Book Review: Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay
A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay
Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: William Morrow (June 21, 2016)
Length: 327 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of reading Paul Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts, which promptly landed him on my “I must read more of this author!” list. So when I found out about his new book Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, I simply couldn’t resist checking it out.
Now that I’m finished reading though, I feel torn. Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t think the book was bad, but I also definitely didn’t think it was as good as A Head Full of Ghosts, not even close. Yes, it’s entirely possible that my expectations were way too high going into this, but there were also some pacing problems and other issues I couldn’t ignore, not to mention I also didn’t enjoy the premise as much, which I’m sure played into my overall tepid feelings for this novel.
The book opens with a moment all parents dread. Elizabeth Sanderson, the story’s protagonist, receives a phone call in the middle of the night telling her that her thirteen-year-old son is missing. The caller is her son Tommy’s friend, Josh, who tells her that the two boys and another friend Luis have all been in the woods of Borderland State Park. The three of them had stolen some beer from their parents and had snuck out to do some drinking, Josh says, just hanging out at landmark nicknamed the Devil’s Rock, when Tommy suddenly ran into the trees. This was hours ago, and no one has seen him since.
The next few days are a nightmare for Elizabeth and her daughter Kate as they wait for news. The townspeople are searching the woods tirelessly, police have been called in to investigate, and the media is giving the case national attention. But still, no sign of Tommy. Stressed with worry and grief, Elizabeth starts to think she’s seeing things that aren’t there. That first night, she could have sworn she saw a shadow of Tommy visiting her as a ghost, but believing that also makes her feel terrible because she doesn’t want to give up hope her son is still alive. Then there are the mysterious pages from Tommy’s diary, inexplicably appearing in places for Elizabeth to find. The journal entries reveal a complicated young man who has become increasingly troubled by the loss of his father, Elizabeth’s ex-husband who abandoned his family years ago and died in a drunk-driving accident. Tommy also writes about his experiences in the days leading up to his disappearance, which sheds light on the testimonies of his friends Josh and Luis, indicating that the two boys might not be as forthcoming as they claim. Will these diary pages ultimately lead to the truth behind Tommy’s disappearance?
Like A Head Full of Ghosts, there’s an air of ambiguity that shrouds the story. Paul Tremblay gives just enough to blur the lines between the mundane and the paranormal, keeping readers wondering if there’s more than meets the eye. The book is like a puzzle, providing us with pieces of the narrative from Elizabeth, Kate, Josh, Luis, as well as Allison, the lead investigator on Tommy’s case. Then there are the diary entries from Tommy, words straight from the missing teen himself. Sometimes the different angles reveal answers, helping us fill in the gaps. At other times, they reveal inconsistencies, which is how we later find out some characters aren’t being as truthful as they claim.
I’m aware this style of storytelling usually relies on slower, more methodical pacing. Still, the plodding speed at which this book began was almost unbearable. At one point, I wondered how much of the boys’ shenanigans and their back-and-forth teenage jargon I would have to take before the story would finally get moving. After the initial report that Tommy is missing, the book slows to a crawl and doesn’t pick up again until later, and even then it’s a very gradual escalation without an immediate hook or much suspense.
As I said, I also didn’t enjoy the premise as much. A Head Full of Ghosts was definitely more my bag when it comes to horror, more so than Disappearance at Devil’s Rock which was less “horrific” in the traditional sense. I was unsettled by the story in that I sympathized with Elizabeth’s gut-wrenching sorrow of being a mom with a missing child, but if I was terrified at all, it was more at the idea that one day I’ll be a parent to teenagers, and it scares the hell out of me to read about the kinds of things kids can get up to these days. That left me neither here nor there with this book; it didn’t creep me out the way I would expect from a horror novel, but it was also too slow for me to see it as a true thriller.
That is why I think so much will depend on the kind of horror novel you prefer, and personally speaking this one just didn’t work as well for me—certainly not as well as A Head Full of Ghosts, which I found genuinely clever and creepy at the same time. I also thought that one was a much better book, in terms of writing and construction. Given my high hopes for Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, perhaps it was inevitable that I would be let down, but I suspect I’m in the minority on my feelings for this book. So if the premise sounds like something you’ll enjoy, I strongly urge you to give it a try.
The BiblioSanctum 
I’m glad to see I’m not alone, I really felt “meh” about this book too. And if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think his depiction of teens is the norm. One of the things that bothered me the most about this book was that the mother was so apathetic about the fact that her son was drinking and hanging out with a weird creepo. I’m telling you, my kids would be grounded forever if I caught them doing any of the things these boys did! (Also, kids don’t talk like that. I was annoyed by the weird slang they were using.)
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That does make me feel a little better – I was HORRIFIED at some of the things Tommy and the boys were up to. But I still can’t help but freak out a little, remembering how even in middle school I’d seen some of my friends get up to all kinds of bad behaviors and I’m sure their parents didn’t know a thing because teens can be so good at keeping secrets. And yeah, the characters’ weird slang/dialogue in this book…some of it was pretty grating 🙂
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Mmmmm…. plodding pace and speech patterns that don’t feel “real”…
I’m not sure I would be able to withstand that, even with an intriguing premise!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Yep, lots of inane teenage boy banter…not that I know how adolescents talk to each other these days, but it sounded a bit forced to me 🙂
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Yeah, this one doesn’t appeal to me to be honest and for some reason the concept sounds very familiar – not sure why. I must have a hard think about it!
Lynn 😀
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I think there are a lot of “disappearing teen” stories out there these days. I had a similar thought when I first read the book description, I think it might have reminded me of a TV show, whose trailers I’d been seeing around a lot lately.
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hmmm… in some ways the style really intrigues me. But the part about tiring of the teenage boys, well, thats less appealing.
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There were pages and pages of this tiring dialogue – one section near the beginning that almost made me want to skip the whole chapter!
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I gave it a shot, but it just didn’t work for me. Far too slow, too plodding, and too wordy for my tastes. There was no sense of danger or tension, and no emotional engagement with any of the characters.
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Agreed with you on the plodding pace, especially near the beginning. I can totally see how that would pose an obstacle.
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Bummer. I really enjoyed A Head Full of Ghosts, too. This one is coming up in my pile soon. I will try to go into it expecting something much different than Ghosts.
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It wasn’t bad, but I was definitely disappointed especially after the incredibly mind-blowing experience that was Head Full of Ghosts. I was probably expecting too much, but I don’t think this book was as good in terms of the technical aspects either.
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LOL! I opened this review on my phone, and I thought that I commented. I fell asleep with the phone in my hand, and awoke to it needing to be charged. I was just strolling through and remembered that I had read this review. I was too tired last night. LOL. Anyway, I’m glad that you at least enjoyed this one, even if it wasn’t as good as the other book.
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Yeah, it’s too bad, but I’ll still check out anything he writes!
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Haha when I was reading the synopsis I was like “no teenagers do that.. oh that’s right, I kind of did” (but it wasn’t in the woods because I wasn’t that crazy and stupid xD)
It’s too bad that you didn’t enjoy it at much as his other book but it’s hard to love every single book written by the same author.
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Ha! Yeah, we got up to all kinds of shenanigans as kids, but the times have changed so much even in just a little more than a decade. But yeah, drinking in the woods and talking to creepy strangers, no way!
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Too bad it was not as awesome
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Yeah, but oh well, on to the next book!
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This sounds interesting. I read “Then there are the mysterious pages from Tommy’s diary, inexplicably appearing in places for Elizabeth to find.” and immediately thought of the slender game though. 😛
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That is one creepy looking game!
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