Monster Story by McCarty Griffin

Title: Monster Story
Author: McCarty Griffin
Independently Published
November 4, 2010
McCarty Griffin's Website
McCarty's Facebook
McCarty at Smashwords

Synopsis:

Christy McCauley has returned to West Virginia at last, but her homecoming quickly turns into a surreal nightmare. In the deep hollows and woods of rural Augusta County, something unspeakable is slaughtering people in the dark of night. Authorities don't know if its human or animal, or how to stop it. Christy and her friends only know they must hunt it and destroy it, before it kills again.

I don't typically read horror stories but I thought I would give Monster Story a try, I am truly glad I did. While Monster Story isn't exactly my type of book, I was drawn into the story and became invested in the character's outcome.

•  Christy is a young woman who has escaped the rural aspect of her home town only to be dropped back in the middle of a true nightmare.
• Graeme is Christy's "city-boy" friend. He proves to be a true friend and stands by her side through bad...and well, worse. Living in the city has definitely not prepared him for country life.
• Tess has been Christy's best friend since high school. She is now married to Deputy Sheriff David Maloney. David gets called to investigate what is initially believed to a wildlife incident but soon turns into a full-blown horror story.
• Will Drummond works for the Department of Natural Resources and is called in to help with the nature problem?!?!
• James is Christy's well-meaning dad. The loss of his mom has hit him hard and having Christy back is comforting...at least for a bit.

While I did enjoy all of the characters, they all fell a little flat. They were your typical gun-toting country-boys and girls with the exception of Graeme who was the typical prissy city-boy out of his setting. I didn't feel a sense of chemistry between any of the characters which caused the story to drag a bit. It is a bit difficult for me to bond with characters who don't bond with each other...good or bad. However, that being said, the more I read...the more I had to know what happened in the end.


The world that Monster Story is built around makes a known presence. I actually felt like I was in the backwoods of some far off nightmare. I could imagine running through caves and diving into lakes out of the sheer will to live. It increased the intensity and reality of the story for me.The great parts of the story definitely outweighed the iffy parts. There were a few typo's and grammar errors that did not take away greatly from the story...just a tad bit of a nuisance.


I would definitely recommend Monster Story to anyone who enjoys horror stories.


* I received a free e-book of Monster Story from the author in exchange for my honest review.