‘It’s much more than most creature features, it has heart and thought, and a superb, head-on horror conclusion. The best Hunter Shea I’ve read so far and by more than a little.’ – Eddie Generous (Unnerving Magazine) 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 … 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.
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I really enjoyed this book. Hunter Shea masterfully creates characters that you are invested in, an unsettling atmosphere, a terrifying beast, but keeps his writing easy to follow. Kate is a truly tragic person, but you admire her strength throughout the story, as well as her adoring husband, Andrew. And who could forget sweet, little But-But! I could understand the idea behind the monster early on, but that didn’t affect my interest in the finale. I’m not sure why I didn’t love the progression of certain characters here, but portions of the ending didn’t thrill me. That’s not to say it wasn’t very good, but some of it just should have been a bit more clear, to have the desired effect. Beyond all that, this is a very strong showing by an extremely talented author, and I look forward to reading more of his works!
Terrifying and suspenseful. Truly amazing world building and strong characters this book is a work of art. This is definitely a book that will stay with you.
Boy, what a story!! My first reading of a Hunter Shea story and this one affected me in so many ways! It is horror at its best but it is a tender love story at the same time! I was horrified by the brutality of the creature but ended the book in tears!! This experience was great, thank you Hunter Shea!!
CREATURE! It. Knocked. My. Socks. Off.
Kate and Andrew have certainly been tested. Her health, (a horrible litany of problems due to auto-immune diseases and problems arising from the treatment of them), and his care of her, has tested the strength of their marriage at every turn. Now with Kate trying an experimental treatment, they are in for their biggest test ever. In an attempt to alleviate the tension and bring some relaxation to their lives, Andrew rents an isolated cabin in Maine for the summer. Instead of being the serene, quiet time they had both hoped for, their cabin becomes the target of something in the woods. Will they return from their vacation relaxed and refreshed? You’ll have to read this to find out!
This is not the book I expected from Hunter Shea. What I expected was a creature-feature, (one of those words is right there in the title after all), and it sort of was. But what it mainly was, was the story of a strong marriage and how chronic disease attacks every component of your life-and this is a tale I recognize from my own life. I had a period of years with an un-diagnosed disease, which in the end WAS diagnosed as an auto-immune condition. I know what it is to be frustrated, to have my patience tested, to be told it’s all in my head, and to be poked, prodded, and experimented with like a lab rat. So, when Mr. Shea wrote about Kate’s inner thoughts I totally understood and I recognized the pure truth of them.
What Mr. Shea did with Kate’s thoughts is another thing entirely. It was brutal, yet beautiful at the same time. The imagination and creativity here was astounding. It was also frightening and spellbinding. I read the last 40% of this book straight through, because that was what the story demanded of me. I loved these characters, each and every one of them, and I rooted so hard for them all-I simply could not leave them at the height of their struggle.
Now, I find myself almost speechless, (and if you know or follow me, you know that’s rare!). I want you to understand that this is a powerful tale, about so much more than what it appears to be on the surface. I hope that if you’ve ever trusted a review based solely on a reviewer’s word, that you choose this one to trust. You will not be disappointed.
CREATURE gets my highest recommendation!
*Thank you to Flame Tree Press via NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
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This was a roller coaster ride of human emotions so strong that it brings what the true meaning of pain and suffering is to the raw surface. I have never read a horror book that touched upon the human suffering that people go through the way this book did.
Kate Woodson lives day in and day out with massive chronic pain and autoimmune diseases. She doesn’t have a normal life like most people as she has to stay in the house and sometimes is bed ridden. Her husband, Andrew, is a devoted husband who looks after her and tries to keep her in up beat spirits even when the spirits are low to the ground.
Andrew decides to take Kate away from the house and go somewhere peaceful hoping to give her a nice holiday for the summer. Andrew finds a cottage near a lake that is out in the backwoods of Maine. Once they arrive and move into the cottage, the stillness and quiet of the peaceful place is shattered by unearthly screams and howls. They soon realize that the wildlife of the woods is not part of the howling chaos and when more things start happening to them at the cottage, the more frightened they become as something roams the woods not of this world. The “Creature” wrecks havoc on Andrew and Kate’s emotions as they not only have to endure what is going on outside the cottage, but they have to endure what Kate is going through inside with her chronic pain. What was suppose to be a nice getaway, turns out to be a ride into the hellish unknown.
This was a suspenseful, tense, frightening, emotional read and the author, Hunter Shea, builds the story up from the beginning and brings everything to a boiling cresendo about the middle of the book where it just takes off like a rocket with twists and turns. I read this book in two days as I couldn’t hardly put it down. Five stars all the way for this one.
I’m a massive fan of cryptozoology but have frequently found that most of the books based on related subject matter are frequently focused on action and rarely deal with the emotional side of things.
Creature is my second read from Shea and it is stunning. This was a master class in creating suspense and he did it with the bare minimum of adjectives when creating it. At one point I felt myself chilled to my core when all he had written was ‘Haaaarrrrrooooooooo.’
I’m really kicking myself that I didn’t get this to this one sooner. Each page carried so much weight to it that I found myself wishing it would never finish and when I did, I was simply stunned.
This is not a traditional creature feature. This is suspense and drama playing out with a real world scenario and I think you would will find that Kate and Andrew’s relationship will burrow it’s way into your mind while reading it. You’ll think frequently ‘what would I do in this situation?’
This is one of those books where 5 stars simply isn’t enough. I highly, highly recommend it!
It’s not unusual for character development, that sacred component to a story that resonates, to be left by the wayside in horror. Being a lifelong fanatic of the genre, as well as a horror author myself, I’m always on the lookout for horror scribes that take the time to flesh out their characters, before forcing them to endure the nightmares of their minds. This was my first Shea – I may be somewhat late to the party – and I found it incredibly informative, as well as goddamned terrifying.
Still, us horror lovers know that this terror is nothing without the human element, and Creature delivers love, hope, and tragedy without compromising the horror. Writers could all do well to learn from Hunter’s devotion to characterisation in this novel, and I for one will be taking many lessons away from this masterclass.But writer or not, this tale is guaranteed to introduce you to characters that will resonate deeply, not to mention the obligatory horrors that await you. And oh boy, are there horrors…
Great job, Mr. Shea!
I’ll get straight to what I liked about this book, the time and energy Shea put into building character. Or as some writing gurus will tell you, write what you know. And in Shea’s own words, elements of this story are very personal.
It’s a slow development of character for a good two thirds of the story. The creature in question doesn’t rear its ugly head until the bitter end, but that’s okay. The story isn’t really about the creature itself, but of the creature as a manifestation brought on by the every day horrors of living with a brutal and uncompromising disease. Literally.
Kate is the one who lives in pain every day of her life. Her husband Andrew loves her and just wants her to be well, but her ever constant need for care wears on him as well. So they take a trip to the wilds of Maine hoping to enjoy nature and some alone time for healing.
But the disease isn’t forgiving, and the creature in question is eventually drawn to it.
I’m not going to give away any more spoilers than that. The slow development of the plot to get to the final moments of horror is essential to this story (in my opinion), so stick with it.
I’m glad I did
5 stars
I read the Kindle edition.
First off, I really liked Kate and her husband Andrew. They were a very loving couple and that is heartwarming. It was very hard to read bout Kate’s illness and all her medications. She was unable to get out of bed very much and slept quite a bit. Yet Andrew stayed by her, supporting her with love and gentle humor.
After we get to know the characters very well and marvel at their relationship, the horror beings.
Andrew leaves his job and moves Kate and himself into a Maine cottage. It sounds like a beautiful place and I would love to visit there. Then things begin to go very wrong. Some creature is hanging about the home, terrifying Kate. There are dead animals left about the cabin. Rocks are tossed at the little cabin.
Brilliant Mr. Shea, just brilliant. This story is a different twist on his usual action-packed horror from the get go stories. The reader gets the opportunity to know the main characters quite well and have an admiring relationship with them. About half way through the book, the tension begins and doesn’t let up until the end. Mr. Shea’s use of language to paint pictures was very well done. I admire his abilities to write so well. Bring on the next one, please!
