Afraid by Jack Kilborn

Nothing ever happens in Safe Haven, Wisconsin, a sleepy little town isolated from neighboring towns by thick woods and accessible by only a single road in and out. And that’s the way the 907 residents of Safe Haven like it… until that idyllic isolation turns into their worst nightmare.

On a peaceful evening under a hunter’s moon an explosion lights up the sky as a helicopter carrying a Red Ops military unit crashes into the woods just outside of town. The Red-Ops team is made up of psychopathic killers who have been scientifically enhanced and specially trained to exploit their individual perversions for military objectives. Unfortunately for the town’s residents, the Red-Ops team survives the crash, descends upon the town, cuts them off from the outside world, and unleashes utter destruction on everyone and everything in their path.

In the face of brutal circumstances thrust upon them, ordinary people are forced to confront their beliefs and to look deep within themselves to see what they are really made of. What does the lifelong supporter of Amnesty International do when violence threatens her child? How does the fireman who has never had to do anything heroic in his sleepy little Midwestern town react? And if you’re the Sheriff who’s old and alone, beaten and broken, do you give up and lay down, or do you keep putting one foot in front of the other because people are counting on you to do so? Such are the soul testing situations the hapless people of Safe Haven find themselves facing.

The relentless pace and extreme terror of Afraid are the hooks being used to promote this book, justifiably so, but if you focus a little deeper there’s much more going on here than just a scary story. Kudos to Mr. Kilborn for creating a genuinely terrifying story that actually has depth to go with its death and destruction.

To learn more about Jack Kilborn, visit his website.