Disappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An eerie chiller exploring a teenager's mysterious disappearance.

Elizabeth receives a late night phone call that plunges her into every parent's worst nightmare - her son, Tommy, is missing.

Tommy and his friends, at a sleepover, had gone out into the woodland to their favourite hangout spot - christened Devil's Rock.

As Elizabeth anxiously awaits news from police, strange occurrences are afoot – someone, or something, is trying to communicate with her, leading her down a murky path to the dark truth behind Tommy's disappearance.

'Disappearance at Devil's Rock' is the second horror novel by Paul Tremblay, following 'A Head Full of Ghosts' and multiple short stories, plus two crime novels, a sci-fi novel, and a co-written young adult fantasy. A blend of horror, crime and suspense thriller, the story unfolds from multiple character perspectives in an emotional excavation of the aftermath of a child's disappearance, as all those it touches become undone, with suggestions of supernatural phenomena entwined within an emotive and captivating mystery.

We are introduced to each of the key players in the ensuing tragedy, the relationships between these groups of characters driving the narrative: in the aftermath of Tommy’s disappearance, through three generations of his family - his mother Elizabeth, sister Kate and grandmother Janice; and in the events leading up to the fateful night through his relationship with his two friends, Josh and Luis, and the change in dynamic as the sinister Arnold inserts himself within their group. Tremblay explores the interplay between the teenage characters and how slightly unsettled each of them feels in their friendships as they navigate this boundary between childhood and adulthood.

Throughout, we experience the power of human suggestibility, both through one's personal desire and the manipulation of another, how potent that can be when its influence is felt by a group of people and the devastating impact this can have. We are confronted by sheer despair and the ongoing battle between grief and desperate hope, and, ultimately, the twisted psychopathology of a predator. With an infusion of folklore, and a partial epistolary style and plot structure producing the vibe of a 'true crime' narrative, Tremblay has crafted a slow-burning and suspenseful horror thriller that delves deep into the psychological minefield the characters are treading.



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