Book Review – The Montauk Monster by Hunter Shea

The Montauk Monster
By Hunter Shea
Kensington Books
In Stores Now

Something monstrous is on the loose in the vacation destination of Montauk, New York, and it is making a feast of the quiet city’s residents in Hunter Shea’s latest fear-fest, The Montauk Monster.

Publisher’s Weekly named The Montauk Monster one of the best reads of the summer and after reading the thriller, I would be hard-pressed to argue with that assessment.

I am a huge fan of real-life mysteries and conspiracy theories, and Shea blends both into his creature feature. Have you ever heard of Plum Island? It’s an island off the eastern coast of Long Island. Located on the island is Plum Island Animal Disease Center of New York, a federal research facility that was used during the Cold War to test a secret biological program that targeted livestock.

In July 2008, a large mammal washed up on the shores of Montauk. Many residents believed the creature had originated on Plum Island, but some experts who saw photos of the creature thought it was just a raccoon. Whatever that creature may have actually been, Shea uses that real-life story as a launching point for his fictional tale of monsters gone wild. But the “stars” of Shea’s tale are much more horrific than whatever washed ashore on that day 6 years ago.

The action begins with two shredded bodies discovered on a beach. Officer Gray Dalton investigates and quickly discovers the terror is spreading throughout Montauk as creature sightings and attacks begin to mount. The creatures’ bite is deadly, but those who somehow survive the attack find themselves the victims of a deadly virus/contagion that burns its victims from the inside out. The officer’s investigation uncovers a link between the vicious creatures, a Long Island Legend, and secret government experiments on Plum Island.

With a fast-paced plot and realistic characters, The Montauk Monster delivers on its promise as a fun, guilty-pleasure summer read. If you enjoy monster stories in the vein of legendary Peter Benchley, with a dash of conspiracy theory thrown in, pick up this book. I can definitely see this book being optioned for a movie.

The Montauk Monster is a fast-paced sci-fi action thriller that grabs hold of you from the first pages and doesn’t let go until you reach the satisfying conclusion. I can’t wait to see what Shea puts out next.

Book Review – The Waiting by Hunter Shea

The Waiting

By Hunter Shea

Samhain Horror

Available Now

Are you the kind of person who jumps at every creak in your house? Do you have nightmares about your home being haunted? If you do, then you might want to read The Waiting by Hunter Shea in the daylight.

On Brian and Cassandra’s wedding day, the unimaginable happens. Brian is forced to watch helplessly as his new bride collapses and is hospitalized with an intestinal rupture. Brian takes his wife to their home and cares for her himself, with the help of his mother-in-law and a visiting nurse. Although her doctors say her brain is working properly, Cassandra is trapped in a state between life and death — unconscious most of the time and unable to communicate.

Soon, items start be moved around the house and Brian and his mother-in-law start seeing a mysterious boy appearing out of nowhere, running silently down the hallway and standing next to Cassie’s bed. The mystery drives Brian to the breaking point, afraid to be in his own home and afraid for his wife’s safety.

As a rare hurricane slams New York City, The Waiting reaches its climax, and apparent conclusion. That is until the final chapter jumps forward one year and totally shocked me with its terrifying revelation.

I love ghost stories. When I was younger, I was terrified of ghost stories and things that go bump in the night. Now, I am just very intrigued by them. A well-told ghost story can draw you in and pull you along down its dark, spooky hallway before jolting you with its terrifying conclusion. Shea definitely knows how to tell a spooky story.

The Waiting is a quick read, but Shea still is able to develop the characters and make you care about them. He slowly and gently builds the suspense and carefully unpeels the layers of terror. You’ll be jumping at every little creak in your house after you read this novella.

