THE GUARD'S OBLIGATION Book Review

The Guard's Obligation by Dan Freda, eBook, 82 pages

Synopsis from GoodReads: When a desperate man takes a night watchman position at an abandoned hospital for its surprisingly high pay, he expects an easy shift guarding an empty building. But as darkness falls, the decaying halls come alive.

Strange "cleaners" roam each floor, doors that should lead outside somehow don't, and rooms transform when he isn't looking. Something is deeply wrong with this hospital, and his patrols are leading him into increasingly dangerous territory.

As the night stretches endlessly, the guard must uncover the truth behind the hospital's twisted reality—and his own connection to it—before he becomes another permanent fixture in its haunted corridors. Some jobs aren't worth the pay. Some shifts never end.

BOOK REVIEW: This is the perfect book for spooky season! I mean it takes place in an abandoned hospital and it's a security guard on patrols at night...I mean what could possibly be more creepy right? I mean there are a lot of things but abandoned hospitals. I couldn't quite figure out when this takes place but then he sees a rotary phone and isn't sure how to use it so I figure someone born in the 90s maybe but then why doesn't he have a cell phone?

One of the things that I loved is how the author describes the characters. At times I was picturing things that were a cross between something from Silent Hill and American Horror Story. Oh this would make a great episode of American Horror Stories. Describing the eyes of The Porter, the uniform of The Midwife, the smell of The Attendant, all of these were amazing visuals for me.

This is a 5 star for the creepy factor, the writing, the narration, and quite frankly because I still have no idea what the hell happened! There's mystery, suspense, confusion, and have I mentioned creepy because it's freakin creepy. This will definitely be read again!

5/5 Stars

2025 Reading Challenge: 42/50 complete