Between The Jaws of Death: A horror novella

by Matt Shaw

From the author of "Hub", "Sick Bastards" and "Sycamore Lane"; a new horror novella to sink your teeth into!

Paula and her friends, Nathan and Robert, liked nothing more than to explore abandoned theme parks. Not only do they enjoy the buzz of the adrenaline from being somewhere they aren’t supposed to be, they also have an appreciation for the beauty of the decay which they liked to capture on camera for their socials.

When Robert gets wind of an abandoned aquarium, in which the sea-creatures within have also been abandoned, he knows he has to see it for himself. His friends aren’t as keen.

Seeing animals left to starve doesn’t fill them with a sense of wonder or give them the normal rush of adrenaline the other parks provide. But when Robert convinces them they can document the whole thing and highlight the animals’ plight to the relevant authorities, who can then set to rescuing the creatures, they realise it’s something they have to do.

Breaking into the aquarium, they soon realise it’s not just the marine-life that’s closely watching them.

Genres: Horror

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2025

About the author

Biography

MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.


Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.

Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I understand the tepid reviews on this one. Great set up and wonderful foreshadowing throughout the midpoint of the story. But then the latter portion lost me. Suddenly the realization that the great cover and anticipation of some gnarly deep sea-based horror was lost. Things just pivoted into a typical Saw-like serial killer basis, which really sucked. So many possibilities and ways that Shaw could have developed this, but it just felt like he opted to fall back into some basic horror safety net. And then the ending, itself, fell completely flat. The writing was solid and everything was in place for a fun horror experience, but it ultimately sunk quicker than a lead weight.

[Darkbookghoul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty cool idea for a horror novella and I got exactly what I wanted from it, a quick and horrific read.

[Dale Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh! Not really worth the effort. Formatting of the ebook could have been better (more space between paragraphs (so close together makes for awkward reading- maybe a pesonal thing)), a few typos, and the start of one chapter is pasted at the end of the previous one). Would have thought someone as experienced as Matt wouldn't make such basic mistakes.

As for the writing, I skim read most of it due to the "banter" between the main characters- it felt quite pathetic and forced, and the generic Saw style story that it ends up being. Albeit, with animals. None of which you really see. You could really just skip to the last few chapters and read from there. You wouldn't have missed much else.

Feels like Matt is a high quantity writer, putting out books frequently. But if they are of this standard, I wouldn't bother. You dont get immersed in the story enough.

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ rounded up.

I usually have so much fun with Matt Shaw’s stories, but the quality of this one was just bad. So many typos and spelling errors. A section from one chapter was copied and pasted into another chapter.. it just felt so rushed and really pulled me out of the story.

With a few passes from an editor, there could definitely be a really good book here. Stars for the vision, minus stars for the execution.

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted a scary, creature feature where everyone dies and I got that… Until it was revealed that it was all a hypothetical made up by Paula. That really brought down the book for me.

I will say the Tiffany Epilogue did bring it back though, if that Epilogue wasn’t there, this would’ve been a 2 star read.

There were some formatting issues and run on sentences but overall it’s a fun, slightly silly time.

[Dan Way · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jaws

I have read quite a few of his stories / books, some good, some not so. But this one just has to be one of the best Matt has wrote, it will be one me favorites, a must read for any fan of Matt Shaw.

[TD 😈🖤 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️’s

A really cool read that had me hooked from the beginning! It started to feel like a Saw movie about half-ish way through. Kinda fell flat at the end. Overall, a really entertaining short novella.

[Megan Wintrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Matt Shaw books! When I saw the cover for this a few months ago I was so hyped as I love his animal/creature books.

This story is about three friends Paula, Nathan and Robert who love exploring abandoned places such as theme parks.

Robert finds out about a place overseas from a "friend" online. It's an abandoned aquarium that has potentially left animals inside. With a bit of persuading the trio end up going.

But what really awaits them at the aquarium? Is it wise to just meet strangers? What will happen? And how will things play out? Is everything as it seems? What is actually lurking at the aquarium?

Absolutely loved this one! Fantastic!

[Jess Beedle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! Twists and turns and ending was great. Definitely recommend!
Also love sharks 🦈

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s fine, entertaining, nothing to write home about

[Marktroth · Rating 5 out of 5]

BETWEEN THE JAWS OF DEATH

Really enjoyed this and a good twist at the end will definitely be reading more books by Matt shaw great horror writer

[Amanda Ruzsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, with Shaw’s work, this was a bloody descent into madness and death, and as always, it was worth the spiral. Excellent plot, well-defined characters, and absolute dread. Loved it. I’ve always wondered what happens to the forgotten things in the abandoned tanks. This creeped me out. So great.

[Adam Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually know what I am going to get from a Matt Shaw read. That is an evening of fun, some slightly overly complicated foreplay, and always left with wanting a bit more, sort of like an evening with your dad. Ooooo, weren’t expecting that plot twist, were ya? Yes, some of the finer details in this plot left me with some questions, well, some of the main ones left me with gaping, shark-sized holes in my common sense, but damn it I had fun and I don’t care. I’m American after all. Ignoring questionable details to find the fun in things seems to be an inherited trait at birth like enjoying cotton candy ice cream or rampant denial that I am anything less than awesome.