Shiver: a Mickey Crow Paranormal Adventure

by Gevera Bert Piedmont

A 25-year-old one-armed woman, Mickey Crow, and her best friend, reluctant socialite Pris, are hired by a friend to investigate a mysterious midnight disappearance of a lifeguard trainee for their paranormal podcast, the Contrary Crowcast.Shell Beach turns out to be an odd place full of strange people. Why does the diner's waitress have a swimming pool full of sharks? Why is there no internet? Did that old fisherman with one leg really inspire the author of Jaws? Who is in the water constantly calling for help?The answer will make you SHIVER.

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 7, 2021

About the author

Gevera Bert Piedmont is a neurodivergent cyborg swamp witch living on the edge of a frog pond in Connecticut with her spouse, cats, and an impressive collection of rubber lizards.

Bert has an MFA in creative writing and belongs to HWA, Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association, and New England Horror Writers.

Reviews

[Eric Lahti · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, yeah, mermaids. But there’s also snappy dialogue, a fun plot, and a wildly exciting ride with podcasters, a high-tech arm, crab cakes, and a self-proclaimed mad scientist. All set in a town that Lovecraft would have written if he had any sense of humor or ability to write fun, quirky characters instead of loquacious, brooding husks of people broken down by the unseen horrors of deep, dark madness.

Now, I won’t give away the plot because this a tight cross between horror and mystery and the rules are you never give away the plots to those genres. Suffice it to say: Mermaids. But not like you expect. Add an exceptionally clever way of turning the initial antagonists into likeable – or at least relatable – characters while turning the possible victims into ample antagonists, toss in some outsiders who use their heads to find a third way, and you get a story that starts off horror-ish, turns into a great mystery, and ends on a note that makes you pang for more of Mickey’s down-to-Earth relatability and Pris’s wild-on-the-stick energy even if we never do get see the energy-sucking fey.

All in all, Shiver is just a damned fun book to read. It carries its somewhat lofty notes easily and doesn’t get overburdened by itself. And, at the end of the day, a fun book is a far better read than a lofty tome that leaves you wondering if you should slit your wrists or someone else’s.

Read the rest of the review on my blog

[Jessica Lucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Shiver: A Mickey Crow Paranormal Adventure" by Gervera Bert Piedmont is a NA paranormal novel. Modern women meet mythological creatures as Mickey Crow and her podcast crew investigate a suspicious death off the coast of Massachusetts. There they meet another young woman, a self described mad scientist, who is studying sharks. Are the recent cases of missing persons shark attacks, or something even more horrifying?

The technology used in the investigation is ultra modern, including Mickey's bionic arm. Her neural net helps her through anxiety, and has the wonderfully strange side effect of creating a mysterious telepathy.

I appreciated the fun, realistic characters and the whimsical yet monstrous mermaids. Inclusivity of people with different abilities was an underlying theme, showing that things that hold us back can be used as strengths. The nod to the steampunk community was a fun Easter egg.

I highly recommend this fast-paced adventure for all fans of modern mythology and unexpected heroes.

[Judy Pancoast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an original, interesting and fun book! Piedmont writes in a natural style that is so comfortable you don’t even realize she’s hooked you until you find yourself longing for a snippet of time so you can keep reading. Yes, it’s a mermaid tale, but quite a different tail- and I’m not going to spoil the story by explaining that!
Imagine you’re so tech savvy that you have a high tech prosthesis and a neural net for your brain- then you find yourself searching for a lost teen in a town without internet! That’s just one of the obstacles Mickey Crow comes up against as she and her best friend- an heiress who prefers to stay on the down -low (unlike her overly exposed family- ring a bell?) exhaust themselves trying to find a missing lifeguard. Along the way they meet a young, eccentric scientist who keeps a shark-filled swimming pool in her backyard and must research and experiment without the use of the aforementioned internet. This interesting trio uncover a mystery so strange I guarantee you’ll never forget it
Her characters are so original and likable that I can’t wait to pick up on their next adventure.
Piedmont is a writer to watch- she should have agents calling her!

[Captin Pekoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, who would of thought three friends, one with a experimental prosthetic arm and could talk to a giant ancient shark, would find actual mermaids. Well not the Disney ones, these are better. Read what happens at Shell Beach and beware the "energy-sucking fey"!!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this "paranormal adventure". Mickey Crow is a an interesting character - the technology for her prosthetic arm was very cool and I love how the "shiver" connected multiple ways throughout the story. Lots of clever ideas and a great story.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it

Fun story and worth the time. Not quite my genre so I feel bad giving it a rating of "I liked it". The rating probably would have been higher, otherwise.

[Kayleigh Mihalko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had more time to read and was a faster reader because I didn't ever want to put this book down! I highly recommend this book!