This was another creepy creature feature from Hunter Shea, this time in the form of a parasitic fungus that attaches itself (quite literally) to some friends that are camping in the woods of Washington. What was meant to be a scattering of ashes turns into a horrific discovery of a foul smelling growth that begins to infect the group. This was a quick read and a gross out good time.

I received an advance copy for review.
( )

I admit it....I'm That Person...the one who starts decorating for Halloween on September 1st. I rush the season every year. And, I'm not sorry. Not one bit. It puts me in a mood for creepy, scary books! Fall is horror story season! I'm not waiting for the calendar to tell me it's time. For me, when my son goes back to school and temperatures start to ease off a bit...it's horror time! My newest go-to author for creepy awesomeness is Hunter Shea. So far, he has freaked me out with legendary stand-bys like the Jersey Devil, giant rats, and a creature in the woods....and now....killer fungus. Oh yeah....I'm always up for a Hunter Shea book!

In The Devil's Fingers, a strange fungus from Australia makes its way to America. It's red, has undulating slimy tentacles, and smells bad. If that doesn't recommend it enough....touching it is a very bad idea. Just ask the group of college kids who stumble across an entire meadow of Devil's Fingers while hiking in Washington State. Messing with the fungus changes them.....not that they weren't already fun-gis (fun guys. See what I did there? Yeah, I know....lame. But I had to do it!).

This book was complete joy for a cheesy horror junkie like me. Campy. Creepy. Perfect reading for an almost-fall, rainy day. I have to admit this -- I was sorta rooting for the fungus. A group of hikers in the forest run across a clearing filled with red tentacle fungus and one of them just has to F with it. There's always one in the bunch, right? So, they can't really whine when the fungus strikes back. Go Fungus! Slime everybody!

I would love to see some of Hunter Shea's books made into movies. While I'm reading I always see the story playing out like a movie in my head anyway.....might as well be able to watch it in 4D HD on my TV. For now, I will continue to enjoy his books....with hopes of seeing an adaptation in film some day.

This is a great book for any reader who loves cheesy horror.! At just over 100 pages, it's a quick horror fix.

Today's Lesson: While walking in the forest, do NOT touch any weird fungus tentacles that you might find. Walk on by....wave to bigfoot....do just about anything else. No touchie! (The actual fungus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrus_archeri) is not poisonous or dangerous.....it is even edible, but only as a last resort as it tastes and smells really bad.)

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. No fungus was touched, molested or groped in any way during the reading of this book. And yes...I do have my Halloween Deco out in September. Christmas comes out Nov. 1st. Don't judge me. :)** ( )

This is probably one of my most favorite Shea horrors yet. :) Simple in plot and execution, it still hits all the right spots in my gross-out factor. Better yet, I'm constantly rooting for the new deaths. The more horrible, the better. :)

It's a walk on the wild side. There's a fungus among us! :)

*munches down on a mushroom* Yum! ... oh wait, they must think the same thing about us.

:)

Total B-Movie Madness! And it's a pure delight.

I may have said this before, but it bears repeating. I will always read Hunter Shea. I doesn't matter what he puts his hand to. As long as it's these corny monsters ripping apart dipshits and assholes, I don't think I'm ever going to complain.

Except...

My mental waistline is getting fat. It's too good! I don't even want to stray from any other high fat-salt stories! :) ( )

A sucker for tentacles, that's what I am. (And I can't resist the old-"Get it? Sucker for tentacles?" So sue me.). Anyway, tentacles- THE DEVIL'S FINGERS has them in spades, and oh what fun it is to be with Hunter Shea again!

A group of 20 somethings head out into the woods to help their friend say goodbye to his recently deceased dad. They've come to spread his ashes at his favorite spot. Along the way though, they encounter a strange growth of fungi that somewhat resembles the pods in Alien. What is this gross looking fungus? It can't spread to humans can it? And if it can, will these humans survive the encounter? You'll have to read this to find out!



I'm keeping this review short because I don't want to give anything away and because I don't want this review to be longer than the book. I liked how this group of friends was written and I really liked how they had the strength to stand up when the time came. For me, with creature features, (even ones featuring a nasty fungus as the creature), the story lives in those who fight it, and in this case they fought hard. I also thought their actions were believable-even during the crazy action scenes and BOY, were there action scenes! Complete with the sounds and smells-everything you would need to create a vivid picture in your head-you are THERE.

In this, the third installment in the One Size Eats All series, Hunter Shea shows he is the master of bringing home dark and amusing B-style movies in Halloween fun-sized nuggets. What horror fan wouldn't love that?

Highly recommended!

Available everywhere October 23rd, but you can pre-order now, here:

https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Fingers-Hunter-Shea-Size-ebook/dp/B079DBJDK8/chash...

*Thanks to Kensington, via Net Galley, for the e-ARC of this novella in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.* ( )

The Devil's Fingers is the third book in the One Sized Eats All series. I have previously read and enjoyed Rattus New York. Shea has a talent for taking the shock of a 1950s horror movie and transposing it into the present. Here, like in a 1950s horror movie, there is a group of young adult friends in the forest to release the ashes of one of characters father. They notice some strange "plants" that one character, who happens to take botany in college, recognizes as Austrailain Clathrus Archeri or Devil's fingers -- a fungus. Things then get very strange as the fungus seems to be much more than run of the mill Devil Fingers. It is a creepy enough fungus, and the reader can see it in action on YouTube. The videos of the fungus hatching from their spores are no doubt horror-inspiring, but the mutated version in the story is far worse.

Shea weaves together a great horror tale from something quite harmless although relatively foul smelling and transforms it into terror. Very well done and a surprisingly a short and easy read. ( )