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Detest-A-Pest #1
Vermin 2.0: Hunger Pains
Sam's fear of rats takes him to the verge of terror. When super-sized vermin turn up in his apartment, his phobia pushes him over the edge.
But it isn’t one or two rats. A hybrid colony – genetically superior, strong, and super intelligent – has moved into the basement... and living flesh is on the menu.
Pets and tenants disappear, leaving behind a wake of carnage Sam is powerless to stop. Now, with his estranged son Bradley dumped on his doorstep, Sam must switch into protection mode – if he can.
Faced with impossible odds, Sam hires Bertha O’Connor from Detest-A-Pest Exterminators Inc. She runs the only outfit brave enough – or crazy enough – to take the job. O’Connor and her crew need backup and drag Sam and Bradley along for the battle. But this horde of super-rats may be smarter than anyone had bargained for...
But it isn’t one or two rats. A hybrid colony – genetically superior, strong, and super intelligent – has moved into the basement... and living flesh is on the menu.
Pets and tenants disappear, leaving behind a wake of carnage Sam is powerless to stop. Now, with his estranged son Bradley dumped on his doorstep, Sam must switch into protection mode – if he can.
Faced with impossible odds, Sam hires Bertha O’Connor from Detest-A-Pest Exterminators Inc. She runs the only outfit brave enough – or crazy enough – to take the job. O’Connor and her crew need backup and drag Sam and Bradley along for the battle. But this horde of super-rats may be smarter than anyone had bargained for...
310 pages, ebook
Published May 1, 2017
43 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Lee Gabel
12 books15 followersLee reads practically any genre. Plus, he's a movie junkie. That's a dangerous combination.
Traditionally trained as a screenwriter, Lee moved to writing multi-genre books in 2016 and is the author of six novels: Tied: A Street Gang Novel, David's Summer, Snipped: A Cutting Comedy, Vermin 2.0: Hunger Pains (Detest-A-Pest #1), Arachnid 2.0: Darkness Crawls (Detest-A-Pest #2), and Molerat 2.0: Terror Burrows (Detest-A-Pest #3). Lee will release a brand new three-book saga in 2022 and Detest-A-Pest #4 soon after.
Lee once walked 63.5 kilometers in thirteen hours. Why? Ask him. He loves to hear from readers. Past lives include working within the visual and dramatic arts landscape as a graphic designer, illustrator, visual effects artist, animator, and screenwriter. In 2005 he contributed to an Emmy award (LOST; "Pilot; Part 1 and Part 2") for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series.
In reality, Lee lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and son. In his head, he lives wherever his characters are.
Follow Lee on the Internet.
LeeGabel.com/links
Traditionally trained as a screenwriter, Lee moved to writing multi-genre books in 2016 and is the author of six novels: Tied: A Street Gang Novel, David's Summer, Snipped: A Cutting Comedy, Vermin 2.0: Hunger Pains (Detest-A-Pest #1), Arachnid 2.0: Darkness Crawls (Detest-A-Pest #2), and Molerat 2.0: Terror Burrows (Detest-A-Pest #3). Lee will release a brand new three-book saga in 2022 and Detest-A-Pest #4 soon after.
Lee once walked 63.5 kilometers in thirteen hours. Why? Ask him. He loves to hear from readers. Past lives include working within the visual and dramatic arts landscape as a graphic designer, illustrator, visual effects artist, animator, and screenwriter. In 2005 he contributed to an Emmy award (LOST; "Pilot; Part 1 and Part 2") for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series.
In reality, Lee lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and son. In his head, he lives wherever his characters are.
Follow Lee on the Internet.
LeeGabel.com/links
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 5, 2021
Well, this was a blast of a book.
Creepy, hungry critters that simply will not stop!
Heartbreak, but also humor.
Really fun characters! While I would have liked to get to know one or two a bit better before they got chomped, I still enjoyed them.
Book one of 3!
Creepy, hungry critters that simply will not stop!
Heartbreak, but also humor.
Really fun characters! While I would have liked to get to know one or two a bit better before they got chomped, I still enjoyed them.
Book one of 3!
August 5, 2017
Vernon 2.0 is a gruesome horror. What would happen if rats were able to think and plan. That is what appears to happen in this old apartment building where the main character, Sam Shaw, is the superintendent.
The characters are well developed. They are all colorful and entertaining in their own way. The author makes this into a great story as the characters are introduced to the reader and interact with each other and the rats. Don't get too attatched to any of them.
The focus of the book is very bad rats. This is also Sam Shaw's worst nightmare. This is his story. A real page turner.
The characters are well developed. They are all colorful and entertaining in their own way. The author makes this into a great story as the characters are introduced to the reader and interact with each other and the rats. Don't get too attatched to any of them.
The focus of the book is very bad rats. This is also Sam Shaw's worst nightmare. This is his story. A real page turner.
April 20, 2017
I received an advance copy of this book for my honest review.
For starters this book was well written and flowed easy. The characters were well defined and the surrounding were well described. Now with those details out of the way, this book kept me on pins and needles. There were times my skin crawled and creeped me out but I could not put the book down. This book is one of the best books that I have read in a long time that actually kept my attention and freaked me out all at the same time. This book is a 5 star book. No one wants to share their life with rats.
For starters this book was well written and flowed easy. The characters were well defined and the surrounding were well described. Now with those details out of the way, this book kept me on pins and needles. There were times my skin crawled and creeped me out but I could not put the book down. This book is one of the best books that I have read in a long time that actually kept my attention and freaked me out all at the same time. This book is a 5 star book. No one wants to share their life with rats.
