Captivating story of a journalist trying to find her missing younger brother and facing incredible human evil. ( )

This was a mysterious and suspenseful story!



A small backstory:

Lucy hasn't heard from her brother (Tim) in a few days and she is worried that something has happened to him. The last time she talked to him, Tim had given her a location of where he was camped out.

So Lucy heads that way to find out what she can learn of his disappearance in the last town where he had been. Along on her journey she comes across a man (Damon) that is also looking for someone that has disappeared in that same area.

The town where Tim was last seen does not want to cooperate with her on if they had seen her brother or not plus the local sheriff's department isn't much help either. Everyone in town seems hostile and Lucy doesn't understand why she cannot seem to find out any information about her brother. Something is just not right about the town and Lucy with the help of Damon try to delve into the mystery of what the town is hiding.

Thoughts:

This was a fast paced suspenseful story that just kept me entranced from the first chapter as when the character Tim disappeared the story just takes off. I was kept in suspense mode till later in the book when things started coming together about what is transpiring in the town and why no one wants to help out Lucy.

Even then when some things are revealed there is still an air of mystery as the plot thickens which kept me turning the pages a little faster as I wanted to see what was going to happen next. Giving this book five "mysterious" stars. ( )

The small town of the title is what drew me to Small Town Nightmare. It all kicks off when Lucy Hush, a journalist, arrives at Night Town, in Western Australia. She's looking for her brother, Tim. He's what you might call a drifter but Lucy knows that Tim would never miss her birthday and that's exactly what's happened, so she goes to try and find out what has happened to him. Along the way she has a chance meeting with Damon, who turns out to be an unexpected ally in her search.

Anna Willett captures the small town mentality very well. The claustrophobia, the feeling of being watched, the whole strangeness of it. The more digging Lucy does, the more the town seems to close ranks and the more suspicious she becomes.

There is a sinister feel to this book. Not just what I've already mentioned, but what has happened to Tim. Then there's Samson Nightmesser, a man who seems to almost own the town, but who is rather odd to say the least.

I enjoyed Lucy and Damon's investigations in this story very much. I wasn't quite so enamoured by the other side of the story, which I can't mention for fear of spoilers, but which involves Tim. Maybe it's because I liked Lucy and Damon as characters so much. She is very strong, very determined, and he seems to be one of the really good guys.

I thought the ending was great, really satisfying and fitting. I found it quite tense and exciting. All in all, this is a well-written suspense novel with many different aspects to it and will appeal to those who enjoy a mystery set in a claustrophobic setting. ( )

An enjoyable build up of tension with a smashing climax. A young man who has lost his way in life gets into trouble. His sister, Lucy, is the only person that can help him. Loyal and brave she tracks him down, but becomes endangered herself. The book is about her resolve in getting to the bottom of what happened to her brother. There are quite a few scary, tense moments. It's the kind of book you stay up all night to finish. ( )