Review of Nick Cutter's Little Heaven

I received a free ebook copy of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am a huge Nick Cutter fan (The Troop and The Deep are among my favorite books) and have been waiting for his next book with bated breath. When I saw this available through NetGalley I jumped at the opportunity to read it before publishing in January 2017. This is another stand-alone horror novel from Nick Cutter, set in New Mexico during the mid twentieth century. There are two timelines involved, one in the 1960s and another years later in the 80s.  

In the mid-1960s, we join three hired guns, Micah, Minerva, and Ebenezer, who have been contracted by a young woman named Ellen to check up on her nephew Nate. Nate has been taken by his father to live in a reclusive religious society called Little Heaven, led by Reverend Amos Fletcher, deep in the New Mexico forest. We follow these three on their journey into Little Heaven and watch as things begin to take a turn for the strange. There are creatures in the woods: creatures that are out for blood, creatures you couldn’t imagine in your wildest dreams. However; the monsters in the woods are just the beginning, as we watch Amos Fletcher reveal himself as a monster. Finally, our protagonists locate the source of all this evil lurking under the rocks near Little Heaven - and it wants a sacrifice. Micah and the others join forces to quell the hunger of this unthinkable evil and save several lives (including their own) in the process, but at what price?

Fifteen years after what he thought was the end of the ordeal in Little Heaven, Micah’s young daughter, Petty, has been taken captive by the same forces he previously fought. Micah and his comrades must once again make the perilous journey to Little Heaven to save her. This time, though, the sacrifice might be much larger for Micah.

This book starts out feeling a little like a Western - a bunch of hired guns (with their own issues between them) meeting up for one purpose, to rescue a kid. However, it delves DEEP into Cutter territory, quickly. Cutter’s descriptions of the myriad horrors that characters come up against are almost too good, as I found myself gagging and squealing aloud during many chapters. This is not something you want to read while eating lunch. Our protagonist Micah and his crew are complicated characters - I wasn’t sure if I liked or trusted them at first. They are not “good guys.” They are all hard-living, rough-and-tough characters, but in the end their real heroism and personalities shine through. Reverend Amos Fletcher is an interesting antagonist, though certainly not the only antagonist in this story, and the more we spend time with him as readers, the crazier and more perverse things get. Why did he start this “church” to begin with? Who or what called him to this place? How far will he go? Who is really in control here?

This book went by pretty fast for me: every time I picked it up I didn’t want to set it down again; and I really didn’t want it to end. I highly recommend this novel for the horror lovers out there. If you’ve read and liked Cutter’s other books, The Troop and The Deep, you’ll enjoy this just as well. If you haven’t read any Cutter books yet, hold onto your horses (and your lunch) because you’re in for a crazy ride. Be prepared for gore, perversion, torture, mutilation, and pure evil! I recommend not reading this before bedtime, unless you want some freaky dreams.

None of Cutter’s books have sequels so far, so I’m not sure what to think in regard to the ending of this. I could see a sequel happening based on the ending, but this book would be just as satisfying staying a stand-alone novel (I kind of hope it does because I’m so tired of everything being a series). This novel will be published January 10, 2017.