The most terrifying part is that the story is based on actual events from Shea’s life. I have heard the real-life stories of what Shea and his family have encountered in their home and I don’t think I would ever be able to get a good night’s sleep in my house if I had experienced those things.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give The Waiting a 4.5

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of The Waiting, Shea is giving away a signed copy of his novel Sinister Entity and 5 ebooks ( 1 copy of each of his novels). So there will be 6 winners in all from the tour-wide giveaway. The giveaway ends at midnight on April 28 so enter now. To enter, just click on this link for details. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review – The Blood Gospel by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell

The Blood Gospel

By James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell

Harper Collins

In Stores Now

I’ve been a fan of best-selling author James Rollins for several years now. His Sigma Force series of military thrillers laced with historical mysteries has kept me coming back for more with each new tale. Now, Rollins has teamed up for the first time with best-selling author Rebecca Cantrell. For those of you unfamiliar with Cantrell, she is the award-winning writer of the Hannah Vogel mystery/thriller series.

But that’s not the only change with the new series (The Order of the Sanguines). Instead of another high-tech thriller in the same vein as his Sigma Force books, Rollins and Cantrell have created a thrilling supernatural horror story packed with plenty of high-octane adventure.

Book Review – 7 Hours by various authors

7 Hours

By Mike Dellosso, Tom Pawlik, Travis Thrasher, Ronie Kendig, Rene Gutteridge, James Andrew Wilson and Robin Parrish

Tyndale House

Available now

What would you do if could relive 7 hours of your life? Any 7 hours. What would you do? Would you seek to correct a mistake you had made? Would you spend time with a lost loved one? Would you get revenge on the person who you think ruined your life?

Those questions are at the heart of this unique collection of seven novellas from seven different authors. In each story, the enigmatic character who calls himself Thomas Constant appears to someone and offers them a unique proposition: they can go back and live any seven hours from their past, or they can live for seven more hours. Either way, after those seven hours, they will jump through time to the moment of their death.

Book Review – Trial Junkies by Robert Browne

Trial Junkies

By Robert Gregory Browne

Penname Press/Braun Haus Media

Available now

The quote on the cover of Robert Browne’s new book Trial Junkies says, “A mystery I dare you to solve.” Well, I always love a challenge, especially when it comes to solving a mystery.

Whenever I watch shows like “Monk” or “Psych,” I always try to solve the mystery before the grand reveal at the end of the show. I’ve watched enough of these shows by this point in my life that I often have figured out the culprit halfway through the show. So with that in mind, I eagerly started Browne’s new self-published book.

With my busy schedule working a full-time job, commuting three hours a day and coaching both of my daughters’ softball teams, I don’t have as much time for reading as I would like. However, Trial Junkies was so fast-paced and so well-written that once I had started, I couldn’t stop turning the pages and I had finished the book in no time. Did I solve the mystery before the end? I’ll get to that in a minute.

Book Review – The Paradise Prophecy by Robert Browne

The Paradise Prophecy

By Robert Browne

Dutton

In Stores Now

The war in Heaven makes its way to Earth in the latest thriller from author Robert Browne. This novel was my first exposure to the best-selling author but I now am eagerly awaiting his next work.

You are excused if at first glance you think this book is similar to Dan Brown’s “The DaVinci Code” or “Angels and Demons.” For one thing, the authors have nearly identical last names. And secondly, the stunning cover certainly makes you think of angels or demons. Both stories do deal with religious mysteries, but that’s pretty much where the comparisons end. Inspired by John Milton’s classic “Paradise Lost,” Browne has crafted a stunning supernatural thriller that goes far beyond your typical globe-trotting adventure yarn.

What if all the evil you see in the world … all the death and war and famine and violence … what if all of it, or most of it, was the result of four fallen angels, vying to win enough human souls to bring about the end of the world? Cast out of Heaven alongside Lucifer centuries ago and clothed in human flesh, these four “demons” are wreaking havoc on the Earth, looking to fulfill an ancient prophecy they believe will help them unleash unimaginable evil on the world.

