Creeper by Kristen Painter and Bruno Miller - ARC Review

Blurb About The Book

Desperate to earn enough to pay his creditors, the captain of the cargo ship, Despora, manages to land the haul of a lifetime. With some shady side dealing, he’s going to come out ahead. But he soon learns the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. And sometimes, the green isn’t grass at all.

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Followers of my reviews know by now that I will read anything Kristen Painter puts out, even things totally outside her normal genre.   This is her second co-release with author Bruno Miller with the first, Lost Boy (Available here), being a Post Apocalyptic short story that had more twists and surprises than I could anticipate, and gained a 5 stars from me because surprisingly I loved it, despite not liking the genre too much.

Creeper is the second short story from this author pairing, and has absolutely nothing to do with the first.  This is a short story that belongs in its own little corner of the interwebs, a little sub genre I am going to call "Space Horror" for want of a better category, and because "Twilight Zone" isn't officially a genre in its own right, although it should be.

This could literally be taken, pretty much as it, made into a Twilight Zone episode and it would fit right in.  It has that blend of people doing things they probably shouldn't, and then the fall out that happens because of it.  Coming in with a much darker take than Kristen Painter's more recent work, I am not sure how much is Bruno Miller's input and how much isn't, because the story is seamless.  As with Lost Boy I found it impossible to see where either author had the main voice (which considering how many Kristen Painter books I read has to be said is pretty impressive).

Unlike Lost Boy, which clearly leaves the door open for more adventures, I feel that this is completely a stand-alone, with that Twilight Zone feeling that you are left knowing exactly what happens after the pages stop being turnable. 

If you like Sci Fi, even enough to enjoy the odd Twilight Zone TV adventure, this is short enough that even non fans of the genre will be able to enjoy it without feeling bogged down by a ton of Sci Fi rules and lore that can sometimes accompany a story like this. 

Overall a  4 1/2 Stars from me - because although I didn't see the end coming exactly the way it did - I have to invoke the "Melanie Clause" because the sci-fi lover in me figured out more than I usually do with Kristen's books. 

**Creeper Releases on April 10th Exclusively on Amazon - and will be available through Kindle Unlimited**