The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy

The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy

I read this during the summer, and while it was a fun summer read, it was definitely lacking. The Telling by the same author is far better and spookier than this read, but this one was still decently good. It can satisfy your craving for a creepy book, but it’s kind of forgettable…I really don’t remember much of it and I only read it a few months ago.

Let’s start with the basics: The Creeping starts off with a group of friends, gathered around lake in the woods trading horror stories – however, this horror story is real. Eleven years ago, two girls went into the woods – but only one came out. Stella was that girl, and she is haunted by the memory – or lack there of – of what happened to her old friend, Jeanie. When a fresh corpse matching Jeanie’s description turns up with a few other remains as well, questions start to plague Stella – what really happened in the woods that day? And is the person that took Jeanie…back?

I’m not entirely sure what I thought I was getting when I signed up for this book. I kind of thought it would have more of a horror element? Like, there was something dark and creepy hanging out in the woods, and while there is that folklore element involved, there was not nearly as much as I expected. It’s much more focused on the mystery with a touch and hint of creepy wood monsters.

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I liked the characters well enough, but again, I never really connected with them well enough. I liked Stella as a main character, and I enjoyed her romance with Sam. However, there were moments I didn’t like the things that they were doing or some of the characters, and I would get upset with the characterization. Having read both of Sirowy’s books, she really likes complex and complicated characterization, and you may not like all of the “good guys and girls” all the time.

The mystery was intriguing, and I did appreciate the complexity of it. It wasn’t just who-did-it, but there was a touch of supernatural involved that made me truly wonder what was just going on in the woods. I think I might have figured out the answer before it was revealed, but I do believe I secondguessed what was happening quite a few times.

Truthfully, this book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, and I was slightly disappointed by it. Really, The Telling was a finer show of her ability, and Sirowy can craft a good story. I just felt a large disconnect from this book and never fully felt invested. A Belle rating for this book, with a dash of three crowns!

three-stars