I had a sliiiiiight overreaction to the last vampire novel I was sent to review because I honestly didn't know it was supposed to be funny, and also because it was really bad. I was frankly in no mood to read anything more about bloodsuckers, but Bruce McCandless III set Sour Lake in the Big Thicket of Texas and hinted at some tantalizing looks at obscure folk legends, so I sighed and got reading...

And boy was I glad that I did, because if anybody is likely to equal Joe Hill as the master of modern horror, then McCandless is that man. Sour Lake pulled me in so deep and fast I'm not entirely sure I remember anything about the day I sat reading his incredible book other than the sound of rapidly turned pages.

Set in 1911 Texas, the story follows a set of grisly and bizarre murders in the Big Thicket section of Southeast Texas. Victims are torn limb from limb, with organs and blood removed. Initially packs of wild dogs are blamed, but a local sheriff and a doctor with a dark past slowly come to the conclusion that what is haunting the woods is not a normal animal.