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Farn's Syndrome
It’s known as Farn’s Syndrome. A genetic mutation that causes cells to age slowly. So slowly, its victims barely age at all. An elderly person trapped in a newborn body.
Joy’s baby Earl has some strange abilities. He doesn’t crawl on the carpet but creeps into his mother’s head. He knows all her secrets and controls her every move. It’s how he survives. Now she is dying of cancer.
Lee and Neil Foster, teenage runaways, survive by prostitution and drugs. Opportunity knocks when Joy offers them a job caring for Earl in a remote seaside community. It’s Lee’s chance to turn their life around, a perfect scenario.
Except… Neil is losing his mind and Lee thinks Earl has something to do with it. But that’s impossible, isn’t it? Babies can’t take over the mind of another, can they? He looks like a normal newborn, but Lee senses he’s far older. Is he a victim of Farn’s Syndrome?
Or is he something else?
Joy’s baby Earl has some strange abilities. He doesn’t crawl on the carpet but creeps into his mother’s head. He knows all her secrets and controls her every move. It’s how he survives. Now she is dying of cancer.
Lee and Neil Foster, teenage runaways, survive by prostitution and drugs. Opportunity knocks when Joy offers them a job caring for Earl in a remote seaside community. It’s Lee’s chance to turn their life around, a perfect scenario.
Except… Neil is losing his mind and Lee thinks Earl has something to do with it. But that’s impossible, isn’t it? Babies can’t take over the mind of another, can they? He looks like a normal newborn, but Lee senses he’s far older. Is he a victim of Farn’s Syndrome?
Or is he something else?
359 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 30, 2022
6 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 17, 2023
It's been a while since a horror novel has kept my attention. This one not only caught my attention, it kept me turning pages wanting to know what happened next. I really enjoyed reading this book about Earl. I hope there is a sequel coming!
August 27, 2023
Hold on for a wild ride!!
Whew! This book was something else. I’ll admit, besides a few Stephen King books, I’m not the usual speculative fiction reader. However, to me, this is a truly original horror story with so many twists and turns that I felt spent by the end.
The protagonist, Lee, is a teenaged girl who has lived so much of her life with multiple layers of damaging abuse. When she and her unstable younger half brother get a chance to escape, they take it, not knowing the incredible danger they will be placed into. The plot gets more bizarre the deeper the story progresses, but I found myself believing in what was taking place, not doubting that it was possible.
The writing is quite good and the character development is solid. There are excellent metaphors and imaginative descriptive writing. There is SA, violence, drug use, and disturbing mental illness, so read an excerpt before entering, if this isn’t your thing. I didn’t think that any of it was gratuitous.
The ending led me to believe that a sequel could be in the works… if so, I would definitely read it. Highly recommend to anyone who loves the horror/psychological/supernatural thriller genre. It’s a winner!
Whew! This book was something else. I’ll admit, besides a few Stephen King books, I’m not the usual speculative fiction reader. However, to me, this is a truly original horror story with so many twists and turns that I felt spent by the end.
The protagonist, Lee, is a teenaged girl who has lived so much of her life with multiple layers of damaging abuse. When she and her unstable younger half brother get a chance to escape, they take it, not knowing the incredible danger they will be placed into. The plot gets more bizarre the deeper the story progresses, but I found myself believing in what was taking place, not doubting that it was possible.
The writing is quite good and the character development is solid. There are excellent metaphors and imaginative descriptive writing. There is SA, violence, drug use, and disturbing mental illness, so read an excerpt before entering, if this isn’t your thing. I didn’t think that any of it was gratuitous.
The ending led me to believe that a sequel could be in the works… if so, I would definitely read it. Highly recommend to anyone who loves the horror/psychological/supernatural thriller genre. It’s a winner!
February 3, 2024
incredible
This was an intense book that kept me hooked from beginning to end. I will never look at a baby the same ever again.
This was an intense book that kept me hooked from beginning to end. I will never look at a baby the same ever again.
October 4, 2024
What could be more innocent than a newborn babe—right? Right?!?
Lee Foster is about to find out. Neglected since birth by a mother, Leona, who was too mentally ill to ever properly care for herself much less a child, Lee has spent most of her childhood years caring for her younger half-brother, Neil, who has more than his own fair share of manic behavioral issues. Having never met her own father, the closest to a father figure Lee had ever known was Neil’s father, Doug, a kindly man who genuinely tried to be the calm in the family storm. After his untimely demise in a traffic accident, Lee’s mother introduces yet another man, William, to the family dynamic, this one a sexual predator whose predilection for young girls shatters any last vestige of innocence left in Lee. Although Neil is spared that particular form of abuse, William has other forms of cruelty in store for the boy, all of which is completely overlooked by Leona, who continues to be haunted by her own demons.
Lee remains fiercely protective of her brother; they are all each other truly has. When a new half-sister, Dana, is born, Lee cannot make herself feel the same way about this new baby as she does about Neil. When she looks at Dana, all she sees is William’s face, and it’s more than she can stand. Still, she is consumed with worry for when her new stepfather will eventually inflict himself upon the child—and he most certainly will. When Lee summons the courage to report William’s actions, her mother does the unthinkable and overdoses, leaving her three children to whatever governmental care might be afforded to orphans. Unwilling to fall into a system that will likely separate her from her brother, Lee takes Neil and runs, leaving Dana to whatever new parents the system might find for her.
Living on the streets, it isn’t long before both Lee and Neil are addicted to drugs, with Lee prostituting herself to support their habits. When a sickly woman named Joy approaches Lee in a runaway shelter with her newborn son in tow, she offers Lee an opportunity to escape her miserable life and come work for her as a live-in caregiver. Joy is in the last stages of cancer and is desperate to find someone who will continue to care for her infant son, Earl, and he seems to have taken an instant liking to Lee. As strange as the circumstance should seem, Lee doesn’t ask many questions before accepting. Why? Because Lee has a problem of her own—she’s pregnant and can’t fathom managing the situation from a runaway shelter that is filled with addicts and prostitutes. She has no intention of keeping the child but feels a compulsion to give it a better head start than she ever had. Her only condition is that she can bring Neil with her, unwilling to abandon her brother after everything they had been through.
And then the REAL horror begins…
Isolated in a small, seaside cabin on the coast of British Columbia, Lee and Neil begin their new lives with Joy and Earl, and from the very beginning, something seems off. Joy seems afraid of her own child, and Neil’s unpredictable mood swings inexplicably level out, but Lee can only force herself to tend to the duties for which she was hired. She is repulsed by Earl in a way she can’t describe.
After meeting their closest neighbor, an alcoholic former doctor named Bill Farn, Lee is determined to discover what turned this once prominent physician’s life into the shambles it currently is. She learns of Bill’s obsession proving a theorem that he named after himself—Farn’s Syndrome—a genetic mutation much like Premature Aging Syndrome, only in reverse—a condition in which a person would mentally age while his or her body doesn’t. Bill’s obsession cost him his family and his career, but it plants a seed of suspicion in Lee’s mind that continues to grow as conditions in Joy’s house get stranger.
Could Earl be the proof that Bill has been looking for?
Holy WOW, this was an incredible read. MacFarlane’s effortless ability to sublimate the reader into a world that is tragic and modern with a gothic edge pulled me under immediately. Her characters were fully three dimensional, and I was completely invested in their plight as it unfolded in horrifying and unpredictable ways. Based on a concept that might have seemed downright silly in less capable hands, MacFarlane’s story kept me utterly riveted. I could barely put this book down. My anxiety was at a fever pitch as Lee’s situation slowly deteriorated into an inescapable trap she had voluntarily stepped into, and the ending was perfectly off the rails—wildly imaginative and satisfying.
Make no mistake about it, this book is not for the faint of heart, but it is a beautifully written piece of modern horror that I won’t soon forget. Extraordinarily well done.
