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Mushroom Thriller #2
Undergrowth
Ellen King Rice delivers a new thriller set in the woods of the Pacific Northwest -- a story of suspense, mushrooms, alternative economies and dark forest dwellers.
Retired botanist Dr. Oh rejoices when he finds an enormous specimen of a rare shelf fungus, a species nicknamed the "Fuzzy Sandozi." Unfortunately there is a dead body lying next to the magnificent polypore. His granddaughter, Jasmine, insists they must report the murder, despite the danger of revealing the location of the rarity.
Just a few miles away, twenty-year-old Elspeth Dwerryhouse has mushrooming problems of her own. After time in prison for selling psychoactive fungi, she is now working multiple jobs to earn money for college. Her stint selling emergency preparedness supplies brings her to the attention of a backwoods family, the Fickhams, known for trading in chainsaws and abusing women. As Elspeth juggles transcription for a mycologist, busing tables and cat minding, she must also avoid the lusty Fickhams, support her cousin Carmen's medicinal mushroom research, and negotiate the management of a sweet-but-wild high-energy dog that has been dumped into her house-sitting gig.
The Fickham men are cunning and dangerous. None more so than Henry, who is dealing in fentanyl while his father, seventy-year-old Russell, is a master of rape, intimidation and body disposal. Henry wants out and Russell wants Jasmine, Carmen and Elspeth "tenderized" in a dark shed filled with glowing mushrooms.
Fungi in this story include polypores, liberty caps, waxy caps, morels and more.
Part thriller, part ecology class and totally fungi friendly, Undergrowth takes the reader deep into the woods of the Pacific Northwest.
Retired botanist Dr. Oh rejoices when he finds an enormous specimen of a rare shelf fungus, a species nicknamed the "Fuzzy Sandozi." Unfortunately there is a dead body lying next to the magnificent polypore. His granddaughter, Jasmine, insists they must report the murder, despite the danger of revealing the location of the rarity.
Just a few miles away, twenty-year-old Elspeth Dwerryhouse has mushrooming problems of her own. After time in prison for selling psychoactive fungi, she is now working multiple jobs to earn money for college. Her stint selling emergency preparedness supplies brings her to the attention of a backwoods family, the Fickhams, known for trading in chainsaws and abusing women. As Elspeth juggles transcription for a mycologist, busing tables and cat minding, she must also avoid the lusty Fickhams, support her cousin Carmen's medicinal mushroom research, and negotiate the management of a sweet-but-wild high-energy dog that has been dumped into her house-sitting gig.
The Fickham men are cunning and dangerous. None more so than Henry, who is dealing in fentanyl while his father, seventy-year-old Russell, is a master of rape, intimidation and body disposal. Henry wants out and Russell wants Jasmine, Carmen and Elspeth "tenderized" in a dark shed filled with glowing mushrooms.
Fungi in this story include polypores, liberty caps, waxy caps, morels and more.
Part thriller, part ecology class and totally fungi friendly, Undergrowth takes the reader deep into the woods of the Pacific Northwest.
110 pages, ebook
Published June 22, 2018
66 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Ellen King Rice
7 books25 followers Ellen King Rice is a former wildlife biologist with passions for epigenetics and fungi.
In her younger years she served as a wildlife conservation officer, a big game manager, an endangered species biologist and as an lobbyist for environmental issues.
After a spinal cord injury halted her field work, Ellen studied dominance and territorial behaviors while parenting toddlers and adolescents.
One year she entered a Hank the Cowdog story contest and won a twenty two volume set of Hank adventures. This trained her brain in the fine art of being a misunderstood genius.
Ellen posts interesting tidbits about fungi every Tuesday at:
https://www.facebook.com/mushroomthri...
The best fun is the fungi!
In her younger years she served as a wildlife conservation officer, a big game manager, an endangered species biologist and as an lobbyist for environmental issues.
After a spinal cord injury halted her field work, Ellen studied dominance and territorial behaviors while parenting toddlers and adolescents.
One year she entered a Hank the Cowdog story contest and won a twenty two volume set of Hank adventures. This trained her brain in the fine art of being a misunderstood genius.
Ellen posts interesting tidbits about fungi every Tuesday at:
https://www.facebook.com/mushroomthri...
The best fun is the fungi!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 29, 2019
I'm always a bit surprised when Amazon or Goodreads allows an author to review their own book. All I can say is that I give my writing my "All." This book is the culmination of many hours of research on polypores, psychoactive mushrooms, waxy caps and on the vibrant-but-not-always legal alternative economies that exist in the backwoods of the Pacific Northwest.
To the best of my ability, the ecology and science described is correct. I enjoyed writing Elspeth's story, especially after she meets an exuberant Irish Setter named "Zoom." While life is more complicated with a high energy dog, "Zoom" saves Elspeth just as much as Elspeth saves Zoom.
To the best of my ability, the ecology and science described is correct. I enjoyed writing Elspeth's story, especially after she meets an exuberant Irish Setter named "Zoom." While life is more complicated with a high energy dog, "Zoom" saves Elspeth just as much as Elspeth saves Zoom.
June 1, 2023
Couldn't Put it Down!
This author creates some of the most striking and unforgettable characters. Love them or despise them. Plus, enough info on fungi to understand what's being written, while inspiring a desire for more information. I don't do synopses. Please read and enjoy! And the plotlines are good.
This author creates some of the most striking and unforgettable characters. Love them or despise them. Plus, enough info on fungi to understand what's being written, while inspiring a desire for more information. I don't do synopses. Please read and enjoy! And the plotlines are good.
November 24, 2019
Mushroom hunters. Thriller!
Students, foodies, Pacific Northwesterners will be taking time to relax and enjoy this thriller. Psychologists and foragers s will take notice of the correct names and descriptions, and the bad guys are completely creepy!
Students, foodies, Pacific Northwesterners will be taking time to relax and enjoy this thriller. Psychologists and foragers s will take notice of the correct names and descriptions, and the bad guys are completely creepy!
August 8, 2021
This is a story about mushrooms, and greed.
This was a hard story to start reading. I had to get past the Latin names of mushrooms. The subject seem to jump around a lot, I did catch up with the story line about halfway through.
This was a hard story to start reading. I had to get past the Latin names of mushrooms. The subject seem to jump around a lot, I did catch up with the story line about halfway through.
November 21, 2021
Excellent and vivid character development. Book interweaves combinations of plots that will keep you reading, and I ADD.
EXCELLENT knowledge and description of the RainForest of the Olympics of Wa. Aclear 7 on 5 point scale.
EXCELLENT knowledge and description of the RainForest of the Olympics of Wa. Aclear 7 on 5 point scale.
November 20, 2019
Read this while also reading Overstory - learned a whole lot from both!
December 9, 2022
Incredible writer. Educational, sometimes intense, great cast of characters...
Can't wait to read more by this author!
Can't wait to read more by this author!
March 23, 2023
good murder mystery. fun read if you are into plant biology like I am.
November 16, 2022
I'll lead with the fact that as a mycology hobbyist I'm biased in this book's favor. Four stars for being more entertaining than neutral. Overall a cute intersection between mushroom/fungi facts and thriller. The only negative is that the shroom facts tend to get rambly to the point they don't feel like a natural part of the story. For example, characters wander off on tangents about mushroom growth and repeat the same facts in a way that does not read as natural. This would be charming if it wasn't so frequent! There are a few editing errors - occasional missed periods or misspellings that could be corrected.
November 18, 2019
When I first started reading this book, I thought it was a bit on the corny side. However, the more I read, the more I began to enjoy it and in the end found it hard to put down. The concept of incorporating some of the biological sciences - mainly mycology, botany, and genetics - as primary elements of the plot line was intriguing to me. I found that even with my own personal background in biological sciences, I needed to look up a number of things and learned a great deal while enjoying the book. Some may find the amount of scientific information off-putting but if they don't mind having access to Google nearby, they may increase their appreciation for some of the unseen wonders of the forest floor.
One aspect of the book that I found enjoyable was the geographic area in which the story set. My first job after college was in the Olympia, Washington - South Puget Sound area and I was familiar with or had been to most of the locations described in the book.
Without revealing too much, I will say that I found the book to be uplifting and the characters (at least the good guys) to exhibit some very admirable traits.
One aspect of the book that I found enjoyable was the geographic area in which the story set. My first job after college was in the Olympia, Washington - South Puget Sound area and I was familiar with or had been to most of the locations described in the book.
Without revealing too much, I will say that I found the book to be uplifting and the characters (at least the good guys) to exhibit some very admirable traits.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews