Also by this author: The LitterThey kept to the shadows so no one would know they existed, and preyed on the nameless who no one would miss. Where did they come from, and who was protecting them? In a city that had seen every kind of savagery, they were something new, something more than murderous. And one woman, who had thought she had lost everything there was to lose in life, would soon find that nothing could possibly prepare her for what would come when she entered their world.
I received this book for free from Author Gifted in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This book is a little longer than the others I have read lately but wow… I mean wow is all I can say after finishing it. So the story starts off with a homeless individual being eaten by something, well slashed and bitten by something. More information starts to come in about what may have eaten the individual and your brain automatically goes to what you think. It starts with a W if you aren’t following my line of thinking.
So there is something or someone that is going around killing and biting homeless in a place called the Zone, otherwise known as where a large portion of homeless and poverty stricken individuals life. It is also where the daughter of the Police of Detectives calls her life’s work. Karen wants to help people, not unlike her father, but her distrust of police has her walking around the Zone in the middle of the night looking for a young boy that had come into her shelter. By happenstance Karen is thrown into a web of secrets that unless the truth is revealed will most likely lead to her death.
This story took a turn that I was not prepared for and honestly kept me up a night or two. I was expecting from the beginning and the blurb that this story was going to follow many others that I have read along the general genre, but boy was I wrong. I can happily tell you that there is only one other story that I have ever read that even came close to having the power to scare the heck out of me, and that was a short story by Stephan King. If I told you which one you would automatically know what happens in this one so I have to keep my mouth and fingers shut.
Unless you are not scared of the dark and do not live in a major metropolitan area I would suggest you read this story during the day, because you never know what is going to be coming out at night, and if this story is any indication, I am truly scared of what may be lurking in the shadows.
About Kevin R. Doyle
A high school teacher and fiction writer living in central Missouri, Kevin R. Doyle has seen his short stories, mainly in the horror and suspense fields, published in over twenty small press magazines, both print and online. Last year his first e-book, a mainstream novelette, titled "One Helluva Gig," was published by Vagabondage Press.
Doyle earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in communications from Wichita State University. He teaches English and public speaking at a high school in rural Missouri and has taught English, journalism and Spanish at a number of community colleges in both Kansas and Missouri.
In January of 2014, Barbarian Books released "The Group," his first suspense novel, and this February saw the release of "The Litter," a horror/suspense novel.
