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Book by KC Grifant
Reviewed by Pennell Paugh
August 1, 2025 (San Diego) - KC Grifant, a resident of San Diego, has released a second in her Monster Gunslingers series. Sharpshooters Melinda and Vance come out of retirement to fight an unbeatable foe.
Melinda uses her steady hand, cool head, and a no-nonsense attitude. Her partner, Lance, brings charm along with firepower. Together, they fight a psychologically persuasive swarm of gremlins who are hellbent on world domination.
Fast-paced, full of novel twists and unexpected outcomes, Melinda fights monsters from her past as she struggles, mentally and physically, to overcome the Gremlin Queen and her hive.
Can the couple survive and overcome?
Grifant is a genius at populating the wild west with weird monsters. This book, like the first in this series, is packed with novel, powerful terrors. They are delightfully amazing stories.
Here is an excerpt from the novel:
“’You’re jumpier than a long-tailed cat under a rocking chair,’ Melinda said. “What’s going on?”
“’Town of Fallows,’ Aunt B said. “They sent word for help. For you.”
“’For us? We’re retired,’ Melinda said, ignoring the sensation of her heart sinking into her boots.
“Aunt B shook her head. “This sounds bad. Several dead from a mysterious attack.”
“’We’ve done enough,’ Melinda protested. “If we keep going anytime someone calls with some monster situation, we’ll never be finished. Is that what you want? Us out there, taking care of other towns’ problems forever?”
“’This is different,’ Aunt B said as she poured hot water from a kettle into a large teacup.
“’It’s always different.’ Melinda shooed away the feeling of sinking in quicksand. Why was Aunt B bringing this up with them? They were done monster hunting, for good. “After everything we went through last year. We lost Abel, nearly lost Lance—” Melinda stopped, her words curdling on her tongue like sour milk.
“Lance chewed his lip, looking pained and Aunt B’s eyes were bright at the mention of Abel’s name. Guilt immediately shot through Melinda. Well, what did Aunt B expect? That they’d drop everything every time someone needed help."
“’Maybe someone else can do it,’ Lance squeezed her hand. “Like Mellie said, we’re officially retired, after all.”
“’They’ve been trying with no luck,’ Aunt B said quietly. “According to the rider.”
“’Rider?’
“They turned as a woman who looked to be older than Melinda but younger than Aunt B, maybe 40s or so, strode in from the direction of the outhouse. Her dark face glistened with sweat, and she moved with the stiffness of someone who had ridden for too long. Purple scarves wound around her neck over a linen blouse covered in dust
“’This is Priya Bedi,’ Aunt B introduced, handing the woman a cup of tea. “Meet Melinda West and Lance Putman.”
Priya smoothed back her tousled, chin-length black hair and her glazed eyes seemed to brighten. “You are the experts on mysterious happenings?”
“’We’re retir—' Melinda began.
“’Please,’ the rider said hoarsely. Her voice was scratchy as if she had been shouting all day. That, along with a way of pronouncing words uncommon around these parts, took Melinda’s ears a second to follow what she was saying. “Please, we need your help.”
“’Tell them,’ Aunt B urged.
“’People are turning up dead. It is like nothing we have ever seen,’ Priya paused as if holding herself back from tears. “The town is panicking.”
“’From what you told me before, it sounds like it could be a sickness associated with the Edge,’ Aunt B said slowly, glancing down at one of the open books. “Mainly due to the color. Veins that give off a white-blue light. But I can’t identify the source.”
“’How can it be?’ Priya wavered on her feet and Aunt B gestured to her cup of tea encouragingly.
“’We don’t really know how monsters spread infection. Suspect it’s like some animals– fleas, rabies, like that.’ Lance chimed in, rolling a cigarette. “It’s rare for them to affect humans.”
“’We only know of two monster species that confer fatal infections. A centipede type and—' Aunt B shot an apologetic look at Melinda. “a slug species.”
… “’We found one body a few weeks ago. It was unusual.’ Priya’s voice cracked before she continued. “He had been perfectly healthy before. But then two deaths last week. Three on Monday, one elderly. Two more this morning. It is getting worse. The doctor doesn’t know what to do. The bodies, they fall into themselves. They glow. They have a smell like nothing we have encountered.” Priya pressed her eyes shut. By the way Aunt B held herself very still, Melinda knew what she’d say next wouldn’t be good. “People are scared. They burned all the food. Bodies. They do not want people going out. I do not know what they may burn next. I am worried… it will get worse.” She buried her face in her hand. “Excuse me.”
“Melinda sucked in a breath as Lance cursed quietly. As Aunt B coaxed Priya to drink more tea, Lance and Melinda stood by the window to talk.
“’We don’t know for sure if this has anything to do with an Edge monster,’ Melinda said.
“’Don’t see how we can’t offer our help,’ Lance murmured."
KC Grifant is an award-winning San Diegan author who writes horror, fantasy, science fiction, and weird-west stories published in podcasts, Stoker-nominated anthologies, and magazines. She is author of the supernatural western series Monster Gunslingers (Brigids Gate Press) and Shrouded Horror: Tales of the Uncanny (Dragon’s Roost Press, 2024). She is editor of Women of the Weird West (Brigids Gate Press, 2026) and co-editor of Dread Coast: SoCal Horror Tales (No Bad Books Press, 2025) and Of Terrors and Tombstones (Stars and Sabers, 2027).
Grifant’s stories have appeared in PseudoPod, Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, Unnerving Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark Matter Magazine, Sley House Presents, Fission Magazine, Tales to Terrify, Lovecraft eZine; Shadowplays, Musings of the Muse, Dancing in the Shadows—A Tribute to Anne Rice, Stoker-nominated Chromophobia; the Stoker-nominated Fright Mare: Women Write Horror, and many others.
She teaches genre and short story workshops and has been a moderator, panelist, and speaker at dozens of conferences and events. She is co-founder and co-chair of the San Diego Horror Writers Association chapter, a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, and a San Francisco Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association mentor. Learn more on her website, www.KCGrifant.com.
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