THE SHORE is set in Edgeharber, New Jersey, in the midst of
a winter storm that stretches its tentacles far from the
sea and into the small town's veins, touching every
building and wrapping itself around the inhabitants.
Chilling them to the bone cannot match the chill of
discovering murdered victims, ripped to shreds by some
monster.
No one is talking to the stranger who has arrived in
Edgeharber. His identity is a mystery, less revealing than
the descriptive prose as the stranger seems to suffer from
an impending illness throughout the story from the terrible
chill of hiding outside, waiting and waiting for an
opportunity to capture a boy; a skinny boy he seems to
think is the monster responsible for the deaths.
Kit is a young policewoman who has returned to her home
town, a feeling of ineptness dooming her to an insecurity
that defines all her actions. She questions the stranger as
she tries to work the case, which has been delegated to the
state agencies. Kit helps him search for the truth and
falls victim to trust as only someone with her insecurities
can. He says he loves her and needs her.
As the storm hurdles toward Edgeharber, so does the story
move through rich, highly descriptive prose further setting
the mood of the story. As the events come closer together,
the suspense builds with intensity. I searched the book
while writing this review and only found the stranger's
name once, although I know Kit used it a few more times.
His name is Steve. And I must apologize to the horror genre
readers who know Robert Dunbar's work, and to Mr.
Dunbar himself, for this review is not the typical review
you might expect to see. For this reader, who generally
does not take the opportunity to read this genre, I
struggled through his very descriptive writing style until
the lumps started smoothing out as the story moved toward
the climax. And when I finished THE SHORE, I was both
grateful for the opportunity to be challenged and felt that
chill one gets when left alone in the dark where you hear
the noise, the hair raises on your skin, then the cat or
the dog crosses your path. You chuckle, shake your head at
yourself for your silly behavior, then walk around the
corner only to be...and the story ends leaving you waiting
for more.
As a winter storm tightens its grip on the small shore
town of Edgeharbor, the residents are frightened of much
more than pounding waves and bitter winds. A series of
horrible murders has the town cowering in fear. Mangled
victims bear the marks of savage claws, and strange,
bloody footprints mar the beach. A young policewoman and a
mysterious stranger are all that stand between this
isolated community and an ancient, monstrous evil.
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