Book Review: The Montauk Monster by Hunter Shea

It Kills. . .
On a hot summer night in Montauk, the bodies of two local bar patrons are discovered in the dunes, torn to shreds, their identities unrecognizable. . .

It Breeds. . .
In another part of town, a woman's backyard is invaded by four terrifying creatures that defy any kind of description. What's clear is that they're hostile--and they're ravenous. . .

It Spreads. . .
With every sunset the terror rises again, infecting residents with a virus no one can cure. The CDC can't help them; FEMA can't save them. But each savage attack brings Suffolk County Police Officer Gray Dalton one step closer to the shocking source of these unholy creations. Hidden on nearby Plum Island, a U.S. research facility has been running top-secret experiments. What they created was never meant to see the light of day. Now, a vacation paradise is going straight to hell.

My Review:
In Montauk, something has started to kill people in town, dead bodies on the beach ripped apart and melting, reports of animal attacks by large dog creatures across town. Even bites and scratches from these creatures have horrific and fatal consequences and the police and animal control battle to protect the town from a horde of rampaging monsters. Could the answers to the outbreak come from the research facility on the nearby Plum Island and is there any way to stop the carnage?

Local cop Dalton teams up with animal control expert Anita at the start of the trouble, but when they see the monsters for themselves, even Anita has no idea what they actually are. Dalton is a cop that just wants to do his best to help the people in his town and I enjoyed watching him and Anita investigate, with no romantic issues getting in the way thankfully! The only person who does have an idea what the creatures are is fellow cop Meredith, stuck on desk duty because of a long term injury. Meredith has seen these creatures on the shore once before and has researched them online, sure that they are part of a local legend. Now she tries to persuade Dalton of her belief about the creatures coming from Plum Island and persuading him to go and take a look.

While Dalton is faced with a trip to Plum Island and the horrors based in the labs there, the other cops are struggling to respond to the increasing attacks across the town, now aware of how deadly the slightest contact with the creatures is. I liked switching from Dalton to various other cops and what they were having to face, as I liked all of the cops in the department. We also see events through the eyes of the victims as they get attacked by the creatures and those who manage to escape, which puts the reader front and centre in amongst the scariest of the action and tension. I also liked characters like the homeless former military man known locally as Can Man, because he gains his money collecting and trading in cans for money. He was a really interesting character and I certainly feared for him living on the streets while the monsters were invading from the sea!

The monsters were really scary. They come out of the water and are so fearsome. A bite or scratch infects the person causing their insides to pretty much melt and explode which is a seriously horrible way to die. And that is if you can avoid being ripped apart in the first attack by the creatures which are the size of large dogs and often hunt in packs. Doors and windows form little protection from these predators and the packs are raiding every house they can to look for dinner. I found these creatures really scary and nerve shredding to read about, and I was in a state of panic for all of my favourites! Now this is where I need to warn readers about pet deaths-there are various cats and dogs that get eaten and attacked in this book. That did unsettle me a bit but none are pets of the main characters from what I recall so we don't get to know and love the animals, making it a bit easier to deal with.

The Plum Island plotline was also very interesting. I've always been fascinated by the very idea of an island where dangerous things are studied or created so it isn't much of a stretch to imagine creating biological weapons and hideous mutated monsters! I've read books where zombie viruses have come from the island so it was fun to see it featured again in another horror book. I enjoy seeing a group of people going somewhere dangerous where real horrors are lurking, trying to find answers and survivors. I like that creepy tension as we wait for something scary to happen and then the battle for survival when the creatures are discovered. Switching that to the action in the town kept the book very fast paced and exciting. There was literally no slow down in what was happening and I enjoyed the rollercoaster ride that followed.

This is my dad's favourite Hunter Shea book from the ones he's read and it is definitely up in my top five. I enjoyed the pacing, the tension, the action and the horror gore throughout. I liked pretty much every character which is tough in a book with a high body count so it did get me emotionally as a few favourites fell. Overall this is an excellent creature feature and well worth a read .

Read August 2019
4 stars.