Hardboiled noir fiction done superbly, Gator Bait had everything I want in a story of this ilk. A quick-witted if somewhat gullible protagonist, a bad guy oozing menace, and a super hot femme fatale who is the cut of ham between their slices of less than wholegrain bread. And then of course, there's the huge alligator lurking just beneath proceedings ...

Wonderfully written and a joy to speed read through, Adam Howe has won himself a new fan in less than 63 pages with Gator Bait and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the rest of Die Dog or Eat the Hatchet when I get to it for Horror After Dark.

4.5 Messy Ends for Anyone Who Deserves it for Gator Bait.

"Adam Howe's Gator Bait is a steamy, disquieting piece of bayou noir that you can't help but eat all in one sitting. It won't settle your stomach, but it will stay with you long after you've digested it.

Right off the bat with a massive bite this book is Swamp Noir set in the 1930s I could feel the humidity coming off this book. Set somewhere in the deep Louisiana swamp in a dingy speak easy ((I don't even know if they had them in the swamps, but just go with me here.)) is the Grinnin Gator. Were sawdust on the floors and moonshine is plenty. It was somewhere John Smith needed to be after he was sworn off dames for life.

An awesome tale of southern Dirty stinking swamps noir at its finest just watch out for Mister George though he's a mean fucker.

Ugly Characters, really ugly people, deep down UGLY, top them with a terror filled racist swap tale and you have this short novel. Gore, murder, gore, blood, more murder, abuse and one big hungry alligator are the basic actions. The thing was as much as I disliked all the characters and even the story I wanted to read it to the end. The writing was sticky and I couldn't stop myself. I didn't like it but I admire the writing.

Today, in celebration of the Halloween season, I have a real live monster to share with you. I must warn you, it is very dangerous in the swamps of Louisiana. The monsters are both animal and human, so tread lightly.

Add me to Goodreads now.

Cover:  Inkubus

MY REVIEW

Gator Bait by Adam Howe has such a fantastic cover, I knew I had to read this novella. I was sure it would be full of grisly horror and I was not disappointed. The creature feature was inspired by true events and that only added to my eagerness to read on.

Adam Howe spun a tale that had me laughing at the tone of the writing, all the while cringing, waiting for the bad to snap at me from the pages I read. The action began from the opening pages and took me to the bad place I knew I was going to visit.

The Grinnin’ Gator, a honky tonk in the swamps of Louisiana, can only contribute to Smitty’s, well, I would say bad luck, but he tends to bring it on himself. Of course, there is a dame, and she belongs to the “club” owner. He has a very interesting pet and a very bad reputation.

I don’t think there is a good person among the lot, so maybe they all get what they deserve.

Gator Bait starts with blood, torture and murder. It continues with the evil and twisted “fun” the characters of The Grinnin’ Gator do for entertainment. After all, it is in the isolated swamps of Louisiana during Prohibition, which is as bad or worse than the Wild West.

It ends…

OMG! The ending blew me away and I couldn’t help but laugh. I never could have seen ALL that coming and I love it. The best laid plans often go awry and boy, oh boy, do they.

This is my first adventure with Adam Howe and I can only tell you, it will not be my last!

  5 Stars