by Kurtis Scaletta
Things are far from perfect in Eric Parrish’s quiet Maine town. He’s been wrongly accused of being the school bully. His little brother, Brian, is super annoying. His dad has moved to Boston to pursue a mid-life crisis. Mom works at a boarding school for troubled girls and is completely preoccupied with finding Mandy, one of her students who has run away. There are also some very strange, glowing mushrooms in the woods behind the Parrish house, and they’re spreading quickly. Eric feels there’s something sinister about those mushrooms. When he accidentally discovers Mandy’s hiding place, he keeps her secret, because she also thinks the mushrooms are dangerous. Their sleuthing leads to a painting in a local museum that seems to be depicting the town, 200 years ago, overrun by mushrooms. Legend has it that the whole town actually disappeared. Eric and Mandy set out to make sure that never happens again, but how do you fight an evil fungus? Scaletta takes what could potentially be a silly, unbelievable premise and manages to create a distinctly unsettling feel, as the mushrooms quietly sneak through the floorboards of the Parrish’s home, across the football field at the school, and overrun the lives of the residents of Tanglewood. Eric’s parents, especially his father, are fully fleshed out characters, and Brian goes beyond the typical frustrating little brother to downright heartwarming at times. A good mystery without ever getting too, too scary!
No comments:
Post a Comment