Synopsis
When Alex Foster accepted the caregiver position with the eccentric Nox family, she was issued a single rule: don’t venture beyond the creek.
Not a problem, because Alex isn’t interested in exploring the Nox’s vast rural property. She’s too busy rebuilding her life after escaping an abusive past, and she sets her sights on securing a stable future for herself and her unborn baby. Too bad the pesky ancient evil lurking in the shadows didn’t get the memo. Now, she’s the center of a dark secret centuries in the making. With time running out to save herself, she must face the darkest fears from her past in order to survive.
A creature waits beyond the creek, and it’s hungry.
Review
Loved the red and yellow of the cover, so I had to get myself a paperback for this one.
Alex is down on her luck, running away from her abusive boyfriend, and looking for a place to stay while she makes some money. With an incoming baby, she really needs to find someplace safe and quick. As the caregiver to a stroke patient, and with only mildly forged credentials, Alex begins to settle into a new role. But as the blanket of false security begins to settle over her, things begin to show themselves as anything but what they originally appeared. I loved how the granddaughter pulled at Alex’s heartstrings, appealing to her better nature, as she was trying to survive abuse already herself. For me it made it all more believable.
The opening of this for me felt very reminiscent of Riley Sager’s The Only One Left, with its down on her luck main character that’s forced into a perhaps less than desirable role in order to make ends meet. From there it diverges as this creeping, atmospheric blend of horror and mythology, that makes for one hell of a creature feature. The author uses beautifully (and horrifically) described features for the creatures and their shifting that had my skin crawling. And the tie back in the end was one I was begging the author to do!
While I did feel a bit like this closed up within only a few pages that could have perhaps been more climactic (at least in length!)—IE the robed sisterhood could have been a bit more included—this did include several edge of your seat beats that kept me itching to get back to reading after my lunch break had ended.
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