Backwoods

by Sara Reinke

Andrew Braddock has long retreated among the trees as an escape from the heartbreak in his life -- betrayal by a former lover, the tragic loss of his older sister. Now this idealistic young forest ranger finds that the woods are no longer a sanctuary when he becomes stranded in the middle of them, at a top-secret government research facility. Unable to reach civilization by land or phone, Andrew must try to make the best of his situation, efforts made easier when he is introduced to Dani Santoro, a beautiful specialist in the Army National Guard, and Alice Moore, the enigmatic, autistic daughter of the facility's Nobel-Prize-winning lead scientist. But the idyllic backdrop of the Appalachian foothills hides grim secrets that Andrew and his new-found friends quickly discover. When the Army's closely guarded experiments in this hidden corner of the backwoods go horribly awry, Andrew finds himself in a desperate fight not only to save his own life, but those of Dani and Alice, as well.

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Mystery

253 pages, ebook

First published October 6, 2010

About the author

“Definitely an author to watch.” That’s how Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine describes Sara Reinke. New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards calls Reinke “a new paranormal star” and Love Romances and More hails her as “a fresh new voice to a genre that has grown stale.” Sara writes romance, urban fantasy, horror, and young adult fiction.

Reviews

[Scott Groff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darn good story. Military medical experiments, monsters, hero/heroine, a child and romance. Well done book.

[Grace Krispy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a mysterious creature pops out from the trees, Andrew Braddock, a self-claimed "tree counter," crashes his jeep in the midst of the Appalachian mountains. The day started out with a routine research assignment, but is quickly turning bizarre as he fends for his life in a creek. He is quickly pulled to safety by an Army reservist who takes him to a top-secret research facility deep in the Appalachian mountains. As Andrew gets to know these new surroundings, he becomes acquainted with an entrancing nurse, an autistic child, an eccentric scientist, a forceful Major, and a collection of the enlisted, including his very own hero, the alluring Dani. Things are not quite as they seem, and soon Andrew finds himself putting together the pieces to form a truly horrific whole. Will he survive? Will anyone?

This contemporary horror novel by Sara Reinke pulls you in from the beginning and doesn't let you go until the very last page. Along the way, you're given hints as to the big secret at this "top-secret" facility, but the truth is so much worse than you can even imagine. What starts out as a bit of a mystery quickly reveals a truly horrific experiment gone out of control. With nicely developed characters, the story is an easy and colorful read. Andrew finds himself in a few romantic trysts in this story, but the star relationship is the intriguing connection between Alice (the autistic child) and Andrew. The ending offers a nice sense of closure while still leaving the reader guessing as to what may happen- the perfect mix for this type of horror novel. There is suspense and intrigue, with a good dose of gore thrown in for good measure.

I loved the idea behind this story. I can imagine such an event actually taking place in some remote location, as terrifying as it is. I was really drawn in by Andrew's character as we both tried to figure out what was going on. Although the major characters were, for the most part, well-developed, I felt Suzette's character didn't quite have the depth that the storyline required. She was somewhat of a major player, but I didn't quite understand her motivation and why she would take the job that she did, with the history that she had. She felt a little unrealistic compared to the other characters. I think the suspense was nicely done, but the gory "finale" lasted a few too many pages for my taste. Overall, a compelling read!

@ MotherLode blog

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty flippin good. I haven't read a good "horror" story in a while and my favorite horror writer hasn't come up with a lot of new stuff lately so I was jonesing for something good... and free lol. I will happily purchase Sara Reinke books in the future though because this is actually the 3rd book of hers I have read and I've enjoyed all three. Most perfect writing ever? No. But pretty darn good and great plot for sure. It's hard to make a flesh-eating virus/zombie type of book as interesting as a movie of the same subject matter because you can only describe it so well and make it "scary". I'm not scared of the movies either but at least some of the characters look gross enough to make me say "ewww" (I'm a big Walking Dead fan). Anyway, Ms. Reinke did a great job of describing everything so that you still got that "ewww" feeling, which I appreciated. Great job and I will be looking for more Sara Reinke books!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Backwoods started slow. It was very long (which isn't a problem in the least). It gave plenty of background on the main character. Andrew Braddock. It also gave plenty of space to explain why the government developed a plan for, and tried to turn soldiers into human killing machines. There was buildup. Andrew went from unsuspecting and slightly put out to scared and finally heroic. The creatures described were scary and I was on the edge of my seat towards the end. My only problem was the ending.As long as the book was I wanted more. I know people who needs whatever they are reading to be tied up into a neat bow at the end. I don't. It just had a very open ending. Did Dani, Andrew, and Alice get stalked and found Oh well.

[Peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! I finished this one while on vacation, so my review is a few days late. I really enjoyed reading this free e-book that I got from Barnes & Nobles on their Free Friday download. I did not realize when I downloaded this book that it was a horror story, but I was quite pleasantly surprised with it. I used to read H.P. Lovecraft back in my college days, and this book reminded me of Lovecraft a bit. There was also plenty of action, suspense, intrigue...and also some romance thrown in (but not too much). All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a bit of a scare with their reading!

[Marie Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book on goodreads. At first i had no idea how this book was going to be, But as i started reading it i found it hard to put it down. Very suspensful, very entertaining. I fell in love the characters, they seemed so believable. Altho i usually dont read books with army stuff in it, (just because i dont understand the words), I found that this book was easy to understaind and read. I enjoyed this book alot, and would deffenitly reccomend this book to anybody who likes suspense.

[Happy Bookaholic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could've, should've, would've earned 4 or 5 stars but... There were points of contention. Were I to isolate the science fiction horror parts, this would receive at least 4 stars. I'll say more later. Review to come... Really.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "zombie" book I actually enjoyed and for that the 3.5 stars I should give it gets rounded up to 4.

[Darla Sayre · Rating 4 out of 5]

great horror story

[Brittney De Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome! Definitely worth reading again. I hope to read more of this author's work in the near future.

[Mokieblylk · Rating 2 out of 5]

rounding up to two stars for some good horror, decent plot but overall writing is what you get for a free ebook...not good

[Ian O'brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

MONSTERS

[Bhumisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging storyline, if you like blood, guts and gore