Title: Chupacabra Road Trip
Author: Nick Redfern
Genre: Non-Fiction, Monsters
Age Group: Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by thep ublisher in exchange for an honest review.
In 1995, the island nation of Puerto Rico was seized with mass hysteria over a new menace lurking in the rainforests gruesomely killing livestock, leaving strange holes in their necks and draining their bodies of blood. Described by eyewitnesses as a devilish creature three feet tall with spikes along its back and a mouth full of razor-sharp fangs, the strange animal was given the name Chupacabra—Spanish for “goat-sucker.”
Join noted monster hunter Nick Redfern as he traverses the rugged backcountry of Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Texas, and together with his spirited crew, investigates the continuing legacy of this fearsome beast. Whether he’s interviewing locals, analyzing physical evidence, or sorting out the facts from the legends, Nick’s journey into the realm of the Chupacabra will make you wonder just what’s out there sucking blood in the night.
Although an avid fan of monsters, hauntings, and just about anything paranormal, I have to admit my knowledge of the chupacabra has always been limited. So when I was presented with the opportunity to read and review a book focusing on this mysterious beast, I immediately jumped at the opportunity.
Nick Redfern starred in several TV shows and documentaries and has now written a book about the chupacabra. He spent over ten years looking for the creature, and collected several eye witness accounts for documentaries, as well as investigated several theories. Since reading the book I’ve been planning to look up some of his documentaries but didn’t get around to it yet. Either way, the writing style is fluent and easy to read. The author details ten years of investigation chronologically and then expands upon several theories. Is the chupacabra an alien? A mythological creature? A diseased version of an animal we know? A dinosaur that survived? A genetic mutation by the government? A genetic mutation that happened purely by accident? Or is it something else? All theories are explored and investigated.
The author also provided some photographs, and makes the distinction between the Texas chupacabra and the Puerto Rico chupacabra, which I thought was a good insight. Chupacabra Road Trip had some humor too, and overall it was a pleasant read on the topic and I learned a lot about chupacabras (maybe even more than I had ever hoped to learn!).
