The Toll, by Cherie Priest
MacMillan-Tor/Forge
Horror
E-book
Horror
E-book
336 Pages
* I received this digital ARC courtesy of MacMillan-Tor/Forge, via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. This does not influence the following opinions which are my own.
My Rating (out of 5)
⭐⭐⭐1/2
The Toll is a creepy jaunt into the swamplands of the deep south.
Titus and his new wife Melanie are heading into Okefenokee swamp for a canoe trip while on their honeymoon. Just before they enter, they come across an ancient, narrow, single lane bridge. The next thing Titus knows, he is waking up outside the car, in the middle of nowhere, and Melanie is missing. He can't even see the bridge which was his last memory before waking up. When he calls the police to help find her, they tell him there is no such bridge on that route.
The locals have grown used to people disappearing into the swamp - especially Clair and Daisy - it seems to happen regularly...almost like clockwork They do what they can to protect their godson Cameron, but when he goes into the swamp, they have to pull out all the stops to try and get him back out.
Priest does an excellent job of creating the right mood for this book. Dark, oppressive, and creepy, you can almost feel the mood the way a person will feel the atmosphere before a thunderstorm.
One thing that didn't really work for me, was the concept of anybody choosing to honeymoon in a swamp - for any reason. This sort of got the story started on the wrong foot for me, and it took me a while to get past it. Once I was able to get over that initial hiccup, and immerse myself in the tale, the rest of the story was really quite good. If Titus and Melanie had entered the swamplands for any other reason than a honeymoon this story would have easily been at least a 4-star read for me.
Overall, a good, solid horror story with an almost tangible mood to it.
Titus and his new wife Melanie are heading into Okefenokee swamp for a canoe trip while on their honeymoon. Just before they enter, they come across an ancient, narrow, single lane bridge. The next thing Titus knows, he is waking up outside the car, in the middle of nowhere, and Melanie is missing. He can't even see the bridge which was his last memory before waking up. When he calls the police to help find her, they tell him there is no such bridge on that route.
The locals have grown used to people disappearing into the swamp - especially Clair and Daisy - it seems to happen regularly...almost like clockwork They do what they can to protect their godson Cameron, but when he goes into the swamp, they have to pull out all the stops to try and get him back out.
Priest does an excellent job of creating the right mood for this book. Dark, oppressive, and creepy, you can almost feel the mood the way a person will feel the atmosphere before a thunderstorm.
One thing that didn't really work for me, was the concept of anybody choosing to honeymoon in a swamp - for any reason. This sort of got the story started on the wrong foot for me, and it took me a while to get past it. Once I was able to get over that initial hiccup, and immerse myself in the tale, the rest of the story was really quite good. If Titus and Melanie had entered the swamplands for any other reason than a honeymoon this story would have easily been at least a 4-star read for me.
Overall, a good, solid horror story with an almost tangible mood to it.
Happy Reading,
Christine
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