The Watchers by A M Shine

I would like to thank Lauren from Head of Zeus for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Head of Zeus

Published – 14th October

Price - £18.99 hardback £2.59 Kindle eBook

You can't see them. But they can see you.

This forest isn't charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina's is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams.

Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.

Afraid and trapped among strangers, Mina is desperate for answers. Who are the Watchers and why are these creatures keeping them imprisoned, keen to watch their every move?

A few weeks ago, I went to Delamere Forest for a day out. Its lovely but I always wonder what would happen if I went off the path. I later found out parts of this forest are over a thousand-years old and date back to when a huge forest covered parts of the North-West. Its not hard to think what lived in those woods and what stories that produced. In AM Shine’s fantastic chiller of a novel The Watchers a woman does go off the past and gets sucked in a nightmare that only gets worse when the sun goes down.

Mina lives a bohemian life in Galway as an artist, card shark and people watcher. One night she gets a friend asking her to take an exotic parrot to a remote buyer in exchange for cold hard euros.  With her own bills to pay she sets off down country roads but soon finds herself in a remote area near woods that she has not recognised before. Then the car breaks down, then her phone stops working and then as it gets dark the parrot shrieks with fear. After a creepy night Mina sets off into the nearby woods to find a way back; woods that go on far longer than she expected, and it again gets dark. She is called out by an older woman standing in what looks like a bunker to quickly get in before it gets dark where Mina finds three equally trapped people and also that now The Watchers are gathering outside for the night waiting for a chance to attack.

This is an extremely effective horror tale and Shine has delivered an excellent tale managing to mix Irish folklore about creatures that lived in the remote areas with that classic horror idea of people being trapped somewhere with Monsters outside calling to mind tales like The Mist or Night of the Living Dead. The highlight is Shine’s writing style a really interesting fast paced style of storytelling. Shine has a great lyrical style painting scenes and characters in a snapshot; you can easily imagine this is a story being related to you by someone in the dark. Shine can move from describing the lively streets of Galway to a very eerie and deadly forest with ease and it all makes the tale come alive. Some writers would have opted for the slow burn heating up the tension but instead and I think very effectively Shine opts for a faster narrative as days trapped turns into weeks and instead easily paints the emotional impact on the characters as the stresses strain the group as they struggle for food and sleep cut off from the world.

Mina is the disruptive intruder in the bunker’s existing dynamics with a rebellious but also kinder attitude of everyone in it together. A sharp contrast to the no nonsense and often ruthless Madeline who has been the de facto leader looking like a frosty mother hen over both Ciara who recently saw her husband try to find help out of the forest; and the very young Daniel who feels constantly berated by Madeline for not being good enough. What I especially liked was Shine not going simply for Mina being the new leader and instead we get both Madeline and Mina constantly re-appraising each other and their decision-making skills. Perhaps both are needed to help the group get out of this mess while the other two members are lost sheep that may have taken being scolded like children once too often. It’s a really effective shifting dynamic and Shine allows each character a moment in the spotlight, so we care about them not meeting a grisly end.

And in terms of horror The Watchers prove a hugely effective and unsettling presence. As fundamentally creatures of the night we don’t see anyone but instead their sounds, screams, and actions are all violence and destructive. We also see the Watchers are cunning and have other skills that increasingly make them a formidable opponent who use guile as well as their claws and teeth. Tapping into ancient folklore Shine makes this novel feel like the group have unfortunately entered a much older tale of a people who hate humanity and that makes the final escape scenes ever more dangerous at the end. Shine throws in plenty of twists and turns that suggest a story that could have even more elements to play in the future if a sequel was ever considered. The last few pages are quietly but powerfully memorable and disturbing.

AM Shine a horror writer to watch and this is debut perfect for this time of year. Gorgeous storytelling, memorable characters and a story with a few surprises along the way made it an engrossing read. If you wish to read this in the woods at night that is your choice but don’t blame me if you don’t sleep. Highly recommended!