Slash marks my first trip into the malevolent mind of Mr. Hunter Shea. I picked up Creature based on a lot of recommendations, as well as the fact that it would hit me squarely in the feels, but simply hadn't gotten to it yet. When Flame Tree Press sent me this beauty right before October, I knew it had to jump to the top of the list.

What this novel does well, it does extremely well. The first thing that comes to mind is set up. The events in the first two chapters set the story in motion and leave us needing to know where the narrative is headed. The cast of characters, who are fantastically crafted, is lead by primary protagonist Todd who is out to avenge/find out the full story about the death of his girlfriend, Ashley. All the characters have a connection to Ashley, who was the final girl from the Wraith's previous reign of terror and we get a well-rounded group that is just large enough (6 people) that we understand some of them will be cannon fodder, but who is not glaringly obvious. In other words, we are not stuck with any one dimensional characters who are only there to be stabbed.

Perhaps the biggest strength of Slash is in its' cinematic quality. Hunter Shea does some of the heavy lifting for our overworked imaginations and crafts such vivid pictures of the abandoned Hayden Resort where much of the story takes place, as well as the action. Whether it's a chase scene, an escape from a collapsing building, or gruesome violence inflicted by the antagonist, we never lose track of what is happening or, more importantly in an action-oriented story, who it's happening to. I can't tell you how many times I've read a book with action scenes and had to reread parts because a character had been killed or injured and I didn't catch it the first time, as it had been lost in the fluff.

Speaking of the antagonist, Shea has crafted a serious winner here. The synopsis doesn't tell us anything but bare bones about the Wraith, which is ideal, because the less you know, the better it suits the story. Suffice it to say, the Wraith is terrifying in every conceivable way, and menaces his victims in the most grisly ways imaginable.

My only issue with the book was a small one, and a personal one. I would have liked to see the angle of Todd following the clues left behind by Ashley explored a little more fully. This is the incendiary device that gets Todd and company to the Hayden Resort and even gets them on the track of figuring out exactly who/what the wraith is. I would've have liked to see the group uncover a couple more puzzle pieces while dodging the Wraith's awful advances. This thread was present enough to become a plot device rather than just a way to kickstart the action, but it does feel like the thread just runs out halfway through.

As I mentioned, the detective piece was not nearly enough to derail Slash for me. Because of the overall cinematic feel, I can certainly see myself revisiting from time to time. That might mean rereading Slash every once in a while. It might mean hoping that Hunter Shea had so much fun writing this book, that he feels compelled to revisit this world.