I want to thank NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book for me to read, enjoy and review.
Creature by Hunter Shea is a gut-punch of a novel. It absolutely broke me. It also terrified me for a number of reasons. It is an incredible read that is going to stick with me for a very long time.
The very beginning of this story was absolutely heartbreaking. Seeing poor Kate try to stay strong while dealing with the effects of her illness both physically and mentally, as well as her strength when going to her doctors appointments and getting a series of injections that were experimental… She was a true superhero.
She also had her sidekicks that were heroes themselves! Her husband, Andrew, and their trusty fur-child, Buttons, were there to help in any way they can while keeping their little family together.
One day, Andrew announces that they will be spending the summer in a cabin by a lake in Maine. It sounds idyllic and Kate and Andrew are both really looking forward to it.
Once they arrived at the cabin, I was so excited for them to get some much needed relaxation time. But of course, with her luck, Kate was taken down by a nasty fever right on day one. But the fever wasn’t the worst that would happen within that cabin…
This tale was absolutely brutal and so sad. I really felt for all of the characters. Andrew and Kate were such a beautiful and strong couple. I loved seeing them interact with one another day in and day out. No matter what was thrown at them, they were there for each other with so much love.
The loyalty that little Buttons the Beagle showed for Kate was wonderful. What an amazing dog! He seemed like a trained support dog, but he was just a hound that they had adopted from a shelter. I’m so happy that Kate had this little guy by her side when Andrew was away.
The plot was definitely a slow burn, but when the action catches fire, there’s no putting out the flame until the very last page.
My god, when the action picks up… The gore was intense and written so wonderfully that it was very easy to imagine in your mind with vivid colors!
While reading I just wanted to scream because things just keep getting more and more creepy. Then when the violence begins, that too just gets worse and worse!
The last third of the book is absolutely impossible to put down. So just a heads up there if you find yourself reading close to your bedtime… if you hit that last third, it’ll be a long day the next day because you won’t be able to stop!
I have such an appreciation for this novel. It was wonderfully written. The characters really came to life and immediately fell in love with both of them and just wanted them to have a beautiful and happy ending. I don’t think I have ever read something that was this heartbreaking and horrific with equal intensity.
I do highly recommend this one, just keep in mind that this one certainly isn’t for the faint of heart!
I personally gave it 4 cups of tea as it’s not a book that I could read over and over and over again, which is how I categorize my 5 cup of tea reads. BUT I will definitely be returning to it again at some point. This is such a powerful read!
I’ve read many of Hunter’s books. I’ve enjoyed some of his shorter work and several of his full length novels. While I’ve come to expect and eat up his campy horror, I was curious to see how this would go as it appears to be on the more serious side. I’m happy to report that he wrote something above and beyond what I could have asked for.
I couldn’t decide which was more horrific. The physical affliction that tortured Kate’s and Andrew’s lives or the supernatural one. It was very difficult to read about Kate’s quality of life. What those two struggled with each and every day was tough to contemplate. And Hunter took me inside each character’s head to reveal their brutally honest feelings of anguish, fear and resentment. This made them live and breath for me.
When the supernatural element came in to play I reminded myself this was one of Shea’s books and braced myself for every which way but loose He’s quite creative at and willing to kill off any of his characters. It got very crazy very fast. And I loved the setting. A cottage tucked away in the woods. No neighbors for miles. The perfect setting for some scary stuff.
Be sure to read the Afterword Hunter Shea provides at the end of the book. It explains how he wrote his characters so genuinely and how difficult it was for him to write this book. It made me appreciate the story even more.
Did I love the book? Yes. Would I recommend it? You know it.
Worst Hunter Shae book that I have read
Really good book but I figured out the big reveal/twist very early in.
I am almost 20% through the book and am on the verge of not completing it. Maybe the story will pick up. If not I’m done.
It wasn’t the type of horror story that I like, but it was thought provoking. I’ll probably not by any more from this author, though.