The Beast In Aisle 34

The Beast In Aisle 34

Darrin Doyle

Tortoise Books 2021

290 pages

ISBN-10 (paperback) 1948954575

Observations

If you’re in the mood for a fast paced, smaller scale novel than Red Moon, The Beast In Aisle 34 may be just the ticket. Sandy Kurtz is an everyman, a hapless but basically decent fellow stuck in a dead end job and a troubled marriage. On top of that, he finds that he is a werewolf. The stake as are personal, the story is by turns funny, tragic, violent, and gory, sometimes all at the same time. While Murcheston wrestled with morality and humanity with a straight face and deliberate philosophical detachment, The Beast In Aisle 34 does the same with snark and attitude. While I found both approaches valid, some may prefer one approach over the other. Darrin Doyle’s book advertises its B-movie bona fides on its wonderfully pulpy cover and he delivers exactly what that cover promises, but along the way he also delivers more depth and insight than one might expect.