We Are Always Watching - by Hunter Shea

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

Due to dire circumstance, Matt Ridley, his wife, Debi, and their fourteen-year-old son, West had to move in with West's Grandpa Abraham.  Grandpa insisted the place where he lived was haunted.  That was fine with West,

...(he) devoured horror books like they were M&Ms.  \\

I loved the mentions of popular horror podcasts and magazines, as well as a number of today's most read writers within the genre.  It's not long before the Ridley's realize something is not right about their temporary home.  For West, it began with a message on the ceiling of his bedroom.

WE SEE YOU.

Other notes with similar messages appear throughout the house and Grandpa Abraham reveals the legend of the Guardians.  The activity intensifies and the notes become more and more threatening.

The family dynamics in We Are Always Watching are perfect, so believable.

Mothers were so exasperating.  Every stray animal had rabies, every lawn had poison ivy laying in wait, and Halloween candy was full of razors and poison.

BTW, Grandpa Abraham is one of my favorite characters so far this year.  The word curmudgeon doesn't begin to do him justice.  Matt's boyhood friend, James sums him up nicely.

"A kinder, gentler Abraham Ridley is an actual sign of the apocalypse.  I literally just read that in Bible study class."

To say more would give to much of the story away and this is one you really should enjoy for yourself.  Just let me say, Hunter Shea is a dependable author for a solid horror read.

This is one book I can thoroughly recommend.

We Are Always Watching is available in both paperback and e-book formats from Sinister Grin Press.

From the author's bio - Hunter Shea is the product of a childhood weened on The Night Stalker, The Twilight Zone, and In Search Of. He doesn't just write about the paranormal - he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself.

Hunter is an amateur cryptozoologist, having written wild, fictional tales about Bigfoot, The Montauk Monster, The Dover Demon and many new creatures to come. Copies of his books, The Montauk Monster and The Dover Demon, are currently on display in the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, ME.

Living with his wonderful family and two cats, he's happy to be close enough to New York City to get Gray's Papaya hot dogs when the craving hits. His daughters have also gotten the horror bug, assisting him with research, story ideas and illustrations that can be seen in magazines such as Dark Dossier.