Pines (Wayward Pines, #1)

Author: Blake Crouch

Rating: ⭐ 3/5

Date Read: 2014/08/27

Pages: 320

I’m a big fan of the creepy small town trope. You know the one, where everything seems perfect on the surface, but things aren’t exactly what they seem (<a href=“http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098936/“>related). Part of my obsession likely stems from the fact that I grew up in a small town with two major industries: tourism, and meth. My family moved up there for the clean air and beautiful mountain views, and even though we’ve all moved away I still read the local news to see if anyone I know has gotten arrested or stabbed recently.

Anyway, Wayward Pines, ID, is a creepy small town that’s eerily reminiscent of Crestline, CA, except with 90% less meth and 100% more unexplained phenomena. I won’t explain what the unexplained phenomena are, because that would ruin the book. This is total brain candy, and mostly works because it keeps you wanting to know what’s happening. It’s appropriate for a beach or bathtub, which tells you a bit about how literary it is.

<a href=“http://www.fox.com/wayward-pines/“>Fox is turning this book into a TV Show, which I will likely watch and then complain about, because it’s not likely to be nearly as good as Twin Peaks.