Mannheim Rex by Robert Pobi

Horror author Gavin Corlie is spiraling out of control. The recent death of his wife has left him reeling and ending it all is frequently on his mind. He decides his only option is a complete change of scenery -- getting away from the places and spaces he once shared with her. He finds the perfect fixer-upper in New Mannheim, on the banks of Lake Caldasac. The picturesque setting and the quaint town should be a destination for fishermen and tourists, but New Mannheim is hiding a secret. The town has seen a shocking number of disappearances and strange accidents. Most people avoid the lake as a whole and take their fishing elsewhere. When a local boy, Finn Horn, barely survives an accident on the lake while fleeing from Gavin, the author feels a sense of responsibility. After all, the boy was welcome to fish in Gavin's little bay, but the shock of the new arrival was enough to scare him away. After meeting Finn and hearing his story, though, Gavin becomes interested in the lake's strange history and the rumors of a monstrous killing machine that lives in its depths.

This past week has been a bit of a slow one reading wise. Interesting how that happens: my pace waxes and wanes with no predictable pattern at all. It can't even be chalked up to tv watching considering a lot of my shows have been on that weird mid season hiatus of late. Robert Pobi's latest seems to have been my pick me up.

I'm a fan of a fun creature feature horror read, so I'd been looking forward to my chance to dive into this one for a while. It hit the spot for sure. It's a bit schlocky, a bit gory, and lots of fun! Admittedly I have a bit of a phobia about underwater creepies, so this is also the perfect sort of skin crawling read for a person like me.

Aside from the creature itself, Gavin and Finn really made the story for me, though. Gavin and his authorly insights are fun on their own but as an author who's also a widow in mourning -- one who does take his time telling his own story -- he's appealing on a lot of levels. Finn, the handicapped thirteen-year-old who becomes Gavin's best friend and partner in crime, is sarcastic and witty as well as completely quirky.

There's plenty of violence and death to go along with the creepy creature and the cool characters -- and there's an entertaining story besides, so you pretty much can't go wrong with this one if you're looking for a fun addition to your TBR. I tell you what, though, I wouldn't move to Lake Caldasac!