Review: ZED by Jason McIntyre #BibPleaseReview @KHeniadis

Title: ZED
Author: Jason McIntyre
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Release Date: July 26, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
It’s the waning dog days of August, 1975 and Tom Mason’s in Dovetail Cove for the last few weeks of his summer job at the group home. His boss and the home’s owner is Karen Banatyne, one of the wealthiest folks in town. It seems like she’s got it in for Tom; she’s the only one standing in his way as he scrimps for a new camera. But Karen has her own problems. A regulatory agency might cut off her funding, plus her hubby hasn’t been seen in a few weeks, and she’s not saying why. Most ominous of all, it seems as though something’s hiding in the hot spring north of the main beach and one of Karen’s ‘houseguests’ is about to come face to face with evil. Tom is too.

My Review

I really enjoyed the nostalgia in this book. Jason McIntyre’s reference to Jaws, slathering oneself with baby oil while sunbathing, and other things from the 70’s, made me feel like this story could have taken place during my childhood. I do think these references would have been unnoticed from readers in their 20’s. They are not needed to understand the story, they just make it a bit more enjoyable.

McIntyre does a wonderful job slowly building up the tension in this book. It begins with a nice day trip out to natural springs with Tom, Karen, BLAnK and the residents in the group home where he works. A little bit of tension begins because BLANK is there to go over how Karen is running the facility. And you also get a bit of sexual tension when Tom meets some townies who are sunbathing.

The story progresses, and while I can’t say it is fast paced, I did want to keep reading. Events transpire with Zee (or Zed) coming in contact with an organism in the water that starts to make his befuddled mind begin to think more clearly. And Zed is not happy with what he remembers about his past or how he and the other residents are being treated.

Even more tension builds when another resident gets lost. The whole time you are wondering where is Karen’s husband, who is supposed to be helping her and Tom with running the place.

Zed knows though. And when he tells Tom, that’s when things really start getting horrifying.

I would not classify this completely as horror. I would say more psychological thriller combined with horror. Some of the scenes towards the end got graphic, but McIntyre didn’t overdo it. He wrote the scenes in ways to only enhance the story, not just gore for gore’s sake. And there is one giant question at the end that I wish the author would have answered, but at the same time, it makes it even creepier that he didn’t.

To find out more about ZED, visit Kim's stop on the Zed tour: http://www.kimheniadis.com/

- 4/5 Stars

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FTC Statement: I did receive an ebook copy by the promotional team. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I was not given any money or material incentives for an honest review of this book.