A God in the Shed

A god in the shed is a dark horror novel that will take you to the small town of Saint-Ferdinand where the line between reality and Lovecraftian horror is very blurred.

With this book, J-F shows that he is more than able to write a story where there is a lot more going on under the surface than can be seen at first. I was surprised at how often J-F managed to slip some information under my nose without me realizing until he punched the information to the light.

If you enjoyed Life Engineered and like Horror, you will like this book. If you disliked Life Engineered and like Horror, give this a try. It might just hook you in.

I can't recall another book I've read that was as unsettling and vivid as A God in the Shed. From prologue to epilogue, I was completely hooked. It was hard to put it down, I needed to know what happened next! J-F. Dubeau crafted a story that takes a mundane small town triller and turns it into Lovecraftian-level horror. It is well paced and the particularly unnerving scenes are so poetically written that they come off as beautiful. It's a strange juxtaposition and I loved every minute of it. I can't wait for the next installment.

This was hands down the best book I read in 2017. When the arrest of a serial killer who has tortured a town for 18 years begins this book, you don't realize how far down the dark and twisted rabbit hole you are about to go. Serial killer, secret societies, and a horror kept hidden things in the small quiet Canadian town get much worse before they get better.

There's so much good going on in this book it is hard to pick what to point out. Do not cruise through this book. READ it. Add it to your library today. Others have said here's the "next Stephen King" -- don't listen, go read and discover that J-F has a voice all his own and it is creepy good!
J-F Dubeau is my favorite among new, emerging authors.

Very disappointing, in my opinion.

Starting at the top, it's just...not scary. I'm not sure if I'm jaded, or what, but while I find plenty of horror movies, books, and games to be at least unsettling, nothing in this novel comes close. The author starts out spoiling the big reveal in the prologue and things really don't pick up much from there. I suppose I was fairly disgusted here and there, but moreso that I spent the price of a beer on this. The "scares" are loudly telegraphed and rely on horror tropes like little ghost girls and eye-scream. Instead of dread, or fear, or a variety of similar emotions, the author tries to evoke disgust, chiefly through descriptions of animal torture, which is a consistent theme.

Lovecraftian horror relies on evoking a sense of cosmic dread, the dawning realization that we are as insignificant as grains of sand to creatures whose struggles and pleasures transcend our mortal understanding. It's the feeling that keeps you up at night when you realize that you WILL die and you WILL be forgotten and nothing you ever do can possibly prevent that. It's the realization that your limitless consciousness is trapped in and dependent on a decaying vessel in which the cracks are growing every day. The author is trying for that, but in my opinion he (she?) misses the point and goes for gore, which, in literary form, is not particularly shocking unless we've a reason to care about the entity from whence the gore originated. The hapless citizens of this town, for me, at least, do not qualify.

I gave it a second star because it's not by any means utter garbage, and it's entirely possible that someone who isn't me might enjoy it. Don't come in expecting it to keep you up at night, though. It wants to be True Detective but comes off more like Uwe Boll's take on the franchise.

I finished this book around a month ago, my girlfriend and I both bought it and read it at the same time. Neither of us can figure out how or why this book has such great reviews, honestly I would like to have a conversation with someone that gave it five stars just to ask them what we missed. The premise was great, the first half was even great, but this author didn't leave plot holes he left gaping voids in the story and zero sense of conclusion to the story. It was like he was writing, then just said "Ehh, I'm bored." and wrote the epilogue. I was legit surprised when I finished a chapter and it popped up with the epilogue. So my question to the author, is this the start of a series? Did you not care giving zero closure to any characters? Did her dad really die? Where did mom go? Why was the main character not involved at all in the end game? This is some seriously lazy story telling, I only give it one star because that is the least it will let me and it deserves it for the first half. But honestly if anyone out there would like to respond answering any of the above questions, I would be pleased to hear some answers. If it is the first installment in a series I would read the next one, just to get the ending to the first book maybe?

I enjoyed J-F Dubeau’s previous novel, but I really feel like he stepped up his game here – A God in the Shed is a complex and original story that’s dark enough to satisfy even the most jaded horror fan.

The mythology created by J.F. Dubeau in this book feels both fresh and familiar. The characters are authentic and relatable. The events unfolding in Saint-Ferdinand are enthralling and horrifying. I loved this book and put off things I should’ve been doing in order to finish it more quickly. I also think the narrator in the Audible version does a great job.

A supremely horrifying story so intense I had to stop reading. I admit it, I'm not a horror reader, so I'm pretty surprised I got as far as I did, but what I did read I enjoyed until the nightmares began.

My husband brought home an A.R.C. copy of 'A God in the Shed' and as I had been searching for a book that would grab me for about a month I jumped on it. I am generally a slow reader but I could not put his down. The mystery and touch of paranormal aspects were really captivating. J-F Dubeau created characters to love and characters to hate, all well written and thought out. I look forward to reading future works from him.

It's been a long time since I read anything in the horror genre and I can say this book has brought me back! What an incredible read. I started A God in the Shed and only put it down to sleep! The book is fast paced, full of creepy imagery and has a very rich back story. The ending satisfies enough to not feel hung out to dry, but leaves a real desire to learn more and wait impatiently for a sequel!! Great book!

