As a kid, I was fascinated with cryptozoology. Limited to books in the times before the internet, I'd page through, reading and studying the illustrations and now, so many years later, I can perfectly visualize the Jersey Devil again thanks to Mr. Shea. If you've never heard of it before, you're in for a treat as Mr. Shea brings it to life!
Because of my childhood fascination, I was pretty stoked to read Mr. Shea's book and it was a blast! The story has a large cast of characters, some that appear long enough to serve their purpose before moving on, but the main characters are the Willet family. Driven to search for answers after a mysterious mark appears on them, the family teams up with crypto hunter Norm Cranston after Jersey Devil sightings start surfacing. Along the way, the family engages in epic battles as they fight to learn the truth behind their marks and struggle to put an end to it once and for all.
This novel is a wonderful retake on the old tale and is one that any horror fan should NOT miss! The plot moves smoothly and it seemed like there was action on every other page, making this one a fast read that was hard to put down while never getting bogged down. While the likable family characters were great, I especially loved all the minor characters that appeared and disappeared throughout the book; you'll have to read it to see why!
If you're into monsters, cryptozoology, action or losing your fear of things that go bump in the night, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. You will not regret it.

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review!

This is a crazy, gruesome monster book where the monsters are truly monsters and not some poor little misunderstood, mistreated creature who has been wronged by mankind. These things are Evil. The framework is about a family seeking out and seeking revenge on The Jersey Devil who did them a big wrong many years previous. What they find deep in the woods is far more terrifying and depraved than they ever could have expected,I’m giving this a four because there aren’t enough truly horrific monster books out there in the world that have decent people at the core of the story and this one has both and does them most excellently.

A legendary evil lurks in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The action of someone looking to dispose of their dirty deed, turns out to be an inadvertent sacrifice, rousing an evil from its slumber. But this evil does have an enemy to contend with, the Willet family who have been the bane of its existence. What follows is a splatter-fest, action packed ride; a tale with lots of humor and scares. Entertaining read.

5 Stars!

Hunter Shea is one scary dude. At least the monsters that come out of his imagination and take over his novels are and horror fans have taken notice. His books have become must reads for me and he always entertains and terrifies with the hellish beasts that fill the pages of his novels. I was happy to have a copy of The Jersey Devil and get to slip once more into a dark world of Shea’s creation.

The legend of the Jersey Devil had been around for a long time. Some believed that the creature was a hybrid creature that was as much a demon as it was an animal. Others believed it to be nothing more than hoax to scare children and fleece gullible tourists. Boompa Willet encountered the Jersey Devil sixty years ago and lived to tell the tale to both believers and skeptics. Willet knew that the Jersey Devil was real. Boompa also knew that the recent slew of sighting, disappearances, and other strange happenings were more than just coincidence. He knew that the monster was back and that he needed to do something to stop it.

Willet soon learns that the Jersey Devil has grown beyond the legend of a solitary monster that preys upon those unfortunate enough to cross its path. This is not one lone creature but an entire clan of the monsters primed to feed upon the flesh of the people that are invading its territory. The Jersey Devil may have been content to pick up a stray victim in the past but now it has mouths to feed and territory to protect. The struggle has become an all-out war for survival. There is only room for one dominant species in the woods and the humans may soon discover that they are no longer at the top of the food chain.

The Jersey Devil is another monster romp from the mind of Shea that thrills from the outset and never lets up. The story starts off by setting the scene for the mayhem to follow but even the setup is fast-paced and entertaining. Shea moves all of the pieces into place in the opening chapters and the reader can see what is coming next and that anticipation makes the story even better. Shea draws deep from a pool of colorful characters to base the story on and give the monsters a buffet of diverse tastes to feast upon later in the story. The novel is more B-movie than deep fiction but Shea gives it just enough to craft it into a monster thriller instead of just a simple mindless blood bath (although gallons of blood will flow over the course of this novel). Readers familiar with Shea’s work will slip into the story eagerly and comfortably knowing that they are in the hands of one of the best writer’s of monster fiction around today.

The Jersey Devil is a very good horror/action novel that draws inspiration from writers such as Jack Ketchum and Richard Laymon. The novel reads like the works of those authors and many of the events of the novel took me back to some of their works, most notably Offseason by Jack Ketchum. With its mix of backwoods humor and characters and the extreme violence, The Jersey Devil seems an homage to these masters of horror while remaining a unique story all its own. Fans of horror that is nothing more than monster mayhem and pure bloody fun are sure to revel in this novel as it is Hunter Shea at his gory best. Highly recommended for horror fans.

I would like to thank Kensington Books/Pinnacle and NetGalley for this review copy. The Jersey Devil is available now.