THE SLIME MOLD MURDER

An unlikely hero must solve a brutal murder to protect his town in this enchanting nature-based thriller.

Rice’s accidental hero is Dylan Kusher, a 19-year-old with a genius IQ and severe ADHD. He’s got one more semester to earn his undergraduate ecology degree, but he’s broke, and his home, owned by his absentee parents, is nearing foreclosure. Dylan gets a break when his mentor gives him a request for a well-paid biological survey. The request had been made by Wade Witecki, who plans to build a Halloween maze and haunted house on his new property. Dylan meets Wade and his precocious daughter, Alyson, and they all find ways to make the property scarier. And after learning of Dylan’s financial situation, Wade invites him to move in. The odd events start piling up. The body of a gay nudist and reporter is found near a pet cemetery, for example. (Dylan saves the man’s terrier, left for dead in a garbage bag, and vows to adopt him.) Someone burns a cross near a benefit art auction. Dylan must assemble the facts, focus his thoughts, and harness his big brain to save the neighborhood. In Dylan, Rice has created a different breed of champion, a skinny science nerd full of knowledge but lacking in social skills. Characterization is Rice’s strength; she’s packed this volume with memorable characters, including a sexy sculptress, an elusive nature photographer, and a prickly visiting professor. As with her earlier works set in the Pacific Northwest, she effectively shines a spotlight on nature, in this case, slime molds. Helping to bring these little-known organisms to life are the striking illustrations by Sheffels. One drawback of having many academics in the cast is that exposition too often becomes a lecture, but it’s an edifying flaw.

A whimsical whodunit both educational and entertaining.