Today I am delighted to be sharing my thoughts on Creature by Hunter Shea as part of the blog tour with Anne at Random Things Tours. My thanks to Hunter for my copy of this book and Anne for my spot on the tour.

This is available to purchase from Amazon UK from 6th Sept. It is published by Flame Tree Press, the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices http://www.flametreepublishing.com/

Synopsis:

The monsters live inside of Kate Woodson. Chronic pain and a host of autoimmune diseases have robbed her of a normal, happy life. Her husband Andrew’s surprise of their dream Maine lake cottage for the summer is the gift of a lifetime. It’s beautiful, remote, idyllic, a place to heal.

But they are not alone. Something is in the woods, screeching in the darkness, banging on the house, leaving animals for dead.

Just like her body, Kate’s cottage becomes her prison. She and Andrew must fight to survive the creature that lurks in the dead of night.

My Thoughts:

Kate suffers from a whole host of autoimmune diseases and her husband Andrew decides that they both need a break before Kate’s next round of treatment. He rents a lake cottage in a remote and secluded area in Maine. Being city dwellers that find that country living is not as quiet as they thought it would be, and that they are not always by themselves.

The descriptions the author gives for Kate’s diseases is a real eye-opener and part way through reading this book I took a break to have an internet search to discover more. At the end of the book I discovered that the author has used his own personal experiences about autoimmune diseases.

I was shocked to read Kate’s story about how she tries to live a life in constant pain and constant supply of medication. I had a sense of the autoimmune diseases as being like a third person in Kate and Andrew’s relationship, I say this because everything that a normal couple would enjoy from walking, going out and just doing basic things is not an option for these two, never mind a more intimate side to being a couple. Andrew has to work to pay medical bills as well as provide support for Kate, he has a lot on his shoulders and at times it shows. Whereas Kate is the position of feeling helpless and useless, not always able to the basic housework without paying the price and spending hours asleep afterwards.

As I started t get further into the story I got a real sense of them not being alone, while it is implied early on. It gradually starts to build and the suspense of there being something unknown takes a hold. I did have an idea about what was happening and I did wonder if my random thought process would be right as I started to piece things together. Even though I was right to a point, I found the author stepped up the pace and also the horror element and took a route that caught me a little by surprise.

If you are someone who doesn’t read much in the way of horror then be prepared for some blood and guts, but nothing that I felt was majorly over the top. The story of Kate and Andrew as they deal with their life is an emotional and a real eye opener of a story. I found myself quickly turning the pages to discover the truth.

This is a book I would definitely recommend.

About the Author:

Hunter Shea is the product of a misspent childhood watching scary movies, reading forbidden books and wishing Bigfoot would walk past his house. He doesn’t just write about the paranormal – he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself. Hunter’s novels can even be found on display at the International Cryptozoology Museum. His video podcast, Monster Men, is one of the most watched horror podcasts in the world. He’s a bestselling author of over 13 (lucky number!) books, all of them written with the express desire to quicken heartbeats and make spines tingle. Living with his wonderful family and two cats, he’s happy to be close enough to New York City to gobble down Gray’s Papaya hotdogs when the craving hits.

Website http://www.huntershea.com/

Twitter @huntershea1

Facebook Author Page

Follow the blog tour to see what other Book Bloggers thought

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or a share would be amazing 🙂 xx