Creepy, profound, and very scary. It'll make you think about what might be in your own shed. Lovecraft-esque horror that will stick in your head for a long time.

I loved this book so much! I loved the characters and the world! I would and have recommended this book to all my friends. Bought a copy for a friend who absolutely loved it!

The village of Saint-Ferdinand is hiding some dark secrets beneath its quiet surface. The small picturesque village has a dark past. This is a bleak tale. From the beginning, it felt mysterious.

There's been a murder. They have a suspect. Inspector Crowley starts digging deep into the investigation, stirring up the past. Inspector Crowley bites off more than he can chew, though.

The different viewpoints make this tale even better. The first half is kind of slow, but the second half more than makes up for it. I dig the author's writing style. I dig the characters, too. Each character plays a role. There are no throwaways.

A GOD IN THE SHED is smart. It makes you think. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. It keeps you guessing. The reveal is everything. The loose ends are all tied up. All questions are answered.

This is an utmost creepy tale filled with gore and death. Blood and death fill these pages. It's gut-wrenching. It's hard-hitting and vicious. Check your feelings at the door. This is unrelenting, and the ending will dropkick you right in the chest.

There's necromancy. Some parts of this book scared me to death. I had to walk away from this one due to a disturbing scene. I learned several things from this book, too. You will dig this book. Give it a read.

Recommend!

4/5 stars!⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is by far one of the best horror novels I have ever read. It hit the mark on all counts and kept the suspense, magic, and gore coming throughout the story.

First of all, the story itself is ridiculously good. There is so much depth, so many different elements that come together to give an intricate backstory that makes the reader want more. The author does a great job of keeping you in the dark until the right moment while also delivering a story that you can follow along. Every so often, you get clues that make you question what you previously knew.... and the author also provides the perfect opportunities for you to remember those clues and link the story together. It almost made me feel like a detective, and it was just so much fun to read this book! I loved the gore and the horror and the magical elements incorporated into this story; it was truly dark and I was definitely creeped out! The author had multiple POVs going, but he did such a fantastic job of keeping each one unique and fresh and interesting for the reader! The author also managed to show internal (and external) changes in character personalities and roles, which is not an easy feat by any means! There was so much going on in this novel and yet, it never felt overwhelming. Everything made sense, everything had depth, and everything made me want to flip the page and read on. The writing style was also amazing and easy to follow. I don't want to keep on praising and praising so just do yourself a favor and give this book a shot, because it will definitely be worth your time!

Review: A GOD IN THE SHED by J. F. Debeau

A GOD IN THE SHED is an incredibly complex novel, literary in format, stunning in execution. Simultaneously the story of individuals and families, a torn and battered community, legacies gone grievously wrong; of murders and suffering, of deaths and grief, this is also the story of a band of young boys, tautly connected, the day they discover the impossible really exists, and the horrendous, permanent (even eternal) consequences of that day and that discovery. This is a novel which captures readers, pinning their imaginations to observe the intrusion of other realities into our own.

How to begin? Well first, it's a complex, but compelling read. The book opens with a group of young boys playing in the woods when they stumble across....something. A god or a demon, they don't know. Things turn nasty quickly though when they realize that this god takes promises and cheating very seriously and they and the town will reap the consequences of a childhood game for decades. We then fast forward to their descendants, one of which finds the being trapped in her shed. Those childhood rules, the "curse" have caused it to be caught under the eye of a camera and frozen in place again. Though it can still lure people and animals to their death, it can't leave the ever watchful eye of a camera's gaze. The young girl and the actors in the town trying to possess the dubious wish granting of the god set off a chain of events that end in some of the most gruesome deaths I've ever read in my life. I had a horrifying dream that was caused by the fantastically descriptive rending of flesh of which this writer is capable. The book is set up to become a sequel and I'm interested to find out what becomes of the god after a roller coaster ending and what the remaining descendants will do to end its reign of horror.

“Saint-Ferdinand. Home of the Saint-Ferdinand Killer. A monster with a reign of terror stretching back almost two decades...Here, the boogeyman was real.”

