I first discovered Hunter Shea back in 2016 when I read The Jersey Devil. As a big cryptid fan, I was hooked, and went on to read a number of other books by Shea that dealt with the Loch Ness Monster, Florida's skunk apes, giant iguanas that eat Florida, and mutated rats that overtake NY. Plus I have a number of other books in my TBR pile. As a native NYer, I also have a thing for horror novels set within the five boroughs, so when I saw Shea's latest, Bigfoot in the Bronx, it jumped to the top of my TBR.
The premise of the book is simple. BFFs Shay Walsh and Vito Esposito are planning an overnight hunting trip. Shay has been down on his luck, having been laid off from his job and no prospects in sight. He's hoping to bag a buck that will keep his family in meat for the coming winter, and Vito, should he succeed in bringing down a buck, has vowed to give the lion's share to Shay, but why should this year be any different than any other year. The only thing they ever bagged was a hangover from too much drinking on their way home. As luck would have it, though, once they get settled into a prime hunting spot, a buck wanders into the clearing, but before they can bring it down, something big and hairy runs out of the forest and kills the deer. When the creature collapses and doesn't move, the two men go to investigate. It seems somebody else has been on the hunt, but his prey was the ever elusive cryptid.
Shay and Vito think the creature is dead, overdosed by the tranquilizer darts embedded in its back. While Shay stands guard over the body, Vito goes to get his truck, and between the two, they get it loaded and head back home. Their hope is to reveal their evidence that Bigfoot is real and cash in on a big payday. What they don't count on is the Bigfoot only being knocked out, so by morning, the creature had awakened and broken free to go on a killing rampage through the Bronx. Shay and Vito are in hot pursuit, believing it's their responsibility to capture the beast since it their fault the creature was in their neighborhood anyway. But the tricky part is trying to keep it a secret from their wives until they can recapture the creature so they can expose it to the world and still win their big payday.
While there's plenty of blood and guts throughout the book, there's also some humorous moments, such as when the Bigfoot becomes high after consuming somebody who happens to have an entire pharmacy running through his system. As the story progresses, though, you realize that the creature is only killing because it's scared; by nature, it's a timid, intelligent creature that just wants to return home. As is typical with this type of story, character development takes a back seat (but that doesn't mean it's not there) to the action taking place. And while the story starts off slow, it quickly ramps up to a breakneck speed that doesn't let up until the end. We do see a change in our two main characters, who are originally motivated by greed. By the end of the book, however, they've grown sympathetic to the creature and want only to recapture it and return it to its home. There's too much guilt involved, as they feel responsible for every death. Are they successful? Or do they fall prey to the rampaging creature? You'll just have to read and find out.
Recently, because of various reasons I won't bore you with, it's taken me a while to get through books, no matter how long they are. But Shea's latest hooked me from the beginning, and I finished it within a couple of days. It's a book you can easily get caught up in, and you won't want to put it down. If you like killer Bigfoot stories, or are just a fan of killer cryptids in general, this is definitely a book you'll want to check out. I definitely recommend it.
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