The inaugural slip of paper out of my new TBR Jar told me to read Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay, a mystery thriller I had put on my TBR list even though I can’t remember how exactly it got there. This was a “return to my roots” so to speak after finishing two rom-coms — but it wasn’t a homecoming I liked or really want to experience again. Disappearance at Devil’s Rock promised a good story but left me with a lot of loose ends, confusion on what the point of the book was, and an overall feeling of “meh.”
Disappearance at Devil’s Rock By Paul Tremblay
I have a love and enthusiasm for wilderness survival thrillers, or really any story that follows the “hiking trip gone wrong” trope; that’s partly why I really enjoyed This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefe. Paul Tremblay’s story synopsis has a similar vibe, along the lines of “a person disappearing in a cursed place,” and that’s what initially sparked my interest:
“A family is shaken to its core after the mysterious disappearance of a teenage boy in this eerie tale, a blend of literary fiction, psychological suspense, and supernatural horror from the author of A Head Full of Ghosts.
Late one summer night, Elizabeth Sanderson receives the devastating news that every mother fears: her fourteen-year-old son, Tommy, has vanished without a trace in the woods of a local park.
The search isn’t yielding any answers, and Elizabeth and her young daughter, Kate, struggle to comprehend his disappearance. Feeling helpless and alone, their sorrow is compounded by anger and frustration. The local and state police haven’t uncovered any leads. Josh and Luis, the friends who were with Tommy last, may not be telling the whole truth about that night in Borderland State Park, when they were supposedly hanging out at a landmark the local teens have renamed Devil’s Rock— rumored to be cursed.“
Disappearance at Devil’s Rock. Paul Tremblay. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27064358-disappearance-at-devil-s-rock.
But there are two big problems with the book as a whole:
It doesn’t know what genre it wants to be, and there’s not a lot of resolution in the end. The latter is made even worse because of the former.
Very early in the book, there are very strong supernatural/paranormal horror elements, which naturally makes you think this is going to be a recurring part of the story. But when the rest of the story brings in real-life horror elements (as in, the reason behind Tommy’s disappearance seems to be more human than ghost), it is very confusing and makes it seem like the story doesn’t know what it wants to be. That, or Tremblay wanted both genres (paranormal horror and non) to coexist in one story, but the refusal to not be just one thing leaves me as the reader very confused.
It is a very difficult roller-coaster of reading to go from Elizabeth possibly seeing Tommy’s ghost; to the introduction of a suspicious human antagonist befriending Tommy and the boys; to folklore about the Devil being trapped at Borderland; to Tommy’s sister playing practical jokes; and clear supernatural happenings going on at Elizabeth’s house. In the words of Ron Swanson from Parks & Rec, “Never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing.” Do not go half-and-half on supernatural elements and human elements — go full-on one of them to make a better, cohesive story.
I think it is this oil-and water mixture of genres that is key to the feeling of non-resolution at the end; this feeling that there are a lot of loose ends not bothered to be explained or tied up. It’s unsatisfying. I’m not asking Tremblay to hold my hand as the reader and explain every single detail — what I am asking for is a clear through-line of all the story’s events so I can see how it all works together and fits in the same book. Unless this is meant to be so open-ended and so up-to-interpretation, that we as the reader can pick and choose what’s real and what’s a red herring. I would not call this book suspenseful, save for one or two individual scenes that are very clearly supernatural, as I was far too confused trying to piece it all together to be actively scared or on-edge.
Given the mismatched style and plot of this book, I think it would’ve been perfect as flash fiction. Flash fiction, a novella, a folk legend, or some condensed version that kept the main suspenseful elements and had a better mystery. Is this book meant to be atmospheric? Only focusing on spooky vibes instead of telling a logical, well-thought-out story? By Chapter 12 (there’s 17 total), nothing has really happened and Disappearance at Devil’s Rock just feels like an extended tableau. There’s no ongoing sense of dread, hardly any suspense like I mentioned before — it should’ve been tightened up and made a straightforward ghost story.
I do have to give Tremblay credit, this story did not leave me as perplexed and annoyed as The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager, but it’s still very meh. I’m not glad I read it, I’m not mad I read it, it’s just a book I used an Audible credit on and am not getting back.
My Hot Takes (Spoiler Warning)
- Arnold/Rooney gave me MAJOR pedo vibes from the second he was introduced. Totally called that. Naturally this took me out of the supernatural horror vibes and was the catalyst for me wondering if this was going to be a child murder story or a ghost murder story.
- If you want a better “cursed wilderness” story, or “something supernatural happened/lives here and bad things happen to people who come here,” then please just go read This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefe.
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
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