Apex

by Chris McInally, Jamie Cutler (Narrator)

A terrifying apex predator is stalking the dark waters of Minerva.

The marauding beast is hunting, and killing, locals and tourists alike. Marine biologist, Dr. Hailey Benson, and local sheriff, Michael Ramirez, will be forced to come face to face with one of Nature’s most efficient killing machines.

Benson and Ramirez will soon learn that when humans tamper with the natural order, Mother Nature has a way of rectifying things.

Genres: Horror

133 pages, Audiobook

Published July 4, 2017

About the author

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Chris now lives in Australia.
In addition to holding an Honours Degree in environmental history, Chris also has a Ph.D in Irish history.
A former ISKA no. 2 ranked competitor for the state of Victoria, Chris continues to train in the martial arts.
An avid reader as a child, it was perhaps inevitable that he would one day turn to writing himself.
Since 2016 Chris has published five books (Apex and its sequel, along with standalone novels Flux, Deep Black and The Valley of Tooth & Claw) all through independent publisher Severed Press.

Reviews

[Erin Escarzaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading

For someone who doesn't like the beach or swimming, this book reminded me WHY I don't like the beach or the ocean

[Josh Randell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never been diving so I can't critique any of those scenes. The thing about books and movies is they're supposed to take you away. Give you another world to look at. Present a different way of seeing things. Of course I want some realism and of course I will be suspending disbelief to a certain extent. This book did just fine for what it was. I was on the edge of my seat for most of it and really enjoyed this short read. The reason for knocking off a star was the writing/editing. Nothing bad, but slightly off putting. Not the best description either: this shark wasn't an experiment or giant mutant shark but simply happened to get stuck in the lake. The blurb makes it sound like a monster shark went apeshit and people paid the price for messing with nature. Nothing of the sort.

[Stacy Cartledge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little read.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, exciting read!

The action never stopped in this exciting thriller! I loved the two main characters in this (neither being the "Apex" predator)!

[Little.Miss.Chats.Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was it all a dream ✨️ 😪 😔

[Steven P. Nowick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced, so-so shark story -- but a quick read

Shark loose in a lake. All we need are a synchronized water skiing team, and we've got the plotline of Jaws 4 -- but it's fast-paced and a quick read. Scuba diving scenes are pretty implausible, as is the heroine's ability to survive multiple shark attacks and keep on truckin'. Could have been so much better...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast Read!

This was a very fast read about a man eating shark, although it was a Mako instead of the typical great white. I enjoyed but saw so many ways this could have been a much better story. I would like to have seen a few of the animal rights terrorist get eaten by the shark. The ending I felt could have been MUCH better. Still worth a read though!

[Robert Lease · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, saltwater lake becomes infested with ocean life, including man eating shark.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: https://tinyurl.com/y5gkbx7e

[Myra Gabor · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the space of the first few pages, the author manages to use the word sh*t/turd three times. When he moves to a description of his heroine, he describes her as having nimble shoulders. Unless she's dancing on her shoulders, I don't know how they can be nimble. In the shower, her back was nimble. I have no idea what the author meant. And unless you've got a football in your hands, you run something past, not passed. To continue, I'm pretty sure a lizard can't be grateful for eating insects. Hungry or satiated, yes. Grateful, no. The grad students on this trip have to collate their findings in order to "publish or perish". This dictum applies only to university professors/teachers, not grad students. The monster in the lake was definitely and only caused by man-made pollution. I'm so tired of authors who can't find another way to introduce their monster than by something caused by man. Couldn't get past the first few chapters. The story needs an editor. The author should have done some research before he sat down to write. He may have something to say, but the manner he presents it is so clumsy that it made for an impossible read.

[Betti (bibliophile) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apex is a very bloodthirsty book about a man-eating shark. I liked that the killer was a Mako shark and not the usual Great White. Though it isn't a bad book, it is very generic. But I think it had the potentional to be better. Had it been longer, even just a little, the characters and the plot cloud have been fleshed out more.

Overall I recommend the book to anyone who likes reading stories about man-eating sharks who cause bloodbaths.

[Lisa Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. The action kept the story moving, but the plot was very thin.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story.

[Terry and dog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great creature feature. Man against beast, with gore and action. A very quick read and I really liked it.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edge of your seat stuff. Loved it.

[Rebekah Tyrrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn’t a bad read, some pretty awesome, gruesome deaths. But then the shock value is lost with each consecutive decapitation. And I felt as though this whole story was about introducing the environmental terrorist group, without really using them much in the plot.

[Alex Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first McInally book and I was hooked. I love creature books and sharks have been a favourite since I was very young, probably too young, I saw Jaws when I was 7 and have loved the creatures ever since. McInally used a rarely seen type of shark with the Mako and for good reason, they are terrifying, not only in appearance, but in the their speed, being the fastest of all sharks, they just speed through the water. I also enjoyed the environmental issues put on display throughout the book. The idea of a freshwater body slowly turn into a salt water environment, was fascinating, but it never took away from the thrills and spills of the story. The story was wonderfully violent, I do love some gore in books like this and this one did not disappoint. It also read very quickly and almost like a film. He's able to craft suspense and action scenes that on the page feel wonderfully cinematic, and easy to envision in your mind. The climax deserves notice because it was fantastic, edge of your seat stuff and the leading lady Hailey made for a good heroine. My only gripe and it was enough to knock this down a bit was that it killed off most of its characters so quickly. I'd rather have gotten a chance to know them better as I felt that they were interesting enough to have deserved a bit more time. I think that was the big one for me, it barrelled through building it's characters that by the end all you really had time to take stock of was that you liked Hailey and disliked Demi, everyone else blended together. They emotional toll of the deaths would've had more impact with deeper characterization. On another plus, a nice bit of LGBTQ representation, and decent representation too, usually in genre fare like this there is some self congratulatory stuff about including queer characters but in this story, it's just a part of who they are which was very refreshing. I'm a fan of McInally now I had a lot fun reading this book and as I know there is a sequel I'm very much looking forward to it