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Book Review: Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay

Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay
William Morrow Books, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0062363275
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, library binding, audiobook, audio CD

Last year’s Stoker winner for best novel was one of the least anticipated in many years. People who read it knew that A Head Full of Ghosts was a shoo-in; it simply was one of the strongest horror novels in several years.  Paul Tremblay’s characters seemed as real as the next-door neighbors, despite the suggestion of supernatural involvement in the events of the story, the multiple perspectives he used were smoothly integrated, yet somehow formed a disorienting and frightening narrative.

Disappearance aat Devil’s Rock is a definite departure in terms of tone and style. It’s a subtle tale, yet one with plenty of tension and plot twists. From the first page, it’s as if Tremblay is whispering to the reader in a dark and secluded New England pub on a chilly autumn evening. What begins as a simple case of a missing teenager turns into something quite sinister that tears at the fabric of a family’s sanity.

Elizabeth Sanderson receives that dreaded call– Tommy, her teenage son has gone missing.  He disappeared in Borderland Park at his friends’ favorite hangout, Devil’s Rock. One night, pages of Tommy’s journal begin to appear on the floor of the house, opening a box of puzzle pieces that don’t quite seem to fit together.  Elizabeth, her daughter Kate, and her mother Janice, struggle to figure out what the late night pages mean. As Elizabeth delves into the mystery, she finds that everyone has a different version of what happened, and that Tommy’s friends are hiding something, or someone. There are even sightings of him around town: is there a chance that Tommy is still alive?

Where Tremblay succeeds in his novels, and this has been noted in several other reviews, is in focusing on the spaces between words, actions, and characters’ relationships. The supernatural may be a component of Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, or just an illusion. This is a thinking reader’s horror/thriller/mystery/suspense novel, but it is as accessible and quick a read as any bestselling page-turner, and might be the one to break down the genre walls for Tremblay.  Recommended.

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Posted on October 24, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Are You In The House Alone? by Richard Peck

Are You In The House Alone? by Richard Peck

Puffin, 2000

ISBN: 0141306939

Available: New and Used

 

Editor’s note: Are You In The House Alone? was first published in 1977. I first read it in 1985, and our review of it is one of the earliest we published. While it is dated, given current events, it seems eerily relevant, and even more terrifying.

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    This is probably the first young adult novel to deal frankly with rape and its aftermath. Gail, a high school junior living in a charming New England town, is getting obscene notes and phone calls. She doesn’t want to think about it, her best friend pretends nothing is happening, and when she finally tells a guidance counselor she isn’t taken seriously. Isolated and terrified, she opens the door one night to let her boyfriend in and is surprised by her stalker, who happens to be her best friend’s boyfriend and the son of the wealthiest family in her small town.

    The chief of police tells Gail he will not arrest the boy, and a sympathetic lawyer explains that pressing charges would mean an attack on her personal life. Gail decides not to press charges, and returns to school. Another girl with an identical raincoat is then attacked on her way home and is left in critical condition.

     This story shows that the rapist is not the only monster. Every person who turns a blind eye to Gail’s situation, from her best friend to the chief of police, shows an ugly side that should horrify anyone who has ever needed to tell a terrible secret.  Richard Peck, a brilliant young adult author, is effective at creating Gail’s world and is able to express the horror of her situation without getting graphic.

Contains: sexual situations, violence

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on October 3, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Experiments at 3 Billion A.M. by Alexander Zelenyj, illustrated by David Rix

Experiments at 3 Billion A.M. by Alexander Zelenyj

Eibonvale Press, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-9555268-5-5

Available: Hardcover (used), paperback (new and used)

    At first glance, the cover of Experiments at 3 Billion A.M. comes across as a science fiction story collection. For the most part it isn’t.  Instead it is a bizarre, surreal collection of forty short stories. Each story has its own illustration by David Rix. Mr. Zelenyj has an eloquent style of writing that gives each story a unique dark flavor and his vivid imagination bring the characters to life for the reader and takes them places they would never expect to go. Some of the stories pull on the heartstrings as they bring the reader close to the characters, but each story has its own dark place – some with brutal toothy malevolence while others are shadows full of emotional pain. The only complaint that the reader may have is that the eloquent wording at times slows some of the stories down. Experiments at 3 Billion A.M. is recommended for libraries looking for a story collection that is unique, dark and at times surreal.

Contains: Violence, Sex, Rape, Bestiality

Review by Bret Jordan

Posted on September 19, 2018 by , Reply
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