Thomas Pendleton

Shimmer is a retelling of the Greek myth of Pandora's box. Reed builds upon the myth in creating a cast of characters diverse in their motivations, background, and voices. The divisions are prominent: the school cliques, stratified social classes, animosity between original inhabitants and newcomers. As interesting as the plot is, the language and characters bothered me at times. The boys seem superficial and immature toward Emma in ways that don't fit with the plot. Slang and bursts of crude language seemed to be jammed into the dialogue. They come across as forced, superfluous and misused.

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Luther's Bend is a quiet, tiny town where very little happens. Despite a rocky marriage and personal trouble, Sheriff Bill Cranston has the responsibility to ensure the safety of the town's citizens. Unfortunately, his world begins to fall apart when little Maggie Louise Mayflower disappears one evening.

As the town organizes a search for the little girl, Cranston realizes too late that Maggie was only being used as bait when a member of the search is taken. Soon a naked stranger named Douglas Sykes is taken into custody, and Cranston begins to uncover a truth that is stranger than fiction. Sykes claims to be a creature of sorts that is being hunted by a pack of his kind. The pack will stop at nothing, destroying everything in its path, until their prey is killed. Unless Cranston and his men can stop the pack, the townspeople, including Cranston's own family, are doomed.

The Bottom Line: You'll want to sleep with the lights on after reading this one. This tightly written novella features a nice balance of story and plot that will keep you in suspense until the end. As Book 23 in the Cemetery Dance Novella Series, it also features fantastically realistic and gruesome black and white illustrations by Vincent Chong. "Torn" contains graphic descriptions of violence and is highly recommended for mature fans of horror who enjoy stories with a little twist of sadness.

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