J-F. Dubeau is a Montreal writer who burst on the scene last year with The Life Engineered, which was nominated for the Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. His follow-up is very different indeed — a contemporary horror novel set in small town Quebec, where a dark spirit has held sway for centuries. Fangoria says “Move over True Detective. A rich, gothic story of murder and mystery, A God in The Shed is quite possibly one of the most enthralling novels I’ve read in the last ten years.”

The village of Saint-Ferdinand has all the trappings of a quiet life: farmhouses stretching from one main street, a small police precinct, a few diners and cafés, and a grocery store. Though if an out-of-towner stopped in, they would notice one unusual thing ― a cemetery far too large and much too full for such a small town, lined with the victims of the Saint-Ferdinand Killer, who has eluded police for nearly two decades. It’s not until after Inspector Stephen Crowley finally catches the killer that the town discovers even darker forces are at play.

When a dark spirit reveals itself to Venus McKenzie, one of Saint-Ferdinand’s teenage residents, she learns that this creature’s power has a long history with her town ― and that the serial murders merely scratch the surface of a past burdened by evil secrets.

I love the movie-like credits on the back, which include the editor and cover designer. I wish more publishers followed suit. A God in the Shed was published by Inkshares on June 13, 2017. It is 428 pages, priced at $15.99 for the trade paperback and $7.99 for the digital edition. The cover was designed by M.S. Corley.