Shadow of the Beast [Paperback]

Margaret L. Carter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2004

One night Jenny Cameron arrives home to find her twin brother and their kid sister slaughtered by what looks like a feral dog. Why can't she remember more about that night? Why do nightmares plague her soon afterward-dreams of running in the moonlight in search of flesh and blood to devour? The quest for the truth about herself leads her to search for her long-lost father, who deserted the family before her birth. Though he fled to protect his wife and unborn children from his own dark side, he wants to meet Jenny now. He seeks redemption from his curse, but has his life of bloodshed placed him beyond all hope?

Terrified that her father's destiny foreshadows what she will someday become, Jenny fears she can't even trust herself with the man she loves. As death stalks her friends, she faces the possiblity that she may have to destroy her own closest kin. Haunted by her wild heritage, she seeks her true nature...under the shadow of the beast...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...A short, tightly-written novel...a lot of fun to read...better than the average horror novel." -- Cemetery Dance

"An entertaining account of a young woman... coming to realize... she's got a complicated puberty to negotiate..." -- Locus

About the Author

Marked for life by reading DRACULA at the age of 12, Margaret L. Carter specializes in fantasy and the supernatural, especially vampires. A career Navy wife and the holder of a Ph.D. in English, she has produced several books and articles on the supernatural in literature, including DRACULA: THE VAMPIRE AND THE CRITICS, THE VAMPIRE IN LITERATURE: A CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY, and DIFFERENT BLOOD: THE VAMPIRE AS ALIEN. Her novels include SHADOW OF THE BEAST (werewolf), DARK CHANGELING (vampire), several vampire romances, and a horror novel, FROM THE DARK PLACES.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Amber Quill Press, LLC (December 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592798128
• ISBN-13: 978-1592798124
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,181,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS IN THE WEREWOLF GENRE TO DATE!!!, December 10, 2002

By 

MONTGOMERY (WASHINGTON, DC - U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shadow Of The Beast (Paperback)

Margaret L. Carter has written an intelligent and intriguing novel that reads very much like something out of real life, with the exception that we are given entree into the life of a woman who is a werewolf. Usually, werewolf novels tend to be overly male-centric and treat the werewolf as a mindless beast crazed with bloodlust. So, it was for me, very refreshing to read a novel about a WOMAN WEREWOLF. (The transformation sequences were well done. I could appreciate Jenny's anxiety when she woke up one morning naked not far from the remnants of an animal she had killed the previous night as a wolf. Frightened, she managed to make it home, barely escaping exposure. )

I was also fascinated with the way Jenny, through psychoanalysis, was able to tap into her "Wolf" side, overcome a number of challenges, and learn to fully embrace and accept being a werewolf.

Hopefully, in future, more intelligently written and imaginative werewolf novels will come into the market. Novels that feature men and women alike as werewolves, hailing from all walks of life. May some deft writer or group of writers do for the werewolf genre what Anne Rice has already done for vampires!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic werewolf suspense novel, December 23, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow Of The Beast (Paperback)

In Annapolis, Maryland, to say that life has been harsh for legal research assistant Jennie Cameron would be a major understatement of the truth. Jennie's biological father simply vanished not long after she was born. She has no memories of the man except for the few tidbits her mother mentioned over the years. A red-eyed feral animal killed her two siblings in her home, leaving Jennie in shock, with nightmares, and an unsuccessful therapy.

However, Jennie's nightmare is just beginning to turn real as the neighbor's cat is mangled and left dead in the nearby snow followed closely by the death due to cardiac failure of her mother. Still grieving, a rapist attacks Jenny only to be ripped apart by some animal that leaves Jenny alone as if she is a ward. Only Jenny has the power to defeat the beast of evil that stalks her every movement, but she needs to go deep into her own past to release the feral power hiding inside her. The cost of freeing her dark side could be her grip on humanity.

THE SHADOW BEAST is a brilliant tale that combines classic werewolf horror with psychological suspense. The story line is fast-paced with no wasted subplots as the reader follows Jenny's descent into the early stages of depression. Jenny is a great character and her boyfriend Kurt provides more insight into her personality. Fans of horror tales will fully relish this grim, taut thriller that demonstrates the genre has a new star, Margaret L. Carter.

Harriet Klausner

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Predictable Lightweight Horror 'Romance', February 28, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow Of The Beast (Paperback)

I can't believe the glowing reviews of this book. Despite being 241 pages long, half of this page count are blank pages at chapter ends with a typeface so large as to almost seem like a childrens book. I read the whole book while waiting for a flight at Warsaw airport. The writers style was so lightweight and the plot so predictable (it was obvious the female central character would kill the rapist and her father in her werewolf guise). Also at times it felt like I was reading a cheap dime store housewifes romance novel in the descriptions of the love affair between Jenny and Kurt (and God how cheesy are these character names). Not enough real horror or dark descriptive narrative for my liking. As an avid reader of werewolf novels, I would recommend avoiding this. Appalling.