12 Days of Keene: Day 4

April showers bring May flowers. But as the rain-swollen creeks recede, the residents of one rural Pennsylvania town learn that April showers bring something far worse than destructive floods and property damage. This year, the April showers have brought a crypto-zoological nightmare named Scratch, and only pain and terror follow in his wake.

This novella from award-winning, best-selling horror writer Brian Keene also includes a bonus short story - "Halves".

Scratch by Brian Keene is one of the few stories I've read which genuinely concerns me. I've encountered some mind-blowing oversized creatures lurking in the Missouri River in South Dakota, and I've read about bull sharks making their way into freshwater creeks, as well as other real-life examples of nature resembling the monsters in American folklore, so Keene's story about the nightmare living in a Pennsylvanian stream is just too damn believable for me. I will be keeping a close eye on the tree line in the flood zone behind my house during our next rain season, just in case. Once again, the author's talent for blending fact and fiction results in a rather frightening piece of horror.

Halves is a short story about the usefulness of an outdoor cat. Reminded me a bit of General from Cat's Eye, but the suspense is much more intense, and I enjoyed the POV of the parent.

I also appreciated the little nods within each tale to some of Keene's other stories.

Keep checking back for more Days of Keene! Reviews are being posted on a delay due to more than one family emergency this month.

As always,
AstraDaemon