Misfits by Hunter Shea

 

Welcome to my spot on the Blogtour for Hunter Shea's 'Misfits' 

Local urban legends - seems most places have them and, well, don't you just love 'em eh? 😉 

In this instance said Urban Legend is the Melonheads, savage creatures that live in the woods near Dracula Drive - but nobody in their right mind goes anywhere near Dracula Drive...

The story starts in the late 70s when a young lad gets a bike for Christmas and his brother convinces him to come for a ride with him to. . . yeah, you guessed right. Once there big brother slashes little brothers tyres (the reasons become clear very quickly) but little brother legs it and big brother pays heavily. 

The story then moves to 1993, the birth of Grunge and our main protagonists a bunch of stoners/outcasts who may (or maybe not) be the Misfits of the title. Here a 'bad thing' happens to one of the gang and they decide it's time to fight back. 

Misfits is, in my opinion, just what the horror genre has been waiting for (yeah, I'm bored with zombies). This is horror that is visceral at times but well written, reminiscent I guess of the stuff published when the likes of King, Koontz, Hutson and the likes were at their peak. If anything I feel it's closest to early King with the gang feeling a bit like a slightly older version of IT's Losers Club. The nastiness is just that, people die and are maimed in horrible ways but it's not gore for gore's sake. 

What also stands out here is the way the author has really nailed the Grunge era - excellent writing all round. 

So yeah, Misfits really hit all the buttons for me. I like my horror 'Old Skool' and Shea really delivers. Highly recommended 

Thanks, as always, to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the tour, to Flame Tree Press for providing me with a review copy and please, if you can find time, have a look at the reviews by the other bloggers on the tour