Cryptids in Fiction

 

Round up by Jeanne

Sometimes in fiction, you just want to have a different monster, something other than a vampire or werewolf or ghosts, superstars though they are.  While some authors want to create their own creatures, others enjoy taking a lesser known mystery beast and putting their own spin on it. Here are some novels that do just that:

Morgan Carter, amateur cryptozoologist, is often called on to investigate strange happenings, which may or may not involve creatures unknown to science.  In the first book in Annelise Ryan's  Monster Hunter series, A Death in Door County, bodies are turning up on the shores of Lake Michigan with strange bite marks. Is there something in the water? Morgan also owns the Odds and Ends bookstore which has some things that are odder than usual—like a mummified Gold Rush miner.

There’s definitely something in the water in Steve Alten’s book The Meg. This was the first of several books he’s written featuring a megalodon shark and was the basis for the movie of the same name.  He’s also written another series, The Loch, in which a man seeks to unravel the mysteries of a certain famous Scottish lake. Fast paced and suspenseful, these are for those who love creature features.  

In Jessica Johns’ debut novel Bad Cree, a young Native woman named Mackenzie is tormented by bad dreams after the deaths of two family members. Is it just grief—or is there something lurking? She knows she will have to return home for help in this haunting tale of generational trauma.

Reality show dating is the premise for Samantha Allen’s novel, Patricia Wants to Cuddle. While contestants vie for the attentions of a tech company entrepreneur on a deserted island, there are soon hints the island might not have been quite as deserted as they thought. Kristin reviewed this book here.  

American socialite Maddie, her husband Ellis, and friend Hank travel to Scotland to try to find the Loch Ness Monster which Ellis’ father claimed to have photographed some years ago.   It’s 1945, and as Maddie points out, it’s probably not the best time to be traveling a sea crawling with U boats.  At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen is a historical novel with flawed characters, a romantic triangle, and possibly a creature.

Creature X  Mystery series by J.J. Dupuis begins with Roanoke Ridge when science blogger and cryptid skeptic Laura Reagan goes to Oregon to investigate the disappearance of her former mentor.  The area where he vanished is the site of a Big Foot Festival and sightings in the area have been on the rise.   These are well done mysteries that explore both the science and myth of cryptids in an entertaining fashion.   Read Jeanne's full review of Lake Crescent here.

Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall is a debut novel set in West Virginia.  The women in Linden’s family are known to have unusual abilities; Linden is able to taste emotions.  More than that, she’s known as the girl who went missing the night of the Moth Winged Man festival, only to be found hours later with no memory of what happened to her.  When another girl disappears at the same festival and only to be found dead, pressure mounts on Linden to remember. All she knows is that there is definitely something in the woods.   This is an engaging fantasy novel with a sequel due out in 2025. Jeanne’s full review of this book is here.