Snapper

Snapper is a clever and suspenseful novel about an idyllic lake community in northern New Jersey, Turtleback Lake. The town has a dark secret that threatens to depress real estate prices and the sunny attitudes of its inhabitants: a toe, foot, leg and torso eating giant snapping turtle, Grundel. Grundel's been plying his trade on generations of Turtleback Lakers, and the reader gets a flavor for that in flashback scenes as tension mounts through backstory to the dramas of current residents and Grundel's present-day attacks.Maloney and Zeckauskas weave an ensemble cast of characters and multiple plot lines together in building their story; realtor Judd Clayton frets over Grundel's impact on his business while he tries to sell town newcomer Deena Goode a house, and at the same time help her try out the bedroom; Deena's got the hots, however, for August Anderson, the owner of a mysterious home on the lake steeped in history with Grundel dating back to August's grandfather; J.J., Judd's son, is desperate to excel on the football team, and in the process learns that the coach is queer for odd rites of passage for his players that involve his unlit basement; J.J.'s friend, Ian, the team's star placekicker, has a career-ending incident with Grundel; and Marc Bozian, the Turtleback Gazette reporter, sensationalizes the story of Grundel's terror to advance his career, incurring the hatred of many townspeople.There's more than a sprinkle of sex, some gore, lots wit and suspense, and even a multi-generational paranormal connection with Grundel in at least one family in town. Snapper is a well-written story with terse prose and crisp dialog that both adults and young adults will enjoy.

my efforts to sate my constant hankering for books about animals eating people led me to snapper by peter maloney and felicia zekauskas. as the title suggests, this delightful read is about a snapping turtle with an appetite for human flesh. the writers build an interesting history around the turtle and her new jersey lake, and, in particular, they manage to create some easily engaging characters and relationships to give the book its' anchor. honestly, i could've used more of this, even greater depths of character backstory. and while the turtle itself is awesome, i still wanted a little more natural history (this is definitely a personal bias; i like a nice helping of biology with my nature-run-amok fantasies). i greatly applaud the authors efforts to give voice to the titular turtle, but this doesn't always work, as the turtle's thoughts are, at times, a little too...human. this is an ancient animal with reptilian metabolism; i have no doubt that they are thoughtful and intelligent. but their thoughts, i bet, would be deep. nevertheless, this is the first thing i've ever read devoted killer turtles, and it a quick satisfying read. if you're a fan of freshwater reptiles and people gettin their just desserts, this book is for you.

Where to start? The plot was interesting and had the writing been a bit tighter it would have held my interest much longer. The characters were a bust for me though. I didn't like most of them (JJ is the only one I cared one iota about). I found myself hoping the entire adult cast would be eaten by the turtle...Its ok to have flawed heros (and everyone in this book is flawed), but the readers need to understand where their frailties come from. What life lessons have they learned that make them the way they are? We get none of that for any of the characters except one; and that exploration and explanation is weak at best.

This is not a bad book, its just not the story I was hoping for. I was hoping for a rampaging death dealing monster and instead I got a more thoughtful and critically thinking beast that in my opinion was humanized too much. This book is not terribly written in all other aspects but when told from the monsters point of view it just seemed kinda hokey. Like I said, just not what I was hoping for so the rating is more about feeling let down. Though I couldn't put it down that was more in the hopes that It got better and unfortunately in my opinion it did not. So if you are in the mood for a not so exciting not so monstrous book about social intrigue and small town politics then this maybe the right book for you. Maybe I should read Jaws cause I am just not getting the comparison unless its just about a small town with something killing people in the water and the towns folk getting into a panic.

I thought "Snapper" was a great book. It was a modern-day JAWS in North Jersey. I didn't know what was going to happen next. It had suspense & was not to gory for me. I couldn't put it down. It tells a story of a town with disturbing secrets and a vicious underwater menace in Turtleback Lake. This was her and Peter Maloney's first adult-themed book. I recommend this book if you like the thriller-genre.Felicia Zekauskas graduated high-school with me at Hackensack High.

I was given the book Snapper as a gift, and loved it. Recently, I moved to Florida after living for 25 years in northern New Jersey. The book is filled with the magic of New Jersey's lakeside towns, which the author describes perfectly. It is a clever and fun read for all ages, and I enjoyed the references to the New Jersey places that I miss. I purchased several copies as gifts, and highly recommend it to adults as well as young adults. It is a wonderful book for parents to read to their children. I have enjoyed the children's book collaboration of this very talented couple Peter Maloney and Felicia Zekauskas. I sincerely hope that they continue to write more books for adults as well as children.

If you compare a book to 'Jaws' then it had better be pretty good. This book was okay, but a little bit of a let down. One thing that bothered me was the erratic flow of the story. It spans over multiple generations, as turtles live a long time, but jumps back and forth in no discernible flow or order. Very confusing at first. Also there were a lot of elements that were never fully explored or were wholly unnecessary to the story. Finally, how hard is it to run from a turtle-- giant or otherwise?

Possibly my favorite read of 2015 and a strong contender for a spot in my all time top 10. I'd so love to see a sequel. The story really caught me off guard and the authors did a great job putting it together.

Especially if you've ever seen a snapper up close and personal. Of course it may keep you out of the water this summer.

Ok for the price, kind of like Jaws14 very diluted from the original