Standing on the edge of summer break after the longest last day of eighth grade ever, Doug Simms and his two best friends join a group of older kids for an all-night scavenger hunt. It’s supposed to be a celebration, an evening of fun and freedom. But what happens that night will change their summer in the darkest ways imaginable. And not just their summer...but their entire lives.
MALIGNANT SUMMER is a coming-of-age epic where innocence is lost and the path through adolescence is painful. Where dreamscapes merge with reality. Where love seems possible, and the best season feels like it can last forever.
It's all fun and games until the mother of dead dreams wants to play.
What begins as a scavenger hunt ends in a fight for their souls.
There is a lot going on in this larger than life coming of age tale. Hazardous waste dumping, a town built on abduction and assault, a supernatural entity. Now one after another the children are being diagnosed with cancer.
The author weaves this all together in a spellbinding story of epic proportions.
"From Almost every street corner, you could smell something rotten in the air, a fetid stink of a town gone wrong."
There are lots of characters here, the high school kids, middle school kids, chemical plant workers, a couple of sets of parents, a mom in a mental institution, a teacher and principal. It was a little overwhelming at first to keep track of them all, but they each have such strong personalities and all brought a unique element to the story.
Some of the residents of Hooperstown have succumbed to the evil, some have embraced it willingly.
Now it's up to Doug and his friends to save themselves, and maybe the world.
Not since the Losers Club have I been so invested in a group of kids, I even developed sympathy for one of the bullies after her bleak home life and abusive, drug addled parents were revealed.
Clear some space, the mother of dead dreams is coming to visit you this Malignant Summer.
I received an advance copy for review
About the author
Tim Meyer dwells in a dark cave near the Jersey Shore. He's an author, husband, father, podcast host, blogger, coffee connoisseur, beer enthusiast, and explorer of worlds. He writes horror, mysteries, science fiction, and thrillers, although he prefers to blur genres and let the story fall where it may.
You can follow Tim at https://timmeyerwrites.com
Tim Meyer dwells in a dark cave near the Jersey Shore. He's an author, husband, father, podcast host, blogger, coffee connoisseur, beer enthusiast, and explorer of worlds. He writes horror, mysteries, science fiction, and thrillers, although he prefers to blur genres and let the story fall where it may.
You can follow Tim at https://timmeyerwrites.com
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