Excellent novella. I recently gave up reading the first in a series of apparently popular books (no I'm not saying what) which was fairly well written (I've read a lot worse), had lots of action, creatures, death etc. but just didn't engage me. There was little or no tension and when characters died I really didn't care. Then I read Scratch, also a 'creature' story but there the similarity ends. This short novella is full of tension and when people died, or come close to death, I really cared, even though I'd only met them a few pages earlier. That's what makes Brian Keene such a good writer, and that's why I keep coming back and buying (and reading) his books. This is a quick read but very good. For that matter, the extra short story, Halves, in the kindle edition was very good as well (and I have to admit that sometimes Mr Keene's short stories don't work as well for me as his novellas and novels - but this one did). Worth every penny to get hold of. ( )