The Beast of Brenton Woods by Jackson R. Thomas

The Beast of Brenton Woods by Jackson R. Thomas

There’s not a lot of buildup to this short novel. Almost from page one, the werewolf makes its intensely bloody appearance, and the bodies start piling up as the creature begins a rampage that appears to be intended to depopulate the entire town.

 

That being said, Thomas still manages to create a lot of likeable dinners-in-waiting in this book and a lot of jerks we can’t wait for the werewolf to munch upon. There are two elements that really complicate the story. The first is the suspicion that one of the young teens in the story is somehow related to the werewolf. The other is a couple of corrupt cops whose violent tendencies get mixed up with the werewolf’s predations.

 

While the race to get into the action prevents any real buildup of tension early in the novel, there is still concern over which characters will survive. My major complaint is that I never felt an adequate reason was given to explain why the werewolf suddenly returned to Brenton Woods, just as there was no hint at where it has been for the past generation. Given its full moon body count and endless appetite, it seems likely that this creature has left thousands dead in the generation that has just passed (dozens each full moon). So where are those bodies? And why doesn’t law enforcement (national? global?) seem to have any idea that it exists? This creature has been gorging itself for at least a generation. You just can’t lose a dozen or two dozen people from a random town every month in extremely gruesome manners without someone noticing a pattern.

 

Still, if you don’t think very hard, it’s a lot of fun.