I would like to thank NetGalley and Kevin Landt for the e-arc of The Mole People, which made this review possible.

I have always been fascinated by the disenfranchised who live underneath the sin and grime of Las Vegas. I have seen interviews and documentaries, and I am left wanting to know more about these people every time. I normally stick to my lane, horror fiction. However, if you think about it, this book qualifies as horrific.

Mr. Landt takes the reader on a fictional journey to a very real place. The main protagonist, Suzie, is schizophrenic and ends up heading to the tunnels under Las Vegas and encountering the mole people. Things take off from there, for better or worse. On the one hand, The Mole People really sheds light on mental health, addiction, and bullying, which, as a reader, I am empathetic towards. However, on the other hand, so many metaphors and distractions are present that distract from the story, making it difficult to connect to the characters.

The Mole People had the potential to be an amazing novel if the author had the right team behind him. However, the pacing is off, some scenes feel rushed, and it reads more like a rewrite than a finished product. Don’t get me wrong; if you are curious about the subject matter, there is a story here to read. I believe it could have been an even better story.

The Mole People from your favorite bookstores will be available on June 30th, 2024. I give it three out of five stars.

“The Mole People” by Kevin Landt.
What an intense book! Suzie has a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but refuses to take the medication her doctors prescribe to her. The internal conflict within herself, the voices in her mind lying to her are heartbreaking. She ends up in Las Vegas, but living under the city in the tunnels with the “mole people” that Suzie befriends. I had never heard of them before, but the mole people really do exist. Throughout the book, I was cheering Suzie on hoping she and her tunnel friends would make it. This book truly opens your eyes…and your heart…to the struggles of mental health crises. I feel it was a deep, eye opening, and very well written book. It takes a lot for a story to make me FEEL its words. This one definitely did just that.

Expertly crafted suspense with great character development. Very enjoyable read - prepare to be captivated!

It’s a beautiful, yet tragic story of a young woman’s battle with schizophrenia. A heartbreaking tale of her struggles to function in mainstream society with her disease and the devastating consequences. An eye opening account of the correlation between mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness.
I found this book to be well-researched with an in depth view of the “mole people” living in underground tunnels that brought me to tears.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was really excited when i read the synopsis about this book and excited to receive the approval of this book.

It is amazing how the mind works and to get into the mind of Suzie is just amazing. The author did a great job at gripping you instantly. I have never been around anyone with the Schizophrenia but the author made the storyline and plot work. It is a fascinating read and the way the author builds that story is awesome. Sometimes it felt rushed but i never wanted to DNF this book.

I will recommend this book to everyone. I hope the author writes more.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

In The Mole People, readers are plunged into the tumultuous journey of Suzie - a young woman attending University struggling with schizophrenia. The premise offers a compelling exploration of mental health issues that interlink with addiction and homelessness.

However, while the premise seemed to hold great promise the execution fell short in several key areas. A notable weakness lies in the writing style - an overabundance of metaphors and similes felt cumbersome and detracted from the natural flow of the story. Additionally, the shift in writing style following Suzie's descent into the tunnels was very jarring as the focus shifts from characters' thoughts to a more event-driven narrative. This abrupt change made me feel disconnected from Suzie and the overarching story, leaving me unable to fully engage with the plot.

Despite this, there are some moments that shed light on the internal struggles of individuals grappling with mental illness, homelessness and addiction. The portrayal of Suzie's eating disorder and self harm is very striking and offers a glimpse into the complexities of her psyche. However, these moments are unfortunately overshadowed by rushed pacing and uneven characterization that is prevalent throughout the novel.

While there are moments of poignancy scattered throughout the book, they are overshadowed by the overall lack of cohesion and connection with the protagonist.

I was really excited for this book, and it did not disappoint! The author manages to captivate your attention almost instantly, and you are thrown headfirst into Suzie’s mind. I’m not sure the entire accuracy of schizophrenia in a person, but he made it work for the storyline. The Mole People had me fascinated because I saw the news about the real tunnel people, and he managed to build an amazing storyline off of it. I couldn’t put this down, and when it ended it left me wanting more. I will definitely be recommending this one on TikTok!

The premise was really interesting, and I was really looking forward to the read, but the writing just didn’t really hit for me.

I had a very difficult time getting pulled into the story. For example, I had such a difficult time believing the bullying taking place in a college cafeteria or in lecture halls. From my experience, that kind of bullying happened so much more in high school than college. I also felt like there was a lot of repetition and an overuse of metaphors/similes.

I’m a very character oriented reader, I love it when I really understand a character, but I didn’t feel that way with Suzie, the protagonist. I kept waiting for the moment for the character to feel alive and jump out of the page. As an extension of this, I had a hard time really understanding the relationships between Suzie and the ppl in her life.

I’m also curious why the writing style changed once Suzie was with the mole people- we stopped seeing her inner thoughts, and were more focused on the events that took place. Speaking of the mole people, we didn’t meet them until almost halfway through the book. I think it could’ve been interesting to see more of the mole people and explore the topics in that area.

