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Normal
Missing for seven months, fifteen-year-old Ted Wallace wakes by the river with no memory of where he has been or what has transpired during his absence. He only wants his life to return to normal, but soon he realizes the chaos that his disappearance caused, and that his return has only made matters worse.
His sister, feeling like an outcast from the family, finds solace in old friends and becomes a victim of horrendous bullying at school.
His mother is torn apart by conflicting concern for Ted given his life-long heart condition and anger about his disappearance which she diverts towards the local oddball.
Worst of all, his father, no longer able to contain his drinking problem, becomes convinced that the boy who has been returned is not his son at all, but a doppelganger with an insidious purpose.
As other missing persons return, Ted discovers where he has been and what he must do, but the sinister influences around his family threaten to tear them all to pieces before he can do what is necessary to bring their lives back to normal.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
His sister, feeling like an outcast from the family, finds solace in old friends and becomes a victim of horrendous bullying at school.
His mother is torn apart by conflicting concern for Ted given his life-long heart condition and anger about his disappearance which she diverts towards the local oddball.
Worst of all, his father, no longer able to contain his drinking problem, becomes convinced that the boy who has been returned is not his son at all, but a doppelganger with an insidious purpose.
As other missing persons return, Ted discovers where he has been and what he must do, but the sinister influences around his family threaten to tear them all to pieces before he can do what is necessary to bring their lives back to normal.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
302 pages, Paperback
Published July 19, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 27, 2025
After being missing for seven months, teenager Ted Wallace shows up alongside the river bank skinnier than a rail and no memory of what happened to him. As he and his family try to put their life back together after giving up almost all hope of ever seeing Ted again, answers are few and far between. Ted’s memory doesn’t improve. Meanwhile, his sister continues to be ignored by her parents while being bullied at school. His parents have developed their own problems over the last seven months. His mother obsessively dwells on finding someone to blame for Ted’s disappearance while his father isn’t convinced who crawled out of the river and looks like his son is really Ted. Will Ted be able to remember what actually happened and put the pieces together in time before all hell breaks loose?
Normal has the bones of some interesting ideas, but the lack of editing really hurts the final product. Spelling and grammatical errors abound, to where I thought I had a proof-read copy. (I see that it’s been re-released through Crystal Lake Publishing, where my copy is from Bloodshot Books — so maybe?) The parents aren’t likable and come across as more annoying than anything. His sister could’ve been an interesting character, but I feel she’s left to flounder helplessly without the growth to make her more three-dimensional. Meanwhile, Ted’s character never really develops past being a sad sack. The rushed ending feels like a far-fetched and unsatisfying info dump. I’ve read other work from Langley and thought they were much more complete than Normal. Maybe the newer re-release has more editing and tightens things up.
2.5 River Mud Vomits out of 5
Normal has the bones of some interesting ideas, but the lack of editing really hurts the final product. Spelling and grammatical errors abound, to where I thought I had a proof-read copy. (I see that it’s been re-released through Crystal Lake Publishing, where my copy is from Bloodshot Books — so maybe?) The parents aren’t likable and come across as more annoying than anything. His sister could’ve been an interesting character, but I feel she’s left to flounder helplessly without the growth to make her more three-dimensional. Meanwhile, Ted’s character never really develops past being a sad sack. The rushed ending feels like a far-fetched and unsatisfying info dump. I’ve read other work from Langley and thought they were much more complete than Normal. Maybe the newer re-release has more editing and tightens things up.
2.5 River Mud Vomits out of 5
February 18, 2021
This is a story which really grabs the reader's attention with a mystery and keeps us guessing right until the revelation at the end. Schoolboy Ted wakes up on a river bank months after his disappearance, with no memory of what happened to him. All four members of the family try to investigate this, struggling to reconcile their findings with 'normal' life. But what IS normal? What they consider normality seems more and more warped as the story progresses. The novel contrasts the beautifully-represented details of everyday mundanity and human motivation - family life and school life for example - with Ted's gradually growing memories of the other-worldly solution. A haunting and spooky tale which has you questioning reality.
August 30, 2020
Review to come on Horror Addicts
March 9, 2021
I love this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews