The existence of the hairy, humanoid forest creature known as Bigfoot, or sasquatch, has never been confirmed, but that hasn’t stopped many, many people from trying—and this search, and the grainy photos and films showing alleged examples of Bigfoots, have become a well-known part of the popular culture. Surprisingly, though, there have been relatively few examples of sasquatches in TV shows and films, aside from a smattering of creature features—and, of course, the 1987 movie Harry and the Hendersons, in which a Bigfoot befriends a suburban family. The popular horror-fantasy CW show Supernatural even had a running gag that Bigfoots were one of the few monsters that didn’t exist. However, sasquatches have been the subjects of a great many books in a range of genres. Here are a few highlights from the wilds of Kirkus Indie:
D.J. Abear’s The Heart in the Forest isn’t the first paranormal romance to feature a Bigfoot as a romantic lead, but 7-foot-tall Oomin isn’t like other Bigfoots. As our reviewer notes, he not only loves nature, as one might expect, but also “the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley, and…the loneliness of having a lost a mate”—just like avid 60-something camper Jane Armstrong, whom he rescues after she’s rendered unconscious following a fall. Initially, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Jane thinks she’s hallucinating when they first meet. Intriguingly, though, the book is less about the oddness of Oomin’s sasquatch status than it is a reflection on aging and making connections. Our reviewer praised how the novel “skillfully combines compassion, humor, and a dash of suspense.”
The Sasquatch Murder: A Love Story by Jeffery Viles, as its title suggests, has mysterious elements—but it’s not a whodunit, by any means: When Jake Holly encounters a Sasquatch couple in a forest in Washington state, he panics, shoots one dead, and wounds the other, who escapes. Jake and his new girlfriend, Jess O’Reilly, bring the corpse to a funeral home, and when the existence of Bigfoots is revealed to the wider world, it seriously complicates everything—including Jake and Jess’ relationship. The book also delves into the history of the sasquatches in a manner that strives for believability, according to Kirkus’ reviewer, who called the book an “earnest, thoughtful” work “about the ways that people react to the unexpected in their own lives and in the world at large.”
By contrast, our reviewer calls Bethany Browning’s novel Sasquatch, Baby! a “sharp-edged novella” that “delivers the quirky, unhinged entertainment it promises.” Its protagonist, Tabitha Eggs, is a heavy drinking, wealthy Californian who’s alienated her friends with her immature ways; she decides to go into self-destructive seclusion in a redwood forest cabin. She didn’t expect to discover two corpses on her land, to be sure; Bigfoot hunters think that that local Sasquatches are to blame, while protesters want to keep such hunters at bay. After a kindly Bigfoot turns up and rescues Tabitha from a fire, the event effectively upends her perspective on life—and kicks off what our reviewer called an offbeat love story that offers readers “a wild ride that’s as compelling as it is unorthodox.”
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
