The Intruders

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

The Intruders by Brian Pinkerton is a sci-fi and horror novel that could be compared to The invasion of the Body Snatchers and even shows some aspects of what could have been an excellent X-Files episode.
One of its best qualities is the intensity of its rhythm, which encapsulates each chapter in its own perspective, location, even a separate sub-story itself. The first chapter, which serves as an introduction to the mystery surrounding the disappearances in Eagles, Indiana, is the perfect example of this, but not the only one. Sadly, talking about them would be a slippery slope due to big spoilers.
The Intruders’ main character is Greg, a travelling, never-at-home husband to comes back and finds his entire family has vanished after some enigmatic texts regarding a strange rain. Later on, Greg finds Susan, whose brother is missing, and finally Zeke, who wants to know if the truth is, indeed, out there.
I must say I liked this Zeke character the least because he is just a walking stereotype. I need to admit, however, that I found his last decision a very interesting one. Greg and Susan were both amazing, even if I found some of their interactions were forced and unnecessary.
Finally, I really enjoyed the reason behind the disappearances and even the descriptions depicting the moments before, during and after. Once the clues are in order, they mix in perfect unison and even feel plausible.

I absolutely loved most of "The Intruders", but then it got a bit silly. I enjoyed the writing, the characters, the majority of the plot, and I was expecting an ending that would blow me away... It didn't. Even so, this was a fun read and I think it's going to have a lot of fans when it hits the shelves.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Intruders.

I was probably too young when I saw Invasion of the Body Snatchers but I recalled how it struck a chord within me.

Finding out the people you love and care about are no longer who you think they are is really scary.

That's why I was interested in reading The Intruders.

Strange things are going on in a small town.

When some of the locals realize their loved ones are missing and later returning...not quite themselves, they realize something serious is happening. Something very, very bad.

There were parts of the invasion story I liked; the silvery rain, the yellow eggs, the swarm of insects (I hate bugs so these scenes really creeped the heck out of me), and how the transference of bodies takes place.

However, I wasn't invested in the characters; I didn't dislike them, I just didn't care about them.

For an invasion story, there was a lack of horror and suspense (maybe I'm just desensitized to these types of plots).

I liked the reason behind why Earth was being invaded (humans suck, including causing climate change), but I was hoping the aliens were Independence Day or Alien scary.

I felt the author could really have taken the narrative a few steps further, really ramp up the scares and suspense, but this wasn't bad.

Greg was at loose Inn‘s he was arguing with this wife Jane because he took a promotion that would cost him to travel more so when she stopped answering his text he thought when he came home he would have to smooth things over with her instead Greg came home to an empty house to make matters worse the first couple of nights he started having hallucinations. When he calls the police and report his wife and two children missing he still gets a call from a reporter named Aaron who says she wants the help and then says she’ll send him a link to another man who went missing on the other side of town Gregus surprise that four people would go missing in his small town and so he tells the reporter he will think about it but contacts the sister of the missing man Steve after he sees her number on a missing persons poster.. after he speaks with Susan he starts investigating his self and finds many coincidences between the two missing events from silver shiny green to yellow pods on the lawn of the missing people‘s home Greg doesn’t know what to do and Susan is upset about her brother and everything it’s so strange but it gets even stranger when they start coming back. there is way more to this book than my small summary there’s aliens, doppelgängers emoji more and it makes for such A great horror sci-fi book. I got this book yesterday and couldn’t stop reading it the intruders is definitely a five star read and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I receive this book from NetGalley and flame tree press but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Overall, it has a fairly dynamic and fast pace, but at times I lost that hook and found myself easily distracted. Only the ending seemed creative to me, because the rest of the book seemed quite predictable.
I was emotionally detached from the characters the whole time, and that's a big no for me. They weren't necessarily bad, and I don't think they were badly written, only poorly developed.
On the plus side, the imagery in this book and the setting of the story are phenomenal. I just regret that the rest didn't do it justice.

Final rating: 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Imagine coming home and finding your family gone. Imagine it happening to others around you. Imagine it being paired with strange metallic rain. Imagine weird swarms of insects.
But you don't need to imagine all of that as that is what happens in this book. The third book I have read by this author, and my third five star review.
Greg Garrett is the one returning home to find his family gone. I say gone, but there are kind of echoes that confuse him somewhat. He obviously can't let it go, despite the authorities believing that she just left him and took the kids. He is adamant that this is not the case. And once he finds out that he is not alone in what happened, things really start to kick off. Teaming up with a reporter, the sister of another missing, and an "alien specialist" together they try and get to the bottom of what is happening, and why? And if they can stop it...!
I have read a few of the reviews for this book and they are a right mixture. Me I loved it! yes, it's a bit bonkers at times, but bonkers is good if delivered in the right way. The eclectic mix of investigators also had me chuckling at the way they rubbed along and the things they did to work it all out. The horror and sci-fi elements complemented each other too which helped balance the book. Maybe I'd have liked to have learned more about the characters but maybe that would have been more padding than progressing the book.
I also don't think it takes itself too seriously and, if you remember that as you are reading it, maybe you will have yourself a better time!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Greg Garrett comes home from a business trip to find his family missing from his tiny Indiana town. He soon discovers others have gone missing and teams up with UFO chase Zeke Gorcey and Susan Bergen, sister of a disappeared man. What they discover is horrifying. I really enjoyed this updated version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Many thanks to @annecater for a review copy.

Is your wife/husband/gardener really who they say they are? Are you sure? really have a good look because you might be surprised!!.

"The Intruders" is a mash between "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" & the latest "Star Trek: Picard" series. Something strange is happening in the small town of Engles, Indiana. People are behaving very strangely and what is stranger is that when it rains it's localised, as in it rains only in a garden or on a plot but what REALLY is very strange is the egg-like substance that remains after the rains have stopped.

Quote:

It was a small, yellow egg. Susan screamed. She staggered backward, away from the mirror. Then she jumped forward for a closer inspection. It was definitely one of the eggs, ripe but not hatched. She thought back to when she had climbed out of the car in Greg's driveway to circle to the driver's seat, rain falling on her...
"Get out" she shrieked. She pulled the egg out of her hair, and it slipped through her fingers and landed in the sink. She pulled off her shoe and slammed it hard into the sink bowl, repeatedly, flattening the egg and squishing its contents with so much angry force that she nearly pulled the sink out of the wall. Die, die, die!

Brian has created a world ravaged by natural disasters and the human race is to blame, which made me think maybe it's not a bad thing to be 'taken over' by something else from 'out there'. Maybe a hard reset of the Human Race is long overdue.

I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it to any Sci-Fi/horror fan.

The Invaders by Brian Pinkerton was a thrilling fast paced read that I read in two sittings. The story begins with Greg Garrett, a husband/ father returning home to an empty house. His family is missing and he has no idea where they are. As he searches for the mystery of his own missing family, he discovers that there are more people who have disappeared, including all the guests at a campground and a hotel. Greg joins up with Susan Bergen (whose brother disappeared) and Zeke Gorcey (a UFO chaser) to find out what is happening Engles, Indiana. What they discover is a horrifying.
I don’t want to spoil the book, so I’ll just say that this book was a lot of fun! It was a quick read and it not for the squeamish. I will say there are some Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibes, which totally worked for me.

The Intruders is an out of this world, apocalyptic vision of alien invasion!

The most frightening aspect of this book is the fact that the invasion doesn't take place with advanced weaponry ending in a military vs military end of life as we know it… it is an invasion of our bodies, an abduction of consciousness, an assault on our mental health. Brian Pinkerton brings us a unique story which is brimming with weird situations not normally associated with extra-terrestrial activity.

The Intruders starts off as more of a mystery/paranormal novel which hints towards aliens…as the story continues, it transitions more towards aliens as the characters discover more pieces to the puzzle.

The characters themselves are rich and varied. Each of them bring their own quirks to the story and are different enough from each other that you will find connection with at least one of them.

All in all The Intruders is a terrific entry into the sci-fi paranormal genre that fans will love to read. A story with a surprising amount of heart and humanity at its core. This novel is definitely worth a read!

A faced paced techno-thriller with some of the nostalgic sci-fi tropes we're used to plus a contemporary ecological theme for a fresh take on alien invasions.

▪︎Plot Description:
Greg Garrett returns home from a business trip and finds his family gone. As news spreads that more people have also gone missing, Greg begins to worry something malevolent is at play. Follow the main characters through meteorological changes, swarms of otherworldly insects, and ghostlike apparitions as their small towns once ordinary existence is now threatened.

▪︎My Take:
I really loved the prologue as it was done very well and started this book off with a punch! I also enjoyed the pacing of the plot but with a multitude of character's being brought to the forefront, they all seemed a touch lackluster in terms of character developement for having chapters written from their own POV.

Read if you like...
✔️Fast Plot
✔️Humans vs. Aliens
✔️Light Body-Horror
✔️Doom & Gloom
✔️Unseen threats

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review The Intruders by Brian Pinkerton as an ARC. All opinions are my own.
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