October 16, 2017
My skin is still crawling
As a person who is extremely afraid of a tiny little mouse, this book was terrifying! Lee did an excellent job describing these icky rats! I loved the story of Sam and Brad, father and son intertwined throughout. This was one of those unputdownable books! I love horror of all kinds and I loved Vermin 2.0! Highly recommended!
As a person who is extremely afraid of a tiny little mouse, this book was terrifying! Lee did an excellent job describing these icky rats! I loved the story of Sam and Brad, father and son intertwined throughout. This was one of those unputdownable books! I love horror of all kinds and I loved Vermin 2.0! Highly recommended!
July 4, 2018
Amazing!
Huge intelligent rats are trying to take over an apartment complex. I was sold on that alone when I was looking for a book to read. What I didn't expect was the great writing style of this author. Great characters, lots of gore, with some humor thrown in makes this book awesome. I will be putting this author on my favorite list.
Huge intelligent rats are trying to take over an apartment complex. I was sold on that alone when I was looking for a book to read. What I didn't expect was the great writing style of this author. Great characters, lots of gore, with some humor thrown in makes this book awesome. I will be putting this author on my favorite list.
October 10, 2020
I got this book thinking it would be a fun October read, and it was. I really enjoyed the fast pace of the story, it was a great horror novel. Gory, bit not too gory, scary ( I really hate rats) but with some humour thrown in. This is the first book in a series and I enjoyed it enough to get book 2.
June 2, 2017
This is the second book of Gabel's I've read and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one. I really felt the fear of the characters as they dealt with all the "little issues" along the way. I look forward to other novels in the future!
August 31, 2020
Had me squeamish the entire read. Yeesh! I loved the connection between the characters and the wit was appreciated throughout this gory journey. Good book
February 2, 2018
Willard's cousins return
The saga continues. Rats that think and plan war against us. Be scared! Very, very scared. Read before it's too late!
The saga continues. Rats that think and plan war against us. Be scared! Very, very scared. Read before it's too late!
September 2, 2021
I'm a huge fan of horror and especially creature features! This is a true classic and I could not put it down. Great character development and original story. I look forward to reading the next!
May 27, 2024
Good Creature Feature
This was a really good creature feature, reminiscent of the ones popular in the 60s and 70s but it keeps the scope limited which maintains a higher tension. I've read other stories starring rat swarms that started tightly focused like this book but ended with the characters acting to save the city or country from the rats which gets my eyes rolling quickly.
The author has a few flubs from amateurish writing, but nothing major. Mostly plot conveniences type things. However he was able to make unlikeable characters relatable which is a definite sign of skill.
As brutal as the deaths were there is a squeamishness to this book. The first rat swarm creature feature I read was from the 60s and one of the first victims was a baby. In this book all of the victims are unsurprising, even expected.
I bought the next book in the series immediately upon completing this one.
I also like that this is a series. Most of the creature feature series involve special military teams (which are often rendered ridiculous by lack of knowledge of the author). It is nice to get a series starring regular people.
This was a really good creature feature, reminiscent of the ones popular in the 60s and 70s but it keeps the scope limited which maintains a higher tension. I've read other stories starring rat swarms that started tightly focused like this book but ended with the characters acting to save the city or country from the rats which gets my eyes rolling quickly.
The author has a few flubs from amateurish writing, but nothing major. Mostly plot conveniences type things. However he was able to make unlikeable characters relatable which is a definite sign of skill.
As brutal as the deaths were there is a squeamishness to this book. The first rat swarm creature feature I read was from the 60s and one of the first victims was a baby. In this book all of the victims are unsurprising, even expected.
I bought the next book in the series immediately upon completing this one.
I also like that this is a series. Most of the creature feature series involve special military teams (which are often rendered ridiculous by lack of knowledge of the author). It is nice to get a series starring regular people.
December 26, 2025
So I was lucky to win this book in a giveaway and the two biggest things that come to mind; what a charming book and my fear of rats is now doubled.
I didn’t have high expectations of a book based around killer rats but honestly this book was so much fun to read and as I’ve said already, there’s a lot of charm in the father, son dynamics.
What makes this book so enjoyable is the small cast of characters and the interactions they all engage in with one another. A simple premise of a son finally meeting his father after his father has spent 15 years in prison, becomes a story of bonding, acceptance, love and friendship and honestly, those themes are what make this a solid read.
The plot of the rats who are vicious, giant killer rodents is actually unnerving, that sits in the realism and common fear that rats bring, I connected with the Dad, Sam instantly for that reason. The gore was a perfect amount, without going over the top and the small moments or humour are injected impeccably.
It’s the books you don’t expect sometimes and I’m so thankful I was lucky enough to win a copy.
I didn’t have high expectations of a book based around killer rats but honestly this book was so much fun to read and as I’ve said already, there’s a lot of charm in the father, son dynamics.
What makes this book so enjoyable is the small cast of characters and the interactions they all engage in with one another. A simple premise of a son finally meeting his father after his father has spent 15 years in prison, becomes a story of bonding, acceptance, love and friendship and honestly, those themes are what make this a solid read.
The plot of the rats who are vicious, giant killer rodents is actually unnerving, that sits in the realism and common fear that rats bring, I connected with the Dad, Sam instantly for that reason. The gore was a perfect amount, without going over the top and the small moments or humour are injected impeccably.
It’s the books you don’t expect sometimes and I’m so thankful I was lucky enough to win a copy.
November 30, 2025
The blurb for this book doesn’t do it justice. It really surprised me! It’s a quick read, well written with endearing but flawed characters. It gets pretty gory, but not over the top. Theres some unanswered questions, but hopefully they’re answered in the next books.
February 10, 2022
These are rats you don't want to tangle with. I was ready to pull out the D-Con this seemed so real.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews