Jaws, the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley, is a thriller about a great white shark terrorizing the fictional New England summer resort of Amity Island, forcing Police Chief Brody, oceanographer Matt Hooper, and shark hunter Quint to hunt it down. The book is darker and more complex than the famous film adaptation, featuring subplots like an affair between Brody's wife and Hooper, and exploring the town's political and social dynamics, with characters who are often petty and bitter. It was a massive bestseller before being adapted into Steven Spielberg's iconic film. Used without the dust cover