I wonder if this would’ve been more interesting if the entire thing was written from Suzie’s point of view so that the reader is also trying to differentiate reality from fiction. That would definitely make it a harder read but I think, if done well, that’d be pretty interesting.

Overall, I don’t think this style is for me. It is too angsty and depressing, and I think I’m too old for that kind of content.

This was a quick, worthwhile read, even though parts felt a bit rushed. I feel that with some editing and some more fleshing out, this could turn into an exceptional novel. As a psychologist, I was impressed by the author’s handling of the character’s schizophrenia. There were nuances of her thoughts/behaviors that are often overlooked in fiction, but are very much a part of the illness. That, coupled with the interesting/symbolic setting, determined my rating.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. You should read it!

I was drawn to this book because of the title and as a frequent visitor to Vegas, being familiar with the term. This was a great book— well written, interesting and really descriptive and that made you feel for Susie. I enjoyed her journey, and the characters she met along the way. Definitely pick this up to read and you won’t be sorry!

The Mole People is unlike anything I have ever read before. Suzie is a young woman who is (seemingly to her, anyway) mocked and made fun of. Suzie is schizophrenic and sees and hears voices of people who may or may not be there.

She is a student at Hudson University in Portland, Oregon and her illness gets her in trouble. She meets a boy who is a soccer player and finally she has someone who believes in her in her life. Her mother, Dana, and her boyfriend convince her to start taking medication in order to stay in school. Suzie hates the way she feels on the medication and stops taking them. She flees to Las Vegas where she is taken in by the Mole People, who live beneath the city in the storm drains.

Her time with the Mole People is harrowing, to say the least. She slips further into her mental illness until her mother comes looking for her.

The depiction of mental illness is very believable and heart breaking. On that basis alone, I would recommend this book. Thank you to Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

This is a beautifully written book. It focuses on lady living with schizophrenia. Suzie is an intelligent woman but she hears voices and sees imaginary people. In the story you’ll find yourself willing her to survive trials and tribulations as she runs away to Vegas to live in the tunnels with the mole people and finds herself in trouble.

The Mole People by Kevin Landt is a story of a college student named Suzie who was diagnosed with Schizophrenia and is trying to live with the symptoms that sometimes come with it. We follow Suize as she struggles to deal with the negative voices, navigates her relationships with her mother (Dana), boyfriend (Robbie), and best friend (Andrea), and tries to manage her diagnosis.

I felt like the book didn’t necessarily say a whole lot and there wasn’t much of a storyline. Suzie’s character does build empathy and understanding for people who have been diagnosed with Schizophrenia but one should be mindful that this isn’t everyone’s experience (the author doesn’t make it seem that way, just FYI). The story also touches on the “mole people” (people who take shelter in the flood tunnels of Las Vegas). I guess the symbolism of the tunnel itself and Suzie’s mind kind of makes sense but the book could have also done without that setting. It felt like it was thrown in there without much due diligence to a very real community. And of course, a Black character is destined to save the “poor” white girl and die because of it (not a spoiler).

One thing I liked about the book was that we also heard from Dana (the mother) and Robbie (the boyfriend). The author did a good job of giving Dana and Robbie real, human feelings and experiences of being supportive and sympathetic to Suzie while also being frustrated and annoyed at times.

I don’t regret reading the book….

Thank you to Netgalley and Ryland Publishing for the ARC!!

Suzie has schizophrenia. Her life is not an easy one. When she is on her medication the voices stop but she sees a weight gain she does not like. When she doesn't take her medication the voices are so loud and will not leave her alone until she lashes out, whether it be on her peers or herself. After deciding that everyone is against her, Suzie leaves Oregon and travels to Las Vegas. There she encounters Wonderman, a person who has a place for Suzie to rest her tired self. Wonderman brings Suzie to "the tunnels" where she meets all sorts of Mole People and like her, each one has a story/secret; some people are good and some are bad but can Suzie decipher between the two before it's too late?

I read this one one sitting. It drew me in from the first page. Suzie is such a multi-dimensional character and this story really opened up a door on how mental health can change quickly and how it can affect someone in various ways; it also shows how it can affect loved ones too. This story made my heart break for Suzie and her family at times. It opened my eyes up to a world most of us have read about (tunnels and mole people) in a way that made me genuinely worry for Suzie. The description of the environment in the tunnels was fantastic - I could almost smell the tunnels and envision their condition.

This was such a different read for me and I really enjoyed it. The writing was great. The chapters were a great length. I also enjoyed how it was split into various parts.

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this for free. This was my honest review.

An intriguing plot with an even more interesting main character. A complex and dark showcase of mental illness behind the "veil" of society. It took me a little while to get into this as the pov was not one I'm used to reading but it ended up serving the story.

The point of view is so interesting in this book and makes you ponder what reality actually means for a person with a serious mental health challenge, The author has created a character which is appealing but also repellant at times, and this makes for an engaging and challenging reading experience. The plot itself is strong. I am generally on the look out for tropes when a hook is set in Las Vegas but this book strips many of these away to show the dark side in the tunnels and the underground communities. A fascinating and brave perspective for a mystery of this type.