The Missing Season
I was really hoping for something creepy from this novel but what I found was something more mysterious than suspenseful. The first half of the novel set the stage but the second half, I felt that I was flipping the pages for a while as the story seemed to lag at first and then, picked up. Since I was truly vested in what was happening, I had to finish the book. Call this story whatever you want, but I thought of it as a fiction with some mysterious elements in it.
The novel takes place in the small town of Pender, where Clara’s father finds work on the demolition of the town’s mill. Clara is used to moving around wherever her father can find employment. I find it amazing how fast seventeen-year Clara fits in with the other teens at Pender and how, she immediately becomes friends with Bree and Sage. Taken to the skate park, Clara notices that this is the place where the teens gather and she notices Kincaid, a guy that Bree also thinks is hot.
As the teens get talking, the story about the disappearance of some local teens is brought up. The locals have their own logical explanations for why they’re gone but these teens believe that the Mumbler is behind the obduction. It’s the Mumbler: he who comes every fall and takes for his own, one bad Pender child. To the marsh, they shall go and only one of them will return. It happens every fall, he collects his victims. Clara is not sure if she believes this story but then, when someone goes missing Clara starts looking for some type of clues. 3.5 stars