Lee Foster is about to find out. Neglected since birth by a mother, Leona, who was too mentally ill to ever properly care for herself much less a child, Lee has spent most of her childhood years caring for her younger half-brother, Neil, who has more than his own fair share of manic behavioral issues. Having never met her own father, the closest to a father figure Lee had ever known was Neil’s father, Doug, a kindly man who genuinely tried to be the calm in the family storm. After his untimely demise in a traffic accident, Lee’s mother introduces yet another man, William, to the family dynamic, this one a sexual predator whose predilection for young girls shatters any last vestige of innocence left in Lee. Although Neil is spared that particular form of abuse, William has other forms of cruelty in store for the boy, all of which is completely overlooked by Leona, who continues to be haunted by her own demons.
Lee remains fiercely protective of her brother; they are all each other truly has. When a new half-sister, Dana, is born, Lee cannot make herself feel the same way about this new baby as she does about Neil. When she looks at Dana, all she sees is William’s face, and it’s more than she can stand. Still, she is consumed with worry for when her new stepfather will eventually inflict himself upon the child—and he most certainly will. When Lee summons the courage to report William’s actions, her mother does the unthinkable and overdoses, leaving her three children to whatever governmental care might be afforded to orphans. Unwilling to fall into a system that will likely separate her from her brother, Lee takes Neil and runs, leaving Dana to whatever new parents the system might find for her.
Living on the streets, it isn’t long before both Lee and Neil are addicted to drugs, with Lee prostituting herself to support their habits. When a sickly woman named Joy approaches Lee in a runaway shelter with her newborn son in tow, she offers Lee an opportunity to escape her miserable life and come work for her as a live-in caregiver. Joy is in the last stages of cancer and is desperate to find someone who will continue to care for her infant son, Earl, and he seems to have taken an instant liking to Lee. As strange as the circumstance should seem, Lee doesn’t ask many questions before accepting. Why? Because Lee has a problem of her own—she’s pregnant and can’t fathom managing the situation from a runaway shelter that is filled with addicts and prostitutes. She has no intention of keeping the child but feels a compulsion to give it a better head start than she ever had. Her only condition is that she can bring Neil with her, unwilling to abandon her brother after everything they had been through.
And then the REAL horror begins…
Isolated in a small, seaside cabin on the coast of British Columbia, Lee and Neil begin their new lives with Joy and Earl, and from the very beginning, something seems off. Joy seems afraid of her own child, and Neil’s unpredictable mood swings inexplicably level out, but Lee can only force herself to tend to the duties for which she was hired. She is repulsed by Earl in a way she can’t describe.
After meeting their closest neighbor, an alcoholic former doctor named Bill Farn, Lee is determined to discover what turned this once prominent physician’s life into the shambles it currently is. She learns of Bill’s obsession proving a theorem that he named after himself—Farn’s Syndrome—a genetic mutation much like Premature Aging Syndrome, only in reverse—a condition in which a person would mentally age while his or her body doesn’t. Bill’s obsession cost him his family and his career, but it plants a seed of suspicion in Lee’s mind that continues to grow as conditions in Joy’s house get stranger.
Could Earl be the proof that Bill has been looking for?
Holy WOW, this was an incredible read. MacFarlane’s effortless ability to sublimate the reader into a world that is tragic and modern with a gothic edge pulled me under immediately. Her characters were fully three dimensional, and I was completely invested in their plight as it unfolded in horrifying and unpredictable ways. Based on a concept that might have seemed downright silly in less capable hands, MacFarlane’s story kept me utterly riveted. I could barely put this book down. My anxiety was at a fever pitch as Lee’s situation slowly deteriorated into an inescapable trap she had voluntarily stepped into, and the ending was perfectly off the rails—wildly imaginative and satisfying.
Make no mistake about it, this book is not for the faint of heart, but it is a beautifully written piece of modern horror that I won’t soon forget. Extraordinarily well done.
September 13, 2025
What I loved most about Farn’s Syndrome wasn’t just the eerie idea of a baby who knows too much, it was the way MacFarlane explores control. Earl doesn’t crawl or babble, he creeps into the minds of those around him. The scenes where Joy loses her sense of self, her autonomy stolen by her infant, are some of the most haunting I’ve read in years. As a parent, this hit me especially hard, because the bond between mother and child is supposed to be sacred, but here it’s corrupted in such a terrifying way. When Lee and Neil enter the picture, you can feel the false sense of relief finally, some help for Joy. But the further I read, the more I realized the true danger wasn’t Joy’s illness but Earl’s sinister presence. The slow unraveling of Neil’s sanity was heartbreaking yet gripping, and Lee’s attempts to hold everything together made me root for them even in the darkest moments. The ending left me shaken, questioning what Farn’s Syndrome really meant. Brilliant and terrifying.
May 25, 2023
couldn’t put it down
Wow! So this book gripped me from the very first page! I immediately felt for Joy and wanted to know more but was also suspicious of her. Lee my gosh I was rooting for her the whole time, and so scared for her!
The pacing, the build up, the intrigue, the world building it was all so incredible.
I got about halfway and was going to go to bed and I literally could not. I could not sleep until I finished it!
Wow! So this book gripped me from the very first page! I immediately felt for Joy and wanted to know more but was also suspicious of her. Lee my gosh I was rooting for her the whole time, and so scared for her!
The pacing, the build up, the intrigue, the world building it was all so incredible.
I got about halfway and was going to go to bed and I literally could not. I could not sleep until I finished it!
January 10, 2026
This book is haunting, original, and impossible to put down. The idea of Farn’s Syndrome is chilling, and Earl is one of the most unsettling characters I’ve ever read. The author’s writing is gripping, emotional, and brilliantly paced, pulling me in from the first page to the last.
A truly unforgettable story that lingers in your mind. Huge compliments to the author I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves dark, thought-provoking fiction. Absolutely five-star worthy!
A truly unforgettable story that lingers in your mind. Huge compliments to the author I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves dark, thought-provoking fiction. Absolutely five-star worthy!
November 15, 2023
What a baby!
Leslie MacFarlane created such a story it was almost difficult to put down. I don’t know what genre to place this book in. It’s a little bit horror, definitely a thriller, with a touch of science fiction. Earl is quite the character, a baby that plays the main event in this book.
Leslie MacFarlane created such a story it was almost difficult to put down. I don’t know what genre to place this book in. It’s a little bit horror, definitely a thriller, with a touch of science fiction. Earl is quite the character, a baby that plays the main event in this book.
March 26, 2024
Weird and creepy-what a horror novel should be
A very original horror story which dealt with social issues and damaged characters in the west coast of Canada is right up my alley. Though this story lagged in the middle,it contained more than enough strong moments to make it a worthy read
A very original horror story which dealt with social issues and damaged characters in the west coast of Canada is right up my alley. Though this story lagged in the middle,it contained more than enough strong moments to make it a worthy read
November 9, 2023
wow
You will never look at innocent babies the same way after reading this book. This book was an emotional roller coaster.
You will never look at innocent babies the same way after reading this book. This book was an emotional roller coaster.
September 18, 2024
Creepiest book ever?
Creepy doesn't even begin to describe the horror of this book. I have to give it 5 stars because the author did what she set out to do. She expertly wove a tale of terror that will no doubt haunt you for some time to come. If you dare to indulge, at least turn all the lights on.....
Creepy doesn't even begin to describe the horror of this book. I have to give it 5 stars because the author did what she set out to do. She expertly wove a tale of terror that will no doubt haunt you for some time to come. If you dare to indulge, at least turn all the lights on.....
January 20, 2025
Impulse buy that turned out really good!
Saw this promoted by the author on a Facebook page, the premise sounded unique and it was. Good read, highly recommend!
Saw this promoted by the author on a Facebook page, the premise sounded unique and it was. Good read, highly recommend!
July 31, 2025
3.25 stars. This was a fascinating premise and the imagery made up for the fact that I ended up hating every single character and ultimately wasn’t invested in what was going on.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews