This is set in Cornwall, there's a massive slug thing living in the sea and attacking and killing people, generally just being a nuisance and a huge dick.

There are no breaks between the different people talking or when you are taken to a different location in the town, it breaks the flow of the story as you try to work out who's talking and where we are now.

The descriptions of the town and area are wonderful though and I love the inclusion of the old Cornish language, it brings a charm to the story.

The ending, however, was pretty 'meh' for me, would've liked more action, suspense and a sense of urgency. That being said, it wasn't the worst 'creature feature' book I've read but it wasn't the best.

*Huge thanks to Peter Tremayne, Endeavour Press, Venture Press and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

So I finished the book, and had no trouble doing so. That's the only thing that bumps the rating up as high as it is. The concept should have been awesome. The settings were well plotted. From the rural countryside with its unique collection of small town neighbors to the old mine and its mysteries. How the monsters came about was even a well done, if overused, plot device.

Yet, there was something else going on that just made this only tolerable to read. The characters were all over the place in their actions, their opinions, their emotions. From insta-hate to insta love, noble sacrifice to unnecessary risks. Nobody was safe from the monsters, yet it was difficult to care since none of the characters had made any real impression on me. There was just way too much going on, and not nearly enough substance.

Although I had never heard of author Peter Tremayne before, I decided to give him a try. Unfortunately, I found this book to be a little lame and poorly written. The characters do not seem sympathetic to me, and I found myself not caring if huge mutant earthworms got them or not! Only my opinion.

2 stars

Billy and Jack Scawen are retrieving their lobster pots from the water when the sea starts to bubble around them. Something comes out of the water after hitting the bottom of the boat. Jack screams. The wreckage of their dinghy is found later.

There was one thing I found a little irritating. When using a nickname in a story, one puts quote marks around the name the first time ones uses it. After that, the quote marks are not necessary. The constant use of quote marks around “Happy’s” name sort of drove me mad. But then I felt bad because Happy met such an end.

Peter Tremayne writes this book in a tongue-in-cheek manner that one cannot take the book seriously. I don’t know if this was his intention or not. The writing itself was a little simplistic, as was the plotting. All in all not a very good little book.

I want to thank Netgalley and Endeavour Press for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

"The Morgow Rises" by Peter Tremayne is basically a story about giant creatures threatening a small village. It was enough that I finished the book but I wish there had been more background, and character development. The format is great for cozy novels but I like my horror books to have a bit more depth. I think the book could have gone farther than it did. It felt like this was an early experiment in this genre and I suspect the author is one who gets better and better with time.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.