The Thing in the Pool

by Carol James Marshall

Edger tried to warn his parents, but they aren’t listening. Edger doesn't trust his new neighbor Miss Pez. There are strange noises and shadows lurking in her pool late into the night and its creeping Edger out! He tried to warn his parents, but they aren't listening. Don't they notice or care that something right next door is mysteriously terrifying? It'll be up to Edger and his friend Alice to bravely face The Thing in the Pool for the good of the whole neighborhood. The Thing in the Pool is a lighthearted neighborhood romp that leads you straight into the unthinkable. Read it today and never look at your neighbors the same again.

Genres: Horror

36 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2018

About the author

Carol James Marshall is an author who specializes in horror stories, combining comedy, paranormal, sci-fi and suspenseful elements. She has 7 books and 4 short stories already out in the world and is currently working on Santa Muerte, a Latino-influenced series about witches that will be released in 2023.
Marshall is a low vision author who uses technology and large fonts to write her books.
When she isn't writing or enjoying audiobooks, Carol works as a translator. With her background in both Los Angeles, California and Mexicali, Mexico, she now lives in Georgia along with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Thing in the Pool by Carol James Marshall is a fun middle grade/ teen book. It has humor and a bit of suspense but mostly just a fun read! A boy lives on a block with too many teachers as neighbors and a new neighbor moved in next door. He was hoping the people moving in would have a boy his age because that house had a pool. Unfortunately, it was another teacher! School starts and the girl that lives behind that pool neighbor and the boy both notice something going on in the pool at night....
I got this book from a free book funnel or instafreebie

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story with lots of action and funny moments. The author does a good job of seeing the world around her main character from a kids view.
A short story that is fast paced, the only thing the story suffers from (like many ebooks I have read) is the issue of grammatical and spelling errors through out the story.
Still worth a quick read if you can get around to it.

[Ronald Keeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thing in the Pool by Carol James Marshall is a 38-page short story that I bought for USD 0.99 on Amazon after I read it for free from another giveaway site. I bought it so this review would be a verified purchase. I liked the way the story was told from many different points of view. Edger tells a story from the point of view of an eighth-grader when he is facing the world and his classmates as an eighth grader. This is his exterior, sometimes phony, point of view. There are interior monologues going on as he describes his true feelings about his classmates and himself to himself. This is his honest-with-himself point of view. Other points of view appear. Edger imagines himself as his father in the present and makes value judgments about his own behavior. Would his father approve? Same with his mother. Then he imagines himself as a father in the future. How would he interact with a son who is amazingly similar to the present day Edger?

Confused yet? We haven’t even gotten to the story. This is a fun read just with exploring the inside of Edger’s head. The inside of Edger’s head is a very busy place. Edger is a son almost too good to believe. It seems he never argues with his parents openly. He puts up with his mom’s overly solicitous, constantly worrying, mom-like behavior. He seems to be almost a pal with his dad. He doesn’t bother them too much with his biggest wish. He wants to move. There are too many teachers living in his neighborhood. A new one had just moved in next door, just prior to his first day of eighth grade. It was fitting that her name was Pez because she looked like one of the candy dispensers. She also looked unfriendly. He was hoping for a neighbor with kids so he could be invited to use the pool. No such luck. The Pez had neither spouse, partner, or kids.

Edger’s bedroom window had a view of the Pez Pool. There was never anything to see but there were some disturbing noises in the early morning hours when Edger liked to sleep. They didn’t bother him every night but enough so that he wanted to know the source of the noises that seemed to come from the swirling water he could see. He couldn’t see what was in the water and wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Everything would have gone along fine if not for Alice, a classmate, and a girl. Edger didn’t like to talk to any classmate but if he wanted to talk to one, it wouldn’t be a girl.

Alice was also a neighbor; this was new information for Edger. She could also almost see the Pez Pool. She too had heard the noises but she did not have the clear view from her bedroom window that Edger had. She could see Edger’s window clearly, yet another thing for Edger to worry about. Was she spying on him? Alice was definitely annoying him as she demanded that Edger work with her to identify the noise and see what was making the water turbulent during the early morning hours. Edger reluctantly joined her plan to sneak out of their houses and get close enough to Pez Place to discover the truth. As Alice said, their lives depended on it.

She was almost right.

There is a generous amount of understated humor throughout the story. Were we this weird in the eighth grade? Read this story to make an informed decision. I gave this four Amazon stars

[Samantha Henthorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this cleverly written horror novella about Edger, living in an estate which is over populated with school teachers. One moves in next door, and there are funny goings on in her pool.

[Fee Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thing in the Pool by Carol James Marshall is a short horror story about a young boy, Edger, and his new neighbor's pool.

Plot 5/5: A very interesting and creepy plot.

Characters 4/5: Believable characters.

World building 4/5: The story is set in a small neighborhood.

Pacing 5/5: Steady pacing which comes to a climax at the end.

Writing 3/5: Needs an editor.

Overall 4.2

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, enjoyable short story.

[Monica M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish it was longer

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 🌟 read rounded ⬆️ to 4 🌟.

A great short story that is aimed for late primary school aged kids but one that I found enjoyable nevertheless.