Silent Came the Monster: A Novel of the 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks

Subscribe to our newsletter for title recommendations, giveaways and discounts reserved only for subscribers. Join here. praise for Silent Came the Monster “A mere five words into this gripping story I could hear the thrum of the Jaws music inside my head. Based on real-life events, Amy Hill Hearth captures two weeks of terror in an age of innocence. A riveting tale. Be bold—make it your beach read.” —Marshall Karp, #1 New York Times bestselling author “Silent Came the Monster is chilling, thrilling, and fun. A great white shark with a taste for hunting humans in this turn-of-the-century setting makes for a fabulous read.” —Lynn Hightower, internationally bestselling author “Wherever Amy Hill Hearth turns her attention, history comes alive . . . Silent Came the Monster is a thrilling, unforgettable journey into the past.” —Peter Golden, author of Nothing Is Forgotten “A deeply compelling novel rich with historical detail and surprising parallels to our modern world.” —Hester Young, author of The Gates of Evangeline and The Burning Island books by amy hill hearth Nonfiction Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years The Delany Sisters’ Book of Everyday Wisdom On My Own: Reflections on Life Without Bessie In a World Gone Mad: A Heroic Story of Love, Faith, and Survival Strong Medicine Speaks: A Native American Elder Has Her Say Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters Children’s Nonfiction The Delany Sisters Reach High Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York Fiction Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women’s Literary Society Miss Dreamsville and the Lost Heiress of Collier County Silent Came the Monster: A Novel of the 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks Copyright © 2023 by Amy Hill HearthE-book published in 2023 by Blackstone PublishingCover design by Alenka Vdovič LinaschkeAll rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Any historical figures and events referenced in this book are depicted in a fictitious manner. All other characters and events are products of the author’s imagination, andany similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental.Trade e-book ISBN 979-8-200-74917-1Library e-book ISBN 979-8-200-74916-4Fiction / Thrillers / HistoricalBlackstone Publishing31 Mistletoe Rd.Ashland, OR 97520www.BlackstonePublishing.com For Blair and all the other rescuers, lifeguards, and heroes who rush toward danger at their own peril. You represent the best of humankind. Prologue june 17, 1880 The deckhand saw it first. Sweet Jesus, what is that? he asked himself. Before he could get a good look, the creature dove beneath the surface. They were close to shore, less than a mile off Sea Bright, New Jersey. Propelled by a light but steady wind, they were heading in for the day with a full catch. Maybe it’s a whale, he thought. It was embarrassing that he knew so little, but this was only his third day as a deckhand. Two weeks before, he had graduated from the eighth grade. The summer of 1880 stretched out before him with visions of hammocks, fireworks, and girls. His father, however, had decided that a challenging job would toughen him up, and so the lad found himself aboard a wide-beamed nineteen-foot catboat, learning the ropes from an experienced captain willing to tolerate a novice assistant. “Captain Longstreet,” he yelled. “There’s something out there!” But when the skipper turned, there was nothing to see but the gray-blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean on a glorious summer day. Then the creature surfaced off the starboard bow. This time the captain saw it and recoiled. “What is it? A whale?” called the deckhand. “It’s a shark!” the captain shouted. “Big one! Never saw one like that ’round here! Now stay calm, boy!” This was not the response the inexperienced deckhand was hoping for. He scanned the horizon intently. Maybe it will just go away, he thought. But it appeared again behind the stern, the enormous dorsal fin protruding like the black sail of a pirate ship closing in. Instead of catching up, however, the shark hung back. Then it sped up and began to pace them, and the young deckhand saw that the shark was nearly the length of their fishing vessel. It’s not following us, the deckhand thought, his heart in his throat. Surely, it can’t be. Suddenly, the shark shot forward, its dorsal fin aimed directly at the boat. The deckhand screamed. The captain watched helplessly. Just as they braced for impact, the shark simply disappeared. There was no sight of its dreadful dorsal fin at all. It’s gone! thought the deckhand, shaking with relief. A few seconds later, it slammed the underside of the boat and tore right through the wood, sending chunks and splinters flying. Protruding through the bottom of the boat, stuck fast, was the massive head of the creature—its jaws wide, as if to bite the air. Then the shark seemed to panic, thrashing wildly, flinging the captain overboard. The deckhand grabbed ahold of the gunwale and held on. The creature could not free itself. It shook the boat furiously, then spun the vessel back and forth in semicircles. Finally, it lifted the boat into the air, smashing it back down on the water’s surface. The deckhand hung on. I must kill it, he thought. I have to kill it. But he could not reach anything that could be used as a weapon. At the same time, he wondered what to do about the captain, who was trying desperately to climb back into the boat. “Don’t give up, Captain!” the deckhand cried. He let go of the gunwale and reached for the captain’s hand, gripped it tightly, and pulled him into the vessel. At the same moment, the shark freed itself. Water gushed through the hole where the shark’s head had been. We’re going to sink! the deckhand thought. He grabbed a tarpaulin and tried to stuff it into the hole, but