Book Review – Illusion by Frank Peretti

Illusion

By Frank Peretti

Howard Books

In Stores Now

I was first introduced to the supernatural best-sellers of Frank Peretti as a teenager living in Michigan. “This Present Darkness,” his first work for adults, was published in 1986 and spent almost three years on the best-sellers list. The novel details the spiritual warfare taking place in the fictional town of Ashton. As a young person, although I knew it was fiction, it still was very influential in how I came to perceive the unseen battle between good and evil that is going on around us every day.

Over the years, Peretti has written several more best-selling novels, as well as non-fiction books and a teen series, but I had never read any of them except 1989’s “Piercing the Darkness,” the sequel to “This Present Darkness.” In large part that was because as I became an adult and started my career and a family, my free time for reading virtually evaporated.

It is only in the last few years that I have really gotten back into reading, and I still don’t have near the time I would like to spend on reading. But once I saw that Peretti had a new book on the way, I knew I had to read it. “Illusion” is Peretti’s first novel in seven years, and for longtime fans, it was well worth the wait. “Illusion” is a love story disguised as a mystery with a twist of sci-fi.

Book Review – Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Forbidden

By Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Center Street Publishing

In Stores Now

It has been nearly five centuries since humanity found a way to eliminate all emotions except fear. No more anger, no more hate, no more ambition, no more violence, no more war. But at what cost? For along with no “negative” emotions, all the “positive” emotions, including love, joy and hope, have been eradicated from the world. The result: a world without war, but a world that is dead, for emotions are what make us truly alive. The characters are not zombies, but they truly are the walking dead.

This is the world brought to us by best-selling suspense/fantasy writer Ted Dekker and his co-writer Tosca Lee in “Forbidden,” the first book in a new series “The Books of Mortals.” If you’ve read my blog at all, you know I love Ted Dekker’s books. I have yet to find a Ted Dekker book that I don’t enjoy. I’ve never read any of Tosca Lee’s novels, but I have heard only good things about them. After reading this book, I can see why. Her style and unique touches blend well with Dekker’s style to create a possible medieval future world that feels all too real.

Book Review – Corridor by Robin Parrish

Corridor

By Robin Parrish

StoneHouse Ink

Available Now

Robin Parrish is one of my favorite authors. From book to book, you never know what to expect from him. Well, let me correct that. You know that you can expect a well-crafted story that will have you turning the pages faster than a speeding bullet. But he has written in a variety of genres – sci-fi, horror, superhero. With “Corridor,” Parrish ventures into YA territory for the first time, and the results speak for themselves. He makes the transition seamlessly, crafting a fast-paced story with characters that readers of all ages can relate to.

Troy, on the eve of his 17th birthday, awakens to find himself in a white room so bright that  he can’t even open his eyes. He has no memory of how he arrived in this blinding environment. His only companion is the girl’s voice he hears in his head telling him to run. With her help, he escapes from the white room, only to find himself in another room with another deadly challenge to overcome. This continues from room to room as Troy and his guardian angel continue to bond as she assists him in his journey through the titular Corridor.

Book Review – Invasion by Jon S. Lewis

Invasion

By Jon S. Lewis

Thomas Nelson

In Stores Now

I have to admit I’m a little late coming to the party on this one. “Invasion” was originally released early in 2011, the first book in the C.H.A.O.S. trilogy by Jon S. Lewis. I had seen it on the shelves and thought it looked really good but had just not found the time to read “Invasion.” With the release of the second book in the series in January of this year, the publisher re-released “Invasion” for reviewers and I jumped at the chance to read and review it.

Colt McAllister is just a normal California teenager, enjoying his summer surfing and hanging with his friends. His average, ordinary life is upturned when his parents die in a car accident. Colt moves to Arizona to live with his grandfather, where his life is upturned yet again when he discovers that his family has been involved for generations in a top-secret organization (CHAOS) protecting the earth from alien invasion and his parents’ accident was no accident. A world he thought existed only in video games and comic books has suddenly become very real. In a moment, Colt’s life goes from surfing and girls to aliens, rocket backpacks and covert government agencies. With the assistance of his friends, Colt helps CHAOS attempt to repel the alien invasion.