Mattie has lived most of her life on the mountain with her husband William. In fact, she questions anything she recalls about the time before that. The mountain and William are her whole life. So when she starts to notice the dead animals, she knows all is not right. But she can’t even imagine the kind of creature that’s made it’s home in their backyard.
A group of strangers arrives in search of the creature. But it’s Mattie who catches their attention. And attention of any kind is something William wants to avoid. But William is gone when they arrive and Mattie tries to warn them.
Unfortunately it’s not enough to save any of them.
I had mixed feelings about this one.
On the one hand, I loved that it was a monster story! I loved the cryptozoology enthusiasts! And I loved the remote setting.
On the other hand, this is not exactly actually a monster story of that kind. This is Mattie’s story. The creature and everything that happens after it’s arrival is just forward momentum for Mattie. It’s the thing that pushes her to remember who she is and to try and escape.
And her story is in fact a different kind of monster story. A lot of the details of it made my skin crawl, to be honest.
But I liked Mattie. And I wanted to see her make it. Which is why I kept reading.
I'll admit, ultimately I really wanted more of the creature feature monster story rather than the human monster/survival tale that the book turned out to be. Which is not to say that I didn't like the book, just that my expectations had to be changed when I realized exactly what I was in for.
And Mattie's survival story is a great read. But again, something you might need to be prepared for given the subject matter.
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