As far as Curtis Reynolds is concerned, there’s no way he’s getting his life back together. He works a job he hates; but, after his vehicular manslaughter charge, he’s lucky to have a job at all. His marriage is falling apart, and his wife Amy is feeling the pressure of raising a young child with special needs. Then there are the flashbacks, headaches, and gory visions: all a product of his time fighting overseas. But Curtis won’t be getting a break to fight these demons, because a very real monster has invaded his tiny New England town.

Friends and neighbors are getting brutally killed by an unknown force, and soon it’s up to Curtis to find out what’s going on. He uncovers stories of the Norwaukus, a bear-sized cryptid that has allegedly roamed the area in the past. There are other rumors buried as well, and as Curtis goes digging (very literally) he’ll discover the terrible secret that’s been living under the town’s feet for decades.

As a straightforward piece of horror, THE STREET BETWEEN THE PINES is strong. It has a mystery to unravel, monsters to fight, and an unlikely hero at the center of the story ready to do both. Author J.J. Alo transports the reader to a setting where the comforts of home lie alongside ruined, liminal spaces. Alo does not hold back on gruesome descriptions of visceral killings, be it the way his giant beast bites into a victim’s head or the bewildering final moments of a beloved pet. But neither is used for pure shock; these horror movie “visuals” evoke feelings of tragedy and (later in the book) catharsis.

THE STREET BETWEEN THE PINES is more than what it appears to be on the surface. This is also the story of a man fighting the monsters in his own life: the fear of losing his family, the horrors of war, and the guilt of taking a life pointlessly. His hallucinations are described in the same vivid, body-horror-filled detail as the terrors of the real world. The Norwaukus may be its own very real threat, but it also personifies the darkness that Curtis must battle within himself—especially as the true nature of this beast and the reason behind its creation become clear.

A genre-busting piece of New England horror that will keep readers guessing until the end, J.J. Alo’s THE STREET BETWEEN THE PINES is also a contemplation on family, PTSD, and finding redemption in an unforgiving world.

~Kara Dennison for IndieReader