Review: Heart-pounding and terrifying, a true thriller!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 13, 2011
I was so psyched to read this book because I can't tell you how long it's been since I've read a thriller. It's been too long, but luckily this book came along to scare the crap out of me. In it we meet Christy, who moves back to West Virginia after inheriting her grandmother's cabin. At first there are some reports of wild animal attacks which set her and the rest of the town on edge. Then it becomes clear that no animal could rip a person limb from limb. In order to stop the killings, Christy and her close friends have to first admit that maybe the stuff of nightmares isn't legend after all.I really enjoyed the characters in this one. Christy was tough, even when she was scared she stood her ground and refused to just run away from the problem. I think most people would just choose to leave West Virginia and never look back but she knew that someone had to stop the creature and the law enforcement wasn't likely to believe that a mythical creature was behind the massacres. I think my absolute favorite person in the book was Christy's friend Graeme, a flamboyant city boy who decides to help Christy move to West Virginia and stay for a couple of weeks to keep her company. Some of the things that came out of his mouth literally made me laugh out loud, especially some of the banter between him and Christy. He's definitely someone I would want to be friends with and he showed himself to be a loyal friend by sticking by Christy's side even though he was scared out of his mind. The rest of the "hunting party" consisted of Christy's father, her good friends Tess and David (who also happens to be a Deputy Sheriff), and Will, a conservation officer. They were all were very strong supporting characters and added some different dimensions to the story, as it was told by several different characters' points of view throughout.This book is certainly not for the faint of heart. There were several times while I was reading that I got chills all over and had to get up to check and make sure the doors were all locked. It's been awhile since I've been affected in that way by a book and I have to say I enjoyed it. The death scenes were extremely bloody and gory, so descriptive I could easily picture the scenes in my mind which made it every more horrifying. The thing I really loved about this book is it was genuinely scare; none of those cutesy, nice supernatural creatures anywhere to be seen. Not that I don't enjoy those kinds of books too, but it was a nice change of pace to read about a terrifying, bloodthirsty killer.The romance between Christy and Will definitely isn't a focal point of the book, but it's a nice little touch thrown in. Although for my taste they fell for each other pretty quick considering they hardly knew each other. Then again, under those kinds of circumstances it might make you re-evaluate your life and figure life is too short to take it slow.I really enjoyed reading this book, with it's mysterious, brutal killer and heart-pounding, terrifying scenes of death. I enjoyed getting goosebumps while reading, knowing that the book could affect me in that way. It gave me the creeps and if you like a good scary story then you should definitely check this book out!