Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Book Review: Shady Neighbors by Thom Powell

4.0 out of 5 stars Great novel covering a variety of topics., October 19, 2011
This review is from: Shady Neighbors (Paperback)
This is a terrific novel, covering several different aspects, including Bigfoot, baseball, land development and a new species of snake. We meet Sam Ward, a middle school science teacher who might well be patterned after Powell himself, who has some unusual occurrences happen to him around his home, which has a fully functional baseball diamond on the property. We meet his family, including his son Jack, who is sort of an amateur herpetologist (one who studies snakes) who makes an interesting discovery at a place called Squaw Meadow, which is up for land development into a resort by Barton Foster III, a former neighbor of Sam and his family. In the meantime, Sam has a local Bigfoot researcher, Nick Rollo, come to help him out with the scientific method in his class. Baseball is one thing that brings Sam and Jack closer together as father and son, and they enjoy playing, even if their team does not always win. As the story progresses, it becomes clear just who the "shady neighbors" really are, and it's not who one expects. This is a terrifically crafted story, and one worthy of a read whether on a warm Summer's evening or in front of a roaring fire in Fall or Winter. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

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