Loch Ness Revenge

by Hunter Shea

Deep in the murky waters of Loch Ness, the creature known as Nessie has returned. Twins Natalie and Austin McQueen watched in horror as their parents were devoured by the world’s most infamous lake monster. Two decades later, it’s their turn to hunt the legend. But what lurks in the Loch is not what they expected. Nessie is devouring everything in and around the Loch, and it’s not alone. Hell has come to the Scottish Highlands. In a fierce battle between man and monster, the world may never be the same.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Monsters, Action, Adventure, Scotland, Science Fiction

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Hunter Shea is the author of over 25 books, with a specialization in cryptozoological horror that includes The Jersey Devil, The Dover Demon, Loch Ness Revenge and many others. As part of the new horror line at Flame Tree Press, his novel Creature has gained critical acclaim. His novel, The Montauk Monster, was named one of the best reads of the summer by Publishers Weekly. A trip to the International Cryptozoology Museum will find several of his cryptid books among the fascinating displays. Living in a true haunted house inspired his Jessica Backman: Death in the Afterlife series (Forest of Shadows, Sinister Entity and Island of the Forbidden). In 2011, he was selected to be a part of the launch of Samhain Publishing’s new horror line alongside legendary author Ramsey Campbell. When he’s not writing thrillers and horror, he also spins tall tales for middle grade readers on Amazon’s highly regarded Rapids reading app.
An avid podcaster, he can be seen and heard on Monster Men, one of the longest running video horror podcasts in the world, and Final Guys, focusing on weekly movie and book reviews. His nostalgic column about the magic of 80s horror, Video Visions, is featured monthly at Cemetery Dance Online. You can find his short stories in a number of anthologies, including Chopping Block Party, The Body Horror Book and Fearful Fathoms II.

A lifetime New Yorker, Hunter is supported by his loving wife and two beautiful daughters. When he’s not studying up on cryptozoology, he’s an avid explorer of the unknown, having spent a night alone on the Queen Mary, searching for the Warren’s famous White Lady of the Union Cemetery and other mysterious places.
You can follow his travails at www.huntershea.com.

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t un-see their eyes, blowing up to cartoonish proportions before popping like balloons filled with mayonnaise and blood.

It’s why I f*cking hate looking at people’s eyes. I can barely stand to look at my own in the mirror. I haven’t worn makeup in years just to save myself the horror.

Well, that made me want to gag a maggot!!



Natalie and her brother Austin watched their parents eaten by ole Nessie! Now they are grown and out for revenge. They get some help from some other peeps.

I have to say I liked the atmosphere with the small town, the RV in the woods, the old VW Bug, Eileen and the boat. Although, you wouldn’t find me living near that damn water.

Random thoughts: Austin was hot, I was sad over the RV and the Bug damn it!! Sigh! Oh, and I loved what’s her head at the diner thing that gave food and free books!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When she was a child, Natalie McQueen watched the Loch Ness monster kill and eat her parents. Now, she's back at the Loch to get some payback!

As I've mentioned in other reviews, I spent a lot of my pre-teen years reading about cryptozoology, although I didn't know the term for it at the time. I spent countless afternoons reading about weird monsters, usually in books written by Daniel Cohen. Hunter Shea must have read some of the same books.

Loch Ness Revenge is just what the title says it is, a bloody tale of monster-hunting and carnage. It's also a hell of a lot of fun.

Natalie, plagued by night terrors, has been wanting to get revenge on the Loch Ness Monster for most of her life. Now, with her twin brother Austin and his monster hunter friend Henrik, she gets her chance.

This book was a hell of a lot of fun. Natalie and her friends have no idea how ill-equipped they are or even the number of monsters they face. Hunter references a lot of Loch Ness lore and theories, like the debunked surgeon's photo and the ideas that Nessie is some kind of plesiosaur or new form of seal.

While there's a lot of bloodshed, there's also a good amount of humor, although never when it would detract from the horror. Shea's writing has quite a punch to it and the story never feels like it's overstaying its welcome. While it's not a long book, it was the perfect length for what it was.

This was my first Hunter Shea book and now I'll probably be reading the rest of his cryptozoological horrors. Four out of five stars.

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunter Shea is so dependable when it comes to creature features. I’ve read several of his stories now and they’re all at the same level. I’m actually surprised that the ratings for this were so low, because I had a great time with it. The plot isn’t a real intense ‘thinker,’ as was Shea’s ‘Creature,’ but it honestly didn’t need to be. This had lots of action and blood, a war on a plethora of monsters, guns, explosions, revenge, and firetrucks (Ok, I lied about the firetrucks.). But it’s fairly short book that hits all the right notes for a story focused on the mythical Loch Ness Monster. All of the characters are quirky and not only make you laugh, but also genuinely care about their purpose. Having an older sister really made me appreciate the hysterical banter between Austin and Natalie throughout, too. I believe that this ties into one of Shea’s other books, Savage Jungle, which is on my list, but you are not missing anything if you haven’t read it. If you have neglected to read Hunter Shea for some crazy reason, you’re really missing out on a very talented author.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Lies Down in the Ocean?

Small backstory:

Natalie and Austin McQueen (the twins) were young when they saw their parents eaten by the Loch Ness Monster. Now that they are older and have the financial means to do what they want, they decide to go on a hunting trip back to the area where their parents died.

The twins find more than they bargained for as during their hunt, they not only find one, but a few monsters. Austin decides to enlist his friend, Henrick, to help with the hunt as Henrick's family also perished from the monsters and what they will go through to track down all the monsters is an endurance beyond belief!

That is about all I can hand out with a small backstory so if you are intrigued then go read this book!

Thoughts:

The master of "creature feature" strikes again! Author, Hunter Shea knows how to grab the reader and pull them into his brain. Once you enter there truly is no escape!

Author, Hunter Shea just has a certain way of grabbing the reader which normally happens in the first chapter of his books and then hurling that reader straight into the jaws of whatever creature is waiting in his stories! You can always expect lots of bodies, blood, and gore! Which is perfect for any horror fan! So if you are in the mood to be taken on a ride into creature territory then check out this book! Giving this book five "Action Packed Gore Fest" stars!

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/3.5 stars
This was a fun monster tale involving the much beloved Nessie.

Loch Ness Revenge is like Jaws with open water adventures in the highlands of Scotland with amusing, yet cheesy dialogue from a movie like Big Trouble in Little China.

I enjoyed this one and got exactly what I was expecting when you pick up a book called Loch Ness Revenge.

If you enjoy creature feature books or fascinated by good ole Nessie, give this one a shot!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOCH NESS REVENGE, by Hunter Shea, is an adrenaline-fueled "creature feature" that infuses the legend of the Loch Ness Monster with Shea's own brilliant imagination, to come up with an all-together "new" horror novel. Added to the mix is a generous amount of dark humor, gore aplenty, and characters that you just can't get enough of!

"Is it technically a nightmare when the thing that wakes you up in the dead of night is a memory?"

When they were young kids, twins Natalie and Austin McQueen were vacationing at the famed Loch Ness when they witnessed a creature brutally capture and kill their parents. After growing up with an Aunt in the states--and the aid of an overly large insurance pay-out from the deaths of their parents--Nat and Austin were financially free to plot out their revenge against what they felt had to be "several" of theses elusive creatures. Years of preparation and obsession drove Nat to set up a reclusive life on the Loch, watching and waiting for signs of the lake monsters' return. When she is sure the time has come, she summons her brother, Austin, to begin the final step in their quest for vengeance.

"Call it women's intuition . . . And the fact that all living things on land and sea are being swallowed into the ether."

Austin brings in a friend, Henrik, to help them--in exchange for their help in eradicating another species of creature that similarly destroyed his own family.

I can not stress enough how much enjoyment I got from the characters Shea creates here! Each one of them is a fully fleshed out, "real" person, with their own emotions, quirks, and humor. The obsessive Nat has a penchant for personifying the major equipment in her relatively soldiery lifestyle: Vindicta, her Loch boat, Eileen, the RV she calls home, and even Clarabelle--her first major "test object" in ascertaining whether or not the creatures had returned to the Loch for food. Nat's matter-of-fact humor was quite enjoyable all throughout the novel.

". . . I catch my eyelids drooping. In fact, there's a whole period of missing time. I assume I wasn't abducted by aliens and just nodded off."

The trio, irregardless of the humor they project, are extremely intelligent when it comes down to logical deductions involving their mission: ". . . To survive this long in relative secrecy requires either an incredible amount of dumb luck or some kind of ability to learn and plan and coordinate."

The atmosphere here was painted with perfection--from the rainy days, fog-shrouded Loch, and the crowds of "Nessie tourists" occasionally getting in the way: "I figure his close encounter has literally shattered his brain. Any ability to think clearly is now encased in a fog of numb stupidity."

The Loch--and creatures therein--are described in such detail that the image I got was firmly planted within my mind. This is just another testament to Shea's skills as a writer. He is able to take on a legend that most have pre-conceived notions of, and firmly shape it into his own creation. In Nat's words: ". . . We were wrong. Oh, so very wrong."

As fast as this book moved, I was actually saddened when I came to the end--not wanting to be finished with the three characters that I had become attached to. However, Henrik's comments near the conclusion gave me something to hope for.

"Indonesia. Orang Pendeks . . ."

Is it too much to beg for another adventure with these characters?

"Duck! . . . We all do, which is why we still have something big and round at the end of our necks . . . "

Highly recommended!

*I chose to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions are uniquely my own.*

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is so absolutely ridiculous but did I care? No. I mean, it's about the beloved, mythological Nessie actually being a revenge-seeking HERD of psychopathic monster Nessies so it's not like I was ever going to take it seriously.

Which is kind of key here. It's just a bit of crazy, monster-rampage fun that kind of has a plot that sort of works.

It's a pretty quick, straightforward story about a girl hunting the Loch Ness Monster, so there's not a lot to say. Characters are pretty fun, and I did enjoy the relationship between Nat and her brother, Austin. There are some intense moments, but the writing leached a little of the tension out for me with how quickly it passed through the action.

Ultimately, it's a short, fun creature feature with plenty of blood and violence. No complaints from me there.

[Shane Douglas Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excerpt. You can read the full review here: https://goo.gl/l7jleu

To anyone who's known me for any length of time, it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of monsters. I'll consume movies and books about them all day every day, whether they're traditional creatures like vampires and werewolves and zombies-oh my-or ones you don't see so often these days, like kaiju or body snatching aliens. But when it comes to beasts of the cryptid variety-Sasquatch, the Jersey Devil, and others of that ilk-it's rare to catch a sighting of them in the wilds of high quality escapist fiction, and it sometimes seems like when you do find them, Hunter Shea is the culprit who's most often guilty of bringing them into existence. With novels like The Montauk Monster, The Jersey Devil, and The Dover Demon, he's demonstrated a knowledge and love of cryptozoology that is matched by very few in the business, and in his new novella, Loch Ness Revenge, he's outdone himself once again with a rip roaring, adventurous tale of loss and bloody vengeance.

This is an excerpt. You can read the full review here: https://goo.gl/l7jleu

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Everyone on the boat held their breath, the tension higher than a Kardashian butt lift. "

"I want to say, "Your father was drawn and quartered by Indonesian Bigfoots?" But that would sound rude as hell."

High-brow literary art this is not, but just look at that cover! The thing I love about Hunter Shea's books are that most of the time you know exactly what you're going to get, and Loch Ness Revenge provides plenty of nasty-ass, human-chomping, slimy blood-soaked cryptid gore for monster lovers like my good self. (Actually, for a Shea novel there was probably a bit less human carnage than normal, but as one poor bugger gets rolled on and squashed by large slimy Loch beast , I think he made up for the low number of deaths with ways-in-which-to-die.

A Secret Santa gift for me from someone very kind in HA, thank you so much, I loved it.

[Kenneth McKinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

2019 is starting out with a bang as Hunter Shea's LOCH NESS REVENGE is my first read of the new year. And oh what a read it was. Who isn't fascinated by one of the most famous cryptids of all time, the Loch Ness Monster? For me, Nessie has always been one of the holy trifecta of cryptids, along with Sasquatch and the Yeti. I can still hear Leonard Nimoy's voice from my childhood as he told us every week what he was In Search Of, and Nessie was one of my favorites. So how can you tell a believable story about Scotland's favorite monster without making it sound like a hokie fairy tale? Equal parts humor and horror. That's it. Who knew? Shea did, that's who. And it he does it very well.

As children, Natalie and Austin watch in horror as their parents get munched by Nessie at Loch Ness. Of course, no else saw it and they're disappearance gets labeled as accidental drownings. But the kids know better and they don't forget. Left with a huge life insurance inheritance that they collect once they turn 18, Natalie and Austin use it to get on with their lives. For Austin, it's to head off to college and forget about the accident. Natalie has other plans. She buys an RV and moves to Loch Ness to stake out in hopes of spotting Nessie...and exacting revenge.

Shea uses a first-person telling of the tale and it works beautifully with plenty of helpings of humor added to the horror. By doing this, he's able to expertly shoot down all of the hard to believe happenings by having the characters joke about how crazy it is. Believe me when I tell you, it works and it works well. Think of how the characters are in Night of the Creeps or 1988's version of The Blob. By creating the story in this manner, Shea makes for an extremely enjoyable thrill ride. You'll love the characters and their banter back and forth each other. Lots and lots of good old fashioned ball-busting. Throw in a nerd with access to lots of firepower and you have Loch Ness turning crimson red with lots of floating meaty chunks. What's not to love?


5 out of sides of beef out of 5


You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

https://intothemacabre.com

http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...

[Frank Errington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review copy

More monster mayhem from a guy who's, as good as, or better than anyone currently writing in this horror sub-genre.

Hunter Shea has already given us stories about Bigfoot, The Montauk Monster, The Dover Demon and more recently The Jersey Devil and now The Loch Ness Monster. Makes you wonder where he's headed next.

Twenty years ago, Natalie McQueen, her brother, Austin, and their parents were on vacation in Scotland, camping by the infamous Loch Ness.

"We can't go to Scotland without spending some time at Loch Ness," my father had said. "Maybe we'll even see the monster!" Be careful what you ask for.

Natalie has spent the last twenty years searching, waiting, planning her revenge. That's a long time to hold a grudge, but the events that occurred on that camping trip have never left her. It's rare that a night goes by that she doesn't wake in terror from her dreams.

Loch Ness Revenge is a story which moves at a fever pace and can easily be read in an evening or two. Hunter has a gift for silly similies, too. Stuff like "...tension tighter than a Kardashian butt lift." It's good to have some humor in this tale or the tension could get to be too much.

Loch Ness Revenge is available in paperback and e-book formats from Severed Press. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read it at no additional charge. Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for FREE using the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

Totally recommended.

From the author's bio - Hunter Shea is the product of a childhood weened on The Night Stalker, The Twilight Zone and In Search Of. He doesn't just write about the paranormal - he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself.

In my Cemetery Dance review of Hunter's apocalyptic thriller, Tortures of the Damned, I wrote, "A terrifying read that left me wanting more. I absolutely devoured this book!"

Living with his wonderful family and two cats, he's happy to be close enough to New York City to get Gray's Papaya hot dogs when the craving hits. His daughters have also gotten the horror bug, assisting him with research, story ideas and illustrations that can be seen in magazines such as Dark Dossier.

[Empress Reece (Hooked on Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars...

Loch Ness Revenge combined two of my most favorite elements- water + cryptid creatures! : ) ...so I went into this with very high hopes and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!

What really sets this book apart from other creature features I've read are the characters and the dialogue! I absolutely LOVED the characters- Natalie, Austin & Henrik, and their personalities! Hunter Shea has the best sense of humor and he blends it in their dialogue seamlessly. It's not corny or cheesy at all which I'm not a fan of; it's like a mix of light humor and a little sarcasm and it just comes across very natural and realistic. I cracked up laughing quite a few times throughout the story.

I had so much fun reading this, by the time it ended, I did not want to leave the characters. And luckily, which I didn't know when I started the book, there is a sequel, Savage Jungle, featuring the same characters on a new cryptid adventure! : ) Needless to say I was ecstatic and I knew I had to read it next.

If you're a creature feature fan, you should definitely put this on your TBR!

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunter Shea's latest cryptid horror-actioneer, Loch Ness Revenge takes us to the mythical creature's Scotland habitat as twins Natalie and Austin McQueen seek revenge on the creature responsible for the death of their parents.

The premise and set-up is short, sweet, and to the point. Shea wastes no time getting into the guts of his story and delivers an action-packed sea tale of man vs. beast. Loch Ness Revenge is a fast-moving novella, with plenty of hearty violence and a fair share of familial heart to go with. I was pleased to see these characters spend a lot of time in the loch, going mano-a-mano with ol' Nessie, and enjoyed spending a few hours with the McQueens and their German compadre, Henrik, who lost his own family to some very different cryptids (Shea sets the stage for a follow-up story with this trio, which we'll hopefully see soon).

While this book is certainly entertaining and fast-paced, I have but one complaint. The ending was a bit too abrupt and rushed for my tastes, and I wouldn't have minded a touch more decompression in the resolution presented. Things wrapped up too quickly, and I found myself having to part from this story sooner than I had wanted. Consider this a minor issue, though, as the other 95% of the book was simply flat-out fun.

Shea's written ghost stories, a supernatural western, and more, but cryptids are clearly the author's sweet spot. He knows the mythology of the various creatures he tackles quite well, as presented in efforts like The Dover Demon and this year's earlier (and quite excellent) release, The Jersey Devil, and always manages to add on a few extra surprises to give these legends a cool little spin.

Shea is quickly becoming a go-to author for me when I need a quick, bloody creature-feature fix, and I'm thankful I still have a few of his other cryptozoology horrors unread on my Kindle, because I'm certain I'll be jonesing for another before too long.

[Note: I received an advanced review copy of this title via Hook of a Book Media and Publicity.]

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The McQueen's are camping in Scotland on the famous Loch Ness. The McQueen's are hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous Nessie. The parents take a walk down to the water edge to get some fresh air. The twins, Natalie and Austin hear their parents screaming for help. Natalie and Austin race down to the water edge to help there parents but are frozen in place and can't help them. They witness their parents being dragged out into the water and then the tail of the monster squeeze them to a horrific death. After the death of their parents, Natalie and Austin must go live with an aunt. By the time the twins reach the age of eighteen, they are financially set to go out on there own. Their parent took out a huge insurance policy in case of their death. Twenty year later, both Natalie and Austin are having terrible nightmares about that day. Natalie has spent the last twenty years, researching the Loch Ness Monster. Natalie plans to seek revenge on the monster, no matter what it takes. Natalie rents a parcel of land, where she parks her RV. The parcel of land is located right near the edge of the water at Loch Ness. Natalie has a meat company deliver a whole slaughter cow, which she names Clarabelle . She intends to use the meats as bait, to lure the monster from the deep. Natalie put the cow on a tarp and drags it down to her boat, that she name Vindicta. While Natalie is out on the the boat, something snag the meat and she may be on to something. She calls Austin and tells him to get out here as soon as he can. Natalie and Austin, promised to never tell anybody about that night. When Austin arrives, he has brought his friend Henrik along and Natalie is very up set. Henrik, tells Natalie about the death of his parents. They were killed in Indonesia by Orang Pendek (Big Foot). Henrik promises to help them defeat the monster, as long as they will travel back with him to Indonesia to kill Big Foot. All parties agree and this is where the story takes off. This was a past faced novella with plenty of action and some humor thrown in. I recommend this book to fan of horror.

[Greg at 2 Book Lovers Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The B movie, we all have our own definition of it. For me, the B movie is a film that is shorter, quicker to the punch and something that I would go to when I just want to have a little bit of fun. Hunter Shea is a master of creating the literary equivalent of the B movie. Loch Ness Revenge is a perfect example of this art.

Hunter Shea has introduced me to many monsters that I never knew about; in this case he reintroduces me to, perhaps, the most famous monster on the face of the earth. I am a huge fan of what Hunter Shea does with his stories, he takes an existing story or legend (a monster from someone’s backyard) and he breathes new life into the story. He plays off of something that we already half believe in, then he blows it out of the water.

There was just the right amount of time spent building up the characters. We get a good sense of who Natalie and Austin McQueen are and what drives them. There are a few other characters who round out the cast, with Henrik really adding the necessary comic and over-the-top elements.

Hunter Shea has given me the Loch Ness monster that I never knew I needed and a crazy gang that I may be following to the other side of the world.

*4 Stars

[Tim Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loch Ness Revenge is another monster masterpiece from Hunter Shea! The story follows two siblings as they hunt down the aquatic beast that killed their parents. There's plenty of Loch Ness lore to go around and, of course, Shea puts his own twist on the legend. Shea's writing is getting better and better with each book, and in LNR his voice shines through. It's one of the best things about this novella. I'm really glad he opted for the first-person POV, as it totally worked for the story. Loch Ness Revenge is not only monsterific but it's also comedic. The characters are great and I hope he pens another monster hunting adventure (Orang Pendek?) involving them. 5/5

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Natalie, her twin brother Austin and her parents were vacationing at Loch Ness, Scotland 20 years ago. One night while camping and roasting marshmallows, Natalie and Austin heard a splash of water followed by screams. When they arrived at the shore, they see a creature in the water killing her parents. Forward wind to the present. Natalie is now camped out on that very shore trying to prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.

And kill it.

OK. Now that kind of bugged me right there. I grew up on stories of Nessie. The Loch Ness Monster for all intent and purpose is Scotland's mascot. The only death ever blamed on Nessie was in 1952 when a water ripple from the big oaf was said to have caused a speedboat crash. Nessie didn't stick around to swap insurances. Nessie must be the most beloved figure of monster lore on the planet. So the idea of the water seprent as a vicious man-eater took a little work to sink in.

Fortunately, Hunter Shea is a bit of an expert on monsters. They seem to be his specialty with at least his last two books taking on other known legends of crypto-zoology. The challenge in Loch Ness Revenge is to set up his future monster killer with a past that lets us in on her suffering and obsession. If you are going to kill a beloved icon, you better have a good reason. But this is a short novella that means we need to get to the chase quickly. So once the protagonist is set, we are introduced to her twin brother and a couple of colorful sidekicks and we're off!

Then there is the monster. Shea has its own version of the Loch Ness Monster. We are given glimpses of it as Natalie seeks it out and the author reveals more as the hunt escalates. As the novel proceeds, we get a few surprises and lots of action right to the final showdown.

So how does the whole thing work? It is not nearly as complex as Shea's previous novels which makes sense because it is much shorter at less than 150 pages. There may be a few too many incidents that seem to be borrowed from Jaws. However it works because it is fun. If it doesn't stretch your mind, that's OK. It is an amusing read with enough thrills to keep the reader satisfied. And I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the scary creature that Mr. Shea has conjured up from his mind. I am sure that Nessie is simply a sweet, if huge, eel-like critter that loves to float on the lake and wave at the tourists. We all must have our fantasies.

Three and a half stars.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nessie. Poor Nessie! What did Hunter Shea do? Hunter Shea turned her into a monster.

Loch Ness Revenge was good fun, though! As children, Natalie and Austin watched their parents get sucked under by Nessie. Now they are setting out to kill her.

You've never seen Nessie like this before!

3.5 stars

[Angela Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book as part of the publicity tour hosted by the awesome Erin Al-Mehairi. This is in no way reflected in my opinion of this novella. I did not receive any form of compensation for my review.

Loch Ness Revenge creature feature you don't want to miss! Hunter Shea excels at writing characters who are realistic and easy to identify with, and taking cryptids out of legend and inserting them straight into your nightmares. Natalie and her twin, Austin, are fun to follow as they hunt for the creature that ate their parents. Henrik, a fellow monster hunter, has awesome toys and if I ever take up hunting for monsters I want his real-life counterpart along for the ride. This high octane thrill ride starts out strong and the action doesn't slow down leading to a fantastic ending. I was so caught up in the story that I devoured the whole book in one sitting. I only have one thing to say to Hunter Shea, "Please sir, can I have some more?" A highly recommended 5 star read.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes the expectations and anticipation one has for a book are not met and that causes heightened disappointment. I've enjoyed several of Hunter Shea's books, so I was enthused to purchase this one several months in advance of my vacation and take it with me to Loch Ness and read it in in the vicinity. None of the descriptions in the book let me believe that the author had ever been close or researched it very carefully. The story is a first-person narration from a female viewpoint (that's not carried off at all convincingly), but the plot itself is okay. If I'd've read it in Colorado I might've liked it, but it just didn't play in Inverness.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each time I read a book by Hunter I think it's my favorite, until I read the next one. This was fun as hell and I loved the protagonist, Nat. She was a great character, with a great personality. She's the kind of kick ass, super cool lady anyone would love to hang with. The story was fun, crazy and balls to the walls with action. In the end, you really can't go wrong when you grab a book from Hunter Shea.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve watched a lot of movies and read a lot of books about the Loch Ness Monster and couldn’t wait to see how Hunter spun this legend.

Your thrown right into the thick of things from the first chapter. Poor twins, Austin and Natalie, witness the horrific attack and death of their parents by a creature risen from the depths of Loch Ness. Some twenty years later the twins set out to destroy the creature. Little do they know it’s not just one beast that swims the depths, waiting for hapless victims to feed upon. The legend is real. It wants revenge. And it has the numbers to tip the scale in its favor.

I love the water. I love the smell, the sound of the waves lapping at the shore, the feel of weightlessness while swimming. What I don’t love is what lives in it. The slimy weeds that brush against your body. The darting shadows that you can’t quite make out. The things that shift under the sand when you step on it. It all creeps me out. And that was before I watched Jaws. I no longer swim in the ocean or lakes. I have a pool.

This story has tons of atmosphere and great visual writing. I’ve never been to the Loch, but I could easily see it. And I could imagine the ripples on it’s surface as something large swims below.

And as per the norm, the author doesn’t spare any of his characters. This worried me since I became quite fond of a few of them, so don’t get too attached. It is a monster story after all. Many will become bloody bits of chum.

I knew Hunter would give us a Nessie like no other. I’d love to see this as a movie. To see what the author describes.

Make sure to give yourself plenty of time before you starting reading this book. Hunter wastes little time getting to the meat of his story. It’s all out mayhem once it begins and a bumpy ride to the end.

[Kim Napolitano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a favorite! Hunter Shea has the best creature features in the genre that includes humor and a damn good story! Sister and brother twins Natalie and Austin are on the hunt on Loch Ness , 20 years chasing after the monster that killed their parents. Nat has been laying the groundwork in Scotland waiting for the right time. An encounter brings in Austin from away and a band of Nessie Hunters hoping for the holy grail of evidence come to Nat’s outpost but something is going to go horribly wrong.

There isn’t just one of them.

No spoilers! Let’s just say it’s a good old fashioned monster fight with some casualties along the way. The characters aren’t too deeply developed but you don’t need them to be. This book is for fun and if you’re a fan of the Nessie myth? This imagining will deliver for you. Hang on tight and enjoy!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining horror listening 😯🎶

This kindle ebook novel is from my Kindle Unlimited account

The family is visiting Scotland camping on the loch. Mom and dad go to the loch to wash the dishes. They are attacked by monsters and killed. Years later the twins are back for revenge and the fun begins.

I would recommend this novel and author to readers of fantasy world 🌐 adventure thriller novels 😯😮 2025 🙄😚

[Dixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Hunter Shea's writing and his books. this was a really, really good one. A great point of view from a different aspect and wonderful. I wanted to finish it to see what happens, then was very sad when I did finish it.
I hope we get to see those characters again...hint, hint.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Natalie and Austin were only kids when they witnessed their parents being killed on the shores of Loch Ness by the legendary monster. Nobody would believe their story and they have spent their lives saying nothing about it...and quietly planning their revenge. Natalie has been living beside the loch, waiting for any proof that the monster is back, hunting with bait to see if it is there, waiting for the moment she can call her brother to say it is time for payback.

Austin receives a call from his sister to say that she saw the monster on a night cruise and he rushes to her side, bringing with him German prepper Henrik. Henrik has his own scores to settle with monsters who killed his family and agrees to use his weapons and gadgets to help the siblings if they will go with him on his revenge mission later. Reluctantly, Natalie agrees to the change of plan and they start to get ready. With help from Rob, a locally based monster spotter, the plans progress quickly. However, they are about to discover an entire clan of monsters who are intelligent enough to recognise an enemy and set out to destroy it.

I was so excited at the prospect of reading a book about killer Loch Ness Monsters as I have been fascinated by Nessie since I was a kid. Being Scottish, I grew up hearing a lot of stories about Nessie and I couldn't get enough of the legends. I had also read a few Hunter Shea monster books so this looked like something I would love. Sadly, it was a bit disappointing to me, compared to his other books. His other monster books are fast paced from the beginning, throwing you right into the story and continuing that way until the end. This one however, was pretty slow through the first half of the book with a lot of talk and not much about the monsters. That was a bit disappointing to me as I expected there to be monsters rampaging through the whole book and spreading panic in the population.

The biggest thing that let the book down for me were the MC siblings. While I have sympathy for the way they lost their parents and understand that they want revenge, I just did not like them at all. Natalie spend the whole time bitching about everything. She is given waterproof clothes that she refuses to wear as she doesn't want to look the same as the guys, then bitches nonstop about being cold, wet and miserable. She moans about the pubs being too full of foreign tourists yet she is also American in case she has forgotten. She moans that everyone looks at her, she moans about the local people, she moans about the guys smelling bad compared to her...with Natalie it is a never ending moanfest and I got sick of her very quickly.

She also doesn't care that by killing the monsters she will destroy the tourist industry therefore costing the jobs of all the local people. She doesn't care that the monsters lived there long before people invaded their territory. All Natalie cares is that she gets what she wants and to hell with everyone else. By attacking the monsters, Natalie causes them to start attacking innocent toursts on boats in retaliation, leading to their deaths but she doesn't seem to care much about that as long as she kills the monsters. She is a self obsessed and selfish bitch. Her brother is just a vain and arrogant idiot.

The best characters in the book are Henrik and Rob. Rob is a somewhat paranoid monster hunter who spends all his time by the water, hoping to get that one great photo of Nessie that will make his career. However, his character was never explored in any depth and only appears a couple of times, though I liked his final appearance. Henrik was great. He was a mini Terminator with his German accent and big weapons and I really liked him. He had personality that was sadly lacking in the other two and without him, I'm not sure that I would have finished the book.

The action does pick up in the second half of the book as the trio start to hunt the monsters. I liked bits of this but there was always Natalie in the background moaning about something else and ruining it. There were some good action sequences right at the end but as I was rooting for the monsters throughout, it didn't quite go my way as you can imagine.

A decent read but not anywhere near as good as the other books I've read by the author.

[Dez Nemec · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never knew that Nessy was mean! When Natalie and Austin were kids, their family went camping on Loch Ness in Scotland. One night, their parents went down to the water and the kids heard screaming. Running down to the Loch, they saw a large creature wrapped around the parents' necks, squeezing their heads and then dragging them down in to the water. Unfortunately, no one believed the story of the two traumatized children that watched their parents die.

Twenty years later, Natalie has devoted herself to killing whatever creature lives in Loch Ness. She has been tracking it for several years, but her first close encounter involves her "fishing" on her pontoon boat with a cow carcass that she has allowed to sit out and rot for several days. After successful contact, she calls her twin and reports that it's time for him to join her in Scotland so he can be in on the fun. Austin also brings in Henrik, who has enough fire power to blow Scotland off the map. Henrik's desire to help is compelled by his own tale of woe - his father was killed by Indonesian Bigfoots. Quite a gang we have assembled!

This is essentially a fishing story. Think Moby Dick but instead of Ahab obsessively looking for the whale that took his leg, Natalie and Austin are obsessively looking for the creature that killed their parents. This one was fun!

[Catherine Cavendish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Hunter Shea's novels and novellas. I love the way he can take a familiar legend - see The Jersey Devil and The Montauk Monster, for example - and present a unique twist. Loch Ness revenge accomplishes just that. A sister and brother are out to avenge the murders, by the Loch Ness monster, of their parents years earlier. They come well equipped for World War III let alone a 'prehistoric' predator which only they can actually say they've seen. The trouble is there is far more going on under those deep waters than even they could possibly imagine. I have been to Loch Ness a number of times and have never seen anything unusual, but if Nessie does exist and is anything like this, I'm rather glad I haven't! Put the world on hold for a couple of hours and curl up with this classic monster horror story. You won't be disappointed.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunter Shea does it again! I had a really fun time with this book, and it helps that I have a soft spot for Nessie Horror. I thought that the plot of this book was decently unique to others I have read, and Shea really writes some great characters in this book. The first chapter is super impactful and graphic which sets off the fun roller coaster that this story brings. I really enjoyed the ending as well, and thought everything tied up nicely (and there is a very sweet moment in the end that really puts the icing on the cake for how much I loved the main character). I will say the only thing that I had a problem with in this book, was that there were some editing issues that distracted me and pulled me out of the story sometimes. Other than that, if you are into creature horror, cryptids, or just want to have a good time and a fast read, I would definitely recommend picking this up!

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pounded In The Butt By The Nessie That Ate My Parents.

Short, fast, and violent, how more monster books should go. Nice to have a monster that's not an annoying metaphor, or if it was, I was too dumb to suss out what for.