Corpus Cristi, Maine – Present Day

Meg Wintrob isn’t sure if it’s the change in weather, the fire last year that burned down the mill in the neighboring town of Bedford and poisoned the town, or a middle age crisis. But something is coming. Something is in the air. Meg is torn between love for her husband, Fenstad, and children, David and Madeline, and wanting to walk away from it all. Something is in the air – a feeling of waiting -- but Meg doesn’t know what it is. If she did, she’d take her family and run far away.

Third grade teacher Lois Larkin is so depressed she’s not sure why she got out of bed. Her fiancé, whom she’s not sure she ever loved, dumped her for her best friend Noreen. She’s stuck in this small town, and any chance she ever had of getting out is gone. On this day, the last thing she wants to do is take her class on a field trip, but it’s too late to call it off. Lois and her class of third graders head to the woods that lie between Corpus Cristi and Bedford. The EPA has assured the residents that no toxins remain after the mill fire last year -- but deep in the woods something is waiting, something dark and evil waiting for someone to free it. That someone is a nasty little boy named James Walker.

Corpus Cristi is an idyllic town where everyone knows your name. The faces are familiar, the hospital keeps the economy strong, and nothing ever really changes. The town is filled with those who love it because it’s home, and those who feel trapped in the small town with no way out. A town on the brink of disaster, and only the strange behavior of the animals is an indication that something is dreadfully wrong.

From the opening pages, readers know they are in for a dark and desperate journey. THE MISSING begins at the end with Meg Wintrob, who is the last living human in Corpus Cristi. The story is told from the perspective of various people in town, but the primary narrator is Meg. With gruesome realism and well-drawn characters, readers are drawn into the horror of the story with scenes painted with just enough detail to let the reader’s imagination fill in the horrifying blanks. The first person narrative from several perspectives immerses the reader not only in the characters themselves, but in the overwhelming darkness that slowly sweeps through the town.

I found THE MISSING an engrossing, if disturbing story. The writing is top-notch and the narrative almost too descriptive at times. THE MISSING is an excellent book, and fans of horror will flock to read it; however, it reminded this reader why I love romance. While the story is compelling and the author writes with skill, THE MISSING is very reminiscent of Stephen King’s TOMMYKNOCKERS in its strange and frightening tone, and also of King’s short story, The Mist, wherein the reader tries desperately to cling to hope for mankind even knowing that, in the end, there is no hope.

A well-written, highly disturbing novel of evil at its worst.

Terrie Figueroa