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This Town Needs a Monster
Bathos! Crippling ennui! Mind-numbing drudgery!
Brad Renfield is a white, middle-aged, lower middle class, Midwestern man stuck in Gethsemane, Ohio. Most of his friends have either died or moved away and his one remaining friend is so depressed he’s on the brink of suicide. Brad hasn’t really given much thought to the chasm of emptiness within him. He’s mostly been a loner, content with his job and his tiny apartment. He’s never thought much about being part of something. He’s never really thought about the bigger picture. Until he meets a beautiful (and possibly psychotic) girl named Dawn. Dawn leads Brad into a vicious world as hedonistically carnal as it is brutal, forcing Brad to decide if he’s going to dig deep within himself and continue to resist the community he’s remained apart from his entire life or embrace it and accept his new reality.
Brad Renfield is a white, middle-aged, lower middle class, Midwestern man stuck in Gethsemane, Ohio. Most of his friends have either died or moved away and his one remaining friend is so depressed he’s on the brink of suicide. Brad hasn’t really given much thought to the chasm of emptiness within him. He’s mostly been a loner, content with his job and his tiny apartment. He’s never thought much about being part of something. He’s never really thought about the bigger picture. Until he meets a beautiful (and possibly psychotic) girl named Dawn. Dawn leads Brad into a vicious world as hedonistically carnal as it is brutal, forcing Brad to decide if he’s going to dig deep within himself and continue to resist the community he’s remained apart from his entire life or embrace it and accept his new reality.
334 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2017
29 people are currently reading
569 people want to read
About the author
Andersen Prunty
51 books669 followersAndersen Prunty lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He writes novels and short stories. Visit him at notandersenprunty.com, where he posts a free story every Friday.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 19, 2017
Gethsemane, Ohio may not appear to have anything in common with the garden in Jerusalem. It gives the impression of being a quiet, sleepy town. Sure, some of the citizens are a bit peculiar. The upper echelons don't leave their homes. The working class caters to them because there is not much else to do for work. People sit on park benches in the middle of the night without realizing what they're doing there. A store clerk stands dazedly behind the counter with little connection to his surroundings. People work miserable jobs with little hope of achieving more. Yet those who leave Gethsemane always return. They have to. They are addicted to their home town.
Brad works for a local landscaper. He cuts lawns, trims plants and empties garbage from the indoor plant pots of one of his clients. Apparently, the well-off do not need to do anything. Brad has no ambition, but he becomes worried about a friend who has suddenly disappeared. Enter Dawn. To Brad, she is a goddess. The more he becomes involved with this beautiful, enigmatic woman, the further he steps away from his mundane life. Brad finds himself involved in situations that become increasingly violent and sexual, but he is powerless to deny Dawn's requests. The story goes to extreme territory, and while Brad is occasionally wary of taking chances, he allows himself to be seduced. More people disappear. What is really happening in Gethsemane? And where are these perfect, beautiful young women coming from?
I could not put this book down. It was my first by Andersen Prunty, and far from my last. The dialogue and developments are seamlessly integrated. Yes, terrible and offensive things happen, but it is impossible to look away. This book may not be for everyone, but for me, it was compulsively readable.
Brad works for a local landscaper. He cuts lawns, trims plants and empties garbage from the indoor plant pots of one of his clients. Apparently, the well-off do not need to do anything. Brad has no ambition, but he becomes worried about a friend who has suddenly disappeared. Enter Dawn. To Brad, she is a goddess. The more he becomes involved with this beautiful, enigmatic woman, the further he steps away from his mundane life. Brad finds himself involved in situations that become increasingly violent and sexual, but he is powerless to deny Dawn's requests. The story goes to extreme territory, and while Brad is occasionally wary of taking chances, he allows himself to be seduced. More people disappear. What is really happening in Gethsemane? And where are these perfect, beautiful young women coming from?
I could not put this book down. It was my first by Andersen Prunty, and far from my last. The dialogue and developments are seamlessly integrated. Yes, terrible and offensive things happen, but it is impossible to look away. This book may not be for everyone, but for me, it was compulsively readable.
July 25, 2019
This was way nastier than I anticipated.
By a lot.
And I liked it.
Andersen’s dry narration is absolutely perfect for his stories. I have no idea how he can narrate some of the more unsavory moments and keep the same sardonic tone throughout. A few times I just had to laugh out loud. More than likely at all the inappropriate places.
*Thanks to Andersen for the complimentary copy of the audio book! The honest review is completely voluntary.
By a lot.
And I liked it.
Andersen’s dry narration is absolutely perfect for his stories. I have no idea how he can narrate some of the more unsavory moments and keep the same sardonic tone throughout. A few times I just had to laugh out loud. More than likely at all the inappropriate places.
*Thanks to Andersen for the complimentary copy of the audio book! The honest review is completely voluntary.
April 16, 2018
What a wild ride into a bizarre book this was! And I enjoyed every sinfully sick minute.
"The most frightening thing about a void is not the emptiness, it’s that it’s just sitting there, waiting for something to fill it . . ."
Late one night, Brad Renfield gets a phone call from his friend Travis, asking him to meet him in a field and shoot him in the head. Brad wants no part of it, but Travis blackmails him with some photos. Against his better judgment, Brad goes to the field but he can't find Travis. Unfortunately for him, he finds someone else: Dawn Bando.
Barely out of high school, Dawn pulls up in a patrol car that supposedly belongs to her father. Though Brad is forty years old and should have way more sense, his "little head" takes over and it isn't long before he's caught up in a convoluted web of sex, violence and addiction. Dawn shakes up his humdrum life and quickly becomes the center of his world. He simply can't escape her allure, even as he loses more and more of himself.
Something very strange is happening--not just to Brad, but to several others, as well. I won't give anything away, but this story is totally unique, bizarre, perverted and completely engrossing. You'll have no idea what's going on in the small town of Gethsemane, Ohio, but finding out will surely be an unforgettable treat.
"The most frightening thing about a void is not the emptiness, it’s that it’s just sitting there, waiting for something to fill it . . ."
Late one night, Brad Renfield gets a phone call from his friend Travis, asking him to meet him in a field and shoot him in the head. Brad wants no part of it, but Travis blackmails him with some photos. Against his better judgment, Brad goes to the field but he can't find Travis. Unfortunately for him, he finds someone else: Dawn Bando.
Barely out of high school, Dawn pulls up in a patrol car that supposedly belongs to her father. Though Brad is forty years old and should have way more sense, his "little head" takes over and it isn't long before he's caught up in a convoluted web of sex, violence and addiction. Dawn shakes up his humdrum life and quickly becomes the center of his world. He simply can't escape her allure, even as he loses more and more of himself.
Something very strange is happening--not just to Brad, but to several others, as well. I won't give anything away, but this story is totally unique, bizarre, perverted and completely engrossing. You'll have no idea what's going on in the small town of Gethsemane, Ohio, but finding out will surely be an unforgettable treat.
December 7, 2017
This book helped me overcome clinical depression. Now I have a job, a bank account, and am actively looking for a wife! Thanks, Andersen Prunty!
May 20, 2017
Brad’s menial existence as he approaches middle age may have become too much. After meeting Dawn in a chance encounter, he realizes that what she represents is a way out, but may be too much for him to seriously consider it in the long term. Or is it? There is a cryptic power she holds over him that he struggles to understand. Knowing from previous experience that bad decisions can bring truly unwanted consequences, he questions his relation to her baffling but addictive persona. As their relations progress, or fester, Brad ponders Dawn’s involvement in something much bigger. There are so many questions, but Dawn never offers a straight answer, only eluding that everything she orchestrates is necessary. When the curtain is finally pulled back, it is both satisfying and frightening.
This Town Needs A Monster is unforgettably twisted, addictive and shocking. Yet, it occupies a space that is both sophisticated and relatable. The narrative flow is flawless. I know I have hit gold when after finishing an utterly compulsive read, I close the book and the satisfaction lingers like a stoner’s perma-grin. I have a serious book hangover after this one, resisting reality and wondering how long it will take until I come back. High praise is due. Submit to the monster.
This Town Needs A Monster is unforgettably twisted, addictive and shocking. Yet, it occupies a space that is both sophisticated and relatable. The narrative flow is flawless. I know I have hit gold when after finishing an utterly compulsive read, I close the book and the satisfaction lingers like a stoner’s perma-grin. I have a serious book hangover after this one, resisting reality and wondering how long it will take until I come back. High praise is due. Submit to the monster.
December 6, 2017
When super weird author Lance Carbuncle says a writer is weirder than he is. You gotta pay attention!
In Andersen Prunty"s very weird and borderline pornographic / erotic horror work, we find unambitious in-a-rut 40ish Brad Renfield (interesting last name reference by the way) talking to his often suicidal and only friend Travis, both residents of Gethsemane, Ohio. Remind me never to go there. In a early flashback, they are discussing a rash of suicides that happened in Gethsemane decades ago. It woke the town up but afterwards the residents went back to their dull sometime hateful routine to which Travis responds, "This town needs a monster".
In This Town Needs a Monster, Brad finds one is a beautiful young sociopathic girl named Dawn. Brad is quickly trapped in a world of violence and sexual deviancy that is above anything he ever imagine. He even tries to leave but Dawn's hold goes beyond blackmail. There is a dark hold she has on him and that is what ignites the story.
I'm not sure how to put this. The novel has levels of extreme violence and sex that even shocks me and that is saying a lot. It is also quite strange since Prunty's last novel, Squirm With Me was a more subtle work that was surprising in its quiet mundane style. This new novel is a step back into Andersen's more horrific works. But a regular theme youfind in many of his books is the older person who is snatched out of his aimless life into something that is both horrifying and exhilarating. It leads one to wonder if the real monster is the horror of the unfathomable or the aimless meaningless regular life.
In some ways, the violence and brutal sex is too much. I think he did it better in Sociopaths in Love and I sort of miss the quiet mundane horror of Squirm with Me which brought it closer to what we see as reality. But there is no one who writes like Andersen Prunty and it is impossible to maintain a neutral stance when bombarded by this new novel. I wouldn't necessarily make this my first Prunty read but those who know what to expect from him should definitely dive into the muck.
In Andersen Prunty"s very weird and borderline pornographic / erotic horror work, we find unambitious in-a-rut 40ish Brad Renfield (interesting last name reference by the way) talking to his often suicidal and only friend Travis, both residents of Gethsemane, Ohio. Remind me never to go there. In a early flashback, they are discussing a rash of suicides that happened in Gethsemane decades ago. It woke the town up but afterwards the residents went back to their dull sometime hateful routine to which Travis responds, "This town needs a monster".
In This Town Needs a Monster, Brad finds one is a beautiful young sociopathic girl named Dawn. Brad is quickly trapped in a world of violence and sexual deviancy that is above anything he ever imagine. He even tries to leave but Dawn's hold goes beyond blackmail. There is a dark hold she has on him and that is what ignites the story.
I'm not sure how to put this. The novel has levels of extreme violence and sex that even shocks me and that is saying a lot. It is also quite strange since Prunty's last novel, Squirm With Me was a more subtle work that was surprising in its quiet mundane style. This new novel is a step back into Andersen's more horrific works. But a regular theme youfind in many of his books is the older person who is snatched out of his aimless life into something that is both horrifying and exhilarating. It leads one to wonder if the real monster is the horror of the unfathomable or the aimless meaningless regular life.
In some ways, the violence and brutal sex is too much. I think he did it better in Sociopaths in Love and I sort of miss the quiet mundane horror of Squirm with Me which brought it closer to what we see as reality. But there is no one who writes like Andersen Prunty and it is impossible to maintain a neutral stance when bombarded by this new novel. I wouldn't necessarily make this my first Prunty read but those who know what to expect from him should definitely dive into the muck.
August 23, 2017
OMG WTF is that?
Squirm With Me was such a departure from the usual Prunty fare that I didn't know what to expect with the new one, except that it'd be good. I was right. The weirdness creeps up and then explodes, and the sense of dread that hangs over everything is beautiful. It was like watching some kind of alien car crash: uncomfortable, gross, increasingly unpleasant but impossible to look away from.
The conversational tone of the narrator, Brad, grounds the whole thing, because he sounds like a guy you know telling a story. The cast is awesome. I recommend this to anyone who wants to feel their skin crawl.
Squirm With Me was such a departure from the usual Prunty fare that I didn't know what to expect with the new one, except that it'd be good. I was right. The weirdness creeps up and then explodes, and the sense of dread that hangs over everything is beautiful. It was like watching some kind of alien car crash: uncomfortable, gross, increasingly unpleasant but impossible to look away from.
The conversational tone of the narrator, Brad, grounds the whole thing, because he sounds like a guy you know telling a story. The cast is awesome. I recommend this to anyone who wants to feel their skin crawl.
March 15, 2018
I still can’t decide if I liked the ending, but I loved pretty much everything else. This was a very weird, fun, violent read.
September 27, 2020
When this book started, I loved it. It was not like anything I had ever read. A man who is lost in life runs into the most fascinating woman he has ever met, and she takes him on a series of sexual excursions, filming them. Not only is sex involved, but also pain, blood, humiliation, etc...
Then it got rather boring. They started going to political events. I'm sorry, but there's enough political hate all over social media that I prefer my fiction to not include it. And no, it's not because my side was bashed or anything. The author takes the time for his characters to explore both of the major US parties. They were brief, yet I still don't enjoy that kind of stuff.
So then there was some more boring, (a man pining over this girl..... so boring)followed by a sci fi ending, which really isn't my thing.
By the reviews, I kept waiting for the gross part to happen. There was one scene including a cat, but I've read that type of thing several times over. Maybe I'm immune to shock factor.
The story isn't bad. It just wasn't for me. I'm neutral on this one.
Then it got rather boring. They started going to political events. I'm sorry, but there's enough political hate all over social media that I prefer my fiction to not include it. And no, it's not because my side was bashed or anything. The author takes the time for his characters to explore both of the major US parties. They were brief, yet I still don't enjoy that kind of stuff.
So then there was some more boring, (a man pining over this girl..... so boring)followed by a sci fi ending, which really isn't my thing.
By the reviews, I kept waiting for the gross part to happen. There was one scene including a cat, but I've read that type of thing several times over. Maybe I'm immune to shock factor.
The story isn't bad. It just wasn't for me. I'm neutral on this one.
May 14, 2017
I sometimes worry that my books go too far. I feel like I need to apologize when I take on a narrator for my audiobooks. I cringe when my kids sometimes tell me that one of their teachers has read one of my books. I don't mention my writing to many people in my day to day life because, well, you know, some of my shit is kind of sick. But I will worry no more. Now if somebody tells me I have gone too far, that my stories are too vulgar, I will direct them to This Town Needs a Monster. They will read Mr. Prunty's book and my stuff will seem tame. It's kind the same as if you have a drinking problem, but you can point to someone else whose addiction is far worse. You know, "Look at them. They're far more fucked up than me."
Seriously, though, there is some pretty rough things to get through in This Town.... At first I was kind of like, "Wow, some of this is almost like torture porn or something." But there's a point to all of it. And pushing through the rougher parts is well rewarded. This is a creepy, twisted, wtf, kind of a book that keeps you wanting to keep going to figure out what the hell is going on. I'm a fan of Mr. Prunty and was once again well satisfied with this read. Good shit. Go get it.
Seriously, though, there is some pretty rough things to get through in This Town.... At first I was kind of like, "Wow, some of this is almost like torture porn or something." But there's a point to all of it. And pushing through the rougher parts is well rewarded. This is a creepy, twisted, wtf, kind of a book that keeps you wanting to keep going to figure out what the hell is going on. I'm a fan of Mr. Prunty and was once again well satisfied with this read. Good shit. Go get it.
October 22, 2017
Definitely a "WTF!" kind of book. This is the pinnacle of transgressive fiction, so there's no dissappointment throughout its pages. Don't tell anyone what this is about while you're at it though. (can't wait for it to become a movie! - are we prepared for something like this?)
May 29, 2017
Low fiction at its finest
I love this author. All of his books have the same cycle of turning you on, grossing you out, and leaving you wanting more. The story in this book starts out in a weird place and leaves you squirming with thoughts of weird glowing mutant slugs and armies of unborn sex robots. Apocalyptic and morbid, this book is well worth its asking price and when the paperback comes out, I'll get that too.
I love this author. All of his books have the same cycle of turning you on, grossing you out, and leaving you wanting more. The story in this book starts out in a weird place and leaves you squirming with thoughts of weird glowing mutant slugs and armies of unborn sex robots. Apocalyptic and morbid, this book is well worth its asking price and when the paperback comes out, I'll get that too.
August 30, 2018
It's a weird one! But I like that from time to time.
It starts a little strange and goes down from there. The first-person narrator Brad is a white-trash no purpose kind of guy, till he meets Dawn. He gets obsessed with her and she uses him via blackmail and sexual tension to do her bidding. And her bidding is more than unusual.
A lot of sex and violence with a strange ending. Everything you need in a book like this.
It starts a little strange and goes down from there. The first-person narrator Brad is a white-trash no purpose kind of guy, till he meets Dawn. He gets obsessed with her and she uses him via blackmail and sexual tension to do her bidding. And her bidding is more than unusual.
A lot of sex and violence with a strange ending. Everything you need in a book like this.
September 1, 2019
This needs a proper review, but for now just know that I loved it. Andersen Prunty is a master.
May 8, 2022
Not bad, not great either. Reminded me of that film Species.
August 12, 2017
No one writes a sad, white, middle-aged, lower class man like Andersen Prunty. I'm pretty sure I experienced the full gambit of emotions while reading this; apathy, disgust, anger, excitement, and happiness. In the end, this weird book leaves you with a head full of disturbing images and a strange desire to see more.
April 8, 2019
This book was disgusting and horrifying. There were at least two times that I thought I’d be sick. It had a real effect on me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’ve never really believed people when they give reviews that say these exact same things, I guess I just had to have that kind of experience with a book myself.
I questioned whether or not there was something wrong me while I continued to read, but I was hooked. I’m not easily shocked or surprised, movies and books seem to have lost their ability to really surprise me. So, I’m happy when something comes along that is different and surprising and causes a reaction from me.
The book has an ingenious way of starting out pretty disturbing and the main character seems as disturbed by the events as you are, but by the end both the character and reader feel less. You are desensitized and pulled into this world along with the character.
This is a smart book and worth reading, but I don’t think I’d recommend it to anyone I know personally!
I questioned whether or not there was something wrong me while I continued to read, but I was hooked. I’m not easily shocked or surprised, movies and books seem to have lost their ability to really surprise me. So, I’m happy when something comes along that is different and surprising and causes a reaction from me.
The book has an ingenious way of starting out pretty disturbing and the main character seems as disturbed by the events as you are, but by the end both the character and reader feel less. You are desensitized and pulled into this world along with the character.
This is a smart book and worth reading, but I don’t think I’d recommend it to anyone I know personally!
August 20, 2017
Jesus Christ.
I'll be honest, I had no clue what I was getting into when I picked this up. My wife bought a copy at STC earlier this year, because the Grindhouse table was far and away the most impressive display at the entire convention. This book held my attention while I had no clue where it was going. Extremely subtle creepiness permeates throughout the brutality of Dawn's humiliating Brad. Gethsemane reminds me so much of my hometown, it kinda hurts. At some points, this book had me cringing like I did when I read 'The Girl Next Door' for the first time. It sticks the landing beautifully. I'll definitely be checking out more of Andersen Prunty's stuff once I work through the rest of my STC pile.
I'll be honest, I had no clue what I was getting into when I picked this up. My wife bought a copy at STC earlier this year, because the Grindhouse table was far and away the most impressive display at the entire convention. This book held my attention while I had no clue where it was going. Extremely subtle creepiness permeates throughout the brutality of Dawn's humiliating Brad. Gethsemane reminds me so much of my hometown, it kinda hurts. At some points, this book had me cringing like I did when I read 'The Girl Next Door' for the first time. It sticks the landing beautifully. I'll definitely be checking out more of Andersen Prunty's stuff once I work through the rest of my STC pile.
September 21, 2017
Brad is a middle aged man who has basically given up on changing his life for the better. He's resigned to being content with failure and mediocre. So when a hot younger woman enters his life, he will do whatever she wants. And what she wants is sadistic twisted and wild. That sounds fine to Brad as long as he gets to hang out with a hot woman . Prunty has written many novels where the main character is struggling to find purpose in life and he really excells at this. At over 300 pages it never got slow or boring. I looked forward to reading this daily. Always a sign of an excllent book and this is one hell of an original plot. Everytime I finish one of his books, I think, well he can't top that one, that will be his best book. Then I am proven wrong. Thankfully. Highly reccomended.
May 9, 2017
one of my favorite authors ever. tread carefully, there's some sick shit going on in this one. I read the dead cat passage on the day my oldest cat died ( not even kidding) and that fucked me up pretty bad. brilliant story teller along with CV Hunt. grindhouse press por vida 💗
October 28, 2019
Andersen Prunty wasn’t messing around with this one
I’ve read a ton of extreme/bizarro horror and would put this near the top in terms of brutality
Always well narrated and insane highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
I’ve read a ton of extreme/bizarro horror and would put this near the top in terms of brutality
Always well narrated and insane highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
March 30, 2021
I'm a pretty jaded reader, but the level of sexual violence in this was... intense. That aside, it was a good, quick read that was enjoyable, albeit a little extreme. Hard to recommend to those outside of an individual looking for sleaze. Really enjoyed the ending
April 19, 2018
This book was just a mess of conspiracy, anxiety, and a whole lot of fucked up. Great writing, not great ideas. Personally, I read this book fast to get it over with. 🤷🏼♀️
June 9, 2018
I could not put this book down. It was so vulgar and disturbing. I will definitely be reading more by Anderson Prunty.
September 12, 2019
Shock value at its finest.
Read
July 3, 2022DNF - Chapter 4
Absolute trash. Started out with an interesting enough premise but quickly spiralled into the ramblings of a sex-crazed teenager whose spent too many late nights on 4-chan.
Absolute trash. Started out with an interesting enough premise but quickly spiralled into the ramblings of a sex-crazed teenager whose spent too many late nights on 4-chan.
Read
August 11, 2025Horny, weird...mostly horny tho
October 27, 2025
estupido y entretenido
August 26, 2021
After all of the warnings (with 4&5 star) reviews, I was still not prepared for the level of fucked-up-ness this brought me. And then I wonder wtf is wrong with me for liking this sick, mind twisted, traumatizing book.
Kudos to you Mr Prunty. You got me wincing a lot through this one but quite properly hooked. I will be thinking about this from time to time for sure because I have never come across this level of messed up, and I don't think I will want to for a while.
Kudos to you Mr Prunty. You got me wincing a lot through this one but quite properly hooked. I will be thinking about this from time to time for sure because I have never come across this level of messed up, and I don't think I will want to for a while.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews