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Fraser: The Disappearance of Michael Pitts
The air lay heavy and unmoving around him. James felt as though he was pushing his way through a massive and ponderous revolving door with each step. The woods were preternaturally quiet — no animal stirred and no breeze rustled the vegetation. He slowly made his way to the edge of the river. The gurgling grew louder, but James couldn’t see anything disturbing the mud laden waters.
“What the hell is going on here?” James gasped.
“Hell doesn’t have anything to do with it, F.B.I. Man.” Wendy replied, daintily plucking his hand from her slender shoulder. Her eyes regarded him coldly before she “There are things you should not know.”
The gurgling drew James’ attention back to the shoreline. The sun had descended below the rise of the river valley and the entire area was cast into a thick and hazy gloom. The river ran the color of blood. Taking his penlight out with one hand, he drew his gun with the other. The penlight was ineffective in the twilight, but James anxiously flashed it up and down the shoreline searching for the source of the sound. He turned back to Wendy; but the girl had simply vanished. At the top of the trailhead, James caught sight of a bike reflector flash as Wendy sped away from the park. So much for getting information from her. What in the world could’ve spooked a kid like her anyway? Closer in, near the Sugar Shack, James saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He automatically crouched onto his aching calves and brought his pistol up.
Nothing.
At the edge of his vision, he glimpsed a shadow to his right. James spun with his weapon aimed at the disturbance. But, there was nothing. there. You’re spooked, too! He thought angrily to himself. You’re seeing ghosts… and phantoms! He lowered his weapon and turned his attention back to the gurgling river. Looking out at the river, James was startled to find a figure rising up from the water — less than twenty feet from shore! How could anyone swim in this sludge — and against that current, too?
“Michael?” James called hopefully.
No response. He could barely make the figure out against the amassing shadows.
“Who’s there?” James called again. No response. “Are you injured or…” His voice trailed off as the figure lumbered closer to the shore. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human.
At least, not anymore.
This is a full length novel (110,000 words), book one in the Jamer Rover series.
“What the hell is going on here?” James gasped.
“Hell doesn’t have anything to do with it, F.B.I. Man.” Wendy replied, daintily plucking his hand from her slender shoulder. Her eyes regarded him coldly before she “There are things you should not know.”
The gurgling drew James’ attention back to the shoreline. The sun had descended below the rise of the river valley and the entire area was cast into a thick and hazy gloom. The river ran the color of blood. Taking his penlight out with one hand, he drew his gun with the other. The penlight was ineffective in the twilight, but James anxiously flashed it up and down the shoreline searching for the source of the sound. He turned back to Wendy; but the girl had simply vanished. At the top of the trailhead, James caught sight of a bike reflector flash as Wendy sped away from the park. So much for getting information from her. What in the world could’ve spooked a kid like her anyway? Closer in, near the Sugar Shack, James saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He automatically crouched onto his aching calves and brought his pistol up.
Nothing.
At the edge of his vision, he glimpsed a shadow to his right. James spun with his weapon aimed at the disturbance. But, there was nothing. there. You’re spooked, too! He thought angrily to himself. You’re seeing ghosts… and phantoms! He lowered his weapon and turned his attention back to the gurgling river. Looking out at the river, James was startled to find a figure rising up from the water — less than twenty feet from shore! How could anyone swim in this sludge — and against that current, too?
“Michael?” James called hopefully.
No response. He could barely make the figure out against the amassing shadows.
“Who’s there?” James called again. No response. “Are you injured or…” His voice trailed off as the figure lumbered closer to the shore. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human.
At least, not anymore.
This is a full length novel (110,000 words), book one in the Jamer Rover series.
ebook
First published May 2, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 16, 2017
Review: FRASER: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MICHAEL ALLAN PITTS by Mark Clodi and Michael Picco
I can remember few cliffhangers as enormous as the ending of this horror-mystery-suspense novel. Certainly it propels readers to the next in the James Rover series. James Rover is a rather unusual protagonist, who falls into a really unusual (potentially world-ending) case. Once an FBI agent specializing in analytics, Rover was badly injured during a shootout which also included his partner/mentor Corinne Washington.
Allowed intermittent function as an unofficial private investigator in investigation of cold cases, Rover stumbles into the Iowa disappearance of a seventeen-year-old boy who has no ostensible reason to disappear. The sheriff also has disappeared, Rover himself is arrested by the "interim" Sheriff for arson, and he quickly discovers that this quiet river town is a hotbed of unnatural disturbance, and a portal to the beyond.
I can remember few cliffhangers as enormous as the ending of this horror-mystery-suspense novel. Certainly it propels readers to the next in the James Rover series. James Rover is a rather unusual protagonist, who falls into a really unusual (potentially world-ending) case. Once an FBI agent specializing in analytics, Rover was badly injured during a shootout which also included his partner/mentor Corinne Washington.
Allowed intermittent function as an unofficial private investigator in investigation of cold cases, Rover stumbles into the Iowa disappearance of a seventeen-year-old boy who has no ostensible reason to disappear. The sheriff also has disappeared, Rover himself is arrested by the "interim" Sheriff for arson, and he quickly discovers that this quiet river town is a hotbed of unnatural disturbance, and a portal to the beyond.
April 18, 2015
Mark and I are indie authors. Fraser is MY first novel, but Mark's sixth.
Fraser is a story told in the Lovecraft/Noir tradition. It bears many ear-marks to the tropes found in Southern Renaissance literature, and the hero's journey. The story is a first-person, limited omniscient narrative from the perspective of James Rover, an investigator for the Omaha FBI.
James, as the reader discovers, is recovering from a brutal shot-out and trying to prove his mettle by taking on a "routine" missing person case: Michael Pitts (a small-town teenager from Fraser, IA--where, of course, the book gets its name). James begins to slowly uncover some disturbing and odd facts and circumstances surrounding the case, and as the story begins to unfold, he becomes aware that there is much more to Michael's disappearance than meets the eye. This is also reflected in the characters whom he encounters: Wendy Valance, a deeply disturbed and troubled prepubescent girl; Karl Valance, the girl's roughneck father; John Pitts, Michael's alcoholic father; and Gib Hibbons, the local Sheriff. In the process of the investigation, James is framed for arson and as a result, becomes infected with an alien parasite. This parasite, real or imagined, drives our already compromised narrator ever closer to the edge of madness.
Fraser has a little bit of everything: infestation/infection, madness, nightmarish scenes, river monsters, sexual deviance, brutality and of course a good dose of creepy. The "mad narrator" trope is lightly and effectively applied.
This is the first novel in a series. The sequel, The City of Brass, is currently in the works and has an anticipated release date of 2016.
Fraser is a story told in the Lovecraft/Noir tradition. It bears many ear-marks to the tropes found in Southern Renaissance literature, and the hero's journey. The story is a first-person, limited omniscient narrative from the perspective of James Rover, an investigator for the Omaha FBI.
James, as the reader discovers, is recovering from a brutal shot-out and trying to prove his mettle by taking on a "routine" missing person case: Michael Pitts (a small-town teenager from Fraser, IA--where, of course, the book gets its name). James begins to slowly uncover some disturbing and odd facts and circumstances surrounding the case, and as the story begins to unfold, he becomes aware that there is much more to Michael's disappearance than meets the eye. This is also reflected in the characters whom he encounters: Wendy Valance, a deeply disturbed and troubled prepubescent girl; Karl Valance, the girl's roughneck father; John Pitts, Michael's alcoholic father; and Gib Hibbons, the local Sheriff. In the process of the investigation, James is framed for arson and as a result, becomes infected with an alien parasite. This parasite, real or imagined, drives our already compromised narrator ever closer to the edge of madness.
Fraser has a little bit of everything: infestation/infection, madness, nightmarish scenes, river monsters, sexual deviance, brutality and of course a good dose of creepy. The "mad narrator" trope is lightly and effectively applied.
This is the first novel in a series. The sequel, The City of Brass, is currently in the works and has an anticipated release date of 2016.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews