Blog Tour stop for this dark and brutal horror from this master storyteller
"I don't know how Hunter Shea keeps churning out terrifying stories that feel original, but I want more."– Cedar Hollow Reviews "
Synopsis
During the height of the 90s grunge era, five high school friends living on the fringe are driven to the breaking point.
When one of their friends is brutally raped bya drunk townie, they decide to take matters into their own hands.
Deep in the woods of Milbury, Connecticut, there lives the legend of the Melon Heads,a race of creatures that shun human interaction and prey on those who dare to wander down Dracula Drive.
Maybe this night, one band of misfits can help the other. Or maybe some legends are meant to be feared for a reason.
FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners,and exciting, original voices.
My Review
As many of you know, I am a wuss and my journey into the realm of horror has been small but a journey I am proud of and a genre that I wanted to read more of this year.
So when the opportunity to join this tour came around I could not refuse mainly as it was this author that furthered my interest and braveness back in 2019, dipping my toe in to horror and loving every minute of it!
I had high hopes for this read and I was not disappointed!
In this read set in Connecticut, we follow the lives of five teens, Mick, Marnie, Vent, Chuck and Heidi, all misfits in school (I can relate!) not fitting in and seeming fighting just to survive high school, they are a tight group of friends all on the cusp of adulthood.
One evening Marnie and Heidi seek out for some fun drinking in a seedy bar known to serve underage kids, but this night changes everything for the group.
When Marnie is brutally attacked and raped she seeks the support of her friends but more importantly she does not want medical or police support, after everything they have all been through after everything Marnie has suffered enough is enough.
They are all fed up of been outcasts, sick of been treated like trash they all want revenge for themselves and for Marnie after all she knows her attacker and he must pay.
Enter The Melon Heads, the local terrifying urban legend, inbred mutant creatures who are cannibals, but this is just a story right? things like this are not real?
Yet Mike convinces the group he can lead them all to find this group and this will lead to revenge for them all but none of the five are prepared for what happens next, after all the stories that scare you as children should sometimes be left well alone.
This is a trigger warning read, graphic violence, assault, rape, and a huge amount of gore but even though your almost ready for it, I was in no way prepared for the dark and brutal read that this turned out to be!
For me at the start this read had a thriller/horror vibe with a huge amount of teen angst thrown in, in parts it reminded me of the classic teen horror movies, I was ready for the jump scares! but I was unprepared for the dark and chilling journey this read took me on!
In parts I was completely dumb struck with the grossness and the terrifying edge and pace the read keeps. this is not one to read in the day never mind in the dark!
Another amazing horror from Hunter Shea, he manages to manipulate this genre and the reader so perfectly just like the master storyteller he is!!
Author Bio
Hunter Shea is the product of a misspent childhood watching scary movies, reading forbidden books and wishing Bigfoot would walk past his house.
He doesn’t just write about the paranormal – he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself. He’s the author of over 27 books, including Creature (Flame Tree Press) The Jersey Devil (Pinnacle)and We Are Always Watching (Sinister Grin). Hunter’s novels can even be found on display at the International Cryptozoology Museum.
The Montauk Monster was named one of the best reads of the summer by Publishers Weekly. He was selected to be part of the launch of Samhain Publishing’s new horror line in 2011 alongside legendary author Ramsey Campbell.
He’s an avid podcaster and can be heard and seen on Monster Men and Final Guys every week.Living with his crazy and supportive family and two cats, he’s happy to be close enough to New York City to see the skyline without having to pay New York rent.
You can follow his travails at www.huntershea.com.
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Blog Tour
Thank you to the Publisher and Author for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel and for the opportunity to review these works.
All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.