NOTE: We’ve included this book because it’s an incredibly interesting read, but DO NOT let the title tell you everything. There is so much more to this book than its title and subtitle. We’re here to end the stigma around sharks, not to perpetuate it, and despite its title, this book is an important part of that conversation. 

Silent Came the Monster: A Novel of the 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks by Amy Hill Hearth

Blackstone Publishing: May 16, 2023, 300 pages

ISBN-13: 979-8200749157

“From New York Times bestselling author Amy Hill Hearth comes her first historical thriller, inspired by the story of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark.

“Sharks are as timid as rabbits,” says a superintendent of the Coast Guard, dismissing the possibility that a shark could be the culprit in an unprecedented fatal attack at the Jersey Shore. It’s July, and swimming in the sea is a popular new pastime, but people up and down the East Coast are shocked and mystified by the swimmer’s death. A prominent surgeon at the shore, Dr. Edwin Halsey is the one who examines the victim, and the only one who believes the perpetrator was a shark–and that it will strike again.

“With the public and the authorities–and even those who witnessed the attacks–so stubbornly disbelieving, Dr. Halsey finds himself fighting widespread confusion, conspiracy theories, and outright denial. Seeking the input of commercial fisherman, he soon learns they have long been concerned about a creature they call the Beast. The Lenape, one of the tribes native to the area, have their own beliefs about this creature, but can Dr. Halsey convince the rest of the world before it’s too late?

“The story of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark changed the way Americans think of the seashore, reminding us once again that nature plays by its own rules.”