I’ve read a lot of scary books (and agree with Jeff’s review of Broken Monsters), but most books that fall into the horror genre I would consider suspenseful or creepy, but not flat-out horrific.

And then every once and a while you find a golden gem. The book that worms its way into your brain and never seems to let go.

Don’t read if you think sleep is important.

How scary is it? There was a point in the book where I had to cover the pages with my hand, refusing to read a section out of sheer terror.

Never have I encountered a book like this.

The plot of the book centers on a small Canadian Boy Scout troop on their annual weekend to a remote island off the coast. This will be the last outing for the group of five boys, as they’re reaching high school age and are all outgrowing their youth in the Scouts.

But they’ve been together, along with their scoutmaster, since they were Cubs, and relish the opportunity to spend a weekend on the island away from their homes and school.

Of course the scoutmaster makes sure that none of them bring their phones or computers for the weekend, and of course there is a major storm barreling towards the island.

But none of that really matters when the Hungry Man shows up.

The man is a stranger to the boys and their scoutmaster. So thin that they are all visually shocked that he’s still alive. And he’s hungry, so hungry. If they have any food to share he’d love a bite.

Of course the scoutmaster brings him inside of the cabin. They’re scouts after all, and they’re here to help.

And thus begins the worst weekend the scout troop will ever experience.

The boys realize just how vulnerable they really are, out here on a remote island. The boat that was supposed to pick them up hasn’t come yet, and it seems like the same black helicopter keeps flying overhead, never getting too close to the island.

All react differently to their situation — Cutter excels at creating very strong characters — and all fight as hard as they possibly can for their survival.

There is a major “ick” factor to “The Troop”. Usually I am not one to react so strongly to fiction, knowing full well that the story isn’t real and that it came out of the author’s imagination.

However, “The Troop” really got to me. There’s a reason this man is so thin. As the book begins to tell you why, utilizing newspaper clippings to tell the story a la “Carrie” (as Cutter so humbly thanks Stephen King in the acknowledgements for the literary technique) the reader begins to understand how much trouble the troop is in.

Another of Cutter’s strengths are his visual descriptions. The island, while barren, heavily plays into the vulnerability of the troop. There is an absolute horror to the Hungry Man, and what hell his arrival unleashes.

And when Cutter gets into the minds of the boys; scared, helpless, confused, he digs inside to find some deep-seeded childhood horrors. His backstory of one of the boys, and the events that shaped who he is as a person, was so intense that I had to cover the passage with my hand.

There are some things I would never want to read.

So if you are looking for a well-written book, beyond scary, to keep you awake throughout the night, I highly recommend “The Troop”.

Just don’t read it at night.

Or during the day.

Or if you were ever thinking about eating again.