The Carnarvon Creeper

by Martin Murphy

For decades, during each December, people have been disappearing from towns across the west coast of Australia. The number of missing is mounting, the bodies never recovered, presumed lost amid the vast, unforgiving landscape. A grieving traveller will be dragged into the mystery, before, in the remote outback, he comes face-to-face with a nightmare beyond his worst imaginings...

Genres: Horror

93 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2014

About the author

Martin lives in Beverley, England, with his wife and daughter. Soul Lifter, his debut novel, is a work of supernatural dark fiction which is primarily set in Hull, but draws on African mysticism in a story of good versus evil that pits two protagonists against a ruthless killer.
His first novella, The Carnarvon Creeper, sees a man embark on a journey to help him deal with the death of his wife - only for him to be subjected to a terrifying encounter in the remote Australian outback.

Reviews

[JR · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of build up to the story ‘creeping’ upon you. The sense of something coming in the ‘if I had only known what was to come’ kind. But it does leave you a little on edge and his descriptions of what he would do to his wives killer were disturbing to me though this was repeated. I think it was written with the build up on purpose to enable you to feel as Joe does: confused, uncertain and in painful
Denial. We learn about his past and upbringing, we learn about his marriage and the subsequent suspicions of her money problems. Then we travel with him and start to feel a bit on edge. When he does meet the ‘creeper’ I didn’t like it and found it scary. I did become a bit confused with the time line near the end of the book and had to read the beginning again to work it out. All in all though,
It wasn’t a bad read and for me at least had enough horror and gore to make me few uneasy and wincing at the words to escape the visions created.

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love a good horror novella to thrill and scare the pants of me. Sadly, this one doesn't have a scary moment in the entire book. I am comparing it to other free Kindle novellas I have read in the horror genre recently and this one does not even hit the base line on the scare factor.

For decades, during each December, people have been disappearing from the west coast of Australia. The number of missing is mounting, the bodies never recovered, presumed lost amid the vast, unforgiving landscape. A grieving traveller will be dragged into the mystery, before, in the remote outback, he comes face-to-face with a nightmare beyond his worst imaginings...

I am English, but lived in Australia for 30 years, so familiar with both countries covered off in this novella. I was therefore able to spot some mistakes when the book hits the Australian roads and the text starts to flow. Things like the famous VB (Victoria Bitter) beer being called just Victoria Beer (minus the bitter), minor things but still not hard to Google the real name of the beer that all of Australia drinks at the BBQ? Lazy research, not impressed.

This novella read for me like a memoir of a journey traveling in Kombi Van up the coast of Australia, with a lot of memories thrown in for good measure. Seriously a good 90% of the book is the build up, the scenery, what the main character is doing, thinking, eating, where he pees, where he sleeps, and so on.

Yawn...

I was waiting for some huge horrific moment to really make up for the boring read getting to it and when it came I was like, "what? that's IT?" what a giant huge letdown dear readers, if you know your horror, skip this one, you won't even have your big toe feeling scared.

Go and read MILK-BLOOD or On The Lips of Children by Mark Matthews if you want to read a good horror book that really makes you squirm or try Treed a horrific short story that wows from Craig McGray.

The author is English and the book is set between Australia and England where we use English spelling, yet the whole book is American spelling? Why? Is that on purpose?

Nothing to write home about this one. Disappointing in the errors in research too. Because the male red kangaroo can actually weigh 90kg and over, not 85kg as written, let's not steal that 5kg from the iconic kangaroo, he won't be happy!

[Roberta Pearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of horror, so this was a fun excursion for me. Mr. Murphy has written a thoughtful novella that I'm not certain is a complete metaphor . . . But whether the events that unfold are a statement on loss and fear and betrayal - and other vagaries of the human condition - or are meant to be wholly literal, the tale of Joe "Chilli" Rafton is heartbreaking, terrifying, and somehow reassuring all at once.

The novella starts in 2012, then flashes back to the '80s, when Joe meets, marries, and loses the love of his life in a few pages. In an attempt to deal with his grief, he ventures from England to Western Australia. There, he learns that the area is unique for the number of people who have gone missing over the years - and then has the misfortune of finding out why! Yikes. Both shivery [anticipatory] and horrifying [realization] moments - I'm glad it was daytime while I read it!

While the story is complete - no horrid cliffhangers - I'm hoping for a sequel. If you could get right on that, Mr. Murphy . . .

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the isolated west coast of Australia, The Carnarvon Creeper is the tale of one man's journey of soul searching after the tragic death of his wife. Joe Rafton, or "Chilli", embarks upon his solo drive in a rented Volkswagen Kombi campervan, starting in Perth and intent on covering the 570 mile trek to Carnarvon. The long stretches of mind numbing desert highway, straddling the coastline, seem to be providing Joe with the desired effects, as so often is the case for one pondering over existential matters.
But it is December and this desolate country is plagued by unexplained disappearances particularly during this month. Soon, Joe will wish that he had a travelling companion as his melancholy pilgrimage takes a turn to terror. What lurks beyond the sands of timeless loneliness that feeds upon those that are lost and weary?
The Carnarvon Creeper will grip you from page one and have you hungrily devouring its contents in one fell swoop. This is one novella that that demands reading. I am not joking. Pick up your copy today!

[R.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indeed a very creepy story told by a dying man, The Carnavon Creeper is a novella. It starts out slowly with the man meeting a couple who are about to embark on a trip in a caravan, or motor home to Americans, along the North west coast of Australia. Twenty years earlier this man had encountered a horrible apparition (or was it?) in the area. That and the disappearance of people every December from that area causes him to write down his own experience as a warning for other travelers, and as a cathartic exercise before his impending death.

I spotted three spelling or grammar issues. Not enough to make a fuss about.

VAP

[Melinda Brasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella has some nice creepy parts, but I found some of the detail and repetition excessive. There were a lot of phrases like “I remember… I recall…to this day they remain clear to me…my first memory is…” which distanced me from the story, though it may not have the same effect with everyone. The ending had some disorienting tense switches, and went on a bit too long. However, there weren’t many typos and the novella had some really interesting settings and cultural/historical details.

If you don’t mind the character-writing-the-story style, and want a bit of creepiness, you’ll enjoy this.

[Kristin (Blood,Sweat and Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was basically an Australian Jeepers Creepers. Interesting? Yes. However, I wish it had been a bit more original in terms of plot.