The small Canadian town where this tale of monsters, ghosts, and magic takes place, is far from what you would call “quaint”. Despite having been plagued for years by a murderous force, the families that have lived there for generations remain, perhaps with hope that the serial killer inciting fear through citizens of all ages will soon be caught. The story opens with that just happening. An old man, living alone in the woods, is put in the town’s jail, and there are sighs of relief throughout Saint-Ferdinand. But the killings don’t stop. Because, well, that wouldn’t for a good story, now, would it?

“Nothing and no one can be in the presence of a god and remain the same. That knife, your shed…you.”

From there, I was pleasantly drug through scenes of suspense, gore, and mystery, told through many different perspectives of the town’s inhabitants. Our main characters are Stephen Crowley, the small police force’s head inspector; Venus, technology wiz teen, daughter to laughable hippie parents; and Randy McKenzie, a local doctor, and as we learn early on, a dabbler of dark magic. Though we see the story mostly through the eyes of these three characters, there are about a dozen we switch to and from. But I was never lost for more than maybe a few pages. Dubeau leads us through multiple POVs, a la the king of many characters, George RR Martin. Similar to Martin's brutal style, sometime we meet a new character, only to have the short chapter end with their gruesome demise. It's the perfect example of showing, not telling, and it adds much diversity to an otherwise mostly linear story line.


The writing was just what it needed to be: flowing smoothly, rarely dragging, if at all. Leading up to the climax seemed to take too long for my liking, but there are many pieces of this complicated puzzle that needed to be explained. Almost every character and story arc had a meaningful purpose, leading up to the bloody and action packed conclusion. The last few pages, my eyeballs were all but bulging out of my head, and my mouth agape.


Dubeau has somehow quietly snuck up in the publishing world, with much promise ahead of him. He has been hailed as “the next Stephen King”, which shouldn’t be thrown about so lightly, but it’s almost believable. To me, though, this novel felt more to me as if Clive Barker had written the TV series Stranger Things:

Creepy monster from the shadow realm, check.

A group of teens somehow three steps ahead of the adults on the case, check.

However, there’s a lot more blood and body parts thrown around. A LOT. Oh, and a creepy, old time circus. And some very dark magick.

Somehow, it never feels like too much. It all works. But this dark tale is not for the meek. Even the mundane Dubeau describes with malicious intent: “They left behind a battlefield strewn with the eviscerated bodies of doughnut boxes and the bled-out remains of coffeepots.” Twin Peaks, much?


I’m not a huge fan of horror. I’ll shamelessly admit that this was the first full-length horror novel I’ve ever read. I’ve long avoided the genre, knowing I am easily influenced by everything I read. And I was right. I suffered through nightmares reading this book, and I loved every minute of it.


Keep this one on your radar – rumor is the manuscript has already been bought for a film version, and that there are other books soon to follow. Just don’t read this one while you’re home alone. Or do, for the full experience. I did it. And I survived.


Here are two other stand-out quotes if I haven’t convinced you to read this book already:


“She had danced with a god, allowed it to touch her soul, and she had lived. The feeling had been intoxicating and otherworldy. Whatever the monster was, she had no doubt of its malevolence, the embrace she’d experienced had given her unparalled comfort. The god had known her deepest wish, her need for security, and it had delivered. Even now, knowing she had been in the arms of death, she longed to return.”

"She'd read enough books to know that these sorts of Faustian bargains always came with a price.Nothing came for free. Not without consequence. Before here was a genie, and the shed was its lamp. She'd rubbed the thing three times; maybe it was time to make a wish."

Actual rating: 4.5/5 Stars (It wasn't perfect - I save 5 stars for my favorite books, but I'm rounding up because I REALLY want people to read this.)

*Many thanks for Inkshares and NetGalley for an eARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review. All quotes are from the advanced copy, and might not remain the same in the final published version.*

I'm sorry to say that I didn't connect with the book. I have read 1/3 of it and it didn't keep my interest. This is purely subjective on my part--I just didn't like it. I didn't find any character that I felt invested in or had a connection to, so I had no reason to continue. While the core ideas are interesting and the imagery is often appropriately horrific, it just didn't work for me.

I’ll admit right up front. I’m conflicted about this book. I liked the blurb enough to give it a try but after making my way through all 450 pages, I can make an argument for and against recommending this book. Besides the issues with the story itself (which I cover below) Amazon lists “paperback” as the only format available for this book. No ebook, no hardback, just a $15.99 paperback. I find this annoyingly illogical especially since the version I reviewed was a MOBI ebook, but I digress.

Let’s start with the positives. The premise is refreshingly original and the tightly woven complexity of intertwining story threads is extremely impressive. There was also an interesting mix of characters, surprising plot twists and just enough mystery to keep my attention, for the most part.

Unfortunately, there are also quite a few issues. In general, the overall flow was a bit choppy and confusing. Some scenes were needlessly drawn out while others which seemed to beg for deeper exploration were cut short for no apparent reason. And while the characters were compelling, they sometimes acted in ways that were either improbable or inconsistent.

Despite these issues, the story seemed to build towards what should have been an exciting climax but instead it weirdly stumbled through a bizarre ending that left a huge range of unexplained loose ends with no clear indication there will be a sequel.

In the end, I liked the basic structure of this book a great deal but almost feel like it could have been so much better if it had actually been written by a more skilled writer. Based on this effort, the author seems to be more of an idea guy than anything else. If it weren’t for the $15.99 (plus shipping) paperback price, I’d encourage folks to at least give it a try but given the limitations of the story itself and the lack of an ebook format, I’d say it’s safe to skip this one.

Decline to rate. The formatting is all mess up on my digital copy. Odd characters interspersed with broken paragraphs. Cannot read.

This is an unsettling, spooky supernatural horror novel. For me, it was a little bit hard to get into it at first. The prose was a bit dense, but the atmosphere more than made up for it. Recommended for horror fans.

A God in the Shed by J. F Dubeau was received direct from the publisher. I had never heard of this author but I am always willing to try new authors as many of the "old reliables" are not so good anymore. A small town in French Canada, a cave in the woods and a strange "god." At times the storyline got bogged down and I found myself skimming in order to find some action. It should be noted though some may call that full character development. If what I quickly described sounds interesting to you, please give this book a read.

3 stars

Dang! This was one nicely messed up little town. They've got a serial killer on the loose, who ended up being one of my favorite characters in the book. They've also got a nasty little god in a shed. Some folk think they can set it free, and have a few wishes taken care of. Don't they read books? Ha, ha. These things NEVER turn out well. I had a great time reading this book, as there were quite a few twists, and bloody,goopy gore. I love that stuff! So why the 3 stars? Well, turns out that while this story does have an ending, I'm pretty sure it's going to be continued. I just like to know beforehand that it's going to be more than one book. I'd have waited until they were all out, and then started in on it. Still, it's one I'd recommend.
Thanks go to Inkshares and Netgalley, for the arc.

This book literally sent chills down my spine. The evil was just palpable, and diabolical to the extreme. I just love good horror novels that really focus on true horror... not just mildly frightening saber-rattling. This one does it, and I shivered more than once! If you like this genre, this is a book not to miss... but you may want to keep a light on if you're reading at night. Loved it.

Wonderful, well-written horror.. Brilliant characterization & solid plot!
Would have liked to know that it was either going to be a cliff hanger, though, or if it was part of a series, neither which I noticed in the book, even after the abrupt ending.. .

J-F Dubeau’s A God in the Shed is a novel full of interesting ideas, let down by some sloppy execution. A small-town Gothic mystery with occult trappings, it’s a solid horror story in the vein of TV’s True Detective or Twin Peaks that would have benefited from another round of edits.
Packed with a myriad of characters and a slowly deepening mystery as the layers of old secrets of the town are stripped away, it should be a riveting read. Unfortunately, passages are often overwritten and descriptions bumble along pulling the reader from the story.
A much harder slog that it should be.