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Girl in the Creek
The Girl in the Creek by Hugo Award winner Wendy N. Wagner is an atmospheric and eerie story about a Pacific Northwest forest that seems to be devouring all who enter. A perfect read for fans of T. Kingfisher and Jeff VanderMeer’s cli-fi cosmic horror.
The Clackamas National Forest has always been a sanctuary for evil—human and alien. The shadows of looming trees and long-abandoned mines shelter poachers and serial killers alike. Then there’s the ruined hotel on the outskirts of picturesque small town Faraday, Oregon, nestled in the foothills of Mt. Hood. The one drowning in mushrooms and fungus not even the local expert can identify. Not to mention the stacks of missing persons cases. Freelance writer Erin Harper arrives in Faraday to find out what happened to her brother, whose disappearance in the forest has haunted her for years. But someone else has gone missing. And when Erin finds her in the creek, the girl vanishes again — this time from the morgue, and days later her fingerprints show up at a murder scene. Maybe it’s a serial killer, or maybe it’s the spores infecting the forest and those lost inside. Erin must find answers quickly, before anyone else goes missing. But she might be next…
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Clackamas National Forest has always been a sanctuary for evil—human and alien. The shadows of looming trees and long-abandoned mines shelter poachers and serial killers alike. Then there’s the ruined hotel on the outskirts of picturesque small town Faraday, Oregon, nestled in the foothills of Mt. Hood. The one drowning in mushrooms and fungus not even the local expert can identify. Not to mention the stacks of missing persons cases. Freelance writer Erin Harper arrives in Faraday to find out what happened to her brother, whose disappearance in the forest has haunted her for years. But someone else has gone missing. And when Erin finds her in the creek, the girl vanishes again — this time from the morgue, and days later her fingerprints show up at a murder scene. Maybe it’s a serial killer, or maybe it’s the spores infecting the forest and those lost inside. Erin must find answers quickly, before anyone else goes missing. But she might be next…
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
263 pages, Hardcover
First published July 15, 2025
136 people are currently reading
18923 people want to read
About the author
Wendy N. Wagner
51 books283 followersWendy N. Wagner grew up in a town so tiny it didn’t even have a post office. With no television reception, she became a rabid reader, waiting impatiently for the bookmobile’s fortnightly visit to her tiny hometown. Today, her family struggles to find room for her expanding book collection in their Portland, Oregon, home.
Wendy's work ranges from horror novels to poetry to environmental essays. Her books include THE SECRET SKIN (a gothic novella), THE DEER KINGS (a horror novel), AN OATH OF DOGS (science fantasy), and two tie-in novels for the Pathfinder role-playing game. A Hugo award-winning editor of short fiction, she currently serves as the editor of NIGHTMARE MAGAZINE and the managing/senior editor of LIGHTSPEED.
Wendy's work ranges from horror novels to poetry to environmental essays. Her books include THE SECRET SKIN (a gothic novella), THE DEER KINGS (a horror novel), AN OATH OF DOGS (science fantasy), and two tie-in novels for the Pathfinder role-playing game. A Hugo award-winning editor of short fiction, she currently serves as the editor of NIGHTMARE MAGAZINE and the managing/senior editor of LIGHTSPEED.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 489 reviews
July 2, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads!
Title/Author: Girl in the Creek by Wendy Wagner
Page Count: 272 pages
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Format: NetGalley ebook
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: The Deer Kings, The Secret Skin
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978125090...
Release Date: July 15th, 2025
General Genre: Mystery, Thrillers & Crime, Horror
Sub-Genre/Themes: Sporror, eco-horror, small town, group of friends, secrets and lies, podcasts, journalists, wilderness/forests, Oregon
Writing Style: dual POVs, short chapters, casual prose, fast pace
What You Need to Know: "When she discovers the corpse of a local woman in a creek, Erin unknowingly puts herself in the crosshairs of very powerful forces—from this world and beyond—hell-bent on keeping their secrets buried."
I read this on NetGalley with the in-app reader
My Reading Experience: I am very familiar with Wagner's easy prose and engaging storytelling style and this is what I have come to expect. Girl in the Creek starts off with a unique POV that is peppered throughout the main narrative. I found myself looking forward to those sections. The main POV is a journalist named Erin who returns to her hometown to investigate a series of hikers who have disappeared in the same area, including her own brother. She joins up with some old friends and young people in the town with various skills to form a Mystery Bus crew with Stranger Things vibes.
Wagner seems to be inspired by the same natural phenomenon I have been fascinated by too--a "zombie-ant fungus" that enters the body, kills it, then takes over the body's infrastructure. The missing persons mystery eventually collides with the growing fungal threat in the woods known as The Strangeness.
I had fun with this easy-to-invest-in horror-meets-crime-thriller. The pages fly by, but I will say the actual plot is not very intricately plotted-a point A to point B kind of mystery with predictable twists and turns. There were a lot of characters introduced with not enough time to develop them fully, so when the risks start doubling down, it was hard to care about some of them.
The descriptions of the fungus and the POV of The Strangeness were my favorite. Wendy Wagner is great at body horror and cinematic details. Everything was pretty creepy and gross.
I love the environmental elements and the very organic Oregon influence/flavor. I love horror set in the PNW!
Final Recommendation: Perfect for readers looking for rottagecore vibes, dank & dark forests, friend groups solving mysteries, sporror lovers, and something quick and easy to read on a campout.
Comps: The Spore Queen by Debra Castaneda, What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall, They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
Title/Author: Girl in the Creek by Wendy Wagner
Page Count: 272 pages
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Format: NetGalley ebook
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: The Deer Kings, The Secret Skin
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978125090...
Release Date: July 15th, 2025
General Genre: Mystery, Thrillers & Crime, Horror
Sub-Genre/Themes: Sporror, eco-horror, small town, group of friends, secrets and lies, podcasts, journalists, wilderness/forests, Oregon
Writing Style: dual POVs, short chapters, casual prose, fast pace
What You Need to Know: "When she discovers the corpse of a local woman in a creek, Erin unknowingly puts herself in the crosshairs of very powerful forces—from this world and beyond—hell-bent on keeping their secrets buried."
I read this on NetGalley with the in-app reader
My Reading Experience: I am very familiar with Wagner's easy prose and engaging storytelling style and this is what I have come to expect. Girl in the Creek starts off with a unique POV that is peppered throughout the main narrative. I found myself looking forward to those sections. The main POV is a journalist named Erin who returns to her hometown to investigate a series of hikers who have disappeared in the same area, including her own brother. She joins up with some old friends and young people in the town with various skills to form a Mystery Bus crew with Stranger Things vibes.
Wagner seems to be inspired by the same natural phenomenon I have been fascinated by too--a "zombie-ant fungus" that enters the body, kills it, then takes over the body's infrastructure. The missing persons mystery eventually collides with the growing fungal threat in the woods known as The Strangeness.
I had fun with this easy-to-invest-in horror-meets-crime-thriller. The pages fly by, but I will say the actual plot is not very intricately plotted-a point A to point B kind of mystery with predictable twists and turns. There were a lot of characters introduced with not enough time to develop them fully, so when the risks start doubling down, it was hard to care about some of them.
The descriptions of the fungus and the POV of The Strangeness were my favorite. Wendy Wagner is great at body horror and cinematic details. Everything was pretty creepy and gross.
I love the environmental elements and the very organic Oregon influence/flavor. I love horror set in the PNW!
Final Recommendation: Perfect for readers looking for rottagecore vibes, dank & dark forests, friend groups solving mysteries, sporror lovers, and something quick and easy to read on a campout.
Comps: The Spore Queen by Debra Castaneda, What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall, They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
October 27, 2025
**3.5-stars**
Erin's brother, Bryan, went missing 5-years ago. His last known location was the small town of Faraday, Oregon, alongside the Clackamas River.
Erin has the opportunity to travel to Faraday, along with her friend, Hari, to work on a piece for their True Crime podcast. She's not in town long, before it becomes clear that Bryan isn't the only person to have gone missing from Faraday.
Erin quickly gets pulled into another missing person case, a more recent one, that of a young local woman, Elena Lopaz. Something stinks in this town...
After Elena's deteriorated corpse is found, she's transported to the morgue, from where she goes missing again, but how!? What the heck is going on in Faraday?
Girl in the Creek is an interesting story. I would say it's a middle of the road read for me. It definitely had some compelling elements, and then had a few that were a bit more lackluster, IMO.
For me, the middle of the book was were it was the strongest. I was gripped as Erin really started digging in around Faraday, trying to get to the bottom of the disappearances and what could be behind them.
She ends up paring up with the older lady, Olivia, who owns the B&B she has rented, for a good portion of the investigation. I really liked the two of them working together. Olivia is a native of the town, whose own son went missing years before.
Olivia brought a lot to the table with her survival knowledge, and also her insight into the town and its history, of which her own father played a pivotal role.
There was also some really fun body horror included, and definitely more than one moment that made me cringe, which I love. Who doesn't love that?
Gosh, I am realizing as I write this, how difficult it is to talk about this without spoiling anything. So much of what I want to say would give away the truth of what's happening in Faraday and I definitely don't want to do that.
I will say that I was a little disappointed by the way certain things were wrapped up. It almost felt like there was so much build, that was increasingly intense, and gripping, and then we get to the end and it's like the author didn't know how to wrap it up, so just threw some stuff in there and called it a day.
This seems harsh, I know it does, but I don't know how else to express that feeling. I know that's not true. I'm sure the author worked very, very hard bringing this to the conclusion that they wanted, but to me, it just felt overly simplistic in comparison to the build-up.
With this being said, this is a good Sporror story. I would recommend it to fans of EcoHorror. I loved the setting of the PNW, and felt like the author did a great job with building that sense of place. That was definitely one of the stronger aspects of the story for me.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This book certainly gave me a lot to think about, and I would be interested in picking up more from this author.
Erin's brother, Bryan, went missing 5-years ago. His last known location was the small town of Faraday, Oregon, alongside the Clackamas River.
Erin has the opportunity to travel to Faraday, along with her friend, Hari, to work on a piece for their True Crime podcast. She's not in town long, before it becomes clear that Bryan isn't the only person to have gone missing from Faraday.
Erin quickly gets pulled into another missing person case, a more recent one, that of a young local woman, Elena Lopaz. Something stinks in this town...
After Elena's deteriorated corpse is found, she's transported to the morgue, from where she goes missing again, but how!? What the heck is going on in Faraday?
Girl in the Creek is an interesting story. I would say it's a middle of the road read for me. It definitely had some compelling elements, and then had a few that were a bit more lackluster, IMO.
For me, the middle of the book was were it was the strongest. I was gripped as Erin really started digging in around Faraday, trying to get to the bottom of the disappearances and what could be behind them.
She ends up paring up with the older lady, Olivia, who owns the B&B she has rented, for a good portion of the investigation. I really liked the two of them working together. Olivia is a native of the town, whose own son went missing years before.
Olivia brought a lot to the table with her survival knowledge, and also her insight into the town and its history, of which her own father played a pivotal role.
There was also some really fun body horror included, and definitely more than one moment that made me cringe, which I love. Who doesn't love that?
Gosh, I am realizing as I write this, how difficult it is to talk about this without spoiling anything. So much of what I want to say would give away the truth of what's happening in Faraday and I definitely don't want to do that.
I will say that I was a little disappointed by the way certain things were wrapped up. It almost felt like there was so much build, that was increasingly intense, and gripping, and then we get to the end and it's like the author didn't know how to wrap it up, so just threw some stuff in there and called it a day.
This seems harsh, I know it does, but I don't know how else to express that feeling. I know that's not true. I'm sure the author worked very, very hard bringing this to the conclusion that they wanted, but to me, it just felt overly simplistic in comparison to the build-up.
With this being said, this is a good Sporror story. I would recommend it to fans of EcoHorror. I loved the setting of the PNW, and felt like the author did a great job with building that sense of place. That was definitely one of the stronger aspects of the story for me.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This book certainly gave me a lot to think about, and I would be interested in picking up more from this author.
July 14, 2025
I was instantly drawn in by this cover and when I realized this was set in the Clackamas Forrest I knew I had to read it. It was intensely bizarre and I am not sure I will have the words to describe it. I listened to the audiobook and I enjoyed the narrator quite a bit. Erin Harper arrives in Faraday to write a travel article but she is also secretly working with some friends who have a podcast to investigate the strange disappearances in the town which include Erin’s own brother (Even if his was ruled a suicide). There is something strange hiding in the woods, something beyond anything Erin could imagine. I gave this one 3.5 stars rounded up because if there was a place where evil fungus was working to take over the world it would be around Estacada which seemed to be where this was set.
July 15, 2025
2.0 Stars
This was a very simple horror story that was not strictly bad but left me very underwhelmed. The premise had potential but this one was frustratingly forgettable because it played so safely into the usual tropes.
This was a very simple horror story that was not strictly bad but left me very underwhelmed. The premise had potential but this one was frustratingly forgettable because it played so safely into the usual tropes.
August 6, 2025
TW/CW: Death by suicide (talk), alcoholism, drinking, grieving, gory scenes, blood, violence, racism, rape, torture
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
The Clackamas National Forest has always been a sanctuary for evil—human and alien. The shadows of looming trees and long-abandoned mines shelter poachers and serial killers alike. Then there’s the ruined hotel on the outskirts of picturesque small town Faraday, Oregon, nestled in the foothills of Mt. Hood. The one drowning in mushrooms and fungus not even the local expert can identify. Not to mention the stacks of missing persons cases. Freelance writer Erin Harper arrives in Faraday to find out what happened to her brother, whose disappearance in the forest has haunted her for years. But someone else has gone missing. And when Erin finds her in the creek, the girl vanishes again — this time from the morgue, and days later her fingerprints show up at a murder scene. Maybe it’s a serial killer, or maybe it’s the spores infecting the forest and those lost inside. Erin must find answers quickly, before anyone else goes missing. But she might be next…
Release Date: July 15th, 2025
Genre: Horror
Pages: 272
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Writing style was good
2. Queer rep
3. Gory scenes
4. Love the cover
5. Mushroom horror
6. Jo Bob Briggs mention from the 90s
What I Didn't Like:
1. The parts where we got the wolves pov
2. Confusing parts at times
3. Book got boring half way through
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
I thought Erin said she wasn't going to be eating mushrooms anytime soon and as soon as she leaves Olivia's she orders a pizza with mushrooms. I mean what gives Erin?
I could skip the wolf pov's. While I think the author wanted to put depth into the story I think it made the story feel weighed down and boring. Also the Creek girl pov too.
So this whole time Scott is alive and has been hiding out at this bakery and doing bad things. So weird that Olivia was so worried that she has been losing sleep but she had an idea he might be there but chose to not even look for him there. Why? For 24 years he has been missing and she never once went up there.
I keep wondering if Olivia is helping this whole thing of the missing girls. She's rich so she can pay the police off to not tell anybody what's going on. She's renting a room out of her house so people would be coming into her home and staying. Plus right now she gets Erin into the car by herself in a separate vehicle away from everyone else.
I kind of figured that Bryan was alive and working for this alien mushroom race of beings. Idea just feels generic after itself when they used the same idea with Scott being alive too and doing the same thing. I don't know.
Final Thoughts:
So yeah the problem I had with this book is that I thought it would be horror but it felt more like a thriller/mystery with some creepy things sprinkled in. There were times when the characters actions ran together and I found myself confused on who I was supposed to be following.
Erin isn't a very interesting character and dare I say that she is boring. We do a lot of back and forths all without feeling as though we are going anywhere. I so wanted more from her as a character but feel like the other characters around her did the heavy lifting at times for her.
At the end of the day I liked the body horror and the mushrooms taking over. It reminded me of that one episode of Hannibal where the killer turns the murdered women into a mushroom garden. Also I finished this and got a mushroom pizza.
Also also if you haven't seen Hannibal the TV show you really should watch it because it's fantastic and there is some out of this world body horror in it.
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
The Clackamas National Forest has always been a sanctuary for evil—human and alien. The shadows of looming trees and long-abandoned mines shelter poachers and serial killers alike. Then there’s the ruined hotel on the outskirts of picturesque small town Faraday, Oregon, nestled in the foothills of Mt. Hood. The one drowning in mushrooms and fungus not even the local expert can identify. Not to mention the stacks of missing persons cases. Freelance writer Erin Harper arrives in Faraday to find out what happened to her brother, whose disappearance in the forest has haunted her for years. But someone else has gone missing. And when Erin finds her in the creek, the girl vanishes again — this time from the morgue, and days later her fingerprints show up at a murder scene. Maybe it’s a serial killer, or maybe it’s the spores infecting the forest and those lost inside. Erin must find answers quickly, before anyone else goes missing. But she might be next…
Release Date: July 15th, 2025
Genre: Horror
Pages: 272
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Writing style was good
2. Queer rep
3. Gory scenes
4. Love the cover
5. Mushroom horror
6. Jo Bob Briggs mention from the 90s
What I Didn't Like:
1. The parts where we got the wolves pov
2. Confusing parts at times
3. Book got boring half way through
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
I thought Erin said she wasn't going to be eating mushrooms anytime soon and as soon as she leaves Olivia's she orders a pizza with mushrooms. I mean what gives Erin?
I could skip the wolf pov's. While I think the author wanted to put depth into the story I think it made the story feel weighed down and boring. Also the Creek girl pov too.
So this whole time Scott is alive and has been hiding out at this bakery and doing bad things. So weird that Olivia was so worried that she has been losing sleep but she had an idea he might be there but chose to not even look for him there. Why? For 24 years he has been missing and she never once went up there.
I keep wondering if Olivia is helping this whole thing of the missing girls. She's rich so she can pay the police off to not tell anybody what's going on. She's renting a room out of her house so people would be coming into her home and staying. Plus right now she gets Erin into the car by herself in a separate vehicle away from everyone else.
I kind of figured that Bryan was alive and working for this alien mushroom race of beings. Idea just feels generic after itself when they used the same idea with Scott being alive too and doing the same thing. I don't know.
Final Thoughts:
So yeah the problem I had with this book is that I thought it would be horror but it felt more like a thriller/mystery with some creepy things sprinkled in. There were times when the characters actions ran together and I found myself confused on who I was supposed to be following.
Erin isn't a very interesting character and dare I say that she is boring. We do a lot of back and forths all without feeling as though we are going anywhere. I so wanted more from her as a character but feel like the other characters around her did the heavy lifting at times for her.
At the end of the day I liked the body horror and the mushrooms taking over. It reminded me of that one episode of Hannibal where the killer turns the murdered women into a mushroom garden. Also I finished this and got a mushroom pizza.
Also also if you haven't seen Hannibal the TV show you really should watch it because it's fantastic and there is some out of this world body horror in it.
IG | Blog
Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 31, 2025
Review in the April issue of Library Journal
Three words That Describe This Book: Sporror, Invasively creepy, Strong Sense of Place
Draft Review:
Erin’s brother went into the Clackamas National Forest, in the shadow of Mt Hood and never came out. And he is not the only one. The small town at the forest’s edge is plastered with missing person’s posters. However, as readers know from the first chapter, the lush green hiking trails leading to natural hot springs and fascinating hotel ruins hide a dangerous, sentient fungus– the Strangeness– and it has been spreading, learning, and gathering strength for years. Now that it has found a dead girl in the creek, this invasive species makes the leap from creepy nuisance to terrifying threat. Told from the perspective of Erin and the Strangeness itself, as it unfurls across the landscape, creating a network of living creatures, what begins as an atmospheric “Scooby-Doo”-esque investigation by a group of well-meaning 20 somethings, quickly devolves into violent chaos as monsters both human and supernatural are revealed and the true terror emerges. A tightly written masterclass in horror, a short, well paced novel where every detail matters, this story stretches it tendrils out menacingly from the page, striking readers with both awe and fear, quite possibly leaving them unable to ever take a walk in the woods again.
Verdict: Hugo Award winning editor of Nightmare Magazine, Wagner’s latest, features a compelling true-crime meets “sporror” frame and reads like Into the Wild by Krakeur meets What Moves the Dead by Kingfisher, with a pinch of The Girl With All the Gifts by Carey.
Notes:
A compelling and unsettling start-- pov of the "Strangeness" in a coyote-- sets up the network of fungi that is the Strangeness as a character. This is not a spoiler because the reader knows about it from the first chapter.
Only person with the POV is Erin. Her brother disappeared into the Clackamas National Forest/ River near the base of Mount Hood. She goes with a friend to investigate, Supposedly there to do a travel article, but her and Hari are there to do a true crime podcast. Other friends come to help and they meet some locals the friend know.
Scooby Doo vibes as they start investigating but both because the readers know something driven by a sentient fungus is involved, things begin creepy and get terrifying rather quickly.
Its part fictional true crime, part cli-fi, a little bit X- Files, part zombie novel, all sporror.
Great ending and it is not just the ending action but how the pov choices make the ending better. Lots of details in this short novel but all of it matters which is always the sign of a good book. Even the detail in how the landscape is described-- its colors, the ruins of an old hotel, and more-- all of it mattered in the end.
This one will linger with readers after they finish it.
Three words That Describe This Book: Sporror, Fictional True Crime, Invasively creepy
Draft Verdict: The tendrils of Hugo Award winning editor of Nightmare Magazine, Wagner’s latest novel reach unnervingly out from its pages. This compelling true-crime meets “sporror” frame reads like Into the Wild by Krakeur meets What Moves the Dead by Kingfisher, with ja pinch of The Girl With All the Gifts by Carey.
Three words That Describe This Book: Sporror, Invasively creepy, Strong Sense of Place
Draft Review:
Erin’s brother went into the Clackamas National Forest, in the shadow of Mt Hood and never came out. And he is not the only one. The small town at the forest’s edge is plastered with missing person’s posters. However, as readers know from the first chapter, the lush green hiking trails leading to natural hot springs and fascinating hotel ruins hide a dangerous, sentient fungus– the Strangeness– and it has been spreading, learning, and gathering strength for years. Now that it has found a dead girl in the creek, this invasive species makes the leap from creepy nuisance to terrifying threat. Told from the perspective of Erin and the Strangeness itself, as it unfurls across the landscape, creating a network of living creatures, what begins as an atmospheric “Scooby-Doo”-esque investigation by a group of well-meaning 20 somethings, quickly devolves into violent chaos as monsters both human and supernatural are revealed and the true terror emerges. A tightly written masterclass in horror, a short, well paced novel where every detail matters, this story stretches it tendrils out menacingly from the page, striking readers with both awe and fear, quite possibly leaving them unable to ever take a walk in the woods again.
Verdict: Hugo Award winning editor of Nightmare Magazine, Wagner’s latest, features a compelling true-crime meets “sporror” frame and reads like Into the Wild by Krakeur meets What Moves the Dead by Kingfisher, with a pinch of The Girl With All the Gifts by Carey.
Notes:
A compelling and unsettling start-- pov of the "Strangeness" in a coyote-- sets up the network of fungi that is the Strangeness as a character. This is not a spoiler because the reader knows about it from the first chapter.
Only person with the POV is Erin. Her brother disappeared into the Clackamas National Forest/ River near the base of Mount Hood. She goes with a friend to investigate, Supposedly there to do a travel article, but her and Hari are there to do a true crime podcast. Other friends come to help and they meet some locals the friend know.
Scooby Doo vibes as they start investigating but both because the readers know something driven by a sentient fungus is involved, things begin creepy and get terrifying rather quickly.
Its part fictional true crime, part cli-fi, a little bit X- Files, part zombie novel, all sporror.
Great ending and it is not just the ending action but how the pov choices make the ending better. Lots of details in this short novel but all of it matters which is always the sign of a good book. Even the detail in how the landscape is described-- its colors, the ruins of an old hotel, and more-- all of it mattered in the end.
This one will linger with readers after they finish it.
Three words That Describe This Book: Sporror, Fictional True Crime, Invasively creepy
Draft Verdict: The tendrils of Hugo Award winning editor of Nightmare Magazine, Wagner’s latest novel reach unnervingly out from its pages. This compelling true-crime meets “sporror” frame reads like Into the Wild by Krakeur meets What Moves the Dead by Kingfisher, with ja pinch of The Girl With All the Gifts by Carey.
April 13, 2025
While the synopsis caught my attention upon first read, the actually book didn’t work for me.
From the first chapter I felt lost and then things went down hill from there.
This was packed with a full cast of characters (which I constantly mixed up) and cringey dialogue. It got to the point where I didn’t even care about the mystery anymore.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley
for the eARC.
From the first chapter I felt lost and then things went down hill from there.
This was packed with a full cast of characters (which I constantly mixed up) and cringey dialogue. It got to the point where I didn’t even care about the mystery anymore.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley
for the eARC.
July 18, 2025
Ok, hear me out. I definitely don't dislike this book but it also wasn't a favorite. The author is CLEARLYYYYYYYY talented, she writes absolutely BEAUTIFULLY. Seriously it's like poetry. With that being said, for ME & in my absolutely useless opinion,There wasn't as much focus put into the plot. Her description of the world around the characters is absolutely breathtaking, she can even make something as grotesque as a dead body sound beautiful. This specific book may have not been for me, but I would be MORE than interested in reading more from this author
March 29, 2025
this was enjoyable, i really got into it in the second half of the book. the mushroom body horror was horrifyingly well done, and honestly some of my favourite parts. and that ending also got me pretty good!! i didn’t expect that sort of conclusion lol. my only complaints would be sometimes the main character felt a bit flat and some stuff just didn’t make sense to me, but still entertaining. thank you to the publishers and net galley for the advanced digital copy!
March 21, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
How do I even describe this book? It feels like that friend we all have who promises a wild night out but then spends half the evening texting someone else instead of fully committing to the party.
The story follows Erin Harper, a freelance writer on a mission to unravel the mystery of her brother’s disappearance in the shadowy Mt. Hood National Forest. Wagner sets the stage beautifully with the description’s of damp moss, glowing fungi, and a creeping sense that the trees might just swallow you whole.
Erin’s quest takes a turn when she finds a body in a creek, only for it to vanish from the morgue like a magician’s assistant, leaving behind fingerprints at a murder scene. Is it a serial killer? Alien spores? The forest itself?
And while the mystery keeps you guessing, the resolution left me scratching my head, wondering if I’d missed a trail marker. I won’t spoil, but sometimes I was like, “what?” and also “who is this again?” Because it felt like there were 20 characters that are just Count Olaf in a different costume.
How do I even describe this book? It feels like that friend we all have who promises a wild night out but then spends half the evening texting someone else instead of fully committing to the party.
The story follows Erin Harper, a freelance writer on a mission to unravel the mystery of her brother’s disappearance in the shadowy Mt. Hood National Forest. Wagner sets the stage beautifully with the description’s of damp moss, glowing fungi, and a creeping sense that the trees might just swallow you whole.
Erin’s quest takes a turn when she finds a body in a creek, only for it to vanish from the morgue like a magician’s assistant, leaving behind fingerprints at a murder scene. Is it a serial killer? Alien spores? The forest itself?
And while the mystery keeps you guessing, the resolution left me scratching my head, wondering if I’d missed a trail marker. I won’t spoil, but sometimes I was like, “what?” and also “who is this again?” Because it felt like there were 20 characters that are just Count Olaf in a different costume.
April 15, 2025
I'll be honest, the cover of this book is what instantly drew me in. The title and blurb ended up being an extra treat.
There have been people going missing in The Clackamas National Forest and no one is really sure what's happening to them. A serial killer? Bears? Lost while hiking? When Erin's brother goes missing, she decides to go looking for him years later. While on her search, she stumbles upon another missing person and she's covered in a mysterious fungus in a creek. Soon, the creek girl goes missing from the morgue and there's something very strange going on with her.
I have to say, I loved this book and I'll be purchasing it once it's published! This story was exciting and well-paced. There wasn't ever a time where I felt bored or as though nothing was happening in the story. The concept was incredibly intriguing to me and I loved how everything was interconnected. The second half was increasingly bizarre and grotesque. The descriptions were so vivid. It reminded me a bit of Annihilation and The Fungus. But just vaguely.
The twist at the end was exciting and I thought it added a nice ominous conclusion to this story.
My only complaints were that this book got a bit confusing at times. I didn't always understand the "science," I guess, behind the explanations of the fungus and I couldn't always keep the characters straight in my head. This is a book that I wish I had the physical copy so I could've annotated and bookmarked along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
TW: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
StoryGraph Review
Fable Review
There have been people going missing in The Clackamas National Forest and no one is really sure what's happening to them. A serial killer? Bears? Lost while hiking? When Erin's brother goes missing, she decides to go looking for him years later. While on her search, she stumbles upon another missing person and she's covered in a mysterious fungus in a creek. Soon, the creek girl goes missing from the morgue and there's something very strange going on with her.
I have to say, I loved this book and I'll be purchasing it once it's published! This story was exciting and well-paced. There wasn't ever a time where I felt bored or as though nothing was happening in the story. The concept was incredibly intriguing to me and I loved how everything was interconnected. The second half was increasingly bizarre and grotesque. The descriptions were so vivid. It reminded me a bit of Annihilation and The Fungus. But just vaguely.
The twist at the end was exciting and I thought it added a nice ominous conclusion to this story.
My only complaints were that this book got a bit confusing at times. I didn't always understand the "science," I guess, behind the explanations of the fungus and I couldn't always keep the characters straight in my head. This is a book that I wish I had the physical copy so I could've annotated and bookmarked along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
TW: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
StoryGraph Review
Fable Review
July 3, 2025
A hike in the woods with friends quickly turns squishy in THE GIRL AND THE CREEK. This book is perfect for fans of eco-horror and/or cli-fi.
Erin comes to the small Northwest Pacific town ostensibly to write a travel article. In fact, she's searching for her missing brother and several missing girls and writing a true crime book with her friend, Hari. Along with a squad of friends, they hike into the woods and quickly discover something even scarier and more sinister is afoot beyond an ordinary serial killer.
THE GIRL IN THE CREEK is a letter of both love and apology to the natural world for the ways we have ravaged it, not just now, but for centuries. It's gorgeous and horrifying by turn, which is everything I want from eco-horror. I recommend it!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reader copy.
Erin comes to the small Northwest Pacific town ostensibly to write a travel article. In fact, she's searching for her missing brother and several missing girls and writing a true crime book with her friend, Hari. Along with a squad of friends, they hike into the woods and quickly discover something even scarier and more sinister is afoot beyond an ordinary serial killer.
THE GIRL IN THE CREEK is a letter of both love and apology to the natural world for the ways we have ravaged it, not just now, but for centuries. It's gorgeous and horrifying by turn, which is everything I want from eco-horror. I recommend it!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reader copy.
June 19, 2025
A fast paced Eco horror covering the devastation of climate change that is vivid and unique.
Book Stats:
📖: 265 pages
Genre: Eco Horror
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Format: NetGalley eARC
Series: Standalone
Themes:
🍄🟫 : Climate change
🍄🟫 : Death of Ecosystems
Representation:
🌲 : Queer main character
Tropes:
💗: Alien Invasion
💗: Hive Mind
🥵: Spice: 🚫
Potential Triggers: **check authors page/socials for full list.
Short Synopsis:
Erin heads off to a remote town in the middle of the woods in desperate search of her brother under the guise of writing an article about things to do in the area. When she gets there, she realizes something far more sinister is going on and her brother's disappearance may be involved. And not everything in the woods has good intentions.
General Thoughts:
This book was absolutely fantastic. The way that the book started off with mystery from the very beginning and continuously held your attention. I loved the way that the story is slowly ramped up with the gore aspect going from mild all the way up to honestly heartbreaking.
The premise of the book itself was interesting and unique. It had many subtle twists and turns that really captivated the imagination of the reader. The vivid descriptions made you feel like you were there and gave it a cinematic quality. While nothing in the book was necessarily groundbreaking as far as theme, the way it unraveled and was presented was stunning and fresh.
Our main character Erin definitely had some character growth and change throughout the story. I really enjoyed being in her head and reading her POV. It felt very layered and nuanced. The side characters were a little bit flat and felt very much like they were there for the betterment of the plot line. However, considering what they were doing for the plotline that did not bother me, and I really didn't need more from them. The relationship between the characters was well established, and that was enough.
There is a light thread of sapphic romance in this novel. It does take a giant backseat to the overall horror story.
I cannot wait to dive into this author's backlog. It's not very extensive so I feel like I should be able to get through it fairly quickly, but if this is the kind of writing, this author is putting out into the world. I definitely need more of it.
Disclaimer: I read this book via NetGalley eARC from Tor Nightfire. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Book Stats:
📖: 265 pages
Genre: Eco Horror
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Format: NetGalley eARC
Series: Standalone
Themes:
🍄🟫 : Climate change
🍄🟫 : Death of Ecosystems
Representation:
🌲 : Queer main character
Tropes:
💗: Alien Invasion
💗: Hive Mind
🥵: Spice: 🚫
Potential Triggers: **check authors page/socials for full list.
Short Synopsis:
Erin heads off to a remote town in the middle of the woods in desperate search of her brother under the guise of writing an article about things to do in the area. When she gets there, she realizes something far more sinister is going on and her brother's disappearance may be involved. And not everything in the woods has good intentions.
General Thoughts:
This book was absolutely fantastic. The way that the book started off with mystery from the very beginning and continuously held your attention. I loved the way that the story is slowly ramped up with the gore aspect going from mild all the way up to honestly heartbreaking.
The premise of the book itself was interesting and unique. It had many subtle twists and turns that really captivated the imagination of the reader. The vivid descriptions made you feel like you were there and gave it a cinematic quality. While nothing in the book was necessarily groundbreaking as far as theme, the way it unraveled and was presented was stunning and fresh.
Our main character Erin definitely had some character growth and change throughout the story. I really enjoyed being in her head and reading her POV. It felt very layered and nuanced. The side characters were a little bit flat and felt very much like they were there for the betterment of the plot line. However, considering what they were doing for the plotline that did not bother me, and I really didn't need more from them. The relationship between the characters was well established, and that was enough.
There is a light thread of sapphic romance in this novel. It does take a giant backseat to the overall horror story.
I cannot wait to dive into this author's backlog. It's not very extensive so I feel like I should be able to get through it fairly quickly, but if this is the kind of writing, this author is putting out into the world. I definitely need more of it.
Disclaimer: I read this book via NetGalley eARC from Tor Nightfire. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.
March 10, 2025
I really wanted this novel to be eerie eco-terror driven by fully-realized characters, but the concept aside, every element of this novel fell flat for me. Despite being drawn in by the book description and the first chapter, I struggled to keep reading, even when the plot picked up about halfway through. I would have loved this novel, if not for the cardboard-thin characters, inconsistent motivations, cringey dialogue, and writing that was often so childish, I was pulled out of the story completely. (We're talking "ice-blue eyes," "she looked like a sports model and carried herself like a black belt—which she was," and so on.)
It’s a shame because when the body horror finally makes an appearance, it does pack a gleefully gruesome punch. But the horror elements — violence, death, terror — felt incongruous with the juvenile quality of the writing, making for an uneven and uninspired read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It’s a shame because when the body horror finally makes an appearance, it does pack a gleefully gruesome punch. But the horror elements — violence, death, terror — felt incongruous with the juvenile quality of the writing, making for an uneven and uninspired read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2025
What a creative read. This book was different from anything I’ve ever read. There is a good amount of body horror. I appreciated the ambiance of the hot and moist forest amidst a vibrant nature. The fungus was described well (from a non-scientific point of view) and did manage to feel like a character. That said, the actual characters weren’t quite strong enough for me to fully immerse myself in their relationships or form distinct impressions. I did enjoy the LGBT+ inclusion.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 20, 2025
A mystery thriller with spore and body horror throughout.
I can’t say I was a huge fan of the audiobook narrator, the dialogue just felt a bit off and I couldn’t tell if it was due to inflections used or the prose itself.
The descriptions of the forest and settings were immersive and fantastic, gross and bizarre, and atmospheric at times too. This really helped me get into the story.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and MacMillan Audio for a copy.
I can’t say I was a huge fan of the audiobook narrator, the dialogue just felt a bit off and I couldn’t tell if it was due to inflections used or the prose itself.
The descriptions of the forest and settings were immersive and fantastic, gross and bizarre, and atmospheric at times too. This really helped me get into the story.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and MacMillan Audio for a copy.
June 15, 2025
With heartfelt apologies to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, I'm DNF'ing this one at 17%. Maybe I'll come back to it at some point (other reviews seem to indicate it picks up in the second half), but I have so much else to read that I'm excited for, and this is... not great.
I was enjoying the setup and the plot, and the writing wasn't half bad, until the group of super-sexy young "investigators" who are all hot for each other went off to get high in the woods WHERE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GOING MISSING. I can't. I just can't. This is being marketed as "Adult," not YA, so there's no excuse for the characters to be this juvenile. When it got to the line where the main character says she "felt like a teenager again, back at summer camp and stealing touches under the craft table," I almost lost my breakfast. Because YES. THAT IS HOW YOU ARE BEHAVING. WHILE PEOPLE ARE GOING MISSING. INCLUDING YOUR BROTHER.
No. Nope. Sorry. I'm not doing this right now.
I was enjoying the setup and the plot, and the writing wasn't half bad, until the group of super-sexy young "investigators" who are all hot for each other went off to get high in the woods WHERE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GOING MISSING. I can't. I just can't. This is being marketed as "Adult," not YA, so there's no excuse for the characters to be this juvenile. When it got to the line where the main character says she "felt like a teenager again, back at summer camp and stealing touches under the craft table," I almost lost my breakfast. Because YES. THAT IS HOW YOU ARE BEHAVING. WHILE PEOPLE ARE GOING MISSING. INCLUDING YOUR BROTHER.
No. Nope. Sorry. I'm not doing this right now.
July 22, 2025
Good god...the body horror is gruesome in this!
August 10, 2025
2025 reads: 202/300
i received a complimentary audio copy from the publisher as part of their influencer program. i am leaving this review voluntarily.
the clackamas national forest has always been a sanctuary for evil. faraday, oregon is especially affected, swamped with missing persons cases and unidentifiable fungi. the sister of one missing person, erin harper, finds herself in the middle of yet another case when a girl vanishes from the morgue—and her fingerprints show up at the scene of a murder days later. the question is, is this the work of a serial killer, or the spores infecting the forest? erin must find the answers quickly, before anyone else, including herself, goes missing.
a horror novel set in the forest with spore-induced hive mind infections sounded like something i’d really like, so i was quick to request this one! unfortunately, while i did like the main horror elements, and how well the setting played into this, overall this book was underwhelming to me. i found myself getting bored of the mystery at hand, which of course wasn’t ideal. i did really enjoy the narration by jennifer pickens, though, and i’m sure this contributed to what i did enjoy of this book.
i received a complimentary audio copy from the publisher as part of their influencer program. i am leaving this review voluntarily.
the clackamas national forest has always been a sanctuary for evil. faraday, oregon is especially affected, swamped with missing persons cases and unidentifiable fungi. the sister of one missing person, erin harper, finds herself in the middle of yet another case when a girl vanishes from the morgue—and her fingerprints show up at the scene of a murder days later. the question is, is this the work of a serial killer, or the spores infecting the forest? erin must find the answers quickly, before anyone else, including herself, goes missing.
a horror novel set in the forest with spore-induced hive mind infections sounded like something i’d really like, so i was quick to request this one! unfortunately, while i did like the main horror elements, and how well the setting played into this, overall this book was underwhelming to me. i found myself getting bored of the mystery at hand, which of course wasn’t ideal. i did really enjoy the narration by jennifer pickens, though, and i’m sure this contributed to what i did enjoy of this book.
August 21, 2025
firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!
3.5 stars — this was very reminiscent of the last of us and what moves the dead considering this was full of fungal body horror.
girl in the creek was full of uncomfortable descriptive body horror on humans and animal alike — and this confirms my gut instinct to never go camping/traipsing through the woods!!; the author also utilized female rage, which i really appreciated in the horror realm.
i also listened to the audio, and the narrator did a great job!
3.5 stars — this was very reminiscent of the last of us and what moves the dead considering this was full of fungal body horror.
girl in the creek was full of uncomfortable descriptive body horror on humans and animal alike — and this confirms my gut instinct to never go camping/traipsing through the woods!!; the author also utilized female rage, which i really appreciated in the horror realm.
i also listened to the audio, and the narrator did a great job!
July 11, 2025
A mass of missing people, a girl somehow still alive in a creek, and a girl just trying to find what happened to her brother.
Right from the start, I was drawn to this one. I loved the intro, the way the book started with a true representation of the PNW. The feel of the forest, the moss, the way the forest feels alive. I really liked Erin as our main character. It kept the mystery driving the story as we got just the smallest hints that something very wrong was going on in this town. Her compassion for others but also her drive to understand where her brother is added a nice depth to the story in the midst of the strangeness and some of the body gore.
I did this as an audio and I really liked the narrator and the way it brought the story alive. A great addition to the climate horror body gore genre. I loved this one!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Right from the start, I was drawn to this one. I loved the intro, the way the book started with a true representation of the PNW. The feel of the forest, the moss, the way the forest feels alive. I really liked Erin as our main character. It kept the mystery driving the story as we got just the smallest hints that something very wrong was going on in this town. Her compassion for others but also her drive to understand where her brother is added a nice depth to the story in the midst of the strangeness and some of the body gore.
I did this as an audio and I really liked the narrator and the way it brought the story alive. A great addition to the climate horror body gore genre. I loved this one!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
July 20, 2025
Wendy N. Wagner's "Girl in the Creek" emerges as a masterful blend of ecological horror and cosmic dread, weaving together the darkest elements of human nature with something far more alien and terrifying. Set against the mist-shrouded backdrop of Oregon's Clackamas National Forest, this novel doesn't merely tell a story—it immerses readers in a living nightmare where the very forest breathes with malevolent intelligence.
The narrative follows Erin Harper, a freelance travel writer whose seemingly routine assignment to profile the quaint town of Faraday becomes a desperate search for her missing brother Bryan, who vanished in these woods five years prior. Wagner's choice to anchor the supernatural horror in deeply personal loss creates an emotional foundation that makes the mounting terror feel viscerally real. Erin's journey from skeptical journalist to reluctant participant in an otherworldly conflict demonstrates Wagner's skill at character development, transforming what could have been a simple missing persons mystery into something far more profound.
The Strangeness That Lurks Beneath
What sets "Girl in the Creek" apart from conventional horror is Wagner's creation of "the Strangeness"—an alien fungal intelligence that crashed to Earth over a century ago and has been slowly, methodically colonizing the forest ecosystem. This isn't your typical body-snatchers scenario; Wagner has crafted something far more insidious. The fungal entity doesn't simply replace its hosts—it offers them connection, purpose, and a twisted form of transcendence that makes its influence seductive rather than merely terrifying.
The titular girl in the creek, Elena Lopez, becomes a nexus for this horror. Her death and subsequent reanimation through fungal infection creates a hybrid organism that operates outside the Strangeness's control, leading to some of the novel's most disturbing sequences. Wagner's description of Elena's transformed state—part human, part vacuum cleaner, part furniture—pushes body horror into surreal territory that would make David Cronenberg proud.
The author's background as a nature lover and hiker brings authenticity to every description of the Pacific Northwest landscape. The forest isn't merely a setting but a character itself, with Wagner capturing both its pristine beauty and its capacity for concealing unimaginable horrors. Her detailed knowledge of mycology adds scientific credibility to the fantastic elements, making the impossible feel disturbingly plausible.
Characters Caught in the Web
Wagner populates her story with a diverse cast that feels genuinely human rather than serving as mere horror fodder. Hari, Erin's podcasting partner, provides both comic relief and journalistic drive as they investigate the pattern of disappearances targeting people of color in Faraday. The relationship between sisters Kayla and Madison adds emotional weight, particularly as their conflicting approaches to danger—Kayla's crusading determination versus Madison's pragmatic fear—create realistic family tension.
Jordan McCall, the local Instagram influencer turned reluctant guide, represents the best of Wagner's character work. His evolution from small-town dreamer to genuine hero feels earned rather than convenient. The romantic subplot between Erin and Madison, while secondary to the main horror, adds another layer of humanity to the proceedings.
Perhaps most compelling is Scott Vanderpoel, the missing artist whose voluntary absorption into the Strangeness raises uncomfortable questions about connection, purpose, and what constitutes a meaningful existence. His character serves as a dark mirror for Erin's brother Bryan, suggesting that sometimes the forest doesn't steal people—sometimes they choose to be taken.
Masterful Atmosphere and Mounting Dread
Wagner excels at creating an atmosphere where normalcy gradually dissolves into nightmare. The progression from routine travel assignment to cosmic horror feels organic, with each revelation building naturally on the last. The author's pacing is particularly noteworthy—she takes time to establish the mundane world before systematically dismantling it, making the fantastic elements feel like natural extensions of the established reality.
The novel's treatment of environmental themes adds depth without becoming preachy. The Strangeness serves as both literal alien threat and metaphor for ecological collapse, representing nature fighting back against human destruction in the most horrifying way possible. Wagner doesn't offer easy answers or simple eco-friendly solutions; instead, she presents a world where the very attempt to heal the planet might destroy humanity itself.
Technical Craft and Narrative Strength
Wagner's prose style balances accessibility with sophistication, creating vivid imagery without becoming overwrought. Her description of the fungal transformations manages to be both scientifically detailed and viscerally disturbing. The dialogue feels natural, with each character maintaining a distinct voice throughout the narrative.
The novel's structure, alternating between Erin's investigation and glimpses into the Strangeness's alien perspective, creates a dual narrative that builds tension while providing insights into the entity's motivations. These alien viewpoint sections represent some of Wagner's finest writing, capturing a truly inhuman consciousness without making it incomprehensible.
Areas for Critical Consideration
While "Girl in the Creek" succeeds on most levels, it occasionally struggles with pacing in its middle section. The transition from mystery to full-blown cosmic horror sometimes feels rushed, particularly in the revelation of the Strangeness's true nature and goals. Some readers might find the scientific explanations for the fungal infections unnecessarily detailed, potentially slowing the narrative momentum.
The novel's ending, while satisfying, relies heavily on coincidence and last-minute heroics that feel slightly at odds with the more subtle horror that precedes it. The final confrontation in Haven, while visually striking, doesn't quite match the psychological terror of the earlier transformations.
Additionally, certain character deaths feel predetermined rather than organic to the story, particularly those of secondary characters who seem to exist primarily to demonstrate the Strangeness's threat rather than serving the narrative in their own right.
Final Verdict: A Worthy Addition to Contemporary Horror
"Girl in the Creek" succeeds as both an effective horror novel and a thoughtful exploration of humanity's relationship with nature. Wagner has created something genuinely unsettling that lingers in the mind long after the final page. While not perfect, the novel's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, delivering genuine scares alongside meaningful themes.
This book will particularly appeal to readers who enjoy their horror grounded in recognizable reality before spiraling into the fantastic. Wagner's ability to make the impossible feel inevitable marks her as a significant voice in contemporary horror fiction.
The narrative follows Erin Harper, a freelance travel writer whose seemingly routine assignment to profile the quaint town of Faraday becomes a desperate search for her missing brother Bryan, who vanished in these woods five years prior. Wagner's choice to anchor the supernatural horror in deeply personal loss creates an emotional foundation that makes the mounting terror feel viscerally real. Erin's journey from skeptical journalist to reluctant participant in an otherworldly conflict demonstrates Wagner's skill at character development, transforming what could have been a simple missing persons mystery into something far more profound.
The Strangeness That Lurks Beneath
What sets "Girl in the Creek" apart from conventional horror is Wagner's creation of "the Strangeness"—an alien fungal intelligence that crashed to Earth over a century ago and has been slowly, methodically colonizing the forest ecosystem. This isn't your typical body-snatchers scenario; Wagner has crafted something far more insidious. The fungal entity doesn't simply replace its hosts—it offers them connection, purpose, and a twisted form of transcendence that makes its influence seductive rather than merely terrifying.
The titular girl in the creek, Elena Lopez, becomes a nexus for this horror. Her death and subsequent reanimation through fungal infection creates a hybrid organism that operates outside the Strangeness's control, leading to some of the novel's most disturbing sequences. Wagner's description of Elena's transformed state—part human, part vacuum cleaner, part furniture—pushes body horror into surreal territory that would make David Cronenberg proud.
The author's background as a nature lover and hiker brings authenticity to every description of the Pacific Northwest landscape. The forest isn't merely a setting but a character itself, with Wagner capturing both its pristine beauty and its capacity for concealing unimaginable horrors. Her detailed knowledge of mycology adds scientific credibility to the fantastic elements, making the impossible feel disturbingly plausible.
Characters Caught in the Web
Wagner populates her story with a diverse cast that feels genuinely human rather than serving as mere horror fodder. Hari, Erin's podcasting partner, provides both comic relief and journalistic drive as they investigate the pattern of disappearances targeting people of color in Faraday. The relationship between sisters Kayla and Madison adds emotional weight, particularly as their conflicting approaches to danger—Kayla's crusading determination versus Madison's pragmatic fear—create realistic family tension.
Jordan McCall, the local Instagram influencer turned reluctant guide, represents the best of Wagner's character work. His evolution from small-town dreamer to genuine hero feels earned rather than convenient. The romantic subplot between Erin and Madison, while secondary to the main horror, adds another layer of humanity to the proceedings.
Perhaps most compelling is Scott Vanderpoel, the missing artist whose voluntary absorption into the Strangeness raises uncomfortable questions about connection, purpose, and what constitutes a meaningful existence. His character serves as a dark mirror for Erin's brother Bryan, suggesting that sometimes the forest doesn't steal people—sometimes they choose to be taken.
Masterful Atmosphere and Mounting Dread
Wagner excels at creating an atmosphere where normalcy gradually dissolves into nightmare. The progression from routine travel assignment to cosmic horror feels organic, with each revelation building naturally on the last. The author's pacing is particularly noteworthy—she takes time to establish the mundane world before systematically dismantling it, making the fantastic elements feel like natural extensions of the established reality.
The novel's treatment of environmental themes adds depth without becoming preachy. The Strangeness serves as both literal alien threat and metaphor for ecological collapse, representing nature fighting back against human destruction in the most horrifying way possible. Wagner doesn't offer easy answers or simple eco-friendly solutions; instead, she presents a world where the very attempt to heal the planet might destroy humanity itself.
Technical Craft and Narrative Strength
Wagner's prose style balances accessibility with sophistication, creating vivid imagery without becoming overwrought. Her description of the fungal transformations manages to be both scientifically detailed and viscerally disturbing. The dialogue feels natural, with each character maintaining a distinct voice throughout the narrative.
The novel's structure, alternating between Erin's investigation and glimpses into the Strangeness's alien perspective, creates a dual narrative that builds tension while providing insights into the entity's motivations. These alien viewpoint sections represent some of Wagner's finest writing, capturing a truly inhuman consciousness without making it incomprehensible.
Areas for Critical Consideration
While "Girl in the Creek" succeeds on most levels, it occasionally struggles with pacing in its middle section. The transition from mystery to full-blown cosmic horror sometimes feels rushed, particularly in the revelation of the Strangeness's true nature and goals. Some readers might find the scientific explanations for the fungal infections unnecessarily detailed, potentially slowing the narrative momentum.
The novel's ending, while satisfying, relies heavily on coincidence and last-minute heroics that feel slightly at odds with the more subtle horror that precedes it. The final confrontation in Haven, while visually striking, doesn't quite match the psychological terror of the earlier transformations.
Additionally, certain character deaths feel predetermined rather than organic to the story, particularly those of secondary characters who seem to exist primarily to demonstrate the Strangeness's threat rather than serving the narrative in their own right.
Final Verdict: A Worthy Addition to Contemporary Horror
"Girl in the Creek" succeeds as both an effective horror novel and a thoughtful exploration of humanity's relationship with nature. Wagner has created something genuinely unsettling that lingers in the mind long after the final page. While not perfect, the novel's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, delivering genuine scares alongside meaningful themes.
This book will particularly appeal to readers who enjoy their horror grounded in recognizable reality before spiraling into the fantastic. Wagner's ability to make the impossible feel inevitable marks her as a significant voice in contemporary horror fiction.
August 26, 2025
Loved the cover immediately, so I am so thankful I was chosen as an arc reader. Thank you to Tor Nightfire for the physical copy.
Eco horror is on the rise, and the spores and fungus, the sporror, will come for us all! Us a FanFiAddict actually do a lot of talk about all things fungus, especially with Adrian M. Gibson’s debut of Mushroom Blues, and A.J. Calvin being a certified scientist-badass, we are a bunch of fun-gals and fun-guys. So I know several of us were eager to get our hands on this.
The author does a solid job with laying the scene. It’s slow, as it is the real world. People may go missing, but nothing supernatural happens here. That, and we may need a tad of atmosphere to built up. I enjoyed the idea of Erin Harper heading for a little work away from work. She tells her boss there’s a new hotspot on the rise, one they must cover before someone else does, but truly she wants to turn her journalistic feelers out for her photographer and friend, Hari’s podcast. When too many disappearances for one town come to light, could her brother possibly have been lost out there too?
I was a tad shaky on the followup, the build, and the climax. On the one hand, don’t we all love determination, perseverance, and overcoming odds? On the other, I found myself wondering why THESE characters were pushing so hard for this. Erin has her brother to think about, but their qualifications otherwise are that they are hikers? When one character said no and left, I was like hello, sensibility! But in all seriousness, when fungus hiveminds become real, you protect the townspeople.
The owner of the Airbnb Erin stays at really came to mind to me like Lisa Emery’s portrayal of The Dama in The Walking Dead: Dead City. All high collared and mighty, but then ready to get her hands dirty. And while at first I wasn’t loving the hivemind mushroom-fugue-state chapters, they grew on me more and more and the reaching mycelium or hyphae brought to mind that first runner you see at the neighbor’s house in HBOs The Last of Us…which is just chef’s kiss spooky stuff.
This is a good story and it’s not overly long. It’ll grip your attention and you can easily rip through it…if you can handle the rot, decay, water logged skin, and eerie, creeping mushrooms.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-girl-i...
Eco horror is on the rise, and the spores and fungus, the sporror, will come for us all! Us a FanFiAddict actually do a lot of talk about all things fungus, especially with Adrian M. Gibson’s debut of Mushroom Blues, and A.J. Calvin being a certified scientist-badass, we are a bunch of fun-gals and fun-guys. So I know several of us were eager to get our hands on this.
The author does a solid job with laying the scene. It’s slow, as it is the real world. People may go missing, but nothing supernatural happens here. That, and we may need a tad of atmosphere to built up. I enjoyed the idea of Erin Harper heading for a little work away from work. She tells her boss there’s a new hotspot on the rise, one they must cover before someone else does, but truly she wants to turn her journalistic feelers out for her photographer and friend, Hari’s podcast. When too many disappearances for one town come to light, could her brother possibly have been lost out there too?
I was a tad shaky on the followup, the build, and the climax. On the one hand, don’t we all love determination, perseverance, and overcoming odds? On the other, I found myself wondering why THESE characters were pushing so hard for this. Erin has her brother to think about, but their qualifications otherwise are that they are hikers? When one character said no and left, I was like hello, sensibility! But in all seriousness, when fungus hiveminds become real, you protect the townspeople.
The owner of the Airbnb Erin stays at really came to mind to me like Lisa Emery’s portrayal of The Dama in The Walking Dead: Dead City. All high collared and mighty, but then ready to get her hands dirty. And while at first I wasn’t loving the hivemind mushroom-fugue-state chapters, they grew on me more and more and the reaching mycelium or hyphae brought to mind that first runner you see at the neighbor’s house in HBOs The Last of Us…which is just chef’s kiss spooky stuff.
This is a good story and it’s not overly long. It’ll grip your attention and you can easily rip through it…if you can handle the rot, decay, water logged skin, and eerie, creeping mushrooms.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-girl-i...
August 11, 2025
A delicious slow burn Horror story. Wagner takes us into a Pacific Northwest that's home to a suspicious fungal infection, one that warps all life it touches. This story could go predictably, but Wagner takes us into the fraught relationship of several friends who don't know what they've stumbled upon yet--nor do they realize how it's surrounding them. The kind of creepy Summer read I needed right now.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ARC of the audiobook.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ARC of the audiobook.
June 18, 2025
ARC || I think that botanical horror (for the most part) just doesn’t catch my attention the way I wish it did. I enjoyed the synopsis of this book and I thought the cover was cool, so I gave it a try. There are so many characters, but you hardly get to know any of them because the story moves so fast. It’s hard to care about any of them because you don’t truly know any of them. I think that the writing isn’t for me, either. The dialogue lacked realism to me, which made me care for the characters even less. The mystery that we, as readers, are supposed to care about, doesn’t matter if we don’t have a reason to care for the characters we’re following. If the development of the characters was better, maybe it would be different and maybe the story would’ve caught my attention, regardless of the botanical horror aspect of it. It just didn’t hit for me, unfortunately.
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC!
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC!
September 15, 2025
Messy. Disappointing.
August 6, 2025
3.5
The first half I was pretty bored - but appreciated everything once I got to the second half which I loved.
The first half I was pretty bored - but appreciated everything once I got to the second half which I loved.
June 26, 2025
I gave this one 2 stars because I can't say that I disliked it.
I started this book and realized I wasn't following it. So, I restarted it on audio and had the same problem. I started it a third time on audio again and listened to it all the way through on autopilot and couldn't tell you what it was about.
I don't really know if it was the writing, the story, the narration on the audio or what, but I just couldn't focus on this one and would find myself either having to reread or relisten to sections that I was not retaining, and that usually doesn't happen to me.
Overall, I wouldn't say that I don't recommend it. There may be people out there who love it. It just wasn't for me, and couldn't engage me at all.
I started this book and realized I wasn't following it. So, I restarted it on audio and had the same problem. I started it a third time on audio again and listened to it all the way through on autopilot and couldn't tell you what it was about.
I don't really know if it was the writing, the story, the narration on the audio or what, but I just couldn't focus on this one and would find myself either having to reread or relisten to sections that I was not retaining, and that usually doesn't happen to me.
Overall, I wouldn't say that I don't recommend it. There may be people out there who love it. It just wasn't for me, and couldn't engage me at all.
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