“A God In The Shed” Is a Creepy Story About a Small Village – Review

I’m all for horror stories and I’m glad A God in the Shed by J-F. Dubeau delivered. With interesting characters and a tense atmosphere, I have a feeling this book is going to be enjoyed by many.

This review contains minor spoilers for A God in the Shed. You’ve been warned.

Being more than 300 pages long, I had my doubts about this book. A lot of questions came to mind when I decided to give it a read. Is A God in the Shed going to have a strong payoff? Is it going to have enough horror to keep me interested? Are the characters going to be interesting? The answer to my questions ended up being a yes, and the time I spent on reading this book was not wasted. So, good for me, and awesome work by J-F. Dubeau.

Here’s the official synopsis:

The village of Saint-Ferdinand has all the trappings of a quiet life: farmhouses stretching from one main street, a small police precinct, a few diners and cafés, and a grocery store. Though if an out-of-towner stopped in, they would notice one unusual thing―a cemetery far too large and much too full for such a small town, lined with the victims of the Saint-Ferdinand Killer, who has eluded police for nearly two decades. It’s not until after Inspector Stephen Crowley finally catches the killer that the town discovers even darker forces are at play.

When a dark spirit reveals itself to Venus McKenzie, one of Saint-Ferdinand’s teenage residents, she learns that this creature’s power has a long history with her town―and that the serial murders merely scratch the surface of a past burdened by evil secrets.

Coming to the review, Saint-Ferdinand isn’t a place you’d want to live in. The little village gives off creepy vibes the moment it’s introduced. It reminded me of the villages and small towns that pop up in the Silent Hill series. Anyway, for twenty years a serial killer has been murdering the locals. A hermit ends up being arrested (bodies are buried on his property) and it feels that the town can finally have some peace. But we find out that there’s something far more sinister at play. Apparently, the murders were a necessity to keep the demonic being trapped.

One of the main POV characters is Venus McKenzie. She’s only been living in the village for a couple of years and she isn’t as guarded as the rest of the kids, who grew up with a serial killer on the loose. It’s her shed the demonic being, calling itself a God, ends up being captured in.

There’s also Inspector Crowley, another POV character. While Venus is different from the rest of the residents and has a sense of freedom to her, Crowley is a character who is carrying a lot of baggage. He holds himself responsible for the numerous deaths and that makes for a contrasting point of view to what a youthful Venus has to offer.

And while the characters will help you get sucked into the story, Dubeau makes use of a lot of gore and suspense to create a tense atmosphere. The village has its own dark cult, and there’s a lot of mystery regarding it.

An utterly terrifying atmospheric thriller, with A God in the Shed author J.F. Dubeau rightfully creates a worthy space for himself next to the likes of Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Richard Laymon and others.

If you’re into dark fantasy and horror then do pick up A God in the Shed by J-F. Dubeau. It is the first book in the trilogy. So, I’m looking forward to reading more.

It is currently available wherever books are sold.

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Note: I was provided a review copy of A God in the Shed by Inkshares. The opinions are my own.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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