Do you know that sensation that you have while reading a novella that makes exceptional use of your favourite elements in the horror genre? That was exactly what I had while reading Agony's Lodestone, by Laura Keaton, a novella that shows great potential.

Joanne disappeared twenty years ago, a wound that is opened after her siblings found a tape that can give new clues about this mystery. In what seems an homage to the found footage genre, the tape only creates new questions that they should answer by traveling to the place those images were taken.

And in the travel to the Canadian coast is where Keating shows her skill at creating an oppressive atmosphere during the trail toward the forests, weaving a sense of cosmic horror that works in an excellent way in combination with the structure used for those chapters.
Dividing them onto two parts, one remembering the past of the family, how the wound was created; and a second that goes more about the trip and how it is becoming a terrific experience that at the same time is working as a catharsis over the traumatic disappearance.

The atmosphere created by Keaton is excellent, being oppressive with a touch of cosmic horror that works perfectly, that feels pretty similar to the one present in Blair's Witch Project. The fact that characters can redeem themselves instead of having to suffer a painful end is a good novelty, showing that not necessarily horror needs a bad ending.

I loved Agony's Lodestone, it feels like an homage to my favourite elements in the horror genre, and the way the chapters are structured works pretty well, making the pacing excellent. If you like speculative horror, give this novella a try, because you will certainly enjoy it.