In the aftermath of a hurricane, a series of strange events plague the coastal waters off Florida. People go into the water and never return. Corpses of killer whales drift ashore, ravaged from enormous bite marks. A fishing trawler is found adrift, with a mysterious gash in its hull.
Transferred to the coastal town of Merit, police officer Leonard Riker uncovers the horrible reality of an enormous Thresher shark lurking off the coast. Forty feet in length, it has taken a territorial claim to the waters near the town harbor. Armed with three-inch teeth, a scythe-like caudal fin, and unmatched aggression, the beast seeks to kill anything sharing the waters.
Thresher: A Deep Sea Thriller by Michael Cole. Published by Severed Press in July 2018. I received a Kindle version of Thresher from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.
Is it possible to get a high octane adrenaline rush from just reading a book? Yes. Yes, it is. Thresher is just that sort of book. Shortly after beginning, the story explodes into action. And it never stops! I was pleasantly surprised to find myself hanging on every sentence, mouth hanging open, waiting to see what was going to happen next. I read a lot of the sea creature books put out by Severed Press, and this one is right up there at the top. Each chapter the tension (and your adrenaline) would ramp up even higher. Just when you have 5% more to read, and you think the shark has been dealt with, BAM! More action! More Adrenaline! Explosions! Boats sinking! People getting tossed around! Chaos, confusion, everyone swimming for their lives! Once I started reading, I had a hard time putting it down. Had a very modern action pulp feel to it. I loved every min of it.
The characters are some classic archetypes we know and love. The heavy-drinking cop and the partner that cares. The police chief who wants to do the right thing but his hands are tied because of a power tripping mayor who wants to keep everything hushed up. A real nasty trio, brought in to attempt to kill the shark. The scientist who is trying to do the right thing. The bribe-able newspaper man who just wants a cut of the cash. Even though we have seen these types before, the chemistry between the main characters is palpable and I really hope we see more of these characters in the future (more on that later). I can’t mention characters without mentioning the shark! A great big ol’ Thresher shark! Like I said earlier, I read a lot of Severed Press books, which are predominantly filled with sea creature / shark titles. I can’t get enough of them. I will read all the shark books. The shark in this book really stands out because you don’t often see a Thresher shark in the staring role like this! Normally it is the Megalodon or the Great Whites that get the spotlight. And that is for any shark title, not just the books coming from Severed Press. So, as a shark lover, I thought it was really cool getting to see a different kind of shark like this! Really spiced things up and gave us a view of something different while still getting our shark fiction fix.
I don’t want to say too much about the plot, because I don’t want to give away any big spoilers, but I will say that it’s not just your average Thresher shark. I really liked the twist the story gives us about how the Thresher shark ended up so huge and aggressive. It was a pretty interesting turn that I was not suspecting. The epilogue – again, I can’t say much without ruining it. SORRY! – was jaw dropping and I really, really hope we see the author follow this up in another book. It would even make a great series with the same cast. I really hope Mr. Cole doesn’t leave us hanging with that very last page of the book! 😮
Thresher: A Deep Sea Thriller was another highly entertaining title from Severed Press. This novel is sure to get your adrenaline pumping the whole time you are reading. A nice cast of characters that would be fun to see in a series. This novel packs in the action and never slows down. A very entertaining book that other shark fiction and or action lovers will enjoy.
Creature From The Book Lagoon 