Written by Shawn Burgess
Mystery, horror, thriller, all rolled up into one in this page-turner written by Shawn Burgess. The title and book cover was the first eye-catcher for me so I decided why not? Then I read the description and it piqued my interest even more. Bought it first as a paperback book but being a mom of two little rambunctious girls, I never really have time to read from a book anymore even though I try. So I decided that if I want to actually get to read this book, buying the E-book is the way to go.
A story starting out with a nice scene between a few boys out to have fun and ready to rule the world, well in their minds anyways. But it drastically changes into something devastating that sets the mood for the book. The characters Shawn writes drags you into the book, a lot of them being relatable, especially the kids with the ‘we will save the town’ attitude. When you are young, you want to be the first to solve mysteries or to help people out, not thinking about the consequences of your actions. Little hearts of gold. But what if they get in over their heads? And what if there are the local bullies trying to hurt you? What can you do?
Shawn has written this book in such a way that I felt I was right there with the boys, racing away from the bullies or spying on a neighbor or trekking through the woods with my heart up in my throat, all the while the grown-ups did their thing as they tried to figure out the mystery behind a wooded area called Grief Hollow and try to find those who have gone missing or have been murdered inside the woods. And when he introduces new characters, they fit so perfectly that it seems they had always been there. Even when he moved in a new character into the town, I would forget that he hadn’t already been there until Shawn mentioned unpacking.
A darkness has fallen over the town of Harper Pass and Shawn has used his tools to make it dangerous, scary, and mysterious all at the same time. He takes you on an adventure you didn’t know you wanted to go on but once you begin it, you have to keep going in order to end it and to answer all of the questions that pop up during the wild ride. A great page-turner that is written full of life, danger, and horror that grips your heart, makes you hold your breath and turns the pages for you.
I have to say that this book took me on a roller coaster with twists and turns and questions with very few answers. Questions like is the woods haunted? Is there actually a person behind the disappearance of the little girl and the deaths? What is going on?
I will say this, Shawn Burgess has created yet another spooky place I would not want to visit. The town maybe but I definitely would never want to step foot in Grief Hollow after reading this book. So time to put Grief Hollow on the list along with Lake Arcadia, Crystal Lake, and Amity Island.
You want to know what happens? Really? Are you sure you are ready to find out where the missing girl went and what is stalking the people of Harper Pass? Do you want to know what the group of boys found out when they did their own snooping? Well then, here you go…