGrath obsessively looked into this claim he was slapped with a slander lawsuit from Cordova. Due to his seedy history with the master of cult horror, McGrath obviously has to reopen his case when Cordova's 24 year old daughter Ashley jumps to her death in New York City. Flanked by two 20-something misfits he meets along the way, McGrath takes a terrifying leap into a dark and dangerous world. 

This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. It has been described as this years Gone Girl and because I LOVED that book, I had to check this one out. At first I was sucked in by the pages of actual research that are placed strategically throughout the book. The author gives you a lot of extra insight into this crazy world by reading through those articles and notes. One thing I particularly liked about this book is just how vast the world is. It takes place in present day New York City but all the characters are so rich and you are introduced to so much of their background that they honestly feel like real people. I also really enjoyed the character of Cordova himself. I've obviously read this entire book and I still feel like I don't quite know who exactly Cordova is. The mystery of him has kept me up at night, wondering what exactly was going on. At times the story became so unsettling that it felt almost as if someone was watching me. I just wish Cordova was real because I would love to see one of the banned cult films.

Although I gave this book a perfect rating, there were some things I disliked. Now I know that I have particularly awful grammar but Peshl's overuse of italics was annoying. I understand that she did it for emphasis but there is no way anyone talks with that much emphasis. It's just not realistic. Also, Where did McGrath get all his money from that he uses to bribe people with or pay his sidekicks?! If he's a disgraced journalist that isn't working, whom is also divorced and a father wouldn't you think he would have some money issues? I found it incredibly illogical that he had a seemingly endless supply of cash.

All in all I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to anyone who likes mystery, suspense, horror or who just wants to be scared. Check it out and let me know in the comments what you think about it. :)