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Strange Matter #18
The Fairfield Triangle
The Fairfield Triangle has always been an enigma to its namesake town. No one has ever found a reason for the strange events that take place there.
Enter Russell Drake. Russell loves solving mysteries. That's why he tags along with his dad, Sheriff Drake, to investigate a disappearance in The Triangle. However, when his back is turned, Russell's crime-solving kit - his most valued possession - vanishes, and the young detective finds himself a victim of the legendary Triangle.
To solve the mystery, Russell teams up with the Barker sisters, classmates from school whose father just lost some equipment to The Triangle. They return to the area to search for clues, and come back with enough evidence to persuade Mr. Barker to camp out at the area in an attempt to capture the weird occurrences on tape.
While setting up his recorders at the campsite, Mr. Barker suddenly vanishes into thin air, right before the kids' eyes. When Russell and the sisters try to get the Sheriff, they find themselves trapped in a never-changing landscape with no way out!
Russell quickly realizes . . . they're lost in The Fairfield Triangle.
And worse . . . They're not in there alone.
Enter Russell Drake. Russell loves solving mysteries. That's why he tags along with his dad, Sheriff Drake, to investigate a disappearance in The Triangle. However, when his back is turned, Russell's crime-solving kit - his most valued possession - vanishes, and the young detective finds himself a victim of the legendary Triangle.
To solve the mystery, Russell teams up with the Barker sisters, classmates from school whose father just lost some equipment to The Triangle. They return to the area to search for clues, and come back with enough evidence to persuade Mr. Barker to camp out at the area in an attempt to capture the weird occurrences on tape.
While setting up his recorders at the campsite, Mr. Barker suddenly vanishes into thin air, right before the kids' eyes. When Russell and the sisters try to get the Sheriff, they find themselves trapped in a never-changing landscape with no way out!
Russell quickly realizes . . . they're lost in The Fairfield Triangle.
And worse . . . They're not in there alone.
Audio Cassette
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 7, 2022
We continue this cycle with more Strange Matter. I picked this one as the whole idea sounded intriguing. To cut to the chase, it indeed was, I quite liked this one.
There are stories told of the Fairfield Triangle, a place in the town where things are known to vanish. It's the same idea as the Bermuda Triangle, and no one knows if anything is really up with it. An author named Mr. Barker is looking into things and has a strange encounter with mysterious lights. This catches the attention of protagonist Russell Drake, a wannabe paranormal investigator always looking for a new mystery to solve.
He wants to help out Mr. Barker, along with Barker's triplet daughters, Breene, Addy and Crystal. This is mostly because the triangle seemingly takes Rusell's special "investigator" kid he's been building from a young age. They all start to get to the bottom of this, but they find they may get more than they bargained for.
This one is just solid, it does most things right and flows well. It's a quick read that goes down nicely, and wasn't too rushed or padded. The whole angle appealed to me, a kid wanting to solve mysteries. We get backstory of how he came to be into that stuff, and his dad, the sheriff, supports it. He's a fun character that has a clear personality that works. He has a good thing with the sisters, working well off them.
They each have a basic treat that makes them well work, and Crystal, while being the mean one, gets to be useful and not just a whiny jerk like I expected. She gets a mini arc of sorts, it's not much but it is there. Mr. Barker is a rare good adult who wants to find out what is going on. Dad is just there, being maybe a bit too loose but at least not a jerk, and supporting his son.
The atmosphere is good, and there's at least one good dark moment with a mostly fun climax. Now, it is a slow burn. It gets started off the bat but it takes forever to have real action. It's mostly talk and little things as they look into the mystery and discuss theories. That's the appeal of it for me, as I like the more sleuth driven approach but teasing the idea that this could just be nothing is pointless in a series all about the supernatural.
We get an answer and it is out there. It's not fully explained all the way but given what it is, we have a clear idea of the stakes and clearly know what is going on, and why this is happening. This is a Barnes one so we get a better balance of up in the air and a clear explanation. The villains make for a good threat and again and a decent climax.
The wrapup is fine, and the twist is a decent shock. But from what I can tell, Russell doesn't become a thing in the series and after this which is odd. Given what this is series about, you'd think this one would be more important but I don't know everything so I could be wrong. Also, he has the last of someone from Creature Features but there is no relation.
It does feel like it is missing a little something extra to make it a bigger stand out per say. Maybe more action, some more unique stuff in the first half, maybe more character bits, have a more clear arc for Russell or something. But overall, as it is, this is a winner. A fun setup makes up for a solid mystery that ramps up nicely with decently written characters. The nature of it won't be for everyone and it's not the most action heavy but it still works well as a pretty solid entry.
Next, we already finish this cycle with some Graveyard School. This one I picked for cuz the title made go "oh hell yeah", so we'll see how fun that is. See ya then.
CONTINUITY WATCH: At one point, Russell sees some pictures of locations mentioned in previous ones, such as the drive in from Creature Features.
Side note, quite a few unexpected name drops, mostly of famous mystery solvers, of course.
There are stories told of the Fairfield Triangle, a place in the town where things are known to vanish. It's the same idea as the Bermuda Triangle, and no one knows if anything is really up with it. An author named Mr. Barker is looking into things and has a strange encounter with mysterious lights. This catches the attention of protagonist Russell Drake, a wannabe paranormal investigator always looking for a new mystery to solve.
He wants to help out Mr. Barker, along with Barker's triplet daughters, Breene, Addy and Crystal. This is mostly because the triangle seemingly takes Rusell's special "investigator" kid he's been building from a young age. They all start to get to the bottom of this, but they find they may get more than they bargained for.
This one is just solid, it does most things right and flows well. It's a quick read that goes down nicely, and wasn't too rushed or padded. The whole angle appealed to me, a kid wanting to solve mysteries. We get backstory of how he came to be into that stuff, and his dad, the sheriff, supports it. He's a fun character that has a clear personality that works. He has a good thing with the sisters, working well off them.
They each have a basic treat that makes them well work, and Crystal, while being the mean one, gets to be useful and not just a whiny jerk like I expected. She gets a mini arc of sorts, it's not much but it is there. Mr. Barker is a rare good adult who wants to find out what is going on. Dad is just there, being maybe a bit too loose but at least not a jerk, and supporting his son.
The atmosphere is good, and there's at least one good dark moment with a mostly fun climax. Now, it is a slow burn. It gets started off the bat but it takes forever to have real action. It's mostly talk and little things as they look into the mystery and discuss theories. That's the appeal of it for me, as I like the more sleuth driven approach but teasing the idea that this could just be nothing is pointless in a series all about the supernatural.
We get an answer and it is out there. It's not fully explained all the way but given what it is, we have a clear idea of the stakes and clearly know what is going on, and why this is happening. This is a Barnes one so we get a better balance of up in the air and a clear explanation. The villains make for a good threat and again and a decent climax.
The wrapup is fine, and the twist is a decent shock. But from what I can tell, Russell doesn't become a thing in the series and after this which is odd. Given what this is series about, you'd think this one would be more important but I don't know everything so I could be wrong. Also, he has the last of someone from Creature Features but there is no relation.
It does feel like it is missing a little something extra to make it a bigger stand out per say. Maybe more action, some more unique stuff in the first half, maybe more character bits, have a more clear arc for Russell or something. But overall, as it is, this is a winner. A fun setup makes up for a solid mystery that ramps up nicely with decently written characters. The nature of it won't be for everyone and it's not the most action heavy but it still works well as a pretty solid entry.
Next, we already finish this cycle with some Graveyard School. This one I picked for cuz the title made go "oh hell yeah", so we'll see how fun that is. See ya then.
CONTINUITY WATCH: At one point, Russell sees some pictures of locations mentioned in previous ones, such as the drive in from Creature Features.
Side note, quite a few unexpected name drops, mostly of famous mystery solvers, of course.
November 22, 2025
Just another Stranger Matter hit. For my 10th read of this series, I decided to go with The Fairfield Triangle. It felt fitting since it was the only book with the town’s name in it, giving it some umph. Per usual, we have yet again a fantastic entry for the series. The main character rocks and has more depth than the usual kids horror protagonist which I always like, and the other characters were neat too, especially the reoccurring Sheriff Drake finally getting a book with him in it for more than just a single scene, being the main’s father. The story is the most mystery driven of the series which I thought was a nice change, plus is made sense for the main character, and its reveals are fantastic and exactly what I was craving (Hint: yeah, it’s aliens). There’s some grotesque imagery in the climax as well as some well-delivered/tense scenes, a literal kill count (past tense for the sake of the genre), and some of the most interesting exposition of the series so far. The ending has some dark implications and seeing as Strange Matter tends to remember stuff, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a certain little blue speck appear as much more in a later volume *wink-wink*. The story didn’t blow me away for Strange Matter standards until the climax kicked in, and I guess one could call this entry slower with some of the longest chapters of the series and a lot more build-up, but I didn’t mind enough to give this thing anything less than the series standard. Overall, 10/10. It’s a fun mystery with an awesome climax, plus some darker/heavier theming and great character building. Status update with my wife Strange Matter: we’re conceiving and the baby’s gonna be named Rilo Buru (har har).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews