Summer is in full swing, and this is the time of year when I find myself craving fast-paced page-turners—books that hook me from the very first page and don’t let go. While my definition of a perfect summer read has evolved over the years, sharp, punchy thrillers remain my seasonal go-to. Enter Girl in the Creek, the latest novel by Wendy N. Wagner. A horror-tinged mystery with an arresting cover that instantly caught my eye, it had a premise I couldn’t resist. The moment I read the synopsis, I knew I had to dive in.
Erin Harper has arrived in Faraday, Oregon, under false pretenses. She’s pitched a travel piece to a magazine, claiming the small mountain town is the next must-see vacation destination. In truth, Faraday is anything but. Nestled in the shadow of Mt. Hood, it's a fading community anchored by a decaying hotel overtaken by fungus and rot, a far cry from the charming getaway it once was. Erin’s real reason for coming is personal. Her brother disappeared here, and she’s determined to find out what happened.
Erin's brother isn't the first person to vanish. People go missing here. Always in the woods. Always without a trace. Erin thinks she might finally get answers when another young woman vanishes and later turns up dead in a creek. But the relief is short-lived. The girl disappears again—this time from the morgue—and her fingerprints resurface days later at a violent crime scene. Is it a serial killer? A town-wide cover-up? Or is something darker taking root in the forest itself—something ancient, infectious, and impossible to contain? Erin’s running out of time. If she doesn’t solve the mystery soon, she may become the next to disappear.
Girl in the Creek sees Wendy N. Wagner blend classic mystery elements with eco/body horror in an atmospheric page-turner that hooked me from the start. There’s something irresistible about a quiet small town hiding secrets, and Wagner taps into that unease with sharp prose and a breakneck pace. The story unfolds through alternating perspectives, keeping the tension high throughout.
The cast is fairly large, but the real focus is on Erin, whose character is the most fully developed. The others serve more as background players, which isn’t necessarily a flaw, but it does mean the emotional stakes stay closely tied to Erin's journey. One of the most imaginative points of view comes from a mysterious entity Wagner calls 'The Strangeness'—a force that’s as eerie as it is original. I’d love to say more, but to do so would spoil the fun. Suffice it to say, Girl in the Creek is a quick, creepy, and satisfying summer read that kept me glued to every page.
For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2025, 55)
I always seem to want to read more horror stories when fall arrives; I'll have to remember this one. It sounds very creepy.
ReplyDeleteArresting is a good way to describe that cover. The Strangeness makes me think of a show my kid watched back in the day where they called it The Weirdness.
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