Bane County: First Moon [Book 3 - Book Review]

Bane County: First Moon [Book 3]
Genre - Horror/Mystery/Werewolf
Year Published - 2018
Length - 462 (digital) pages
Written by +J R Rice

Plot Summary:
Bane County is an Ongoing Saga . . .

Mystery, Suspense, an edge-of-your-seat Thriller with characters you’ll fall in love with. An old-school, heart-pounding, coming-of-age Horror series with 100s of 5-Star Reviews.

Autumn had been a very troubling time for the residents of Bane County, and the arrival of winter and the holiday season was a welcome diversion. Over the past three months, twenty-six people had gone missing in the neighboring wildlife refuge, believed to have fallen victim to a vicious rogue bear. 

Bryce McNeel and Jackson Campbell knew the truth about the missing people and worried that the horrors of autumn wouldn’t end with the coming of winter. In truth, they both sensed that something far worse was on the way. 

With a massive winter storm bearing down on Bane County, Bryce and Jackson feared they’d be fighting more than just the wintry cold. There could be things more chilling than ice and snow in the approaching storm. 

Far to the west, another kind of storm was brewing. A storm of unspeakable horror the likes of which had never been seen. The evil that had been living in the dark forests of Bane County for centuries was now free, and the world would never be the same again.

Review:
First Moon picks up the morning after Returning Moon [Book 2] ends. (As always, I highly recommend reading the prior books before reading this one.)

Bane County is definitely one of my favorite series of werewolf books. I look forward to each new installment. One of the reasons that I enjoy this series so much is that each book varies in tone. While each book has horror elements, each book can also stand within a separate genre. (Book 1 - "Coming-of-Age", Book 2 - "Action-Adventure", and Book 3 can also be classified as "Mystery/Suspense".)

Another reason that makes this series stand above the rest is the Science behind the creatures. (Though I will say that this book runs the closest to lycanthropic mythology, though with a great scientific twist.)

This particular book in the series seems like it does have some extra padding to it. (Which I can easily forgive, since this is part of an on-going saga. I am sure part of holding things back is ultimately for what is yet to come.) With that said, I will say that Rice knows how to dangle the action/suspense/mystery just like the proverbial carrot, while at the same time building the sense of ever impending doom. (Once the outright horror hits its stride, it has a 30 Days of Night vibe to it, which is awesome!)

Rating: 5/5 Skulls

If you enjoyed the first two books, you will definitely enjoy this one as well! If you have yet to read Book 1 [Forgotten Moon], what are you waiting for?!?

Book 4: Hungry Moon will be released mid-2019.