The Devil's Caverns

Preternatural #1

by Gilbert M. Stack

If folks had any business living in the small Colorado town of Hadrian’s Well, there wouldn’t be a meadow called Dead Man’s Field outside of it. That’s where Deputy Joanna Donovan finds bloody body parts strewn across the ground. She thought that rural Colorado would be safer than Chicago. She’s about to find out she’s wrong.

57 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2019

About the author

Gilbert M. Stack has been creating stories almost since he began speaking, and publishing fiction and non-fiction since 2006. A professional historian, Gilbert delights in bringing the past to life in his fiction, depicting characters who are both true to their time and empathetic with modern sensibilities. His work has appeared in several issues of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Michelle, and their son, Michael.

Reviews

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff

Refreshingly different from a lot of modern vampire stories. Nothing suave or romantic about this vicious and terrifying monster. Interesting characters in a believable (for horror fiction) situation.

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

First in THE PRETERNATURAL Series, THE DEVIL'S CAVERNS is an intriguing, suspenseful, Paranormal thriller with a neat premise: the existence of "preternatural" creatures, discovered initially by explorers about a century ago. I enjoyed the balance of character, an experienced Sheriff's deputy from Chicago, astounded at the Laissez faire law enforcement in the tiny Colorado mountain community of Hadrian's Well, and the unassuming but highly knowledgeable middle school teacher and expert on Preternaturals.

[William Hahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous Feast of Fright

It's quick and effective, a nice kickoff to what I'm sure will be a series of small town horror/mystery. Like these characters and love this setting. Bring it with the series already!

[Ebony Eldritch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thrilling tale of the supernatural - or indeed the preternatural - which adds some fresh life to Vampire lore and strays away from their more modern form as romantic antiheroes, harking back to their more frightening roots.

Stack here creates an interesting blend of old gothic horror and the modern small-town-America isolation horror in what I feel is best described as a blend of Stoker and King. I look forward to reading the next one, and wonder what horrors may follow?

[Cat K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wouldn’t even read this on a beach. Say preternatural ONE MORE TIME. One. More.