The village of Saint-Ferdinand has all the trappings of a quiet life: farmhouses stretching from one main street, a small police precinct, a few diners and cafes, and a grocery store. Though if an out-of-towner stopped in, they would notice one unusual thing--a cemetery far too large and much too full for such a small town, lined with the victims of the Saint-Ferdinand Killer, who has eluded police for nearly two decades. It's not until after Inspector Stephen Crowley finally catches the killer that the town discovers even darker forces are at play.
When a dark spirit reveals itself to Venus McKenzie, one of Saint-Ferdinand's teenage residents, she learns that this creature's power has a long history with her town--and that the serial murders merely scratch the surface of a past burdened by evil secrets.
This book was perfect for a long car ride on a rainy day with Fleetwood Mac playing on my phone.
This is the first book of Canadian author J-F Dubeau that I have read. The cover intrigued me and the summary was right up my alley. An eldritch being? Old cults? An interweaving mystery needing to be solved? More than meets the eye? Sign me up.
This book starts off holding no punches back. Almost instantly, the tension and horrror is at play, and the opening prologue is only a taste of what is to come. I'm glad that J-F Dubeau wrote it in the way that he did - with multiple POVs - as it made the chills and thrills all the more real. It flowed well and the tension was able to build up in a literary puzzle, pieces being added from each perspective.
The atmosphere was perfect for this book. Right away, you can tell that Saint-Ferdinand, Quebec has more than meets the eye. If you were travelling through it, you would think nothing of it. But this is not the case at all, and I love how Dubeau pulls back the layers one by one, and once certain things are uncovered, the picture becomes clearer and bigger. J-F Dubeau is a master storyteller, perfectly setting up the right tone, tension, and atmosphere. He makes sure that the reader knows what is at stake, while also continuing to shroud certain things in mystery until the climax. If I had to compare this to another piece of media, it would be a cop show with an overarching plot combined with Stranger Things.
How's the monster? Lovecraftian as all hell. The highlight of reading this was seeing such a creepy, uncanny being that is old and eldritch and downright unnerving. It was a well-developed being, and I kept thinking about it after I finished reading the book. It was a part of why I picked A God in the Shed up, and I was glad that Dubeau spent so much time setting it up and developing it to be as creepy and as Lovecraftian as it was.
At first I was a bit apprehensive about each chapter being told by a different character, but it worked really well. I found every character to be layered and flawed, which is necessary for a book like this, in which there are many secrets and problems going on within the community. The characters for the most part were well-portrayed and carefully developed. I did find that certain character plots were left unresolved, but I feel like this will be rectified if there is a sequel.
Speaking of which, the one complaint I have - and this is not really a complaint in a bad way - is that I need more. I have heard that there is going to be a sequel, which I hope is true, because I need more. The climax was great and tense and I NEED MORE. It kind of ends with certain plot and character threads unresolved, so here's hoping that J-F Dubeau is writing a sequel to this book.
A God in the Shed was exactly what I was looking for. It was uncanny, had an unnerving and atmospheric tone to it, and had greatly developed and flawed characters. J-F Dubeau did not pull his punches in regards to the creepiness factors, and took his time in revealing everything and showing what really was at play. It gave off a very Lovecraftian vibe to it which I appreciated. However, there were a few character and plot threads that were left unresolved, so here's hoping for a sequel. I'm going to give A God in the Shed a 4/5 - it was very hard to put down, and was very tense the entire time.
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