{I've Been Reading} Creature

Creature by Hunter Shea

There's something scary in the woods outside the picture perfect cabin by the lake...which sounds like at least a dozen other horror novels and movies I've picked up over the years. Except Creature is nothing like those and if you want to be on edge for a few hours you really should pick it up. This is the perfect book for reading late at night by the glow of the Kindle screen.  (For those of my blog readers who don't like horror, you probably don't want to read this one.)  Andrew Woodsen arranges the summer rental hoping to enjoy a few weeks there with his wife, Kate, before she resumes the treatments for her autoimmune diseases. They both hope that Kate will start feeling well enough to join him out by the fire pit, or maybe to sit on the dock for a while, and until then the cabin is a wonderful place for her to rest while Andrew explores the woods and lake.

I've mentioned before that I love stories with married couples who are actually happily married. Kate and Andrew definitely fit the bill -- those two are amazing as they try to deal with the horrors of Kate's diseases and the horrors lurking outside the cabin. This book isn't light and fluffy horror. By the end, I felt like I'd been through an emotional wringer (and I mean that in the best possible way.) There's some gore, and some death, but that's not the part that got to me. This book is going to stick with me for a while...and not in an I-wish-I-hadn't-read-that sort of way. I have a feeling I'll pick this one up again to revisit the characters.

Disclosure -- I was provided with an advance review copy by the publisher. All opinions are my own.