A God In The Shed – J.F. Dubeau

Reviewed By Steve Stred

Once I finished reading this story, I knew I had a contender for my book of the year.

A God in the Shed was outstanding and had me riveted from page one.

How did I get to that point? Unfortunately a way too roundabout route.

A God in the Shed came onto my radar last year and I snagged in on one of my large book hauls. Then it was buried in my TBR. And then buried again.

Then when 2019 was approaching I made the decision to organize my TBR and when I spotted this one as sitting there, unread, I moved it up to the start of the list. And yes I get the irony of “top of the list” because if you were to go to my Goodreads page at this exact moment, it’ll tell you that I’ve read 35 books already in 2019. Which means I’m averaging about 18 books a month, but also that 34 books came before it!

A God in the Shed follows the small town of Saint-Ferdinand and its inhabitants. The town is cursed by having a god of pain and death reside in it and we get to follow the exploits as its presence becomes known to all the townsfolk.

This is everything I wished the novel Hex was. Dubeau builds tension both between the numerous characters, which are all done some incredibly well, and within the town. People keep finding out more and more about the long backstory of the town.

Throughout all of this – this devil, this god, has been locked in the shed accidentally and is now trapped.

I loved the varying descriptions of the god the author uses and the gore within this story is so fantastically done.

I had been warned by some folks that they felt the ending wasn’t great, but for me it worked out perfectly. I believe, and this is a personal belief, that Dubeau fully plotted this novel out. From page one to the last page of the epilogue, the entire story read like every single detail was meticulously plotted it and when the ending came I was a fan of what he did. I don’t believe this is a spoiler, but the epilogue gave some tidbits towards a re-visit to some of the characters down the road. I don’t believe this will ever happen, but with the book having been optioned to become a filmed property, that may well end up being the case. If that does happen – consider me a first day buyer.

Star Rating (out of 5): 5*

(a stunning ride through rural Quebec.)

A God In The Shed

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 cafés, 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.

You can buy A God In The Shed from Amazon UK & Amazon US

Steve Stred

Steve Stred is an up-an-coming Dark Horror author. Steve is the author of the novel Invisible, the novellas Wagon Buddy, Yuri and Jane: the 816 Chronicles and two collections of short stories; Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery and Left Hand Path: 13 More Tales of Black Magick.

Steve also has a number of works on the go and enjoys all this horror, occult, supernatural and paranormal.

Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog Oj.

You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred

You can visit Steve’s Official Website here

The Girl Who Hid In The Trees

Something lurks just beyond.

Centuries ago a heinous act created a ripple that still haunts the residents to this very day.

Now the kids who reside near McConnell’s Forest live forever in fear.

Jason lost his brother when he was young. He left with his friends to ‘debunk’ the urban legend and never came back.

Now Jason and his group of friends are fed up and want to discover what is happening, what is the real cause of the terror holding their small town hostage.

But something is waiting for them. She may look sweet and innocent, but the friends are about to find out that pure evil can exist in the smallest of packages.

She’s out there. And while you may not know her name or what she looks like, the local kids will tell you if you ask, that you should fear for your life from the girl who hid in the trees.

From the dark mind of Steve Stred, the author of Wagon Buddy, YURI and Invisible comes this fast-paced, seat of your pants coming-of-age tale.  A quick, violent, bleak read, The Girl Who Hid In The Trees will make you think twice about those sounds you hear far off in the woods.

You can buy The Girl Who Hid In The Trees from Amazon UK & Amazon US