TITLE: Our Winter Monster
AUTHOR: Dennis Mahoney
PUBLISHER: Hell's Hundred
PUBLISHING DATE: January 28, 2025
PAGES: 304
SOURCE: Library
FROM GOODREADS: For the last year, Holly and Brian have been out of sync. Neither can forget what happened that one winter evening; neither can forgive what’s happened since. Tonight, Holly and Brian race toward Pinebuck, New York, trying to outrun a blizzard on their way to the ski village getaway they hope will save their relationship. But soon they lose control of the car—and then of themselves.
Now Sheriff Kendra Book is getting calls about a couple in trouble—along with reports of a brutal and mysterious creature rampaging through town, leaving a trail of crushed cars, wrecked buildings, and mangled bodies in the snow.
To Kendra, who lost another couple to the snow just seven weeks ago, the danger feels personal. But not as personal as it feels to Holly and Brian, who are starting to see the past, the present, and themselves in a monstrous new light . . .
Our Winter Monster tells the story of Brian and Holly. They have both been through a very traumatic incident when has created a huge rift in their relationship. Hoping to move past it, the set out to a small ski village, hoping they can beat an impending blizzard. Guess what? They can't. They end up getting stranded and separated and what goes on from there is one action-packed, destruction-filled, gore-filled night. And for the most part, I loved every minute of it.
The formatting of the book really lends itself to the author's tale. The entire book takes place in less that 24 hours with only a few well-placed flashbacks showing what led Holly and Brian to this crossroads in their life. The chapters are also relatively short which helps lead to the urgency in the tale. We meet quite a few townspeople along the way who add quite a bit to the story and explained some of the struggles the sheriff, Kendra Book, has experienced which makes her more determined than ever to figure out and stop the monster terrifying her town. Oh Kendra, if it was only that easy.
If you love winter horror, I can't recommend this one enough. My only complaint is that there is somewhat of an open ending. Yet even though I am not a fan of this formula, it did really work with this book, and I hope more people decide to pick it up! Definitely want to read more from this author.
MY RATING: 4 PAWS
I've never classified these books as winter horror, but it's the perfect description! And I do love the suspense that blizzards and being stranded in a storm add to a book like this. :D
ReplyDeleteSnowstorms and blizzards add perfectly to the atmosphere.
Delete"I absolutely love winter horror. Which is kind of ironic because I really only enjoy winter from Thanksgiving to New Year's."
ReplyDelete😂
"The formatting of the book really lends itself to the author's tale. The entire book takes place in less that 24 hours with only a few well-placed flashbacks showing what led Holly and Brian to this crossroads in their life."
That sounds very well done! I don't mind longer flashbacks, but in this type of book, I think they would be out of place, ruining the tension.
It was a very well-written book IMO. I loved that it took place in such a short period of time. Yea, me and winter aren't always friends. I like snow once a winter or around the holidays. This past winter we had too much!
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