Let me start out by saying two and a half stars is my real rating. Next let me say that I don’t usually write reviews on the store (or anywhere) but felt strongly enough about this book to write one.

Let’s start with the design of this book. The cover is absolutely beautiful and the uneven page ends are a personal favorite of mine. The cover art is visceral and manages to tie well into the story.

Next the writing. It’s sharp and I think he has the potential to go really far. My issue is with the characters and pacing. If you didn’t know, this is supposed to be the first novel in a trilogy (I didn’t know this when I bought it). His style is pretty to the point and he’s a little too sparse on the details in my opinion. I would’ve liked better world building. Where I think he has the most potential to shine is with the characters. He starts off by building a pretty strong cast of characters who mostly feel unique but never quite got the momentum to really go from two deminsional to living breathing people.I didn’t feel like I could relate to any of the characters and most of them felt “faceless” to me.By the end some of the characters end up acting totally contrary to their character and doing bizarre things I wouldn’t have been able to fathom at the start. The best example would be Daniel and his father toward the end of the novel.

My next gripe is with the build up of the story. It’s a slow burn and by the last quarter you’re wondering how the plot is going to be resolved. Things pick up seemingly out of nowhere and it feels like the author decided instead of doing a single novel he wanted to do a trilogy and he jaringly pushes everything that was building toward a resolution to “a future novel”. At the end I was left confused and unsure if I’d missed something or if the author had decided to continue the story later. A lot of loose ends aren’t tied up and lot of things feel thrown in for shock value and don’t add anything to the overall plot.

On the other side of things though, this novel kept me up until well passed midnight turning pages trying to see where everything would go.

I definitely see a promising career for this author in horror though. And hopefully the sequels address the pacing, world building and character development issues. If you can’t stand not having any resolution at the end of the novel then I’d definitely wait for the sequels to come out before picking this one up. For anyone else looking for a gore filled novel that has the potential to be great don’t miss this title!

That book is something else, just like the population of the small town of St-Ferdinand! Reading it you keep discovering new secrets almost every chapters! It's a thriller, an horror story and a mystery!

Didnt even get 1/4 way through. Reads like a bad creepy pasta. Whoever compares this garbage to Stephen King has only heard of King and has never read his books.

If you want something strange that doesnt read like a twrrible young adult novel I suggest The Sound of Building Coffins.

The author created an original world that eerily feels familiar. The story and characters draw you in and leave you wanting more at the end.

Great read for fans of smart horror, tasteful gore and investigative mysteries.

This book started out with such promise, but it failed to fulfill that promise. It's difficult to even place it into a category as it hold elements of magical realism, adventure, supernatural, and a mystery. The more I read, the more I wanted the book to be finished. I gave it three stars because there were positives to it, but not enough to make me want to know what was going to happen. In the end, I believed very little, and was incredibly disappointed. 

A book i started reading saying: "horror, never really been into the style" But i loved it! Read it avidly, it keep me on the edge of my chair, wanting for the next sentence, paragraph, page! Now i want a sequel! Go read it, it's good, too good!

Small towns, secret societies, and a God bidding his time with the lives of humans. A great story that builds characters who every page tells a story through their eyes and you feel every emotion they do. If you like mystery, horror, or the super natural it's a must read.

So people are disappearing/dying, there's a serial killer on the lose, or is there? I was intrigued enough by the pitch on Inkshares that I decided to support this book, and I am so glad that I did (stumbled on inkshares as an interesting way to find some great new books, haven't been disappointed yet).

The author weaves a great story, all the fun intrigues of a small town with a supernatural twist that adds new motivations to how they all interact with each other and the world created. Just enough twists to keep things interesting. I can't wait for the series to be finished to see how everything plays out.

A good story of small town horror/urban fantasy. Also the production value of the book itself is good, really loved the art style and the frayed pages! Have followed this author since his debut on ink shares, and will continue to do so.

I backed this book on ink shares and boy I'm glad I did. The actual design of the book just adds to it. But you don't get a book for the design do you? Nope, it's the gripping story and creepy setting. One to read with the lights on.

Very engaging at the beginning but doesn't deliver. Feel some of the POVs were unnecessary and could have utilized that space to flesh out others. Hoping for a sequel that will fill in what this one lacks. I would still recommend.

Read a lot of great reviews about this book but didn't live up to my expectations.
The writer does great characterization. All the characters here are believable.
Except for one of the main ones, Venus. For a supposedly smart girl she sure makes a lot of dumb decisions.
Also found the story way too sadistic for my taste. I called it quits around two thirds through when page after page were of people and animals to be skinned alive.
Pass.

I am an avid reader and I love horror and thriller novels. But this book was so evil and blood thirsty that it made me sick to my stomach reading it. I do not understand the reasoning for such gore and filth in a book that could have been quite exciting without all the additional sicko stuff. I am returning it having stomached through about a fourth of it before laying it down and saying "I do not need this stuff in my life" in a world that is already depraved and sick. S