The Small Hours by Bob Pastorella is a modern retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula with some nuances. I was not aware it was a retelling. I would have appreciated it more if I had known. About halfway through this novella, I caught on and caught the references. I don’t know if Pastorella intended to surprise the reader with it being a retelling. I did not see anything about it in the description. But if you’re like me, that is something that would make me read it. I think some characters worked very well, the Renfield, Quincy, the Brides, and Van Helsing. The others, Jonathan, Mina, Arthur, and Lucy, were too close to the Stoker version. They did not feel like characters but caricatures. I didn’t like Jay, the main character, until the last 3/4 of the story. Jay is modeled after Jonathan from Dracula. When Pastorella takes big swings like with the Van Helsing’s character, the story feels fresh and new. The Dracula/Vlad character, or in this book, The Master, is not the main focus of the story. I feel this was the right choice. The plot line of Dracula being in love is ignored as well. I thought the first half of the book was just okay. It is more of a murder mystery. But the back half resurrects this story to being good when the bat shit crazy stuff starts. The ending of the book was okay, but it felt rushed. There was a fun surprise, but it felt cut short before I could even think of the possibilities of this. The final moment was all over. The Small Hours by Bob Pastorella will be published on September 30, 2025, by Ghoulish Books.

Why did I read The Small Hours by Bob Pastorella? I chose The Small Hours on BookSirens. BookSirens specializes in independent ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies). I do know Bob Pastorella as the co-host of one of my favorite podcasts, This is Horror. He, along with Michael David Wilson, also a horror author, spotlights horror books from major and independent presses. They have made me aware of so much new and old horror. Bob, I don’t know if it is a southern thing. He’s from Texas, and I’m from Tennessee, but I feel a kinship. His recommendations have not steered me wrong. I saw his name and book. I thought I could give a little back by reviewing his work.

Plot Summary: Jay’s best friend, LuCindi, has been murdered with no suspects. Jay, in his 20s, notices a piece of clothing in his neighbor Mr. Fields’s garage. The clothing is far away, but he swears it is LuCindi’s. Jay is already suspicious of Mr. Fields, whom he thinks is no good and believes is part of the Russian mob. He tells his fiancée, Willi, who just got hired as a journalist for the local paper, about the clothing. She and Jay investigate the other disappearances in the town, interviewing and looking for clues. They decided they had enough information and decided to break into Mr. Fields’s garage with LuCindi’s ex-fiance, Arthur, and Quincy, a mutual friend. When they break in, their murder mystery turns into a horror as vampires are involved.

What I Liked: The idea to update Bram Stoker’s Dracula for the modern era. It was very ambitious. The update on Van Helsing and Rennfield. I will not mention the characters they are changed into for the story, since it was a fun surprise. I liked the design of the vampires in the story. They were not just pale figures with fangs. The design reminded me of the vampires from the original Fright Night. I enjoyed what was done with the character of Quincy. The brides well well done, and some of the scariest parts. The blood drinking scene was my favorite in the entire book. I think this scene nailed the tension. It came up with a clever way to solve the problem. The scene shocked me. The ending is two parts. I loved the first part, but felt the second was too rushed and not earned. I do like how the title The Small Hours was used in the story.

What I Disliked: LuCindi needed more backstory. She was the catalyst for everything that happened. I never got an opportunity to know her character, so I didn’t care about her death at all. I think this is the reason it took me so long to connect with Jay. Another thing that made me not connect with Jay is his relationship with Mr. Fields. Yes, Jay, thanks, he is in a Russian mob, but never acknowledges that Mr. Fields is going out of his way to keep him employed as a landscaper during the winter months. Dude might be a bad guy, but that is generous and never acknowledged. So my first impression was Jay is kind of a jerk, with Mr. Fields bending over backwards to help. The second part of the ending could have been epic. But the scene was over before I could even think of the new consequences it brought about.

Recommendation: The Small Hours is a slow start with a great, scary, gory middle, and a decent ending. My review is a little bit mixed, but if I had to give this a thumbs up or down. It gets a thumbs up. Pastorella writes the horror and gore parts well. I recommend my followers read this book to see how Bram Stoker’s Dracula was updated. If you haven’t read the book Dracula, you should. If you have only seen the movie, you will get most of the references.

Rating: The Small Hours by Bob Pastorella. I rated 3.3 out of 5 stars.