IN THE WOODS

Something mysterious lurks within the Oklahoma woods.

Maine resident Chrystal has been planning on summering at the lake with her friends or visiting New York City with her mom and stepfather—anything but indulging her amateur cryptozoologist father’s Bigfoot obsession. But after a bloody incident occurs in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, Chrystal is packed off with her dad and finds herself heading toward the dark woods to investigate. Once there, Chrystal meets Logan, the cute farm boy who witnessed the attack. The presumably white teens grow close as they investigate the monster and the attacks increase in number and bloodshed. Presenting chapters narrated from Logan’s and Chrystal’s perspectives, the authors create engaging teen protagonists and a solidly structured mythology for the monster. There’s a promising start with some good character development and smartly constructed scares. The problem here is a lack of judicious editing: At about 350 pages, the horror story’s atmosphere and spookiness slip away, leaving long patches where information is repeated, and the characters aren’t given enough opportunity for further exploration. There just isn’t enough meat on the bone to justify this length. The monster’s terrorizing presence is blunted over time, and readers who are trying to figure out the who and why of this mystery will be plenty disappointed.

A good idea with promising characters scuttled by too many pages.