Deadman

by J.H. Smithson

Deadman Lake. Pristine and picturesque, nestled in the Cariboo Mountains of Northern British Columbia. Radiant and warm in the summertime, cold and unforgiving in the winter. For the few year-round residents living on the shores of the lake, this is the norm. They have become accustomed to the changing seasons and have learned to adapt. But this year an unseasonably early blizzard dumps two feet of snow overnight, cutting the small group off from any form of civilization. And with the snow comes a terrifying danger none of them could ever have imagined.
A plane hurtles out of the dark sky and crashes into the forest. From the wreckage emerges one of the most powerful killers to ever walk the planet. An eight-hundred-pound nightmare of perfect fury that is ruled by a single unnatural instinct: an unrelenting hatred of MAN. Driven through the snowbound trees by a need for vengeance that can never be satisfied, it will continue to hunt and devour until all that walk on two legs have been destroyed.
There is a judgement coming for the people of Deadman, and, young or old, guilty or innocent, all will be punished.

Genres: Fiction

474 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 8, 2022

About the author

J.H. Smithson has lived most of his life in Vancouver and its surrounding suburbs. In grade seven he wrote his first story ‘Sammy-Boy’ about a wolf raised by a young boy. Since then, he has been writing off and on in all types of genres, including a children’s book entitled ‘Robby Raccoon’s Adventure to the Big City’, which he also illustrated and self-published under the pen name Nosh Tims. An avid camper and hiker, J.H. has spent an abundant amount of time in the forests around British Columbia and remains fascinated by all aspects of nature and wildlife. He has two grown daughters and now lives in Nanaimo, BC with his wife Vicki and their beagle, Lucy. This is his first published novel.

Reviews

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. No lie, when I started it I was very skeptical about whether or not I would like it. However, once the story got going I read it in a day! The character development is excellent, and the story has some genuine horror elements to it. I found myself pulling for the characters and the beast at different points. I’m a huge Stephen King fan and very much enjoyed this book. Thank you to goodreads and the publisher for my copy!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotions affect man whether it be love, hate, grief, or happiness. We can look at our pets and see how playful they are when happy or how aloof they can be when they are unhappy with us. Wild animals are no different. They have feelings too. In this book, the male tiger was happily playing with his sister when they heard the loud noises. They watch as their mother is killed. The male watches as his sister is killed. He heads toward the men and they try to kill him but he runs off. He won't forget and will seek revenge. From feeling happy and carefree, the tiger felt hate.

Ben Treager, Jr. is an extremely wealthy man who is excited when he hears about the male tiger who has been captured. Weighing over 800 pounds, it is one of the largest tigers ever found and he has plans for it. He plans to bring it to a remote area of British Columbia so that wealthy men pay him for the "fun" of killing it. The Siberian tiger is an endangered species and it is illegal to hunt or kill it but the law doesn't apply to wealthy men like Treager. He only has to grease a few palms and gets whatever he wants.

The plane carrying the tiger from its home in Russia to Canada goes down in a blizzard and the tiger escapes. It wants revenge from being taken from its homeland and the loss of its family. He kills the tracker who found it as well as innocent people living in the area. He finds Ben who shoots it and wounds it where it is unable to bite but it uses its claws to slash the man to death. Before Ben dies, he looks into the tiger's eyes and sees the hate it has for him but Ben is defiant to the end.

The tiger is lured onto the thin ice covering the lake and falls through and drowns. Even though the tiger became a man-eater, man made it this way. I can never understand how man considers it a sport to kill an animal. I remember a comedian who said to take the guns away from the hunter and give them to the animals and they could say "Now it's my turn".

Thanks to Goodreads for the copy of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense and storyline.

[Sheri Dye · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair—this is a pretty compulsive read..
But we're not here to be fair. We're here to be honest. And, that, I can do.

This book did not start off well for me. I almost DNFed it before I had even reached the second chapter so I'll offer a warning.. if you adore animals of all kinds (or any kind) and you can't handle their suffering.. do. not. read. this.

This is not a happy book.
There are quite a few graphically bloody and gore-filled scenes. Horror after horror fills these pages and the writing will tug you along each and every one of them, encouraging, insisting you continue on.

You have to give Smithson credit. He did a brilliant job here.
Any author who can make a reader feel something so strongly deserves a round of applause in my book.
And you will feel.

Would I recommend this book?
Sure.. as long as you don't mind death, destruction, and the suffering of humans and animals alike. Go right ahead. Me? I will be very careful when choosing anything else by this author in the future
Good luck.

Thank you for reading!
For the full review and more, check out my book blog @ ReadBetwixtWords.com

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

***I received a free e-copy via Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for a honest review.***

I started this last week and after avoiding it all weekend, I finally picked it back up during a lunch break. After hitting page 58, I made the decision that this book is not for me.

I entered the giveaway because it was listed as horror and sounded vaguely interesting based off the book summary, which was Mindy wordy but didn't seem to give much away.

I was expecting horror. Ghosts, supernatural beings, lake monsters, etc. Something, anything along those lines. And perhaps, some where along the way, it delves into more of a horror theme but a oversized fur baby seeking revenge didn't make for a good storyline.

The writing style was slightly wordy but surprisingly better than one would hope for. It was a little unedited for my preference, in terms of excess detailing and over explaining the scene.

All overall, the plot just wasn't for me. Sorry.

[Teeee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant writing, am developed characters and imagery. This book hurt my heart, I felt a lot of emotion. I'm very partial to endangered wildlife and the thought of people wanting to hunt them infuriates me.
This sparked a lot of emotion in me while reading it. I was always pulling for the tiger, I was sad with the way she died but at least no human had the satisfaction.
I really enjoyed reading this and it had some great horror elements to it as well which I really liked. I would love to read more from this author.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm

Not as intense as I thought it would be but still a decent read all in all. Happy page turning.

[Jody · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, just couldn't

[Ryan Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadman, a novel by Canadian author J.H. Smithson, is a story about pain, suffering, empathy, animal cruelty, and vengeance. The mental stressors and physical horrors unfolding in these pages are many and varied, and the writing is so effective in getting these aspects across on the page that you’ll definitely feel a wide range of emotions. And I’m sure that’s the author’s intent. Despite the grim subject matter (it wasn’t always an easy read for me), J. H. Smithson’s writing skill and his enjoyment of storytelling come across vividly in Deadman.