There's a road in the town of Witherbrook called Mulligans Hollow. It's long, and dark, and full of shadows. That's where they think Timmy Collins disappeared. Everybody searches, but there is no trace, no clue that he had ever even been there. None. That is, until another child goes missing there on that eerie road, and the kid's friends tell the police that they saw something out there, something among those shadows and trees, and it had red eyes.
Patrick Reuman is a writer by day and a Medical Laboratory Scientist by night. He has been writing ever since he was 16 when a school assignment pushed his imagination toward creating his own stories. He has one child, a son, named Aidan. He hopes to continue writing while also plotting to take over the world.
A great story that can be enjoyed by adults and young adults alike, this tale allows us to visit the realms of our childhood horrors with a group of unlikely friends. A coming of age story mixed with classic monster horror ala old school Stephen King, this book has a little something for everyone.
The Monster on Mulligans Hollow is a very mixed bag. The story itself is fine, great even, had way more substance than I was expecting and was fairly interesting. There were a couple of drawbacks. The chronology is iffy, Resident Evil 2 is mentioned as if it were a new game, RE2 came out in 1998, but the boys were also watching Avatar which came out in 2005. Aidan also sat down to watch Fresh Prince on DVD, meaning he's playing on a PS2. This is the kind of deep nerdery I live in fear of as a writer, but I'll have to admit the inconsistent temporal setting threw me off a bit. The other issue is the lore, there was none. The monster is barely described and never definitively identified and that just feels a little hollow. With a story like this Mulligan's Hollow needs to have stories told about it, it needs a mythos, there needs to have been accidents while the bridge was being built, and Reuman failed to provide any of that. The Monster on Mulligan's Hollow is by no means a bad book, it was actually better than I expected, but it could have been better. Really, it's not even Reuman's fault, it's his editor's.
As a YA Horror, this book ticks a lot of boxes. A handful of teens? Check. A small town? Check. Missing kids? Check. Monster? Check. Reuman has managed to take the great elements of the genre and mix them up in to a nice little tale that simmers until a climatic ending.
Mulligans Hollow sits at the end of a sleepy little town called Witherbrook. It’s a non-descript road that quietly sits dormant. That is until quite unexpectedly, a local lad goes missing, and the whole town desperately searches in vain to find him.
Aiden and his friends are determined to find out what’s going on and soon they discover something is there. And it’s red eyes have seen them.
This is a great book that bridges the gap between Goosebumps and Point Horror. It’s creepy, and unnerving but a brilliant introduction to horror for younger readers!
Great story for all ages! This is not a story of pure gross horror in which it would too scary for children, but just spooky enough on any level of someone just looking for something creepy. If you have enjoyed stories like goosebumps and scary stories to tell in the dark , then this one is for you . You’ll be a little creeped out by the story , but will enjoy how it turns out. I got the feeling of a couple of similarities from recent novels , but with a twist that you will not be disappointed with. I recommend this book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves coming of age horror. So much can be learned from the main character Aiden. He and his friends will stop at nothing to find the first missing boy. They only saw him at school, didn't really know him, but were so concerned for him, while others didn't seem to care. Super scary book with a message. Literally gave me nightmares. Highly recommend this book!!!!
The author wrote a book for his son, starring his son and it couldn’t be more delightful. It reminds me of the horror/adventure movies I grew up watching in the 80’s. I’m going to keep this around to read to my daughter when she’s old enough to hold still long enough to listen.
I really enjoyed reading this book. This book was hard to put down once I started. I even had visual images of the characters and the settings. I actually felt like I was there
I didn’t realize it was a book for kids as I saw it advertised on Facebook and was intrigued. It would be great for kids but definitely not a book aimed at adults. Cute story though.
This is my second favorite book of Patrick's that I've read so far, behind The Little Runaway. I really think these kind of YA suspense stories should be his niche.
Once you start this book, putting it down may prove difficult. You want to know; no, you have to know what happened to Timmy Collins, who disappears at the beginning of the book while crossing a new bridge. The incidents are like something out of a dark fairy tale. I immediately thought about the Billy Goats Gruff or even the troll who lives under the bridge. Well, something lies beneath the bridge, only it does not desire money.
Needless to say there is nothing like a book about a group of kids who ban together to fix a problem that adults do not believe exists. It is about friendships, loss and growing up, a true coming of age story. Imagine the cliques at school: bullies, the gamers, and the quiet ones. Watching them put their differences aside and unite to accomplish a common goal had me pumping my fist in the air like Judd Nelson (John Bender) in The Breakfast Club because I definitely won't forget about these kids.