I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Creeper by Stuart James
Published by Self Published on December 27 2021
Genres: Horror
Pages: 388
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Author
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Do you believe in Creeper?

Keep telling yourself he's not real. He's not real.
A story so terrifying, the locals won't mention his name.
It's said that Creeper is an urban legend, a chilling, made-up character fabricated to scare children into behaving themselves.
He's known as Painswicks own Bogeyman.
Parents tell their children that Creeper will come if they're naughty.
Adults continually look over their shoulders.
It's said that he hides out front late at night or crawls around in the basement. Others believe Creeper watches them as they sleep.
Eight women have gone missing over the last twenty years. They're known as the Painswick eight.

Now, a ninth woman has vanished.

Billy Huxton, an ex-private investigator, resides at a retirement home and tries to persuade the local, flamboyant entertainer, Declan Ryan, to help him solve the case.
Sean and Jenny make documentaries, creepypastas, the paranormal, and unsolved mysteries. Together with their children, they move into a rundown farmhouse on Gallows Lane.
As they begin to learn of Creeper and the terror many believe he brought to Painswick years ago, they begin to make a film, delving into the chilling story.
But they soon learn it may not be just a story.

Whatever happens, pray you don't see Creeper...

Do not pick up Creeper if you are currently moving house, have just moved house, or have an ominously creepy basement in your home! I repeat this is a public service announcement – Do not read Creeper if you have moved home, are moving home, or have a creepy basement. Thank you.

Sean and Jenny are getting ready to move to the idyllic countryside. As internet sensations making and producing docufilms about urban legends, ghost hunting, and myths. They have a large following and they can’t wait to get stuck into the next challenge, the case of Creeper. An urban legend that focuses on the disappearance of eight young women in the village of Painswick. Just hope that you don’t see him because you could be next!

As the chapters fly you become wrapped up in the mystery, the character’s being given life, and everything becomes three-dimensional. They have real-life worries and anxieties, so when Sean and Jenny move with their two children, Beth and Ethan, and start to hear the whisperings of Creeper they know they want to cover it. The only problem is why does their farmhouse seem to be at the centre of it?

As the rumours fly so does the couple’s interest. They enlist the help of an ex-private investigator, Billy Huxton and Declan Ryan, a local entertainer. Huxton is the father of one of Creeper’s victims, he spent every waking moment trying to find her, trying to gain closure only for every door to be slammed in his face. His wife died of cancer not knowing what happened to their daughter and the thought destroys Billy.

Moving to Painswick is not the beginning that Sean and Jenny imagined. Instead, it is the beginning of being transported to hell.

This book crept me out. The atmosphere, the ticking time bomb element of the narrative had me both intrigued and scared witless. It’s the perfect book if like me you love a story with a killer amount of suspense and a threatening shadow of malevolence. If there’s one thing that James knows that is how to deliver endings with a killer blow. Wow, once again I was blown away…that ending, excuse me while I put my eyes back in their sockets.

 The plot in Creeper will not fit in a nice, neat box. It begs to be let free, free to wreak havoc on anyone that questions its motives. A horror with familial pain and suffering with an undercurrent of paranormal danger, it anchored me into the moment, and I wouldn’t rest until I inhaled the last page. Be prepared for the domino effect to threaten everything that came before!

Creeper is a dark and twisting narrative that had me turning the pages at breakneck speed. Brilliantly written and kept me captivated. Stuart James has reawakened my fears about basements.

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ABOUT STUART JAMES

Thank you for taking the time to visit my page. I really hope you enjoy having a look around!

I’ve always been creative and loved writing. For over 20 years I fronted my own band singing, playing guitar and the tin whistle as well as writing my own songs.

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I gave this up when my kids came along – far too exhausting – but more recently I decided to dive back into my passion for writing and love of all things scary to pen my first novel. 

I self published my first thriller, The House On Rectory Lane in 2018 and received great reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

To my great delight, it was shortlisted for Thriller of the Year 2018 on the Facebook group, “The Fiction Cafe” ending up in second place as voted by the members.

I’m 45 years old, have been happily married to my gorgeous wife (she’ll read this y’know:) for 20 years and have two gloriously challenging teenage children. I also love reading, keeping fit and I am a keen amateur magician.

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