A review by skillyillian
The Creeper by A.M. Shine

dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was a fun, spooky read, but nothing ground breaking. I think Shine is a good writer, I like his descriptions and the way he talks about the culture of Ireland is really lovely and intriguing. The characters in this book are unique and feel very human, which I liked, but I did take issue with his descriptions of Chloe. I understand she was described in a way that made her feel more like an almost surrogate daughter to Ben, and I appreciated that there wasn't really any romance between them because of that. But I think this could have been achieved without Chloe having to be described as yet another impossibly microscopic woman, with teeny tiny feet and so short you'd miss her if you looked up, and on and on. It wasn't as gratuitous as some authors are with their FMCs, but it was more than enough to notice that every time Ben stopped to actually look at Chloe, he noticed another thing about her that was small. Enough small women, please. She can be not-his-kid without being the size of a kid, you just have to develop the characters and their relationship a little bit more. 

One thing I did really like though was how, at the end,
the author doesn't shy away from the worst possible thing happening. He describes the creeper as being unavoidable once chloe and ben have seen him a third time, and he sticks with it. there's no miraculous escape or knight in shining armor. Chloe and Ben fully get murdered. it's not all that often you see main characters just get yote. i liked it. and i liked that sparling got what he fucking deserved. :) 
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