The Monsters in Our Shadows, by Edward J. Cembal

The Monsters in Our Shadows, by Edward J. Cembal, is a dystopian, paranormal horror novel set sometime in the not too distant future. This story is a creative plot about the extinction of humanity caused by predation of what people come to call “shivers.”  Indeed, these creatures, or entities, do make one shiver in fear. Shivers are a mystery that people try to shun and avoid talking about. Some people are afflicted with shivers, and it is a bad stigma, as though the afflicted somehow deserve their fate. 

The cover of this book may have affected my perception of this novel, because it looks like a Rorschach test. I felt that the plot contained symbolism for confronting mental fears, such as fear of the unknown, and finding a way forward when life gets depressing and scary. Incidentally, the afflicted people in this novel did not have identical shivers. 

This story is a memorable one for me, even though I felt that the character development and background information were thinner than I typically like in a novel. Also, I thought that the pacing was a bit uneven and I was left with a few questions. Though this  was out of my usual comfort zone, it was an interesting read for me. Thank you very much to Netgalley and Book Whisperer for  the opportunity to review this creative novel.