The Missing Season by Gillian French (review)

High school junior Clara has just moved to the dying town of Pender, where teenagers tend to go missing in the nearby marshes around Halloween; while adults make all sorts of excuses, the kids know it's the Mumbler, a monstrous creature hungry for the young flesh of the rebellious. Skeptical Clara hides her doubts to hang out with the ridiculously handsome Kincaid, who's obsessed with the Mumbler. After another kid goes missing and Clara has her own harrowing nighttime encounter with a shadowy figure, though, she's starting to think his conspiracy theories might be right. There's the inherent appeal of an urban legend here, but French mines the real tension from the potential chaos brought about by a bunch of restless, bored kids in a nearly burnt-out town, chafing against their bad luck and reveling in their small acts of defiance (a prank war targets both the school administration and a few wealthy neighbors). Unfortunately, the suspense falls apart with the revelation of the true Mumbler, who is almost laughable in his villainy, and the book rushes through the nail-biting horror to get to a rather unsatisfying ending. That said, those who like their scares buoyed by a sexy romance and a tidy conclusion will appreciate French's latest outing. KQG